The MBA Student Voice

Guest Post - UCLA Anderson Joint Venture Club

Today we have a guest post from Neel Bhattacharyya, Co-President of Joint Ventures, UCLA Anderson's club for students with significant others (or "Sig-Os" for short) and families. Read on to learn more about this organization and one of their recent events!

One tremendous perk of going to business school in Los Angeles is our ideal location – a stone’s throw from Latin American and Asian markets.  From a professional standpoint our location provides benefits we take full advantage of with guest lecturers, Distinguished Speakers, and global recruiters actively engaging with Anderson.  From a personal standpoint, we leverage our location to have some fun and engage our Significant Others (or “Sig-Os”) in the Anderson community!  While some parts of the country are already experiencing snow, heavy rain, and the leaves are turning brown, we at Anderson are on the beach in Santa Monica! 

The Joint Ventures Club -  Anderson’s club for students with Sig-Os and familes – hosted a Beach Day on Saturday, October 19^th!  It was a great event for over 50 of our students, Sig-Os, and kids.  Despite the foggy start to the day, the sun eventually shone-through, giving us perfect 75-degree weather, ideal for a quick dip in the ocean, game of catch with a football, and competitive (but fun) games of “cornhole” and volleyball.  The Anderson Joint Ventures Club will continue to organize great events like this to support the development of our student community and their loved ones.

 

To learn more, check out the Joint Ventures website.  Also, follow blogger Sunny Ba, who writes about life at UCLA Anderson from a sig-o's perspective. 

 

Year Two: The Saga Continues

Gosh, has it really been six weeks since my last post?! Summer always seems to fly by (and September too) but lately I honestly don't know where the time goes and I can't believe that Mike is already in the second year of his MBA.

Part of the reason we're feeling a bit scrambled, I think, is that Mike's internship went right through to the week before classes began so, unlike most of the other 2nd year kids, we haven't had a chance to decompress and reflect on the year that lies ahead.

I don't know about you, but when I'm feeling scatterbrained & disorganized, I make lists and then put things on my calendar. So here's what I'm really looking forward to this year:

1. Living by the ocean
   Did I mention that we've moved to Santa Monica? And not just anywhere in Santa Monica, but into this building right here, which is, oh, about a minute and a half to the beach. I know, it's kind of ridiculous, right? Living in Westwood for the first year was absolutely the right thing to do: we didn't have a car yet and Mike needed to be within walking distance to campus (where he spent most of his days/nights), but who knows when we'll get a chance to live by the ocean again? So here we are... and so far? So amazing.
   
   
   

Looking Ahead to Year Two

It's finally arrived... the end of the internship chapter of my MBA and the beginning of year two. Nothing sums it up better than a song I'll be sure to karaoke this year, The Final Countdown.  

While many of you have been hearing a great deal about why Anderson and how to prepare for the MBA experience from the fantastic bloggers in the class of 2015 (Aimee, Alena, Buzz , Daniel, Devon, Lorraine), this post will provide some perspective on what I'm looking forward to as a 2nd year student. 

Internship wrap-up and career decisions

As of today, August 30th, I'm officially done with my summer internship with HP. It's been a wonderful learning experience. I worked with an incredible team, discovered what it's like to actually work for Corporate HR, and even gained exposure to additional functions, such as Supply Chain. 

While my time at HP helped me realize that I could have a future career within Corporate HR, especially at a company like HP, or others within the technology industry, I now have a lot of thinking to do as to whether Corporate HR, or another function, is the right next step for me. I'll give you an update on my career decision in the coming month. 

For the MBA with a Significant Other...

Husband.  Wife.  Partner.  Significant Other.  Sig-O.  Better Half.  The list goes on...Before applying to UCLA, I was a little concerned about going back to school with a wife and new baby.  I had heard the misconception that most MBA students were single and that I would be the part of a very small minority of students with families or significant others.  I was worried that one of two things would happen--I would either end up diving too deep into the MBA social scene and lose out on "family time" or I would overcompensate for being gone so often that I would miss out on the MBA experience.  Fortunately, that isn't the case at UCLA Anderson.  

15 years ago, only about 25% of incoming MBA students had spouses/families.  Now, the number is reaching 40% or higher at some schools.  This makes sense, since the average pre-MBA work experience each student is around 5 years, making the average student age 27-28.  In response to this growing trend, UCLA Anderson, and many schools for that matter, have created well-organized programs/clubs aimed at the significant others of the MBA student.

At UCLA, we have the following resources to involve our families in the program.  Believe me, if they want to be busy and involved, there are plenty of activities to choose from!

My reasons to choose UCLA Anderson

    A question "what school to attend" comes to a great number of accepted applicants and the answer is always specific to your particular goals. See below my reasons for attending Anderson this fall and some thoughts and things to consider when you have to make a decision.

    1. Rankings. A lot of people consider school's placement in different rankings and I was also the one who googled Full time MBA rankings before I made my decision, so I could understand the inclination to just go with TOP-5 or TOP-10 school and be just fine. But then I made a consideration of other factors (that I will mention below) and decided just for myself that rankings is just one factor and not the decisive one. I even compared it with GMAT score during application process - it is good if it is withtin school's 80% range and is balanced, but not "the make or break". So, with ratings I decided that a school within TOP -20 in the US will be this "80% range" and I never turned to rankings again.

    2. Employment report or companies that recruit on campus.  I have talked to dozens of alums from different schools and the majority of them said to look closely to the employment reports first. The closer the school year is, the better I realize how right they were. For instance, if you dream to work for company X, you should look at the # of graduates and interns this company hired from the latest intake in the school. I made a close look at Anderson employment report, considered trends within several years and came to 2 conclusions:

• Tech companies have very good presence at Anderson and they hire about 1/5th of the class and as I look closely on technology sector, this school is very much for me!
• Anderson class is very diverse in terms of career paths people choose. There is no dominant industry and I like this fact from the learning environment point of view.

Los Angeles: The Good, The Bad, and the Ridiculously Good Looking

So, time for some #realtalk. As a somewhat recent LA transplant, I'm all-too-familiar with the east to west coast culture shock. Here are some of my thoughts on the best and worst of Los Angeles living...

The Good

1) Weather. It is as good as they say. Don't believe me? Check this in December/January and prepare to have your mind blown.

2) The rental market--all this space just for me??? And from my experience/those I've spoken to compared to other cities (San Francisco, New York, etc) the process for finding/signing a lease is pretty painless and landlords are open to negotiation on lease term and rent.

3) Fresh local produce! I love that even in December, every Sunday there's a farmers market just a few blocks from my house (along Gretna Green/San Vicente for those Brentwood-bound). There are also markets in Westwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, etc. But even if you opt for supermarket produce, Californians are definitely spoiled with the quality/freshness of our fruits and vegatables.  

4) The scenery. Whether you're driving to the (gasp!) Valley or heading to Malibu, the ocean and mountain views in LA are absolutely gorgeous and (almost) negate the misery of traffic. Within an hour (or even 15 minutes of campus!) are hiking trails in the Santa Monica Mountains, Runyon Canyon, Griffith Park, and Malibu that offer breathtaking views of the city and coast. Anytime I started to miss home/the traffic got me down, a 7-minute trip up San Vicente to Palisades Park (see below) quickly improved my mood.

5) The food. Taco Tuesday. Sugarfish. Pizzeria Mozza. The Apple Pan. Yo. Gurt. Land. So many delicious foods! Plus, I second everything Buzz had to say in his post about great places to eat in LA.

Campus House Hunting on a Budget

An MBA is an expensive investment. And if you take a look at Anderson’s estimated student budget, you’ll see that it’s not just tuition that’ll have you reaching for your wallet. The good news is that UCLA offers plenty of ways to limit spending without sacrificing everything that’s great about the school and life in LA.

Let’s take another look at that estimated student budget.

 

 

If the “Room/Board” figure seems like an overestimate, then you're on to something. With a little help from UCLA, incoming students can live well below it and find great rates on places to stay in and around campus.

 

Take a look at three of my favorite options.

10 Unobvious Things Incoming Students Can Do Before School Starts

Hey people!  Whether you are trekking through a jungle in Asia, packing your moving truck, or sitting at work (still???  I applaud you!), I hope you find yourself getting more excited for the MBA journey to begin!  We all have long lists of "things-to-do" and I don't want anyone of us to miss anything important.  I've compiled a list of 10 unobvious things we can do before school starts to make the transition smoother.  Enjoy!!!

1) REST!!!  It sounds weird, right?  We don't need no sleep!  We're still young!  Although it's true, you definitely may want to consider building up those energy reserves for the onslaught of orientation, first quarter classes, and endless meet-and-greets.  Come to school fresh and only burn the candle at both ends a few nights a week.

You don't want to end up like this...

No Pain No Gain

Anderprom.  Orientation Rope Course and "trust" falls.  That first Anderson pool party.  These are a few reasons to get fit while at school.  Fortunately, LA provides a wealth of opportunities to shred that adipose tissue and firm up those abs.  Below are some of my favorite things to do in the area!

UCLA John Wooden Center

John Wooden Center Website

This is the most logical, full service gym that most of us will use during school.  Complete with weights, olympic platforms, every cardio machine you could imagine, and three spick'n'span full length basketball courts, this is the spot!  Millions of hot pockets and In'N'Out burger calories have been burned in these hallowed halls.  Before school starts you can get a summer pass for just $50 if you show your Bruincard.  During school the admission fee is embedded in your tuition.

Westside is the Bestside aka Tips for Finding an Off-Campus Apartment

So that might not be somewhat biased, as I've only lived on the westside (in Westwood and three different apartments in Brentwood). As a NYC transplant, I was presently surprised by what the Los Angeles rental market had to offer (you mean I don't have to move my bed to open my closet/store my winter clothes in the kitchen stove?).

Here are some thoughts on the apartment hunting process:

1) Craigslist is not just for perverts/psychopaths, especially in LA.

Just make sure you ask a lot of questions, and find someone with a similar schedule/who will be respectful of study time. Or, better yet, the Anderson facebook group offers many rental options so you can find a roommate within the Anderson community. Plus, an apartment share offers a significant savings in both rent/utilities; my portion of our 3B/2B at Goshen/Granville was $850/month.

2) 2B/2B = #1

Math nerdery aside, the 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom share I had in Brentwood was the best of both worlds--social but with enough private space that you're not up in each others biz all the time. I paid $1100/month as my share of one such unit a block north of San Vicente at Barrington (convenient to Pinkberry, a major selling feature).