USC (Marshall Admitted) vs Berkeley (Pre-Haas + Computer Science Double Major)
Hello! I recently got into USC and Berkeley (Want to go to school and work West Coast, disregarding east coast options like Cornell and Ross) and only have a week to make a decision. I am doing a double major (business and CS) to keep my options open for SWE and IB, though I heavily prefer the finance side of things, so don't think too heavily about that. For recruiting, what is the actual practical difference between these two? I see TIS placements in GS TMT concretely, while Haas naturally has a big name in Tech Banking. For context, I am almost 100% certain I will be able to get into Haas (not trying to be a hardo, it is just that people coming from my high school generally don't have a problem with Haas admission). If it helps, I have attached a pros and cons list below. Also note: students from my high school typically are able to get 4.0's at either school, so rigor isn't a huge deal (high school was pure hell/torture).
Berkeley Pros:
- Prestige
- Strength of Academic Programs:
- #1 for CS
- #3 for Business (Haas)
- Startup Culture
- Recruitment/Job Placement Slightly Better
Berkeley Cons:
- Increased Competition
- Grade Deflation + Time Commitment
- Large Public School: Less Resources/Hand-Holding
- More Expensive
USC Pros:
- Love Campus
- Private School: Resources
- Presidential Scholar
- Guaranteed On Campus Honors College Housing: Private Bedroom and Bathroom w/ AC
- Scholarship
- Low Competition (Presidential Scholar)
- Can do CS and Business Joint Major and Film Major or minor
- Social Life (Far Better Work-Life Balance), More Enjoyable 4 Years (Fan of USC life)
- Arguably better recruitment/job placement due to decreased competition (Still GS TMT based on success at school, Same Destination)
USC Cons:
- “Tier 2” Institution: Relative lack of prestige
- Not the best Business and CS programs (still good, just not the absolute best)
Haas is a very strong target on the west coast and places decently well on the east coast, much better than USC
Much better? From what I have seen visibility wise on student org placements, people at USC still get GS TMT SF and some even get Blackstone? Is the difference that big?
Survivorship bias. Just because a few get it, doesn't mean everyone gets it.
Commit to Cal and join Berkeley Investment Group, sending 7 kids to Point72 and 6 to Citadel for Summer 22 and 23 speaks for itself. If you get super involved with Haas and B.I.G you will gain access to a pipeline like no other school, from West Coast PE to NYC HF and IB. And you’d be surprised how relaxed and nice the people are at Berkeley (join the right clubs), don’t believe everything you hear on WSO.
My worry is honestly that I won't have as good of a time at Berkeley, while the USC kids will get the same job as me potentially. Would this be an incorrect presumption?
We’ll i’d say it depends if you want to go into the buy side or sell side. Berkeley might just be the top buy side placement school in the nation and USC would certainly pale in comparison. If you just wanna do IB and have fun in college then go to USC and join a business frat.
I am pretty serious about work stuff but I want work life balance. I just dont wanna have to go through hell to get a good GPA when it does not have to be that way. Additionally I want an enjoyable four years - is that achievable at Berkeley?
I think the outside view on Berkeley is really off. I too was worried about fitting in when I first came here. But it turned out to be way more chill and fun than anyone gives it credit for. The greek life is great, tons of bars, and tons of things to do in the bay area. On top of that politics are not nearly as prevalent as you might think especially if your friend groups are finance or frat related. I have a great gpa as well and honestly I don’t think ive had to work all that hard for it, it certainly isn’t impossible at least. USC is prob gonna be more fun than Cal, so if that is tue end all be all for you then thats your best bet. But if you want to give yourself the best chance of finding yourself at your dream job straight out of undergrad rather than grinding through the corporate ladder at a BB then Cal should absolutely be your choice. Also Cal will age better as it continues to receive more and more funding from the government and becomes harder and harder to get into. But just my two cents, again USC would be an absolute blast and you can find immense success in life no matter where you go.
Are all of them in the Point72 L/S academy? Guessing not, but impressive if true
All 7 are going into L/S academy. 3 this summer 3 next summer and 1 joining full time after graduation.
UCB
Purely from a recruiting perspective or hollistically?
I think UCB is better for recruiting, but like the location of USC.
What happened to Stanford? Applied/rejected?
Didn't apply haha, thought it was a pipe dream.
Damn. I think that was a mistake. Stanford rejects a lot of people, but sometimes they choose interesting backgrounds.
Also if you did computer science and business double major and then became super active in B.I.G you would essentially be a poster child for a quantamentals fund like P72.
.
If you can do Haas and CS then 100% choose Berkeley. The only thing to consider is the time commitment required to do both. Berkeley CS is difficult and cutthroat just among the people only doing CS. Haas is another world on its own. You are right in the sense that Berkeley has a big tech banking presence but it’s not the end all be all as USC has a large presence too. If you’re looking for quantitative finance, you’ll be setting yourself up right w that track at Cal, but if you are specifically trying for banking, it can go either way and id honestly pick the school that has best fit and is cheapest
This is just my two cents --
Hands down USC Marshall is the way to go. My best friend from HS goes to Berk Haas and I go to USC Marshall. At Haas/Cal it is extremely stressful and you will spend your time studying irrelevant courses and stressing about getting into Haas while Marshall kids are taking accounting classes and finance classes and are a leg up -- unless you are extremely self motivated. TIS places very well but is very cutthroat in nature but it is the same with any top finance club in any top business school.
Networking is the absolute most important aspect when it comes to recruiting and there is no network stronger than USC Marshall. You have to actually experience it to understand the alumni pull. Was able to land a spring sophomore internship at a regional boutique purely off a phone call with a MD over winter break who was an alumni. This helped me greatly in terms of recruiting for SA 2023. I found my interest in banking extremely late (sophomore spring) and I feel as though I am extremely behind the 'Hardos' who are also recruiting for SA 2023 but I was able to land a SA offer from a top MM. My close friend at USC who also started networking/studying technicals in the February/March also got an offer from an EB for 2023 SA.
Most people I know at USC pursuing banking have offers already (a lot with multiple offers from EBs and BBs). In terms of East Coast recruiting, Berkeley should be better because its been a more established name for a longer period of time, but in terms of West Coast recruiting, I wouldn't under-estimate the prestige of the USC Marshall brandname and the strength of the Trojan Network. If you are pursuing banking it is going to be cutthroat and you gotta grind regardless --
I think every school is biased towards their alumni network because it’s the only one they have experienced. Every single point you made I too have witnessed and experienced at Cal. Sophomores in Berkeley Investment Group are mentored by Juniors and Seniors into their past sophomore summer internships and its a really strong pipeline.
That's fair. At the end of the day, it is more about how willing you are to tap into your alumni network and make the genuine connections that can help you.
Usc
Cal student pov: Its quite simple. Girls at USC >>>>> Girls at Berkeley.
On a more serious note, really easy choice if price is same. Idc how smart you are, to do a CS + Haas double without MET allowing for double-dipping major reqs u will not have adequate time to join clubs, commit to these clubs, and recruit banking. Unless you're a certified genius / math olympiad type.
On the other hand USC is super chill about major reqs and trying out Marshall + Vertibri or whatever their eng school is. So u can explore both SWE/IB without being constantly entrenched with the bullshit that is public UC school.
USC senior perspective -
Choosing between these two schools based on IB placement in my opinion is not what the conversation should be about. It should be about where you feel like you fit in, USC in general has a more "fratty" culture for guys and will be more fun if you feel like you fit in with that crowd. In my biased opinion, USC has the best mix of social, academics, sports and hot girls. If this sounds at all appealing, choose USC. If you truly only care about the academics and the IB placement then choose UCB as UCB will slightly be better than USC (albeit strong students at both schools are similar but average is slightly higher at UCB).
My experience is that TIS places well and if you have confidence in yourself, you can place anywhere you want. I am non-diversity and landed offers at a EB and 2 offers from GS NYC/MS NYC/JPM NYC. Wouldn't really focus on placement for choosing colleges.
Trojan here.
Going to Goldman Sachs NYC IB this summer. Look at Sigma Chi guys ..they know what’s up.
Cheers!
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