NYU or University of California, Berkeley (UCB, reputation, MBA, public schools)

[SiddharthaGautama]

Which one do you think is a better overall school? What about in terms of graduate programs? I know some people will say UCB for arts and NYU for business. Just in general which do you think is a better school and why? I'm thinking of going to graduate school for my mba.

[pennquaker09]

Berkeley would be your best option. Are you a resident of California? If so, the draw of in-state tuition to the second best school in the state is something I would think twice about giving up.

Berkeley really cannot be classified as an arts school, it's universally good in pretty much everything.

I think NYU is a good school, but I think one can get a better education at other schools without paying the inflated NYU tuition. Another thing is that NYU doesn't have a a true college campus. Compared to Columbia, it is not cohesive. I won't say one is better than the other because I think the choice should be made in respect to what your MBA concentration will be. Stern and Haas are both very excellent schools. I don't really subscribe to the rankings all that much, but if I did, I would go by the Wall Street Journal rankings. And they rank Haas #2. I don't necessarily agree with that, but it's all subjective.

I have to ask, what other schools are you considering? Haas and Stern are both really competitive.

[charolastra00]

Definitely Berkeley. NYU is vastly overrated and has inflated rankings and competition of entrance due to it's location.

In terms of MBAs, if you want to stay in NYC then NYU might be worth it. If you want to be on the West Coast, Berkeley is certainly better. While MBAs aren't totally geographical, it helps to build networks with an MBA closer to the region where you would like to work.

[Futcha]

I've heard bad things abou Berkeley from Californians. Bad reputation for something...

NYU is a leading business school.

I'd say go for NYU.

NYU is not overrated. My uncle works with a guy who got his MBA from NYU and he's making about 700k a year. His apartment is beautiful. Students coming out of NYU are not pushovers so don't try and sell it off as some school that only attracts applicants because it's in NYC.

[KARL_MARX]

NYU is simply for the economic privileged.

[pennquaker09]

Haas is just as good as Stern. NYU just has that reputation because it's in NYC. Again, OVERRATED!

[foma]

Both are very good schools. For business, instead of NYU, however, Columbia University might be a better school than NYU if you like the east coast. That's speculative of course but I wouldn't pass up Columbia. Look into it if you get a chance.

I would also consider standard of living. Both are expensive, of course, but what do you like as far as weather goes? I'm sure you must think it's no big deal but NYC can be very dreary in the winter time and just doggon awful in the summer with its unrelenting heat. You most definitely will not have a car in NYC but the subways are convenient. NYU is also located right smack in the City so going there will be like the whole City is your campus. Pretty neat if you ask me.

Berkeley is awesome, too. Great weather and everything is just more laid back and relaxed, IMO. Having a car is an annoyance as you have to cross the bridge to get into SF and deal with traffic all the time. There is, of course, the BART for transit. Berkeley is just an all around great campus with tons of stuff close by and about the only place that still has hippies. Definitely a more liberal school. I think it just "feels" more like a campus compared to NYU.

I did not attend either but during my college years (I graduated in 2000) I had friends who lived both in NYC and Berkeley and went to visit them so I've been to both campuses. Just an "outsiders" point of view I guess. Good luck!

[mgs333]

California???, do you also post on the businessweek forums? If not, you may want to try asking there. BW Business Schools

First though, this question completely depends on which field(s) you are interested in. If it's IB, it's stern no question, if it's VC or you want to stay in California or specifically the bay area, haas.

also, i don't know anybody who says cal is good for the arts, more like engineering and science if you ask me.

[Don Vito]

NYU is a private school. Cal is a public school.

[foma]

I always thought the "University of California schools" were "kinda public" and "kinda private"? Not that I really know what that means but they aren't technically considered public schools, no?