MBA Insider's Blog

UCLA Anderson Application Insider: Core Qualities

This blog post is part of our "Application Insider" blog post series that provides insider information, tips, and advice about applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program.

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APPLICATION INSIDER TOPIC:

CORE QUALITIES WE LOOK FOR IN APPLICANTS

 

Share success, think fearlessly and drive change. The are the qualities that make up the #AnderFam. When we think about "fit", we look for students whose values align with the culture of the program and will thrive in our community. For you to succeed in any MBA program, you will need to find a place that allows you to be your authentic self. It is only when you find that, will you be able to take advantage of all the resources that will help you grow professionally and personally during your two years.

When showing an admissions committee why a program like UCLA Anderson is right for you, you must ask yourself three critical questions and incorporate the answers into your application:

1. Why MBA? Tell us why you are pursuing the MBA.
2. Why now? Tell us why you are pursuing the MBA at this point in time. 
3. Why Anderson? Tell us why the MBA from UCLA Anderson makes sense for your personal and professional goals.  

As an applicant, think in terms of playing your “ACE” card to make yourself a strong candidate for UCLA Anderson:

• Academic Profile: The core curriculum is pretty quant heavy we expect our students to master the business fundamentals in order to be successful in their academics and eventually, their career. Academics will be a combination of your test score and your undergraduate grades. However, those are just two (or three) data points to a story within academics. We will take a deeper dive in your academic profile by determining the rigor of your undergraduate school, major, and coursework, your trends in grades, as well as other academic achievements to get a better sense of the context of your achievements.
• Contribution to Anderson: As mentioned at the beginning, sharing success is embedded into the UCLA Anderson ecosystem. We need students who will engage with their peers in a meaningful and impactful way during their time here and after. Our students support one another by creating opportunities and changes that benefit all. This might mean taking on leadership roles in our Anderson Student Association (ASA) and 50+ clubs or leading one of our Anderson Career Teams. We will assess this by looking at your prior involvement and/or leadership on-campus during your undergraduate studies, in the workplace, and/or through your community. All students need to add something special to the class, so we look for those who will bolster the diversity of voices here from different backgrounds, regions, and interest areas. To gain a good understanding of our students, the average UCLA Anderson student is a part of eight different clubs and holds leadership roles in three. 
• Employability: Accelerating your career is one of the top reasons to pursue an MBA, so how prepared are you to achieve your goals? How focused and attainable are your goals? Your resume and letters of recommendations will guide us in determining which transferable job skills will carry you to future roles, especially if you are looking to pivot function or industry. We also want to see personal skills such as communication, coachability, interpersonal skills, collaboration, and how you receive feedback. Career progression is important as well, so we will take into account promotions or taking on greater responsibility over time and driving change within your organization. As always, we evaluate progress in the context of the time you had and in terms of a bridge to the future.

Through each of these areas, we can compile a complete picture of you and how your core qualities align with our community here at UCLA Anderson in sharing success, thinking fearlessly, and driving change.

 

 

Check back for more "Application Insider" blog posts that will cover information and tips on the many aspects of applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program!

 

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Stay in Touch: Introduce Yourself
Follow the Admissions Team @uclaMBA:  Twitter and Instagram
Questions? Contact us at: [email protected]

Reapplying to UCLA Anderson

This blog post is part of our "Application Insider" blog post series that provides insider information, tips, and advice about applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program.

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APPLICATION INSIDER TOPIC:

Reapplying to UCLA Anderson

Please do not be discouraged if you were unsuccessful in getting admitted into our MBA program in a prior application year -- sometimes there is just not enough room for all of the qualified candidates, or perhaps you needed a bit more time to strengthen the competitiveness of your application profile.  

We HIGHLY encourage individuals to re-apply to our program -- the good news is that the applicant pool changes every year and you have additional time to improve your candidacy. As a reapplicant, you essentially start with a fresh slate. Every year, we accept a group of highly qualified re-applicants to our program, who go on to be very successful throughout the MBA program and into their post-MBA careers.  

The good news is that the process to re-apply is streamlined for those who submitted a completed UCLA Anderson full-time MBA application within the previous two years (i.e., who applied for the MBA program start in 2019 or 2020 -- if you applied prior to the previous two years, you are considered a "new" applicant and should follow those application guidelines). You will only need to submit one new recommendation and you are not required to write a new essay. Instead, we give you the opportunity in your reapplication to highlight what has changed since you last applied across different categories -- Test Scores, Academics, Professional/Employment, Extracurriculars, and "Other". This is a great place to show the Admissions Committee that you have taken this additional time to strengthen your candidacy.

To do so, we recommend that you take an honest look at your prior application and reflect on where you can strengthen your profile. Some areas you may want to evaluate include: 

• Test Scores: Many of our re-applicants use the additional time to re-take the GMAT/GRE to help improve their candidacy. The higher the score, the better, but look at our class profile GMAT averages and 80% range to help you evaluate whether or not you should take the test again -- also remember that we admit individuals below (and above) these averages every year.  Ultimately, if you believe you can do better on the exam, you may want to consider re-taking it if you believe it will improve your candidacy and is worth your time, energy, and money. Note that your standardized test scores (GMAT, GRE, TOEFL and IELTS) remain on file if previously reported, though scores are still subject to expiration dates.
  
  
• Academics: While you cannot got back in time to change your undergraduate GPA, if you feel your academic performance was sub-par and/or that you didn't demonstrate your ability to handle quantitative work, you may want to consider taking additional courses. The Admissions Committee will still be evaluating your undergraduate performance as a part of your profile, but additional coursework may help demonstrate your ability to handle the academic rigor of our program. 

• Professional & Extracurricular Experiences: In the the time since your prior application, you should have had sufficient time to build upon your professional experiences (i.e., new skillsets, accomplishments, projects, etc.) and extracurricular activities (i.e., new leadership opportunities, volunteering, etc.). Make sure to highlight these in your re-application.
  
  
• Self-Reflection & Research: Take the time to think about what you communicated in your previous application and ask yourself some of these questions: Have my post-MBA goals changed? Did I demonstrate why now is the right time in my career path to get an MBA? Do I have a better understanding of what UCLA Anderson's program has to offer me?  Was I clear in my goals and why I want to go to UCLA Anderson? Your re-application will be a fresh start for you, meaning it is definitely OK to have new goals if you feel they have changed. 

Insider tip: Do not assume that the Admissions Committee will reference your previous application. This means you need to communicate everything you want the Admissions Committee to know, even if you covered it in your prior application.  Ultimately, your reapplication gives you a fresh start and puts you on the same evaluation standards as first-time applicants, giving you absolutely no disadvantage to reapplying.

Check back for more "Application Insider" blog posts that will cover information and tips on the many aspects of applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program!

-- Ilana Van Allen '13, Director of Strategy & Marketing, MBA Admissions

 

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Stay in Touch: Stay Connected
Follow the Admissions Team @uclaMBA:  Twitter
Questions? Contact us at: [email protected]

Get to know us -- Virtually

This blog post is part of our "Application Insider" blog post series that provides insider information, tips, and advice about applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program.

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APPLICATION INSIDER TOPIC:

Get To Know Us Through Our Virtual Offerings!

When it comes to deciding what school is right for you, there is no substitute for doing your own primary research and connecting with the school representatives and students. That is why we would like to encourage to explore these offerings:  

Virtual General Information Sessions
These sessions are generally hosted by our student ambassadors who are eager to talk about what sets UCLA Anderson apart as well as offer you tips on how to successfully navigate the admissions process and get answers to your questions. Sessions are held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 pm, and Thursdays at 11:30 am (PT).

Virtual Coffee Chats
Also hosted by our student ambassadors, these virtual conversations with students will allow you to get a candid and personal perspective of the MBA experience and explore ideas on how you can best leverage our resources to succeed. Grab your favorite beverage and join the conversation

Virtual School Tour
Nested in the one of the nicest corners of the city, UCLA Anderson is an amazing place to be and experience. This short video tour hosted by our students highlights our world-class facilities and shows you what life will be like for you in and out of the classroom.

Other Special Events
Our Admissions team and students regularly host online presentations and panels targeted to specific populations and interest groups. Keep an eye on our events page to learn about more events:

• Access Anderson (Oct. 23-24, 2020) - Join our largest open-house preview event in the year where you can hear directly from our school leadership and engage in lively discussion with our community of students and recent alumni to learn all about our program.
• Career Spotlight Series - Watch pre-recorded presentations with our Career counselors and club leaders discussing resources for students interested in different career tracks at UCLA Anderson.
• Student Spotlight Liveguide Series – Review our archives of sessions featuring students sharing their UCLA Anderson insights as they pursue their personal and professional goals.

We strongly believe that participating in these activities can help you develop a stronger application and hopefully get ready to ace your future MBA interview.

Best of luck as you prepare for a great future ahead!

-- Adrian Aguirre '01, Associate Director of MBA Admissions

Stay in Touch: Introduce Yourself
Follow the Admissions Team @uclaMBA:  Twitter
Questions? Contact us at: [email protected]

Researching MBA Programs

This blog post is part of our "Application Insider" blog post series that provides insider information, tips, and advice about applying to the UCLA Anderson MBA program.

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APPLICATION INSIDER TOPIC:

Researching MBA Programs

As application deadlines are approaching, how do you narrow down the schools you are applying to? There are several ways to research MBA programs.  As someone on the other side of the process, we also reach out to prospective students like you! 

Web Resources
To begin, start researching programs through their websites like ours. Websites will have plenty of information regarding the admissions process, curriculum plans, student life, and career placement data. Taking a deep dive into the website will give you a better feel for what we are looking for and if the program fits your needs. UCLA Anderson has a blog in addition to other social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram for you to check to get insights on who we are. You can also complete an inquiry form to find out about events.

Virtual School Visits
Because of covid, most schools now have some type of virtual campus experience. This can be something like an information session or coffee chats or something with more robust programming like an open house where you can learn more about the program through networking with faculty, administration, and current students. Speaking of open houses, UCLA Anderson will have our virtual Access Anderson event on October 23-24. You can learn more about the event here.

Many schools are also participating in virtual fairs sponsored by partner organizations such as the MBA Tour, Centre Court, and Forte Forums to name a few. At these events, a number of schools are available to speak to you virtually about their programs. This is a convenient way to learn about many programs and schools in a few hours and there are usually many admissions officers, current students, and alumni on hand to answer your questions.

Networking
My last suggestion to learn more about a program is to look at your own network. You may have colleagues or friends who have gone through a program or they may know someone who has. They are usually a great resource for information and can share about their experiences.

 

The above recommendations are only a sample of the many different things you can do to research MBA programs.  The more research you do, the better informed you will be about which schools to apply to and ultimately where to enroll.

Day in the (Virtual) Life: Amazon

Hey everyone! My name is Juan Sebastian Zapata and I am a 2^nd year at UCLA Anderson, Class of 2021 (time sure goes by fast!). I was born in Pereira, Colombia and moved to Summit, NJ when I was 8 years old, quite the cultural change but I loved every minute of living right outside of NYC. After graduating from Davidson College in 2012, I began my career in international consulting where I constructed market analysis reports aiding clients in the retail and manufacturing space develop strategic initiatives in new markets. After two years of consulting, I joined Privia Health, a healthcare start-up in D.C. assisting private practices succeed in value-based care insurance contracts, as employee 37. While at Privia I supported the launch of four new markets across the US, led a complete overhaul of their CRM and sales compensation packages, and managed multiple cross functional teams. In my last role, within the New Product Development Team, I oversaw the planning, development, and build of Privia’s Telehealth service line, this year long project allowed me to collaborate with all departments in order to establish a financially healthy service line that patients could utilize 24/7 (think of it as a virtual urgent care clinic).

With the support of Parker, I landed my dream internship as a Senior Product Manager for Amazon. I was part of a small but mighty team called the Payment Access Innovation team that is tasked to develop new payment access methods to all global customers that do not have an international debit or credit card to make payments (about 80% of the world population!). While I was unable to spend time in Seattle with my team, I loved every minute of my experience and learned so much in just 12 weeks. Although every day was VERY different, here is what I aimed to accomplish:

7:00am – Wake up and catch-up on emails with coffee. Since I was on such a globally focused team, even though I may have been sleeping, the rest of our stakeholders had been working all day and as a PM they needed my guidance on certain next steps for my project.

9:00am – Status report meeting on Project Paycode for country launch (when launches are made, we go country by country to be sure that everything is working smoothly and all stakeholders within that country are also in the loop)

11am to 1pm – Our team has established a daily two hour no meeting block to make sure we have time to be with family (some members had kids at home), do chores away from the computer, or just take a minute to breathe. I took advantage of this time two hour block to workout, run outside, and make lunch.

1 pm – Team daily standup. This was time for our team to do status report check-ins with our manager to see how things are going. I loved this as it allowed me to connect with everyone on my team on a daily basis and learn about how their projects were going. We also took the time to seek new perspectives if we were hitting roadblocks on our projects.

2pm to 4pm – Stakeholder calls. Since my project involved the launch of a new payment method within new countries, there were a lot of moving pieces and I leveraged by intern status to connect via phone calls with as many stakeholders as possible to make sure they understand what their deliverables were and that all pieces were moving smoothly. These calls also gave me the opportunity to expand my network at Amazon and learn more about the company culture.

5 pm – End of day call with Amazon buddy, mentor, or manager. I made sure to frequently connect with those individuals that ultimately made my full time hiring decision to make sure they were aware of where my project was and to be sure I received constant feedback on my performance. I didn’t want any surprises at the end of my 12 weeks.

8 pm – Complete to do list and send out emails with request for international team members so that they were able to complete tasks during their working hours.

9 pm – Amazon university. Amazon has incredible resources for employers on how to become a better Project Manager, how to work with international stakeholders, how to work backwards from the customers, etc. I would take an hour each day to do one of these modules or watch videos from leaders to see how I could continue to grow.

10 pm - Bedtime

ABOUT JUAN:

• Hometown: Summit, NJ
• Undergraduate Studies: Sociology, Davidson College
• Pre-Anderson: Manager, Strategy & Innovation, Privia Health
• MBA Summer Internship:  Product Manager – Amazon 
• Post-MBA Goals: Product Management/Strategy – Healthcare/Technology
• Leadership@Anderson: President – Admissions Ambassador Corps, VP of Strategic Partnerships - Healthcare Business Association, VP of Admissions - Out @ Anderson, VP of Social – Alliance for Latinx Management at Anderson,
• Activities@Anderson:  Board Fellows, Wine Club, Outdoor Adventure Club, Women’s Business Connection Ally