The MBA Student Voice

The GMAT: How Low Can You Go?

Most business schools will publish their average GMAT score, and many schools will also publish a GMAT range, which will probably be the mid 80% range (10% of students are below and 10% of students are above).  When researching business schools, “How low can you go?” is not a stupid question.  Of course, you want to get the highest score possible.  If you are near the lower end of the tail, you will probably need to compensate for this in another part of your application.   

A couple of general tips on the GMAT ... First, you should aim to take it only once, but give yourself some time to retake it, in case you do not hit your target score.  Second, take a prep course.  Most applicants take one, so not taking one will likely put you at a disadvantage.  I took two distinct courses (several years apart), and read some material from an additional course, and found that they taught very similar test taking strategies.  The key do doing well on the GMAT, I think, is applying the strategies to many, many, many, many, many problems.  Did I mention that you should do many problems?   

Joint Degrees and the MBA

One of the many benefits of obtaining an MBA at UCLA Anderson is that UCLA Anderson provides access to all of the resources that the UCLA campus has to offer as well to other graduate schools at UCLA.  It is not unusual for MBA students to take advantage of these resources and of classes at other graduate schools.  Many students, including myself, pursue joint degrees.

Because of my background and future goals, I decided to pursue a JD/MBA.  Generally, candidates for joint programs will begin their joint degrees at the other graduate school and do their second year at UCLA Anderson; however, with a JD/MBA, you can do your first year at UCLA School of Law or at UCLA Anderson.  Other joint degrees that are not unusual are the MD/MBA and the UP/MBA.  I will touch on the JD/MBA in my blog, but if there is a particular area that you are interested in, in addition to business, I encourage you to explore the possibility of a joint degree. 

Riordan Programs and the MBA

I got my first exposure to the MBA and to UCLA Anderson through the Riordan Fellows Program several years before I applied to business school. 

One of the many benefits of the Program is that it provided invaluable insight on UCLA Anderson.  Through the Program, I met faculty, admissions staff, students, and alumni.  I was physically on campus and actively participating in the UCLA Anderson community.  I enjoyed my experience so much that I have remained involved in several roles following the completion of the Program.

By the time that application time came around, completing UCLA Anderson’s application was (almost) a breeze.  I actually enjoyed completing UCLA Anderson’s the application and found that it was very distinct from other schools’ applications.

UCLA Anderson Class of 2010 MBA Orientation- A Taste of the Future

MBA Orientation for the Class of 2010 at UCLA Anderson has been completed and everyone has survived… barely. MBA Orientation was like getting swept up by a tornado, turned around and upside down, and then thrust back into your life not knowing what really happened. UCLA Anderson had one week to prepare the Class of 2010 for the beginning of the quarter and they did not waste one second. From 8am until 6pm we were engaged in mixers to meet classmates, Parker Career Management Center seminars, practicing our section cheers (“Dontcha wish your section was hot like D?”), playing kickball and dodge ball on Game Day, reading and discussing a case on how it all went wrong for Reebok circa 1988, and volunteering for C4C (Challenge for Charity).

Perhaps the most auspicious event was titled “Professor Introductions” on the calendar. We were all eager to meet the professors and get more information on what we were facing on Day 1. After a relaxing day of skit practice, we received our syllabi and were sent into anxiety attacks. "You want us to read all this by when? There is a group assignment due the first day of class? What is the S&P 500?"

The UCLA Anderson MBA is going to be a juggling act. Part of the challenge will be adapting to my surroundings and figuring out when to do what. I don’t pretend to have it figured out, but wise men once told me that ”knowing is half the battle.” The orientation festivities ended with the infamous 80’s Party, where the UCLA Anderson Class of 2010 showed that it can play as hard as it can work.

What type of professional are you? Professional Clubs Kick-off Week 1 at Anderson

Following the two weeks of orientation and the conclusion of Leadership Foundations, I was somewhat looking forward to not having 14 hours of each day of my week pre-scheduled.  Little did I know how fast my calendar would fill come Monday.  After picking-up the weekly edition of Anderson’s newsletter, the Exchange, and checking out the scheduled events.  I found my what I thought was free time filling with a number of professional clubs' kick-off events.  The great thing about these informative sessions into each of the numerous Anderson Student Association (ASA) clubs is the extremely early jump you can get on networking, the additional social aspect, and of course the free food (although I was tiring of Pizza by the end of the week). 

It also marks the occasion where you finally have to pick and choose which clubs you will commit to, and whether or not you would like to join for one or two years.  I admittedly went a bit overboard and committed to no less than four professional clubs including the Entrepreneurial Association, the Management Consulting Association, the Marketing Association, and NetImpact.  All of this while recently getting appointed to the C4C Board to be the new web-techie (look for a new page soon).  One of the biggest opportunities anyone receives by joining a club is an ability to attend their events which are a mixture of recruiting, education, and socializing – my general thought was to be as inclusive as possible leaving many more doors open to the future.  We’ll see how it all works out in the end.

On staying domestic - rather than studying abroad

Each year, almost 20% of the second year class takes advantage of UCLA Anderson's membership to the extensive PIM network of leading international business schools to study abroad. My friends are currently spread around the world from Sydney to Hong Kong to Barcelona, gathering unique experiences, fantastic photo ops, new friends, and a global perspective. So, as I plan for another weekend at home, while my boyfriend (who's studying at HEC in Paris) trips around Austria, I thought it might help me to write out some reasons I'm glad to be domestic this quarter.

1) I got to be a Section Leader for Orientation! Read here to see how much I enjoyed doing this.

2) The fall quarter is the only time that Entertainment Marketing and Entertainment Law are offered. And since I was drawn to UCLA Anderson for its courses in Entertainment Management, these unique classes are right up my alley.

3) I'm starting an academic internship next week to get hands-on experience with market research in the entertainment industry.

4) I can keep up with all my favorite TV shows (I know, but I love TV...and now I can consider it as "research" for my future career).

5) Rosenfeld Library has new facilities and furniture - and I get to use them when they're all new!