USC vs. Berkeley (Oakland, Westwood: high school, colleges, to live)

[drshang]

Originally Posted by mr.bond

Theses are the 2 top universities I am looking into for my undergraduate studies. I plan to dual major in business and Japanese or major in business and minor in Japanese. I hope to get a certificate in International Business as well. I want to know what people think of the Haas and Marshall schools of business in undergraduate studies. I've read a lot about each but I wanted to hear people's experiences. What are the ups and downs? Thanks

If you are in AZ you're out of state right? From what I understand if you're out of state and trying to get into Berkeley it's close to as hard as Stanford to get in...ok maybe not that hard but pretty close. But yes, Berkeley is way better than USC for business. This isn't even close if you get into both.

[mr.bond]

Wow, the UCLA Business Economics major along with Japanese is looking like a definate possibility.

Maybe it would be easier to just minor in Japanese if I went to Berkeley? I think I would have the grades to get into both programs. I ended last semester with a 4.3 GPA. I've contacted UCLA and Berkeley and I'm just waiting for a response. I've already contacted Berkeley before and they weren't very helpful.

By the way do most people go to graduate school after a couple years of working? I'm definately shooting for graduate school in Japan. There's a scholarship given out by the Japanese government called the Monbugakusho that I want to get and it basically covers your graduate studies there. That would get me contacts in Japan so I would have contacts in both countries. That's a long time from now though.

[hsw]

What's w/the Japanese stuff? Isn't that '80s socialist/multicultural nonsense, sort of like learning Chinese was in '07?

What do you hope to accomplish post-college?

For finance careers (which have attracted smartest kids for past 20+yrs), arguably best training ground in world is Wharton undergrad...likely need to "serve time" at some investment bank trading desk in Manhattan before migrating back to SiliconValley or BeverlyHills-based hedge funds or PE shops....

If desperate, would opt for Berkeley over USC or UCLA without doubt....much prefer life in LA, but SiliconValley's economy is far more powerful and IQ-based....

The "international business" stuff is a polite term for the clueless who don't know what they want to be when they grow up....

[mr.bond]

Originally Posted by hsw

What's w/the Japanese stuff? Isn't that '80s socialist/multicultural nonsense, sort of like learning Chinese was in '07?

What do you hope to accomplish post-college?

For finance careers (which have attracted smartest kids for past 20+yrs), arguably best training ground in world is Wharton undergrad...likely need to "serve time" at some investment bank trading desk in Manhattan before migrating back to SiliconValley or BeverlyHills-based hedge funds or PE shops....

If desperate, would opt for Berkeley over USC or UCLA without doubt....much prefer life in LA, but SiliconValley's economy is far more powerful and IQ-based....

The "international business" stuff is a polite term for the clueless who don't know what they want to be when they grow up....

I was researching Wharton too. However I would rather go to college in California.

What's wrong with wanting to learn Japanese? I don't get it. In fact I'm currently being tutored in Japanese.
China is becoming one of the world superpowers, how would learning Chinese be nonsense?

Like I said my grad studies are a long ways away and I'm not sure what exactly I want to do. I suppose as of now something along the lines of economics and business.

If desperate? Sorry some of that was unclear.

Would wanting to major in business at Wharton with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship and Global Analysis or wanting to major in business at USC with a certificate in international business mean that I'm clueless? I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your international business remark.

[edwardius]

I think you are going about the process backwards.

Have you read "What Color is your Parachute?"

Amazon.com: What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers: Richard Nelson Bolles: Books

Why its good is because it points out that there are a lot of different ways of getting to your destination and it spends a fair amount of time trying to help you figure out what your destination will be.

Right now, you are seeking really specialized education when you aren't totally sure what you are interested in. In my book that means go to the best school you can get into with a lot of strong programs in case you change your mind about what you want to do. College is more than vocational education, its also about opening your mind to new experiences. Your interests can change pretty dramatically between the ages of 18 and 22.

If you look at the Ivy League schools, plus Stanford and the U of Chicago, what you will notice is that you have a lot of very bright students going to those programs and yet none of those schools offers an undergraduate degree in business. Yet somehow the graduates of those programs mostly end up running the country.

Part of why you go to college is try different things out and see if you like them. You might really like Japanese and really hate accounting. But if your undergrad degree is accounting, you are going to have to take a lot of accounting classes. You might like computer science classes more. If you are in a program where its easier to switch among majors, then you have many more options to try things out.

When you don't know what you want to do, overspecializing too early is a mistake.

I really hope you read "What Color is your Parachute?"

[drshang]

Some of you need to give this guy a break. He's not even in college yet and he's thinking about his career. He is WAY ahead of the pack. Sheesh. A business major in college at a top tier school will present him with lots of opportunities. Wanting to interface with Asia Pacific will not be a bad choice at all.

Mr.Bond, if you major in economics/japanese at any top ivy league level school or equivalent it will offer you very similar opportunities to a business degree at a school like Haas, and probably more opportunities than a business degree at USC. At an ivy league level school, an economics degree is pretty similar to a business degree in the types of positions you can get after school.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by hsw

What's w/the Japanese stuff? Isn't that '80s socialist/multicultural nonsense, sort of like learning Chinese was in '07?

What do you hope to accomplish post-college?

For finance careers (which have attracted smartest kids for past 20+yrs), arguably best training ground in world is Wharton undergrad...likely need to "serve time" at some investment bank trading desk in Manhattan before migrating back to SiliconValley or BeverlyHills-based hedge funds or PE shops....

If desperate, would opt for Berkeley over USC or UCLA without doubt....much prefer life in LA, but SiliconValley's economy is far more powerful and IQ-based....

The "international business" stuff is a polite term for the clueless who don't know what they want to be when they grow up....

japanese is the language of business. i wonder if washington would be a good school for business and japanese considering the large japanese business presence there. since you're targetting japanese business im sure they care less about certain schools than american business and more about others

and regardless of what school, your career is what you make of it. go to the one that best suits your needs. if ucla presents the best double major its not like ucla is a bad school to attend.

[timepeon]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

japanese is the language of business. i wonder if washington would be a good school for business and japanese considering the large japanese business presence there. since you're targetting japanese business im sure they care less about certain schools than american business and more about others

and regardless of what school, your career is what you make of it. go to the one that best suits your needs. if ucla presents the best double major its not like ucla is a bad school to attend.

are you from the 80s?

[skywalker400]

^ Heh, most kids I know studying Japanese are anime/manga fan types, while those striving for stronger credentials opt for Mandarin. I would just add that its not entirely difficult to double major at Cal in different colleges, might just take a little longer, but if you have 4 years, don't sweat it.

[LArenter]

Mr.Bond going to any of those top-tier schools will put you in a good position for your career. I would really look into the school's campus life-style and student body when making a decision. You will do much better in college if you are happy with your living situation. I've known so many people who were at pretty top-notch schools and they leave to go to 'lesser' schools that are closer to home.

Your internships, the people you network with, and your major will play a much more critical role in your career path. You'll find in the business world soon enough, that it is not what you know, but who you know that matters -- not to say that merit does not mater, but it only gets you so far these days (Disclaimer: Unless your career is strictly academics)

Have fun and study hard -- these are the best years of your life.

Oh, and I would avoid the Ivy's -- No D-1 Football! Albeit, I went to Berkeley and there wasn't competitive D-1 Football for the past 60 years -- prior to Tedford.