dhl3

Out of these three colleges/programs, which is considered the most prestigious, and which the least?

Worried Student

I think UCLA's Business Econ is better than Berkeley's regular Economics program, especially in the LA area. I know someone who in the last year or two was hired by Goldman Sachs out of UCLA's Business Econ program. Claremont McKenna is an excellent school and very underrated academically. From what I hear, the social life is outstanding too. I also know someone who chose to attend Claremont McKenna over both UCLA and Berkeley.

kyledavid80

^^ uhh, I dunno how you can say it's "better."

In prestige:

Berkeley
UCLA
CMC

Worried Student

Overall school prestige:
Berkeley >UCLA (but not by much)
By program UCLA’s Business Econ vs. Berkeley’s regular Econ:
UCLA > Berkeley
Prestige in Southern California (and networking):
UCLA > Berkeley
Prestige in Northern California (and networking):
Berkeley > UCLA

Berkeley’s Haas department is definitely better than UCLA’s Business Econ, since it’s a real Business Administration major and gives you the ability to major in accounting or finance. For UCLA’s Business Econ, you can minor in Accounting.

Student615

To the OP: Define what you mean by "prestigious." Do you mean which school will give you the best econ education? Which will give you the best employment opportunities? Which degree, hung on your wall, will impress the most people? Which degree, hung on your wall, will impress people the most? Which school will look best on a grad school application? The answer to your question will probably vary depending on which of these you actually mean.

Also, forgetting prestige for a moment, you're talking about three wonderful programs. Any difference in overall prestige, especially among people who actually need to know, is minimal. The experiential difference between four years spent at Cal, UCLA, or CMC, however, is MAJOR. I hope you're giving that some thought, as well.

santino

I think student615 brings a very valid point to the table. By now it sounds very cliched, but in the end what matters is the students individual needs and requirements.

However, I do strongly feel that for a good education in Economics, a small class size, close knit community, and student led activities are required. This is ofcourse for the undergraduate level. My reasons for this are mainly because high schools fail to introduce Economics properly and skip several basic concepts. Undergraduate economics is perhaps the last opportunity a potential economics student has to understand and fall in love with the subject. I would cautiously choose CMC because of its brilliant environment, small size, social scene and most importantly: focus on undergraduate learning, teaching and research.

As for prestige, one needs to put this qualitative variable into context. CMC is an undergraduate only institution, therefore prestige comparisions would be unfair. However, I assure you that the college is well reputed within the academic and industrial sectors. Firms like PriceWaterHouseCoopers (I love their logo) Mckinsey, E&Y just love CMC's Eco+Accounting combination.

One area that I know absolutely nothing about is starting salaries. I fear that CMC may lose out in this aspect.

...Hope this helps

Student615

I do know that I know NOTHING about investment banking, but every single firm I've ever heard of was doing on-campus interviews at CMC a few weeks ago. I know a few people who have internships with such firms this summer: Goldman-Sachs and Merril Lynch (which I probably spelled wrong and which may or may not have ANYTHING to do with IBanking...iBanking...I-Banking...did I mention that I know nothing of this topic?), among them.

The point is that I also lack starting salary stats, and I'm just using IBanking as a random example, but based on what I've seen around campus, CMC should be pretty solidly in the running. Recruitment opportunities abound.

(A current student should definitely be trusted above me...this is just semi-educated observation.)

santino

Another aspect of CMC which I seemed to skip over is the exposure and emphasis to Leadership. Anyone remotely familiar with Mckenna would know about their emphasis on leadership, and like every current student would tell you: Our focus on leadership does not mean that every student is an outgoing and dominant personality.

However, the institution provides ample opportunities for one to test and pickup social skills. Whether the field is investmant banking, accounting, forecasting, govt. etc., I believe that CMC prepares you in terms of content, subject and personality.

The main advantage of CMC is the vibrant and dynamic personalities sitting right next to you. You have a small community of leaders inside, and a big university (Claremont Consortium) outside. As one admissions counselor said, "At CMC there's no place to hide"