<p>As a HS junior that is planning to apply to Berkeley next year (in hopes of being admitted to Haas junior year), I’ve been spending some time reading up on threads about Haas around here, and I have lately become reluctant of keeping Cal as my #1 choice. A lot of CCers are happy at Cal, a lot of CCers are unhappy at Cal, but the general consensus seems to be that those competing to get into Haas are generally among those that feel cheated by the supposed greatness of the school. I am very self-motivated and have a good work ethic, and I think I may have what it takes to get into Haas, but it would probably cost me my social life, and who wants that? Also, the cut throat competition seems really unappealing to me. At this point, a Business Economics degree at UCLA is seeming a lot more desirable, even without the prestige or business title. So I ask those if you that are currently in this position, are you enjoying your time at Berkeley, do you have a life outside of studying, and are you able to form real relationships with other pre-haas students?</p>
<p>prolly happier than haas/econ rejects :(</p>
<p>UCLA business economics also requires applying to the major:</p>
<p>[UCLA</a> Economics](<a href=“http://www.econ.ucla.edu/undergraduate/majors/bizecon.cfm]UCLA”>http://www.econ.ucla.edu/undergraduate/majors/bizecon.cfm)</p>
<p>Compared to the people in College of Chemistry, College of Engineering, Pre-meds, and architecture majors, the pre-Haas folks have much more breathing room. I am in college of engineering myself and if I have to re-start college, I would definitely choose to be a pre-Haas because it has the optimal balance between academic rigor and social life.</p>
<p>The competition to get into Haas is bit over-hyped when the acceptance rate is nearly 50% ([Class</a> Profile, Undergraduate Program, Berkeley-Haas](<a href=“Class Profile - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Class Profile - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas)) and getting around average 3.5 GPA, which is not easy but certainly manageable, is a reasonable admission standard.</p>
<p>So to answer your concerns, no, it won’t cost your social life and the cut throat competition seems to be exaggerated. The only time that pre-Haas is stupid is when you take UGBA 10 which the whole class is forced into a bell curve and missing one small question on the test is quite costly. Otherwise, the only competition is the competition against yourself.</p>
<p>(My 1,000th post… wow)</p>
<p>you haven’t experienced life, you rationalize too much, if you continue on such a path, the illusory concept of happiness will become elusive regardless of the vocation you pursue</p>
<p>^ that was pretty good</p>
<p>Both awesome programs</p>
<p>It’s honestly not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. People just like to complain a lot during midterms and finals so others only hear about how horrible it is… if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>Edit: Sorry I forgot to answer the question! I believe your happiness will not suffer because of class. The classes themselves are not very time consuming, it’s just the curves that make things difficult. I think it’s the extracurriculars and friends that determine your happiness. In my first semester, I had the typical (and naive) “pre-haas” mindset where I believed I had to be in a business club to be competitive, and I joined one and just hated my life. After that semester, I quit that business club, joined clubs I was actually interested in, and went on to found my own club and honestly I’ve been having the time of my life.</p>