UT Austin vs UC Berkeley (Business Undergrad) - Selection Help
I live in Texas and am finishing high school there.
I was accepted into UT Austin McCombs for in-state tuition, but not into the honors program which I had wanted to attend. On the other hand, I was also admitted into UC Berkeley, although for out of state tuition.
Between $25k (UT Austin) and $62k (UC Berkeley) annual costs of attendance, is UC Berkeley's business program better than UT Austin by a significant enough amount to be worth the $150k total four-year difference in cost?
Criteria: Education, Learning Environment, Networking, Job Recruitment, Salary
IMO I might do UT. A few thoughts here like... 1. UC is better but probably not by as much... Tech is a bit different but Austin isnt far behind 2. Cost... You're counting just annual diff or 4 year diff? 3. As TX resident, you'll get hs alumni + classmates you know from TX, a easier life getting comfortable 4. Housing cheaper?
The $25k and $62k are annual estimates, amounting to around a $150k four-year difference. Housing is cheaper in Texas, which is part of the gap in cost. Sorry for any confusion.
UC Berkeley is the better school(target for west coast, semi-target for NYC), however UT(target for Houston/Dallas, semi-target for NYC) is no slouch and they both have great placement. Berkeley holds a much better name across most of the USA and also globally. I assume you're Chinese, and UCB and the Bay Area alike have large Asian populations- perhaps you would enjoy that. UCB Haas is a 2 year program in which you'll apply once you're already a Berkeley student and you will want to have a GPA around 3.7 to be competitive. If you don't get into Haas, UCB has one of the best econ programs in the country with Janet Yellen being on the faculty. However, I will say UT with in-state tuition and a direct admit to McCombs is quite tempting. The questions here that should make up your decision are: 1)Can I afford the price difference? 2)How important is it for me to be in the business school/How confident am I that I will get into Haas? and 3)Which school's culture will I jive with better? On the third question: UCB is one of the most liberal schools out there and has a very diverse culture whilst offering a decent social scene. UT will provide the quintessential college experience and save you a great deal of money.
That looks like a substantial difference in cost! However, for me personally, I would choose Berkeley. Personally, I don't think "prestige" means squat, but when it comes to recruiting, the school you go to matters a lot.
If you want access to the major name firms, they all do on-campus recruiting at Berkeley (MBB, Goldman/JPMO/etc.). Additionally, you're right next to San Francisco, where all of the big shops have major offices. Berkeley's business program is highly rated for undergrad, but more than that - you'll be surrounded by kids who want to get into the top firms as well, and they'll help you figure out what you need to do to get there.
And frankly, it lends you a little bit of credibility in the business world when you have credentials from top academic institutions, since that's where a lot of people get their pedigree.
This isn't to say that you can't get there from UT. It's a good school, Austin a super fun city, and lots of people get into the top firms from non-target schools all the time. If you're going to be working a side job and go into debt up to your eyeballs to pay for out of state tuition, it's not worth it.
Some side notes on Berkeley: it's a ton of fun! Football and basketball games, there's a huge greek scene if you're into that, but it doesn't dominate the school, so if it's not your thing, you can find another - or 10 other - niches. The academics are EXCELLENT, and it's very cool to be taking lectures from the professors who literally written the textbooks or won nobel prizes in their fields. Lastly, the proximity to Silicon Valley draws a lot of very ambitious, entrepreneurial types - you really get to meet a lot of fun, exciting people there.
Side note on Austin: Sixth Street is a BLAST, the live music scene is popping, and man, I bet you will have a GREAT time at either school.
Remember - at the end of the day, you're going to college to 1) learn, 2) grow, and 3) have fun. You'll never get those years back. If you want to get into Goldman or McKinsey, and you're willing to work hard to get there, you can do it from Berkeley OR UTA. Buuut I'd guess it's probably a bit easier from Berkeley due to the on campus recruiting and sheer number of folks that they put into those firms.
It's ridiculous to tell a teenager to spend 150k more because Berkley has better placements comparitively then continue on to show you have no first-hand knowledge of UT recruiting. I mean if you did you would know that every single firm you listed also conducts on-campus recruiting at UT.
UT is directly comparable to Berkley in every way but its 1/3 the price for this kid.
Hm, you're right - I didn't go to UT, so I do not have knowledge of their on campus recruiting. If they do have OCR, you should let OP know and help inform his decision.
My hypothesis was coming from having worked in consulting and finance, where resumes are collected from "target schools," and folks from outside of target schools usually have to contact someone independently to get their resume in (doesn't mean they won't get in - it's just an extra step). For example: I worked at a consulting firm where we collected resumes from the ivies, Berkeley, Stanford, Duke, and a handful of others. Doesn't mean we'd turn away people from other schools automatically, it just means we didn't actively recruit there.
I've lived in NYC and SF and have not seen UT listed at a target, but that's probably because targets are, to at least some extent, regional. UT is still a great school, all the major firms have Texas offices as well, so I guess it'd make sense that they recruit there.
I do think that to a degree (pun intended) UC Berkeley is quite a bit higher "ranked" than UT Austin, but I don't think that's worth much. Those rankings really don't mean anything, they're based on so many different categories like "likelihood of graduation" and "alumni contributions" and so on, which really don't impact the school. I would add that I also believe Berkeley is considered a bit more academically rigorous. Feel free to disagree. I say that because I myself also passed on higher ranked or more prestigious schools because of how affordable tuition was for me at Berkeley. I don't know OP's situation - if his scholarships, parental contributions, and loans are doable, then $150K may be worth it. I assume that's the case or he wouldn't be asking this question.
OP - this discussion should prove that you'll have a great experience no matter where you go. We'll all make an effort to answer your question, but as you can see, we all loved our schools and ended up where we wanted to in life. There were kids from Berkeley who went to Harvard Med and kids who went to med school in the Caribbean and kids who didn't get in anywhere. I know a guy who got into all of the top 3 med school and decided to work at genentech and never went to med school at all. There are kids who will go in to college pre-med and drop out of that route and go into consulting (like me!). My point is, you don't know where you'll end up after college, and don't want to base your decision on just this factor. You could get into Goldman/McK from either school, or take an underwater basket weaving class and realize that's your true passion. I assume you're not going to make your decision solely based on this comment thread, and that's wise. You don't know where life is going to take you. Talk to your parents and fam - they'll advise you well. Talk to older kids from your high school who attended the diff universities. But most importantly, go with your instincts - as long as you work hard, everything else will fall into place.
UCB places an incredible number of kids into banks on the west coast. If money is not an issue, go there.
Come to UT man. I used to think its bhp or bust but our representation will only get better. If you're interested in banking there are so many opportunities. If you're west coast or bust go to Berkeley but if that's not the case your life will be 10x easier.
$150K invested for 40 years at a 6% return is $1.5 million. If you are going to have to take out loans for the difference and aren't dead set on working in California, go to Austin. There is not enough of a difference b/w the two to justify spending that much more. If you want to stay in TX, it is a very easy choice.
I worked with a bunch of UT interns (admittedly a couple were honors program) - and all of their outcomes have been great. It may not be a super formal target but the best students from there are definitely targeted.
I would go to UT even if it were only a $50k difference. $150k is a massive difference. This is a no brainer.
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