Emory vs. UCLA vs. UCB vs. USC for undergrad?

Hi, I’m a high school senior applying to colleges right now. I know this is early but I need to decide whether it’s worth it to do ED2 Emory. I have decent ECs and scores so I think I’d have a decent shot at the UCs and USC. Some people have told me that Emory does good in terms of recruiting and it is well knowns not only in the South, but others have different opinions and say that UCB/USC/UCLA are more prestigious.....any advice?? (I’m not planning to live in the south after college, probably east or west coast I’m not sure) You probably get tons of questions like that but please don’t judge:)

 

Some considerations:

  • Do you want to work on the east coast or west coast? Obviously the Cali schools will position you better for California banking.

  • What kind of college experience do you want? Recruiting aside, USC for example is a very different environment from Emory.

  • How big do you want your school to be? A place like Emory or USC will have much smaller classes than UCB or UCLA.

  • Do you want a school where you can be in the business school right away (e.g. USC) or do you want to have to wait and apply later (like UCB).

If you're completely indifferent between California and East Coast, I would think that UCB or USC would position you better since those are (imo) both top 5 feeders for California. In contrast, if you go to Emory, you're contending with every single Ivy, MIT, Georgetown, Michigan, NYU Stern, UVA, UNC, etc. all for NYC spots. I personally would go to USC if you want to do California banking, but that's literally just a personal preference. Any of these schools are fine, and I would urge you to think of your choice outside the context of recruitment.

 

Thanks! In terms of college experience, I’m pretty flexible and can adapt to different environment quickly, if anything I don’t like it when Greek like dominates the social scene. I can’t say which area I prefer, but I think after college I’d like to live in NYC/Boston for at least a couple of years. If I wanna go to the east coast, which school would you suggest out of these four? Or should I consider other schools?

 

Emory would probably be okay then. If you do well, you can likely make it to east coast. Though, as I recommended in the comment below, I would look at Georgetown, UVA, NYU Stern, UMich. Although, if you don't like Greek Life, I would look more at Georgetown, Emory, Stern. UVA and UMich are greek heavy.

 

I think the best perspective is that any of these schools can get you to IB without the challenges of being at a non target. Go to the school where you see yourself having the best experience.

"Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry."
 
Most Helpful

Agree with the other posters, choose based on where you would be happiest.

If you find yourself indifferent about west coast vs. east coast it is important to note that Cal/USC/UCLA would be leagues better at placing in LA/SF vs Emory into NYC. However, I'm sure if you do well in Goizueta swinging NYC wouldn't be difficult.

Personally, I'd go with one of the california schools. Amazing weather, hot girls, better parties, and arguably better academics & reputation anyways.

Array
 

East coast optimal targets would be Harvard, Yale, Wharton etc.

However, if we're talking schools closer in selectiveness to the ones you're looking at that would place better than Emory: Georgetown, UVA, NYU Stern, maybe UMich.

 

If you definitely want to be on the east coast apply ED 2 to Emory. There is a path to make it from there if you don’t it’s on you at that point.

"Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry."
 

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