<p>Since your heart is set on UVa, go there. </p>
<p>The prestige gap is minor and rather irrelevant for the area you want to focus on, investment banking. I went to Cal and am in the financial district now, and still encourage you to go where the emotions tell you. </p>
<p>If you pursue the goal of becoming a well-rounded individual, you will get more out of the college experience than simply setting on becoming an i-banker who wants $$$.</p>
<p>The placement rate into top b-schools is fairly even between Cal and UVa but I suspect Cal is better once you include Haas and Sloan. See their results into six select b-schools in this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/1224650-top-feeder-colleges-americas-elite-b-schools-5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/1224650-top-feeder-colleges-americas-elite-b-schools-5.html</a></p>