The MBA Insider's Blog

EA Conference taking place May 10th

Since 1986, the Entrepreneur Association (EA) and the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies have welcomed MBA students, alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and a broad array of business executives and professionals for a day of sharing around current topics in entrepreneurship, critical business skills, and emerging opportunities.

This year's EA Conference will take place on Friday, May 10th.The day-long event features high-profile keynote speakers, diverse panel discussions and a fast pitch competition.

This year's panel lineup includes discussions on:

- E-commerce and Retail

- Entrepreneurial Financing

- The Digital Studio System

- Restaurateurs and Food & Beverage

- Social Enterprise

- Corporate Responsibility

- Mobile Advertising

- Sports Startups

- Gaming

- Going Global: Pros & Cons

- Case Study: How to get started

- Big Data & Cloud Computing

For more information and to register, visit www.eaconference.org, and follow us on Twitter @eaconf for the latest news on the event.

Anderson Days Recap

A-Days was a rousing success this past weekend, making it our most heavily attended preview weekend; we hosted close to 250 incoming students and significant others on campus. This great event is organized jointly by the MBA Admissions office and countless student and faculty volunteers who make it possible for us to provide a small glimpse into life and culture at UCLA Anderson.

Enjoy some photos of the event below:

Welcome Session

A-Days Student Leaders

Career Panel

E-Labs Panel

Icebreaker Activity

Come join us for Access Anderson on Nov. 27

If you plan to be in Los Angeles next Tuesday evening, Nov. 27, please join us on campus for Access Anderson -- an insightful and stimulating evening of conversation about our MBA program.

In this one evening, Anderson alumni and students will come together to show applicants our compelling nature. The event will include a short presentation by our senior officials followed by a networking reception. To learn more about this unique opportunity or to register please click here.

 

When: Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7:00 PM sharp (arrive early to get a good seat!)

Where: Korn Hall, UCLA Anderson campus

 

We look forward to meeting you soon!

 

- MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Office

How to source strong letters of recommendation

I recently returned from The MBA Tour India where I had the pleasure of visiting Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Pune. The events were all very well attended, and I enjoyed meeting some excellent candidates in the region! I thoroughly enjoyed visiting a number of fascinating sites around the country, as well as sampling the delicious cuisine (and, of course, shopping!)

While in India, I participated on a few admissions panels alongside colleagues from other universities where I was assigned the topic of ‘Letters of Recommendation.’ For those of you who have not had the chance to sit in on an admissions panel this year, I thought I would provide you with a few tips:

-   What is important isn’t necessarily the title of the person writing the letter, but how well they know you in the workplace. At UCLA Anderson, we look to your letters of recommendation to help us assess from a third-party perspective your leadership and management potential, fit with the program, interpersonal skills and teamwork abilities. In most cases, someone you have reported to on a day-to-day basis can provide more insight into these qualities than someone higher up in the organization who may not interact with you regularly.

-   Prepare your recommender as much as possible.  Give them ample time to prepare a strong letter, and perhaps give them a deadline to have the letter prepared by. Provide your recommender with a copy of your resume and remind them of your key accomplishments.

-  Who to ask? At UCLA Anderson, we prefer professional recommendations over academic. Preferably, you should have a letter from your direct supervisor. However, we understand that sometimes candidates are not yet comfortable letting their employer know they are pursuing an MBA. Indirect supervisors (people who have overseen projects you’ve worked on, a manager from another department, etc.) are a good option, as well as former employers, clients (especially for those of you who are self-employed) and supervisors from extracurricular organizations.

Next stop(s)  –  Paris, London, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. I hope to meet more of you “on the road” soon!

UCLA Anderson Attends the National Black MBA Conference in Indianapolis

Once again the 34th Annual National Black MBA Conference was well attended by some of our UCLA Anderson students as well as students from MBA programs across the country. The conference provided a great opportunity for students to network with peers but more importantly get in front of recruiters. With over 250 companies in attendance, students had a diversity of employment options. Whether students were looking for traditional companies like General Mills or non-traditional companies like the FBI, they were able to find them on the career expo floor.

It's always great to be able to represent UCLA Anderson, support our current students, and connect with UCLA Anderson alums who are representing their companies. I'm looking forward to the 35th Annual Conference in Houston next year!

NBMBAA Conference Recap

The NBMBAA and the city of Indianapolis put on a great conference this year.  We met a good number of competitive applicants for UCLA Anderson, reconnected with alumni representing great organizations, and saw our own students excelling in on-site interviewing sessions.  I'm looking forward to the 2013 NBMBAA conference in Houston.  In the short time frame, the month of October includes visits to Boston, New Haven, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.  But first, back to the "City of Angels" for some rest, relaxation, and weekend fun.

NBMBAA Conference in Indianapolis

I am on my way to the 34th Annual NBMBAA Conference in Indianapolis.  I'm looking forward to connecting with UCLA Anderson students, alumni, and corporate partners from all over the US.  If you are at the conference, Tweet/Facebook/iMessage/etc. me and let's get together for lunch to catch up!

On the road – at Consortium MAPS in Philadelphia

I was in Philadelphia for the Consortium MBA Application Preparation Seminar (MAPS) last Wednesday.  It was a great opportunity to meet some outstanding candidates considering applying to the Consortium and the UCLA Anderson MBA Program.  Many were impressed by the recent news about the increase in applications at UCLA Anderson.

An added bonus was returning to the area for great cheesesteaks at Gino's, and walking the campuses of Drexel University and U Penn.

Philadelphia City Hall

A few FAQs from the road

I've recently had the pleasure of chatting with prospective candidates at The MBA Tour fairs in New York, Boston and Washington DC. It's always interesting to see the types of questions that pop up at these events, and I thought I would post a few FAQs that seem to be on people's minds at this stage in the admissions process.

Q. When is the best time for me to visit campus?

A.  Prospective candidates are welcome to visit campus at any time of the year. Thanks to our lovely LA weather, the UCLA campus is a beautiful place to visit all year round. We hold Group Information Sessions (GIS) on campus year-round. However, if you do have flexibility in your schedule and can visit between mid-October and April, we will have class visits available for you to sign-up for. At the moment, classes are not in session, so it may be best for you to wait until we have some additional offerings for you to get the most out of your campus visit. Schedules for class visits are typically posted in late September/early October, so please keep checking our website for updates.

Q.  Is it to my advantage to apply far in advance of a round deadline?

A.  Our application rounds are not rolling. So, if you decide, for example, you're going to apply for Round 1 (deadline: October 24th), you are at no advantage if you apply on September 1st or October 24th. Admissions officers typically start to review applications after the deadline has passed. However, it might be wise for you to click "submit" a day or two before the deadline just in case you run in to technical problems. Of course, we always recommend that you start working on your application far in advance of the actual round deadline.

Q. Am I at a disadvantage if I'm applying with a non-business undergraduate degree?

A.  UCLA Anderson reviews applications from candidates with all different undergraduate majors. In fact, there isn't really a "typical" degree from which we admit candidates, and we like to have representation from all different backgrounds. For candidates who do not have a lot of quantitative coursework in their degree, we do tend to rely a bit more on the GMAT exam to assess your ability to complete the rigorous quantitative coursework in the first year of the program.

Please be sure to check our events schedule for opportunities to meet our admissions officers in person in a city near you. If we're not in your region this year, don't forget to check out one of our weekly webinars. We're happy to answer any questions you may have about the admissions process and our program! 

On the road - a quick recap of MBA Tour events

It seems like admissions events start earlier and earlier every year - it's only July and we've already been or will be on the road in cities throughout the U.S. this month, with more travel to come from August until November.

I recently got back from Chicago and San Francisco where I attended fairs organized by The MBA Tour.  The event in Chicago was held at the Holiday Inn with a beautiful view of the city and river:

On Friday, I jumped on a plane to the Bay Area and spent a few days enjoying the wonderful weather in San Francisco before spending Sunday meeting prospective candidates at the fair.  I wish I had some pictures to share from my time there, but unfortunately my iPhone battery died!

In both cities, I met many wonderful prospective students for the Class of 2015, and truly enjoyed speaking in depth about our program, including our recently revamped curriculum, amazing SoCal location, and unique student culture.

UCLA Anderson will be at MBA Tour events in NY, Boston, and DC in the next few days - if you're currently in one of these cities, we'd love to meet you! And if not, please check out our event calendar online for more information on ways to meet us - either on-campus, off-campus, or virtually.