Hi all,
After a 2 year hiatus, I decided to come back to check out college confidential. I’ve gotten e-mails and messages throughout these past 2 years regarding my previous post about getting into Haas, and it seems like the post is now locked.
I’m back again to answer questions about not only getting into Haas, but also succeeding in Haas and securing that dream job.
For some context, I entered Haas the Fall of 2013, and completed my degree at the end of Fall of 2014 (1.5 years). The academic experience in itself was extremely fruitful and compelling, but equally if not more important, was the recruiting season for internships and subsequently full-time offers. I will be working full-time in the consulting industry.
I’m here to answer questions about how to best improve your application to get into Haas, but also for those who are in Haas, act as a mentor as you prepare to land a job in the real world (which is arguably more important).
Hope to hear from you soon!
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.
Congrats on graduating.
I intend to apply this fall.
Out of curiosity, and I know this is a totally subjective and almost silly question, but how difficult did you find it to be?
Some other random questions, what were some of your highlights at Haas and what were some of your more forgettable experiences?
How were you able to graduate earlier? Did you have a heavier course load than usual, or did you transfer in with all your breadth courses done, or what.
Thanks!
As you said, the education itself is quite subjective. I found parts of it straight forward, parts of it quite enjoyable, and parts of it mind-boggling. Every student has their own strengths and interests in each of the fields. That being said, all classes are quite competitive as it’s graded on a curve, so you’re almost always competing against your peers and oftentimes friends.
One of the highlights was actually interacting with students in the classroom. Students come from many different business organizations, and are typically quite driven, so for me it was interesting to see how that played into their coursework, projects, and academic mindset. I also for some part enjoyed the competitive environment, because everyone was vying for the top internships and job offers, so you in turn were bound to also do well. Your friends and peers are part of a great network through internships and connections and if you try hard enough, you’ll find the right opportunities.
The forgettable experiences were often found with the “unfair” course guidelines with some of the classes, when it came to deadlines, group projects, and group midterms. It was oftentimes a major collective strugglebus.
I came in with about 40 units from AP credit, I completed a music minor, and had an average of 16 units every semester (with 20 one semester). It’s pretty easy to do if you plan correctly.
Hey @cheekboy34 I’m an incoming freshman currently picking my classes. So far I have:
Math 16A(Or B waiting on my AP Scores),
Astro C10,
MCB 62 (Drugs and the Brain) as my fall classes for 10 units at the moment.
My advisor told me that people usually dont take UGBA, econ, or stat until later semesters as they underestimate how hard college will be. Should I wait and take those other courses another semester? Or just get them out of the way now? If I don’t take one of those 3, I would be taking either an R&C Class depending on my AP scores, or another class which I have no idea what to take. Any suggestions for my last course in the first semester of my freshman year if not one of the other 3 haas prereqs or the R&C Course? I was looking into some Marketing/Leadership decals as well.
Take some Grantee “A” classes to assure you get GPA 3.7+ into Haas
Like (do some research for yourselves)
Public Health 116 (3) - Seminar on Social, Political, Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine, P/NP
ESPM 50AC (4) - Introduction to Culture and Natural Resource Management, 75% A
Psychology 150 - Psychology of Personality (3) , > 75% A, john, MW 10-11
“Freshman/Sophomore SeminarS SEASN 39 series (2)”
ASAMST upper division classes
take 1-2 online summer community college classes for fill in prerequisite Berkeley requirement
Take summer intern jobs every summer
Find leadership positions at clubs (a MUST)
Haas required:
Math 16 A or/and B, freshman
econ 1 next semester if not fall
UGBA 10 sophomore
Stat 20/21W summer, next semester or sophomore (online class is much easier)
Yes with AP 40 units with econ 100A/B, UGBA 102A/B completed on sophomore , you can finish in 3 1/2 yrs even with accounting major (more tough as 30 units of accounting classes is required for CPA exam)
@Karnier
You’ll learn quite a lot about those classes your first semester. It wouldn’t hurt foregoing them until Spring.
As the above poster has mentioned, yes easy A classes that will boost your GPA will definitely help, but I’d also encourage you to take interesting classes. People over-hype the gpa “requirement” in my opinion. It really comes down to how you portray your intended use of the Haas education.
Haas wants to ensure a successful future for you, and them. They want to know that you can represent their brand and donate back in the future. An academic hiccup here and there won’t ding you as much as an uninteresting story/essay. Focus on finding your story, and identifying how you want to make a change/impact through the power of business.
Don’t get too caught up in the logistics of things and speak from the heart as to why you want to pursue a degree in business. Hope this helps!
What is your definition of dream job?
Thanks for doing this!
I’m a current junior in Haas and I’m wondering about how the recruitment goes. I’m looking to work for some technology company in the bay and not really interested in what people typically come out of Haas doing (accounting, banking, consulting) because I’d rather not work long hours. Do you know anything about the tech company recruiting out of Haas? I know Apple, Google, etc. all flock to the EECS and CS people but haven’t seen many events for business students. If you don’t know that much about that, if you could tell us about how your recruitment process went that’d be great. Like whether you went to events, career fairs, networking, etc. and how you ended up getting your offer. I feel like I’m the kind of guy that’s just going to sit back and submit an online app like 3 months before graduation and hope for the best… haha. Thanks in advance!
Congrats! I’m an incoming freshman and hope to enter Haas. As i’m deciding my class schedule, I’m not sure if I should take Math 1A or 16A. I know that there will be more possibilities open with 1A (if I don’t want to go down the Haas path), but I don’t want my GPA to suffer. Will the math course I take greatly influence my admission to Haas?
@DrGoogle, in the context of where I’m currently at, a dream job means a well paying job at an extremely reputable company in the field I want to pursue in the future.
@nenolam, Many of the business orgs have moved towards tech panels and tech job fairs. If you’re not already a part of one on campus, they flyer on sproul all the time when they bring in panels and host forums/fairs. Talk to the speakers, grab brochures and business cards, and then compile their recruitment schedule onto an excel sheet so you can track when and how to apply. Also, continuously browse Callisto, which posts many of the info sessions for tech and ABC companies who partner with them.
For my recruitment, I went to an info session for the company, and just applied like everyone else online. After the online application, there were 2 rounds. Round 1 consisted of 2 on-campus interviews: case and behavioral. Round 2 they “flew” us out to SF (they still put me up in a hotel though!) where we had a full day of networking and interviews (case, 2 behavioral, and group case). It’s a 2-day event, and they’ll give you a call 1-2 weeks after. The whole process from info session to offer letter took approximately 3 months, September to November.
@therealkobe, The admissions committee does not care about whether or not you take 1A or 16A. They WILL however, take into account getting an A in 16A versus a B+ in 1A.
The lady that rent my house in the Bay Area , a graduate from Haas, maybe 10-15 years ago, worked a few years at consulting job in SF and then moved to Google as a financial manager.
Hi! and I am glad to know someone are willing to help giving advice. I will apply this year and I want to get into Haas. I am from De Anza and did actively join clubs and volunteer around area. I wonder whether I need to have an internship at any company to be a better candidate to get into Haas. Since I am still at Community College and it is really hard for me to be an intern at any company.
Thank you
@cocolucie
Haas emphasizes diversity and impact. The difference between an internship at a fortune 500 and a loosely defined internship at a local start-up is marginal if the impact is the same. They want to see you succeed in challenging situations, and have a positive impact on the community you work in. Whatever context that may be in is just what separates you in terms of “personality”.
Example:
Person A worked at a non-profit over the summer, and worked on a marketing campaign to increase awareness for a new initiative they were rolling out. They want to work in the public sector/non-profit consulting and talk about it in their essay.
Person B worked at a fortune 500 company or major corporation like google or safeway or P&G. They worked as a marketing analyst and also contributed to a marketing campaign. They want to become a marketing director in corporate america.
Both people are competitive, and both situations work and are compelling for their respective situations. Person B is in some cases arguably less competitive because they have less responsibilities in a large corporation.
Pursue opportunities that align with your interests, not with what you think Haas wants your interests to be.
@cocolucie
As a follow-up, in your situation, I would focus on your volunteer work. Did you lead any part of it? Did you make a significant contribution or impact? Did you have meaningful experiences that may shape your career choices later on? Focus on that!
Hi! I’m a incoming freshman interested in applying to haas. Thanks for your inputs above, they are really helpful! So when haas looks at our GPA, do they only care about our GPA for haas prerequisite courses, or they count all courses we take? Also, is it a bad idea to P/NP our breath courses for haas? Thank you! 
@ViolaBB
Thanks for your questions. When considering GPA, they’ll look at everything, including your grade trend/course load/course difficulty.
It’s not necessarily a “bad” idea to take classes P/NP, but just make sure to keep them under 1/3 of all of your classes taken (overall Berkeley requirement). I took several breadth courses P/NP.
Hey, I had one more question I was hoping you could answer. As an incoming freshman, I was advised (and read on a couple blogs) that I should not take any of the more intensive Haas pre-reqs such as Econ 1 or UGBA 10 until I complete my first semester and get used to Berkeley classes. I am still completing my math requirement and taking a couple breadth courses. Will not taking these classes now and possibly waiting until spring semester of soph year to take Stats affect my chances @ Haas?
Just keep your GPA high, say 3.7+.