MBA Insider's Blog

Student Perspectives: 5 Things to Do Spring/Summer Before You Start Your MBA

About Anh: Prior to Anderson, Anh Cao (‘23) lived in the Bay Area and worked in software solution sales at a startup before it was acquired by a competitor that had recently IPOed. As a first year student at Anderson, Anh has enjoyed exploring Los Angeles for the best food scene and hiking adventures. In the future, she looks forward to creating inclusive products and chose Anderson for its programming in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and its strong emphasis in technology recruitment.

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It's a surreal moment after you receive notifications from MBA programs regarding your admissions. It’s a whirlwind of emotions but regardless of the outcomes you have accomplished so much from the application season alone. Hopefully you’ve done a lot of self reflection (but don’t worry that part of the journey is still not over) and now you’re ready to get started on your MBA!! Right? 

Between the time I accepted my offer at UCLA Anderson and the first day of classes, I remember thinking that I had so much to get done. Luckily I had a lot of great advice from current students and alumni about how they would’ve approached their time before they stepped on campus. And now I also have the benefit of my own experience to share those details with you all. 

 

Overwhelmingly there were five key areas of advice that many repeatedly recommended:

1. Take care of insurance, 401K, savings, in general get your financial situation together
2. Quit your full-time job! You deserve a break even if you decide to do a pre-mba internship
3. Start connecting with MBAs across the nation - you are starting your journey now and building those relationships before school even starts can help make the two years an even better experience
4. Look for apartments/housing and consider how to navigate the roommate situation
5. Travel - this is your first long break in a long time so enjoy it!! Go see the world (safely)!! Especially in these times of uncertainty, even a road trip will make a big difference

 

Each of the above categories could probably be a blog post in itself, so keep in mind that I tried to be as detailed as possible but also to the point. 

 

Take care of insurance, 401K, savings, in general get your financial situation together

I want to caveat this section by saying I am NOT a financial advisor! I am only speaking through my own research and experience. Each of our situations are different and you should definitely figure out what is best for your life. That said, some of this advice can definitely be applied in some way shape or form.

 

Even months in advance of quitting, I increased my 401K contributions since I was only staying for 5 months and I wanted to maximize the matching my company provided. I also contributed the maximum amounts to my Roth IRA and Pre-Tax IRA while I still had income so that I felt financially secure about my retirement. Also, look into your plans to make sure you choose funds and portfolios that match your risk profile! And if you’ve been making any automatic contributions, whether they were in stock portfolios or services like Stash, Wealthfront, or Robinhood, make sure you stop them ahead of time since you will no longer have a steady income.

Before you officially put in your notice, make sure to check your company’s insurance benefits and coverage policies. Plan how you will be covered during your gap before school starts because you don’t want to be caught in a medical emergency without any insurance. Personally, I looked into CoveredCA over COBRA because it worked better for my situation and although I never used my minimum coverage plan, it gave me reassurances that if something happened I knew where to turn. 

 

It may be obvious for me to advise you to start a budget for school expenses, like what tuition and housing will cost, but don’t forget about extracurricular activities, travel, and random incidentals that may arise! Overall, this will help you determine what combination of loans, scholarships, credit cards, and part-time jobs you’ll need to consider.  After doing some initial research, I reached out to Anderson’s financial aid office and the team there (specifically Ji Choi) was super helpful in guiding me through the different available options and also how the team would be able to facilitate the loan disbursement options. She answered all of my questions and gave me the confidence to finalize my financial plan.

 

For loans, look into the pros and cons of federal versus private options to see if the interest rates make sense for what you need versus the repayment plans. Personally, I went through different scenarios why one was better than the other for my own personal financial situation. There are companies out there like Earnest that makes the process a little easier but always read the fine print and do your research carefully!! 

 

For scholarships, I did an endless scour of the internet and sometimes you have to just grind through the research because random scholarships will pop up. For example, last year I found a new scholarship that paid for 100% of graduate fees and also provided a mentorship program - I ended up not being eligible but I recommended it to my friend and she ended up being 1 of 20 graduate students who became their first class of fellows. 

 

Many credit cards have offers or bonuses if you spend a certain amount in 3 months - this is good if you’re moving because you can put all those costs on to a card since you’ll already be spending it. Look into how you can optimize for cash back or travel points, but first figure out your credit score and which category you will likely be spending on the most in the next 3 months and also when school starts. Keep in mind that having a few credit cards to spread the expenses could be advisable since credit utilization affects your credit score. Although not my favorite tactic, I also considered 0% APR credit cards for the first year because you can rack up debt and pay the cards off later - again look into this because there are likely caveats or things to avoid. I have my own rotation of credit cards that I built up over the course of my post-undergraduate life and it makes it worth it when I get to spend my points on travel. I personally love the Chase family of credit cards and decided to stay in that ecosystem. 

 

Lastly, follow sites like NerdWallet, download apps like Mint by Intuit, and overall, just start focusing on your finances!

 

Quit your full-time job! You deserve a break even if you decide to do a pre-mba internship

Maybe your boss and company know you’re leaving eventually, but it’s better to make it clear the timing of your last day so that they can plan your replacement. It’s recommended to give a  2-4 weeks notice so that you leave the company on good terms, but again this is dependent on your situation. For example, you may have an upcoming bonus that you may miss if you quit too early or because you announce your departure months too early.

 

Either way, having a clear delineation between the end of your job and the start of school will do you wonders for getting into the right mindset. This break is a great time to reflect about the next two years because it will go by very quickly and getting your priorities together may help make the experience more enjoyable and targeted. This advice applies both personally and professionally! Let your friends and family know that this upcoming period you may be away and unable to focus as diligently on the relationships but that they matter to you and that you appreciate their support. On the other hand, many people try to pivot and overall advance their career, so it’s important to reflect on what you want that future to look like. Since you’re no longer writing an essay to get into school, no one cares that you don’t stick to a specific plan but it behooves you to really think about where you want to end up and how you will make the most of the two years. 

 

Start by writing down your goals and why you want to achieve them. Stay focused on those goals so that you can refer back to them when you’re at different crossroads of your MBA journey. You may realize that you need to adjust the plan later on but at least you can ground yourself in those decisions. By having record of your initial aspirations, you do not get easily distracted by shiny activities and what your peers want to accomplish. Instead, you can focus on yourself, so be a little selfish in this reflection because it will help guide later decisions where you will have to consider others.

 

For me, the Anderson Summer Quarter started August 2nd, 2021 and I quit May 28th, 2021, so I had about two months in between. This gave me a much needed break where I was able to forget about work and solely think about my future. At first I thought about getting a pre-mba internship but decided against it because I had pre-mba conferences, family travel, and was not making a major pivot that I needed to demonstrate more skills for the short term. The pre-mba conferences and company information sessions gave me a glimpse into companies I liked and didn’t like. It helped me eliminate options that were clearly not a good fit and helped me discover areas I should still consider. Overall when you hone in on your goals, the more you know going in, the more you will get out of the experience

Start connecting with MBAs across the nation!

After receiving admissions into an MBA program, you’re now eligible to attend various pre-mba conferences and forums. I attended these different events virtually, which actually allowed for more flexibility because I didn’t have to fly to many different cities, and I could do them all from my living room.  After having impactful conversations with various peers, I would follow up on LinkedIn and make the connection official. I also explored industry related groups and forums on LinkedIn based on my future recruiting goals related to technology and product management.

 

Also, many schools have prospective student events and so even if you do not end up at the same schools, you can connect with potential classmates and see what’s helping them decide between the different programs. Most of your two years will be spent with these people, so it was valuable to connect with prospective Anderson students and get a feel of who my classmates would end up being.

 

Some of the best events I attended were programs like Forté’s summer conference and Consortium’s Orientation Program! I was able to hear from industry experts and potential employers about their plan to increase equity, diversity and inclusion at their companies. Not only this, but through these two communities I met students from Darden, Kellogg, Ross, Fuqua, Haas, Marshall, and even future Anderson peers!! Since then, I’ve stayed in touch with them throughout my first quarter and I feel lucky that I will always have resources across the nation to ask questions and compare notes about our experiences. 

 

Although you may be competing with each other somewhere down the line, it’s always valuable to know people at other schools because you can trade tips or just overall perspectives on how schools are handling situations. They may be good interview buddies later on or have insight into job opportunities you didn’t get knowledge of at the school you ended up at. 

Search different neighborhoods for apartments and find those awesome future roommates

I had lived in East Los Angeles before (*cough* *cough* at the rival school) and luckily had a bunch of undergraduate friends who had moved to West Los Angeles. So I didn’t find it hard to figure out which areas I would prefer to move into and what I wanted out of my neighborhood. That said, you can always reach out to second years who would be more than happy to share their tips. 

 

Some things to consider as you’re doing your research for the apartment is your budget, amenities, and walkability. Also, think about if you want to live by yourself, a roommate, or two roommates (or more). Start with some online searches like on apartments.com, Zillow, Facebook groups, university housing, and other housing websites to understand the available market ahead of time even before you plan on moving. Keep in mind that there may be quirks to the city that you might have assumed apartments would just have because they do back where you are from, i.e. not all apartments have refrigerators, many have tandem parking or street parking, which also means street cleaning (aka constantly being worried of parking tickets), and there may be less apartments with in-unit washer/dryer or a dishwasher.

 

As you think about your future roommates, figure out what are your pet peeves, preferences, and roommate qualities that you want to uncover before moving in. You’re going to be with your roommate a lot and sharing a variety of things in the apartment. So it is absolutely crucial to get to know the person well! And know your own living habits/preferences well too. You should decide if you want to live with another MBA student or a friend, or someone in graduate school vs. undergraduate, or a working professional vs. a student. Ideally you won’t want to move after your first year, so take the time to do your research and really get to know the person and be transparent about your own needs and living preferences. The good news is that many schools have lists or forums where you can connect with other MBA students, both 1st and 2nd years.

 

At Anderson we have a shared Google Sheets called AnderList where we could put in our hobbies, preferred neighborhoods, amenities, pet peeves, interests, hometown etc. so that we could get to know each other easily and reach out for potential roommate pairings. You can meet them on zoom and do an informal interview so that both parties are able to ask questions and do a vibe check! Currently, I live in the Boulevard apartments which are university-owned and in the neighborhood of Sawtelle. Not only do I love my neighborhood, but I lucked out and I also love my roommate, who was completely random, so you just never know!

 

Travel - this is your first long break in a long time so enjoy it!! 

This is probably the shortest and most straightforward piece of advice I have for you because have I already mentioned that you deserve a break? You’ve been grinding for years at that corporate job, trying to get your GMAT scores up higher, and are now done with interviews, essays, and applications!! You deserve to spend time with family and friends before you start school. During these uncertain times, I know it’s hard to travel but even if it’s just a camping trip or a roadtrip across the country, it will be worth it! I promise you this. Check out Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Horseshoe Bend, and Antelope Canyon if you’ve never been! That’s what I did; that plus Vegas!!

 

The point is to unplug and spend time doing something other than work. You’re going to work for the rest of your lives, so take this time to reward yourself and take a step back to recognize all the dedication and perseverance you’ve had towards these goals. You’re going to be an amazing future business leader but for now do something for yourself!

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Student Blogger: Anh Cao ‘23

Undergrad: USC Marshall School of Business, ‘15

Pre-MBA: Technical Sales Consultant at ZoomInfo (AI Startup for Sales and Marketing Professionals)

Leadership@Anderson: Executive Vice President - Class of 2023 (Section D), Director of Startup Recruiting - Entrepreneurship Association, Director of Operations and Member Experience - Innovation and Design at Anderson, Director of Club Relations - Craft Beer Club, Director of Camping - Outdoor Adventure Club

Student Perspectives: Sharing Success at Anderson

About Mike: Mike Morgan (’23) is a first year at UCLA Anderson. Prior to Anderson, he was a Consulting Manager at FactSet Research Systems in Los Angeles, and he is planning to pivot into real estate investment post-MBA. In his free time, you can find him on his local beach in Playa Del Rey, following LA sports teams but hiding that he’s from the east coast, or coaching kids golf in Orange County with a non-profit called The First Tee.

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A couple months after graduating college in 2016, I moved from Connecticut to Los Angeles to begin my first full-time job. Funny enough, my first boss in that job was an alumnus of UCLA Anderson. Among the many great things that he had to say about Anderson, the impressive, well-rounded, and genuinely solid people that made up his MBA class, along with the school’s culture of “sharing success” were the aspects that stood out to me the most. Needless to say, my expectations were high when I put down my deposit to come to Anderson.

 

Five months into business school, Anderson has exceeded those expectations by far. I’ve been taken aback by my classmates and their perpetual willingness to help—be it academically, professionally, or even personally—while expecting nothing in return. A few examples come to mind. 

 

The “sharing success” seemed to materialize from the jump. On just the second day of school during a fifteen minute break from Leadership Foundations class, I found myself in the corner of the lecture hall scrambling to pull together some formatting changes to my resume before a submission deadline from the career center. I’ll admit that formatting my resume has never been my strong suit. Without missing a beat, two of my new classmates, who hardly even knew my name at the time, identified that I was stuck on something and swung their chairs over to help me get the submission across the finish line in time. 

As a career switcher looking to pivot into real estate, I was apprehensive about acquiring all the industry knowledge necessary to be competitive for real estate internships. Fortunately, Anderson has it covered by placing first-years into Anderson Career Teams (ACT) and Interview Prep Teams (IPT), which are student-led groups designed to educate first-years on the industry they’re targeting to prepare them to pursue careers in their desired fields. I’ve found these teams to be immensely helpful to ready me for recruiting, but I’m also appreciative of the fact that they’re run by second-year Anderson students (who may or may not have their own recruiting to worry about) who sacrifice their free time to ensure the first-years are able to put their best foot forward in recruiting. My ACT and IPT coaches have been accessible to answer any and all questions throughout, and have (thankfully) assured the group that “there are no dumb questions” during our sessions. There are twelve or so first-year real estate ACT members, and although we are all theoretically competing with each other for employment opportunities, the group remains collaborative. We regularly share notes and tips on recruiting, and we alert each other when a local real estate firm posts a job opening on its career site so nobody misses out on an opportunity.

 

At the end of summer quarter, a classmate spent an hour with me before an 8am accounting class to help me practice and prepare for a speech I was giving to my section to run for Section President. Again, he didn’t expect anything in return for the favor, but he was happy to do it (and probably would’ve been upset with me if I didn’t use him as a resource). I wouldn’t have put together half as strong of a speech if this classmate hadn’t taken time out of his day during a hectic summer quarter to help me achieve a personal goal of mine.

 

I could go on with a dozen more examples, but I’ll stop there. Bottom line: If you’re looking for a cutthroat MBA experience, Anderson is not the place for you. But if you’re looking for a collaborative environment where classmates will lend you a hand simply because you’re a fellow Bruin, you won’t regret spending your two years of business school here in Westwood.

 

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Student Blogger: Mike Morgan ‘23

Undergrad: Lafayette College ‘16

Pre-MBA: Consulting Manager, FactSet Research Systems

Leadership@Anderson: President, Section B; Director of Prospective Student Affairs, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director of Events, Association for Real Estate at Anderson (AREA); First Year Director, John Anderson Golf Club

Student Perspectives: Navigating In-Person vs. Virtual Events

About Ashley: Ashley Klotz (’23) is originally from Los Angeles. She graduated from Boston College with a Bachelors in Economics. After graduation, Ashley stayed in Boston and worked for Staples Inc. as a Product Development Specialist for private label office machines, think shredders and calculators! Most recently, Ashley worked as an Associate Brand Manager at Creative Circle, a creative and marketing staffing agency, where she launched a brand refresh; managing the creative services needed. At Anderson, she seeks to continue to develop her brand management career. Ashley is interested in the learning more about general management through course classes and student clubs.

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There’s no questioning that the world has changed drastically since March 2020. Now in 2021, while we are no longer in quarantine, we are not completely back to the “normal” we knew before. And I don’t think we ever will be, for the better. As a student at UCLA Anderson, my daily schedule includes a mix of in-person meetings, classes, and events, and virtual coffee chats, panels, and presentations. This blend of the “old” way and “new” way is enabling a current student to optimize our time and schedules. 

 

What’s in-person? 

• Classes are live with professors teaching from our Anderson buildings. While if needed, we do have the option of watching a class recording or on zoom from home if sick, many students choose to go in person! 
• Many student club events are being held on campus. From the club fairs to alumni career nights, our spacious outdoor space allows for events big or small and we are taking advantage of the fresh air! 

What’s a mix?

• Company recruitment presentations are often a toss-up of in person or virtual. There are pros and cons to each. Virtual allows for greater capacity and more flexible scheduling, while in-person is great for that added element of connection. 
• Guest speakers and panels can be virtual or in-person. Virtual options give the added flexibility to the speakers to accommodate this discussion in their schedules, increasing the availability of many high-profile panelists to speak with students. Usually more intimate speaker events tend to be in person, while larger panels are on Zoom. 

What’s virtual? 

• Coffee chats with prospective employers have all been virtual! Personally, I like this format because it makes it easier to schedule in our already busy days! 
• Interviews, first round at least, are likely going to be on zoom! We are prepping the in-person and virtual interview format with our classmates to ensure success in both. 

 

How UCLA is setting us up for success with this blended format? 

• Outdoor space is ample for events that are in-person! We are in LA after all! With the weather rarely dropping below 60 degrees, we can and do use our outdoor community spaces year-round! 
• Small working rooms are available to reserve all around campus. Virtual options mean you can say yes to more opportunities, however often you are on campus because of class or a student club and so having these rooms to reserve is critical to ensure a successful zoom interaction! 
• Support for both in person and virtual formats is available. Our curriculum has been updated to ensure that each student feels successful conducting any event in either of these formats. 

Ultimately, we have the community that admires and thrives with in-person socializing with the bonus of greater access to events now virtual. However, as we have learned in the past two years, things can change quickly! So please note this reflects one student’s experience in Fall 2021, but you never know how and when the future can shift. 

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Student Blogger: Ashley Klotz

Undergrad: Boston College '17

Pre-MBA: Associate Brand Manager, Creative Circle

Waitlist Guidelines: For Application Year 2021-22 (MBA Class of 2024)

Being placed onto UCLA Anderson’s waitlist is a great accomplishment. Waitlisted candidates are recognized as potentially being a strong fit, but we cannot offer everyone a seat at this time due to size limitations. Nonetheless, we encourage you to learn more about the waitlist and ways to potentially enhance your candidacy.

• You will remain on the waitlist until a final decision is made on your application or until you request that your application be withdrawn.
• We may reach out occasionally via email to check in on your interest to stay on the waitlist -- please be sure to respond accordingly in a timely manner
• Waitlisted candidates (except those who withdraw) will be reconsidered for admission in subsequent rounds.
• Round 1 applicants will receive an update on their application status on or before the Round 2 decision release (March 22, 2022). Some candidates may be offered the option of remaining on the waitlist for consideration in Round 3.
• Remaining waitlisted candidates from Round 1 and Round 2 will receive an update on their application status by the Round 3 decision release (May 17, 2022). 
• We cannot give individual feedback to waitlisted applicants.
• The likelihood of being admitted off the waitlist is difficult to predict since the number of students admitted from the waitlist varies from year to year depending on the size/strength of the admit pool, the number of admits who enroll, and a variety of other factors.
• OPTIONAL: Waitlisted candidates may send any updates via the MBA Waitlist Interest Form (link to this is on your Waitlist decision letter)
  • Please use your personal judgment and discretion in submitting additional information that is relevant to your application. Examples include (but are not limited to): promotions, updated test scores, and recent extracurricular accomplishments.
  • Prior to submitting additional information, please consider:
    • Each interaction we have with you can be a data point on your file, so be sure your updates add value.
    • The quality of information and communication is more important than the quantity.

If you are on the waitlist and have any additional questions, please e-mail [email protected].  

We appreciate your continued interest and look forward to being in touch in the coming months!

 

 

Student Perspectives: Working Successfully with Your Learning Team

About Bowen:  Bowen Wang (‘23) is a first year at UCLA Anderson hoping to move into Product Management in the high-tech industry. Prior to Anderson, he was an engineer in the Process Control department at Marathon Petroleum in Los Angeles. In his spare time, you can find Bowen on the mountains of California going for hikes, failing to make pasta as delicious as shown in the pictures of the recipe and subsequently giving up and going out for food, or at Kinross gym trying to make up for his pasta dinner from the night before.

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Before even the very first day of Anderson orientation, I received perhaps the most anticipated email of the summer: my team assignment. These were the people I’d be working with for the next year, the people I’d see every day in class. I couldn’t wait to meet them on the first day. No really, I went ahead and checked them out on LinkedIn before we met. We had a non-profit consultant from Washington DC, an accountant from San Francisco, one who worked in marketing in Korea, one who worked in banking in Peru, and one who worked in finance in San Diego. And there was me who was an engineer. My first thought reading their backgrounds was how incredibly diverse our team was; we were all from different industries and functions and we all came to LA from different cities. 

One of the most important moments for me was filling out the group contract. In this document, each of us laid out what our expectations/goals are, how we conduct meetings, how we make group decisions, and what penalties exist for failing to abide by the guidelines laid out in the document. For me personally, the most important lessoned learned from the group contract was discovering what we expected out of each other. Some people want to get straight A’s while some were ok with just passing; some focused all on career search while others weren’t as worried; some were more focused on the social aspects of school. It’s perfectly okay if your goals and expectations don’t perfectly line up with your teammates’ and knowing their goals should not sway your own. But it's still a good start to calibrate your expectations and set a baseline of how you’ll be working.

Speaking of work, there will be, of course, going to be plenty of it with your team. Many guidelines should have been established in your group contract and from your very first assignments which are of course amenable over time. But, I recommend a few baselines. First, always do the reading and at least attempt the assignment on your own before a group meeting. Everyone’s time is valuable, so don’t waste time doing as a group what you could do on your own. Second, meet early and often – well before the assignment is due. No one likes staying up until midnight to submit an assignment – hold each other accountable to not procrastinate! Third, if you feel like you’re doing just your share of the work, then you’re not doing enough. If you have a 5-person team, you should feel like you’re doing 30-40% of the work, not 20%. Lastly, know that your group is not just there to submit team homework. Ask them for help in other classes or assignments, or about events on campus, or about anything else. Especially if you’re nervous about speaking up to a large audience (your section has around 80 people and your class has around 370), your team provides a smaller group to voice your questions and opinions. 

Lastly, Don’t forget to spend time with your team outside of class. Your teammates have interests and personalities that extend beyond the classroom, and you would be missing out on so much if you didn’t get to know them. Make regular get-togethers at a bar/restaurant/event. I’ve done barbeques, gotten drinks, before-class lunches, and workout sessions at the gym with my teammates and I feel that we are more open and work better because of it. 

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Student Blogger: Bowen Wang '23

Undergrad: The Ohio State University ‘17

Pre-MBA: Engineer at Marathon Petroleum, ExxonMobil

Leadership@Anderson: Riordan Scholars Program Mentor; Director, Anderson Ambassador Corps; Director of Curriculum, Anti-Racism Committee