Duke vs. UC Berkeley NEED ADVICE PLS!!

coolwhip
Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:22:58 +0000

My intended major was pre-haas. That didn’t really matter ppl-wise though because I was just with the general L and S population. Duke was loads better. Many more attractive, outgoing, fun, and generally well-adjusted people. It’s not that they don’t exist at Berkeley, but the frequency is much higher at Duke.

As for your major, I’ve heard from ppl I know in haas or pre-haas that it is a nail-biting pain in the butt to get in. There is a 45 ish acceptance rate among the most competitive Berkeley students. Once you’re in, the class sizes get smaller and their career services are great, though. Haas is definitely one of Berkeley’s stronger departments.

However, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke etc. obviously don’t feel the need for an undergraduate business school. Every top-tier college, with the two exceptions of Penn and MIT asserts that an undergraduate business degree isn’t necessary. This takes a lot of competition away from Haas in undergraduate business rankings because most of the top schools are conspicuously absent. From what I’ve heard, you can get just as many great opportunities in the business field out of undergrad studying econ, math, or even engineering.

Just my two cents. I made the wrong decision to save $80 K, which was reasonable, but since you are paying out-of-state at Berkeley, I feel Duke is a much better choice.