Anderson (UCLA): Class of 2016- Calling all applicants!

Thank you for your comments dc3828102.

.."To me, it sounds like Anderson does not fit perfectly with your career plans".. would you please elaborate on why you felt this. My career plans consists.. consulting, data-analytics, and entrepreneurship. I know anderson is not a consulting powerhouse, however, I have heard some pretty good things about it's tech (data-analytics) placements and entrepreneurship program. Were you just referring to consulting or am I missing something here?

1) Anderson (Full-time) vs 2) Haas (Part-time) vs 3) Reapplying next year

(This is going to be a long post. Please bear with me. Your inputs to help me make this crucial decision would be highly appreciated.)

I am glad to be selected to Haas EWMBA program and Anderson full-time (with $50K fellowship) program. I am trying to figure out the pros and cons of the two programs. I am also considering skipping this year and applying full-fledged next year.

Given below are the details about my profile and plans.

Profile:
Indian, Male, Age: 29, GMAT 730, (Q49, V40)

Work experience details:
5.5 years with a Govt agency. Worked in different engineering roles for the first 3 years. Working with project management division for the last 2.5 years.


Post-MBA plans:

Path A: Would like to move into management consulting in firms like PWC, Bain, and KPMG. Prefer to work in infrastructure management and PPP (Public-Private Partnership) roles, but open to explore other areas too.

Path B: In my present job in project management I spend a significant amount of time on data-analytics. Along with Infrastructure Industry, Data Analytics is my passion. If I chose this path, ultimately, I would like to set up my own data-analytics firm. I still need to figure what kind of roles would be suitable and are of interest to me in this field, post-mba. Any insights in this regard would be helpful.

Given my profile and plans, below are the pros and cons that I could think of:

1) Haas EWMBA:
Pros:
a) Family settled in Bay-Area, so it would be easier on that front.
b) Berkeley brand (I am not sure how much importance I should give to this with respect to my MBA. Being an Engineer, UCB brand for me is second to none, and on par with MIT and Stanford)

Cons:
a) career change might be difficult
b) might be missing that full-fledged MBA experience
c) network (not sure how much a part-time MBA would help me build a strong personal and professional network)

2) Anderson full-time MBA
Pros:
a) easier to change careers
b) full-fledged MBA experience might be a positively life transformative experience, especially with respect to my soft-skills and people management skills.
c) network, both personal and professional

Cons:
a) I am sure Anderson has its own strengths, but I am concerned how much I am losing compared to a M7 or Top 10 MBA
b) Family Relocation (I know I can't complain moving from NorCal to SoCal, given that many people shift countries for MBA. Nevertheless, it still is a concern)

3) Reapplying (full-time):
Due to personal constraints, this year, I had to start my application process in the very last minute (First week of January). I applied three schools - Kellogg full-time, Anderson full-time, and Haas EWMBA). I am confident of my story, and am sure that I can put a better application next year. However, with respect to age and work experience, I’ll fall closer to extreme right on averages at most top 10 schools. I am not thinking of Harvard or Stanford, but I am confident of getting into at least one M7 school.

Thank you for taking time to read my long post. Please reply with your suggestions and comments. They would be immensely helpful for me in making this crucial decision.

Any R2 Waitlist folks have any updates or insights?

This wait is torture...

Hi guys

Any body got interview invites for R3? I applied on April 14th 2014.
Does ucla intimate the candidate if not short listed?

A brief about myself
Age 30
9 years of work experience in corporate finance.
Currently working as country finance head in east africa for a singapore based MNC.
Nationality indian
GMAT 620

Hi cssrikanthca,

Your experience is impressive, but Anderson may question your GMAT scores. Also, round three tends to be the most competitive. Perhaps you should re-test and apply again in round one.