Berkeley Haas ($) vs LBS ($$)

Question

Admitted to both Haas (40k USD scholarship) and LBS (40k GBP scholarship so ~50k USD).

Pre-MBA industry: Govt/Military 
International student (Asia, not one of the ORMs) with a desire to permanently migrate (partner is American British in tech and we want to settle down in either US or UK). Partner prefers either UK or U.S. East Coast in the long run (better culture), but could be persuaded to stay in the Bay for a few years and see if we settle down nicely there.

Post-MBA goals: tech to start out, preferably in a strategy or growth role. Longer term want to go into a startup in a Strat Ops role with a focus on product expansion or market expansion.

Problem is that SF has a much higher cost of living than London. Plus, my partner currently lives in London and can definitely cover the cost of continuing his accommodation (1 bedroom flat) so my London Accoms fee will be £0. As a result, Haas will likely be ~65k USD more expensive than LBS in total.

Financing: I’ll be emptying out my savings to do an MBA. If I go to Haas, I’ll have to take a private loan from family, who are middle class white collar professionals but all about to retire so it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to take a loan from them.

London vs Bay Area: I’ve lived in London and did my undergrad there. Still have many friends there, and love the city and culture but I worry it’ll be boring to go back for a postgrad in the same city. I’ve never been to the Bay Area, and while I would enjoy the weather and the west coast vibe, I worry that the hustle culture and more individualistic culture in the U.S. might not end up being for me. So far, London has struck a great balance for me in terms of community support vs space to hustle and chase opportunities if I want it.

As an aside, I’m still waiting back for NYU Stern Tech MBA R2 (interview next week). And waitlisted for Columbia and Stanford. I liked NYC and would love to live there, but not sure I would turn down either LBS or Haas for NYU.

bb · Answer

Wow! Awesome Job! Congratulations!

Hm... it is tricky. Always hard to compare different countries (and continents) since there are so many differences in not only culture but opportunities, jobs, career tracks, compensation, recruiting, lifestyle, etc. I would say that a lot of the recruiting success depends on your network. If you and your partner both move to the west coast and both have to look for jobs - that will be tricky so hopefully one can be more established and supportive. I would make the decision in part based on where your partner gets their footing established for work.

P.S. If you take Haas offer, what would it look like for your significant other? Would they be relocating with you or stick around London for a while? That may be tough....

Otherwise, Haas does align very well with your goals - I have no clue how London compares for tech opportunities but my guess it is strong since Meta and everyone else has an office there but even if opportunities are the same, you will likely be making 2x in Bay area (expenses are different but salaries are often not comparable, esp with the UK taxes, at least based on my understanding). Not that money is everything but if you are going to compare $65K cost, you should also consider the outcomes, it is not like you are getting the same outcome from Haas and LBS.

dee1pug1 · Answer

Congratulations. I'd say not to ignore a completely different angle: the ability to settle / route to nationality. I presume both roads are open to you: becoming a citizen of the US or the UK. If this is an important consideration, then check which one is easier / faster. Sometimes, startup founders can struggle to access funding just because of this nationality issue or uncertainty of permanence / dependency on visa vagaries of the country. Though easy for me to say, cost should be less of a consideration for you in this decision-making. Good luck!

rah711 · Answer

Thanks for the responses guys!

My partner is fine either way. He’s a dual citizen of both places, and works in tech in a role that is in demand in both cities. He can probably make more in SF, though he prefers London for the culture and people.

Path to citizenship is also not a primary factor, though visa availability in the short term (~5 years max) is useful before we get married.

I guess beyond the direct ROI, my question would also be on optionality. Would a Haas MBA still give me good opportunities if I decide to go back to London or live in NYC? And likewise, would an LBS MBA have transferability if I decide to move to the US?

I had a preconceived notion that Haas and LBS were comparable in rankings. But now I’ve had time to scrutinise the rankings a little more, including the QS world rankings and the poets & quants rankings and it appears that there’s a larger gap than I thought. LBS seems to regularly appear in the top 5-10 global rankings, while Haas is only reliably in the top 20. Is this reflective of the general prestige/perception of both programs?

bb · Answer

Hi. In terms of rankings, I would slightly counter your assessment.

I think that two are quite similar despite showing up in some obscure rankings at different spots. So I think your initial perception was correct. The reason is that LBS for example has not released their average GMAT score for the last five years and there’s absolutely zero transparency about their numbers, so I have no idea how someone can do proper rankings. So I would not make your decision because of some crazy website such as QS which has pulled those rankings out of thin air.

However, I would say the ranking has very little meaning for your goal and the school really only matters for the first job out of business school, as you go three years after graduation, it doesn’t really matter where you went to school, instead employers and recruiters will be looking much more at your work experience for those three years and what you have achieved, so I would focus primarily on where you want to be immediately after business school.

Keep in mind that for the type of job you’re looking you’ll have to work and rely on either your personal network or the schools network so I would perhaps start evaluations from that side.

Siddharth10 · Answer

Hey, congrats on the admits!
+1 to what BB has added. Below are my quick thoughts.

I am a current Haas student, so my opinion may be biased, but I will try to keep biases at bay (no pun intended). 
First my background- strategy consultant in South Asia who now plans to enter the corporate strategy role in Tech.

Beyond the personal factors (that Bb mentioned above), I would pick Haas.
 
 Haas Tech Community- Not to say anything against other schools, but Haas alumni base is very strong in the top20-30 tech firms. Tech does not recruit based on networking, but any details from coffee chats are helpful in the interviews. Seniors are quick to jump on to calls and LinkedIn. 
 Focus on Tech- Most of the electives/courses at Haas are Tech focused. Even the core courses have cases that are from the Tech industry. This helps in knowing more about the different facets of the industry. 
 Ease of access to the SF community- Each week there are multiple events in SF. Startups and companies from AI, clean-tech, Health-tech, etc. share their journey. All of this is just a 40-minute drive away. 
 Support for Tech Entrepreneurs- Haas and UC Berkeley have 10+ resources for entrepreneurs ranging from grants and support to incubation and acceleration. While your current goal may not be linked to entrepreneurship, but with such a platform it is fairly easy to meet a like-minded peer who is willing to solve the same problem as you. 
 “Would a Haas MBA still give me good opportunities if I decide to go back to London or live in NYC”- Yes and No- Yes, because Haas alumni base is in the top tech firms and is easily reachable so they should be able to connect you to someone they know in these locations. No, because, unfortunately, Haas alumni base is very West Coast-centric, so you may need to tap their networks (2nd degrees) to find your way.

About the cost of living- yes, that’s a pain but Haas has a lot of programs (mainly starting the second year) that enable you to manage the living costs.
About the vibe- Surprisingly I haven’t found people to be individualistic to the extent I had expected. This can be because Berkeley (and the Bay Area) is full of people like us (those who want to network, learn, and grow). So, people are willing to have quick connects and help. Hustle is there but once you find your tribe- the Hustle transforms into infectious energy.

My suggestion-
Reach out to alumni of Haas and LBS on LinkedIn- those who are in the roles where you see yourself. You may also reach out to those who have done/are doing an exchange semester since Haas and LBS are partner schools.

If possible, attend admit events, such as Days at Haas (in February), and similar for LBS.

All the best!

bb · Answer

Thank you Siddhath10!

Awesome to hear from current students! 
PS. How’s management consulting recruiting at Haas this year?

It seemed it’s been scaling down a bit everywhere, are you considering it as a back up?

Siddharth10 · Answer

Hello Bb

The management consulting recruitment (internship) is slightly better this year. Having said that, the final results will be out by January end.
I think the full-time recruitment was better this year than last year.

I didn't recruit for consulting during the internship cycle. The plan is to explore the industry in corp strat roles. 
If things don't work out or I don't find it fun, then consulting is the plan for 2nd year.

bb · Answer

Heard back from the OP! Below: 
_____________________________

I ended up going with Berkeley Haas, and I'm actually replying you live from the Berkeley Haas MBA lounge! Super happy with my decision - LBS is great too, but I think Berkeley was the perfect fit for me in terms of both community and career goals.

In terms of how I decided, I mostly prioritized career goals. I wanted to go into tech and there's no better place than the Bay Area to do that. I talked to some friends at Stanford who convinced me of that, and who also shared that the dominance of tech-related career goals amongst your class would also shape how class discussions and student events go. I've found that to be true, though perhaps not as extreme as in Stanford - we still have a good proportion of classic case studies and other industries (including energy and climate examples, because Berkeley is also a hub for that industry, but also many Berkeley-related examples about brands like Peet's Coffee or Oakland A's because of the local loyalty here). I also heavily weighed visa options when deciding - ultimately, regardless of whether I wanted to work in the US or the UK, a school in the US would give me more options than LBS because of the STEM OPT available in the US as well as the High Potential Individual visa option if I wanted to move to the UK afterwards. The relative weakness of the UK economy made it hard to tie myself to London, even if I personally felt very welcomed and connected to the LBS community.

As for surprises, I will say I didn't feel the Berkeley warmth and sense of community as much before I joined, which surprised many of my peers because it was a reason why many of them came here. I suspect that as a public school with limited resources, Berkeley had to prioritize their admissions team's resources and weren't able to reach out to as many international admits as privately-run schools like LBS (LBS hosted 10 of us R1 interviewees for dinner with free flow seafood and tapas at a very fancy restaurant in downtown Singapore, even before any of us were admitted!). It was just a lucky coincidence that Berkeley ended up being exactly what I was looking for in terms of community - a warm, authentic, and unpretentious environment, with people who shared many similar values to me. It's very different from some of my friends' experience at places like HBS, CBS, or Kellogg. I think people here are less preoccupied with posturing or humble bragging - if anything, we have a hard time finding out about the amazing things that many of our accomplished friends have done, because people here genuinely are so low-key.

Hope this helps. I'd be happy to chat more if you have specific questions!

Erated95 · Answer

A lot of the hesitation around the U.S. option is really visa-driven. OPT timing, H-1B lottery risk, and employer sponsorship uncertainty make outcomes less predictable, especially if you’re draining savings. The UK route is generally more straightforward right now in terms of post-MBA work authorization and staying long-term.

bb · Answer

The challenge with the UK is the job market - can you get the job... as everyone from INSEAD, IESE, HEC, etc is recruiting in London, so you have a ton of competition. 
The second challenge that has not changed about UK and Europe is the 1-year work permit... which may not matter if you find a job that gets you a longer term easier to acquire permit but it still loses to the 3 year OPT (while that's holding up)

Berkeley Haas ($) vs LBS ($$)

Berkeley Haas ($) vs LBS ($$)

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