Berkeley Haas School of Business

Just an update, you guys will probably get some "winter break coffee chat invites" in the next week or two from the admissions office. This is NOT an interview invite, but a way for you to connect with some current students and alums who are in your area (this will happen all around the world, depending on where the students are during winter break). They'll all happen between 12/20-1/9 and I will be hosting a couple in the SF Bay Area with my classmates, so if any of you are in the area, would love to meet with you then!

Cheers!
K.

I posted this in the Gen Mgmt thread, but might as well put it in the Berkeley thread for people interested in Clean Tech or Energy at Haas.

speaking of Energy, Berkeley Haas is probably one of those very few programs that have a very strong affiliation with energy/clean tech. The program is huge at Haas and I know a large percentage of people go into that field. A new program that started this year that's been a big hit is the "Clean Tech to Market" program, where students work with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and bring some of their research work into a commercializable form.

https://www.haas.berkeley.edu/innovation ... ion18.html

Also, the UC Berkeley wide Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) is very active and involves schools from Haas, Law School, Public Policy, and others. A LOT of students are involved in it and there are many programs out there. Instead of listing them all here, I will provide you with links to read up on the program.

Also, not only the traditional energy companies recruit here (Chevron, PG&E), there are LOTS of startups in the area doing biofuels and solar tech that students join after getting their MBA.

In short, if you want to do energy/clean tech stuff, Berkeley is one of the places to do it.

BERC:
https://berc.berkeley.edu/

Severin Borenstein - the director of UC Energy Institute and a great economist
https://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/borenste/

Some programs offered in the energy area (plus lots of links on this page):
https://www.haas.berkeley.edu/innovation ... tion5.html

Center for Energy and Environmental Innovation (CEEI)
https://ceei.berkeley.edu/

Alright, here's an update after some research into our Class of 2009 Resume book (the 2010 version is not out yet).

32 out of 240 students were involved with Renewable Energy/Clean Tech/Energy Policy, most of those were part of BERC.
13 out of those 32 students actually did a summer internship that is energy related, including:

- Natural Gas
- Lithium Ion Batteries
- Solar (many of them)
- Energy Policy (in the US and in Africa)
- Energy investments
- "Using Nanotech to fulfill our energy needs" (whatever that means)

Currently, 10 of BERCs new leadership team (class of 2010) are Haas students, and I know most of them want to pursue clean tech from speaking to them. This doesn't include others who are just members of BERC who are from Haas.

The greater UC Berkeley community (that forms BERC) is even more active in recent years, with the 3rd annual Energy Symposium coming up in 2009.

https://berc.berkeley.edu/?q=symposium

Cleantech to Market (C2M) involved quite a few of my classmates this year in very interesting projects:
https://berc.berkeley.edu/?q=cleantech-to-market

Nice info, Kryzak. I definitely talked about BERC in my application...in hindsight, maybe not enough!

Alright, this is a letter our new Dean (Richard Lyons) sent to us. I've taken out the details, but just kept the title and my summary of it for those of you interested in what Haas' short term and long term plans are.


1) Faculty Hiring: Haas is currently actively recruiting 11 tenure-track faculty members, one of the largest in our history.
2) Capital Campaign: We are trying to raise $300 million by 2010. 1/3 has already been completed in the past 3 years.
3) Campaign and Strategy Working Group: A new strategic plan will be out by May.
4) Space Issues: A potential separate office in Downtown Berkeley for executive programs, renovations of the current building in 2009-10, and a potential new building in 3-5 years next to the current facility. No word on whether we would expand class size or not.

What is the estimated cost of spending one Semester at Haas? i.e the August-December Semester?

our 9 month budget is about $21K, so I'm guessing 1/2 of that would be $10K or so...

For those of you interested in finance at Haas or PE/VC, this may be useful, from the BW forums (yeah, they actually have some useful things, haha)

https://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/fo ... &tid=79051

or relevant question quoted here:

Do you think the Haas MBA is good for a finance guy? My aim would be to join a PE or VC firm in the US after my graduate studies… I don’t think Haas is focused on finance like other programs, but maybe I’m wrong… do you think that the “financial community” at Haas is overrepresented?

First of all, PE and VC are VERY different investment processes and mindsets. The skill sets required for VC and PE are also completely different. Even though it seems en vogue to lump the two together, it’s incorrect. I would recommend that one try to decide which is best for yourself because the answer for Haas is very different depending on which one you want.

The VC presence at Haas is fairly strong due to the entrepreneurial strength of Haas and the proximity to Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto (where all the VC firms are). We have multiple programs such as the Venture Fellows, VC Roundtable, and the VC Investment Competition to get people some VC working experience (unpaid - during the school year) and get more contacts in the field. But getting hired by a VC firm is tough, and even if one does get hired, there is no partner "track." There are only two ways to become a VC partner: 1) be a subject matter expert on a space the firm is investing in, or 2) have founded and sold your own start-up

PE is a tougher nut to crack. LBOs require a very different mindset, and it all about experience, pedigree and connections. Although that's loosening up a little, it's just at the margins. But it takes a lot of hustle and a lot of focus to get a job in that field. LBO firms rarely recruit, and the few that do have intern positions look toward a small selection of schools. Those that hire graduates right out of school tend to look toward the same schools.

Haas may not have much brand capital in the PE marketplace, but, if one attends a school with an established infrastructure/framework for PE hiring, the challenge is differentiating yourself among the larger group of students on campus looking for the same jobs. As a career switcher, that is exceedingly difficult as most of the other candidates will have had banking and/or buyout experience (and also likely top marks). At Haas, the challenge is that you would be one of a very few people trying to enter that space. There is very little guidance or established precedent, and it is difficult to find opportunities. The advantage is that once tapped into the Haas private equity community, there is a stronger bond and the professionals are more likely to help you out.

So that said, the fact that the financial community is smaller at Haas can be an advantage. Everyone in it tends to be very passionate about it. Plus, the Haas community allows one access to professionals who are not bombarded with a large number of students reaching out for recruiting. You have to work harder to learn what you need to learn and get what you want. But that only sets you up for success once you get there. Some good news is that a couple students have started our own fund called the Bear Fund, and 2 people from the class of 2009 have gotten PE jobs.

One other thing to note, PE and VC firms are very tough to get hired as a US citizen, and it's even harder for a non-citizen to get US PE/VC jobs.

For investment banking, Haas has a very well developed recruiting process for both Bay Area and Wall Street Investment Banking. Being a quick subway ride away makes it really easy to head into San Francisco to meet a current Banker for coffee (key for landing that first round interview), and the school has a yearly trek to Wall Street to visit bulge bracket firms. All bulge bracket firms and many middle market firms come to campus to recruit; most on campus positions are for Technology practices in San Francisco and Palo Alto, but there is the possibility to shift your offer to NYC.

Hi,

I'm planning a visit to Berkeley this June. Does the school prefer students to visit the admission director? I know that some schools don't track visits, but some do and weigh them in your application. Would appreciate any insights, thanks.

Regards,
Aboo

I'm curious about this too. I'll be visiting Haas at the end of the month. What do I need to do to let admissions know that I made the effort to come all the way from Texas to visit the school. I'm not applying until next fall. Any tips to help me make the most of my visit?

I don't know if it will be on next year's essays, but you can definitely talk about your visits in the "What steps have you taken to learn more about Haas?" short answer question.

Hey there, I am a R2 applicant and visited the campus before applying. On my visit day, I was told to come to the admissions office and there was a lady who sat near the door checked my name. She seemed to have a list of people who were visiting that day. I don't know if they actually use the list for admissions. You should definitely mention your visit in your essay as mentioned above, because you will discover different things about the school when you visit.

Just an update to say that I;ve been accepted at Berkeley as my exchange school. However I have a potential business opportunity in Beijing, so depending on how well that goes (or not) will determine whther I go to Berkeley or not.

Will any current Haas students be around after 6 PM on Thursday the 24th of September? I am going to be in Berkeley for a business trip and this is the only night that I have any free time. I don't have time for a formal visit, but I would love to meet with current students to chat.

Your post lacks an incentive Offer a free beer, and you'll get responses!

Beers are clearly on me!

Hello guys,

I ve noticed that the thread is pretty old but i am hoping there are still some Haas enthusiasts around since I am applying for 2010 and i am looking forward to ask the many questions i still have about the school. Also planning a visit in 2 or 3 weeks if anyone is around at that time...

Emilie

Some of us are still around - go ahead and ask those questions