Anderson(UCLA): Class of 2016- Calling all Admitted Students

Hey mgh234, Congrats on the admit.

I actually feel that UCLA provides many more career options to its students compared to other Bschools. You can go into media, entertainment, sports etc. When I visited the campus I was blown away by the vibrant environment there. It's pretty good for consulting too as coolguy pointed out. I think not being very strong in one particular area is a big plus for a school. You always have the helpful alumni to get you a job interview at any field you wish to.

What would I not do to trade places with you in an instant

Thanks,
Prodizy

Some of it's competitors have ~30% go into consulting. It's certainly possible to get into consulting from UCLA, but is a bit more of an uphill battle it seems. That said, I had a long conversation with a current student, and they have less people aiming for consulting than other schools, so its a bit of apples-to-oranges comparison. They do seem to have a lot of resources to help with consulting recruiting also. Still, it seems you're looking at like a ~40-50% chance of getting a good consulting job if you go there, whereas at a school at Kellogg it seems almost ensured. I currently work in finance, I may decide to stay in finance if I go to UCLA for this reason, as there recruiting is stronger here. That said, the student I spoke to was going into management consulting and chose UCLA over Kellogg and Booth, so maybe I'm over worrying.

UCLA gave me a decent scholarship, and I love LA, and the culture seems great at UCLA...but definitely going to weigh my options. If i was going into entertainment/media/tech I think I'd be 100% sold on UCLA. Finance and Consulting are really the only things that make sense to me (maybe corporate strategy too), since I already have a high salary and I'm worried about the ROI of my bschool investment.

Good thinking but as you said you might be over thinking just a bit.

Think from the UCLA point view. Obviously they think you are very marketable post-MBA, and they really want to keep you there hence the scholarship. And you cannot calculate the ROI of MBA in terms of money. But by all means you should talk to Kellogg alumni also and then decide. You seem to have a rocking future ahead of you. All the best.

Just my two cents.

Thanks,
Prodizy

Hello to all ! I applied in R2, had an interview last 23/01 and am waiting for the response.

I was wondering if the final decision is made in the deadline notification date or may be done before...

I can see rkb6 on this list of accepted students and he/she applied on R2, can you tell me more about the process ?

They might release an early decision as happened in R1, but it's not guaranteed

I'm in!!! Super excited and surprised since I'm away on vacation and didn't get to check my status until a few days after the decision came out. Nice to meet all of you and congrats to each of you!

Hey mgh234, I think you are overthinking but I guess it is normal, as choosing what b-school to go is a huge decision! anyway, any of the schools you are considering would be an excellent choice!

Being said that, here are my two cents: all of the schools you are considering will offer you the opportunity to enter consulting or finance, I truly don't think that you will be in a worse position in any particular school.
Particularly about UCLA, I have spoken with many students that made a career switch to consulting (entering McKinsey and BCG) or to finance (landing excellent jobs in banks such as JP Morgan). They told me that they did not find it more difficult than some friends they had in other schools like Booth and Columbia. The good think about UCLA is that less students will be interested in pursuing careers in finance and consulting (as most people are interested in entrepreneurship and Media and entertainment) which means less competence. Also, I do not know about consulting but UCLA is really strong in finance.

Of course, if you prefer any other schools for other reasons, that is a completely different story!

In my case UCLA has always been my first choice mainly because of personal fit with the school and its community

Hope this helps.

Most likely decision rendered on deadline notification date. R1 I believe Anderson has early admits prior to Christmas break. Check back through previous years threads and the UCLA MBA Insider's blog for more info. Best luck!

Thanks! I actually work at JPMorgan investment bank now, but in a non-front office project role. If I attend UCLA, I may consider trying to jump to FO finance since UCLA is stronger there. Although, I wonder what % of the finance jobs are front office...I was speaking to a friend from Duke MBA, and some of the people they send into consulting are "human capital consulting" not management consulting, and some of the people they send to Citigroup/JPMorgan are consumer bank rotational programs and operations, not the investment banking. It's tough to get an accurate picture from the employment reports I guess. I'm just very concerned about the ROI overall, since I'm very close to the post-mba starting median salaries at a lot of these schools, and certainly would be above them by the time I graduate if I stayed on my current path (while having a 40 hour work week). Wouldn't mind it if I can get a better long term career path, but not even sure if that's the case anymore. I'm worried I'll graduate with $100k+ in debt, same pay I would've made, worse hours, and further away from VP than I am now (I'd get VP in my current job in 2 years). Plus, I've gotten pretty serious with my girlfriend and leaving for 2 years will be difficult.

On the other hand, I'm not very happy on my current career path and feel like I could do a more prestigious/interesting job (I graduated during height of financial crisis, and lost a front office offer I thought I had), and I've been in NYC for 9 years and really want an opportunity to live somewhere else. I've wanted to live in LA for years, and I have a lot of good friends who live there. I just wish I could get some more clarity around what % chance I'd have at getting a pure front office finance or management consulting job. The employment reports only tell you company (which isn't useful) not the divisions, and they only throw their most successful students at you for discussions, so it's tough to get a good gauge.

I just submitted my deposit and will be matriculating at Anderson.

I also accepted my fellowship offer, but for some reason I can still click on the fellowship offer link. Other forms (deposit & URSA SIR) would say that I have completed the step. Did anyone come across this problem too?

Where did you find a fellowship offer link? I don't remember if such link appeared to me.
I think I have only accepted the fellowship offer by e-mail.

I got an email with the following content. Clicking the "RESPOND via the on-line form" link leads me to an online form.


Dear xxxxx,

Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a UCLA Anderson Merit Fellowship in the total amount of xxxxx to be divided equally between the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years. Our selection decision was based on your outstanding record of excellence in scholarship and leadership, as well as the unique perspective you will bring to the UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 2016.

Please RESPOND via the on-line form no later than the expiration date of your admission offer, after which the fellowship offer will no longer be valid.

If you enroll at UCLA Anderson, you will receive your fellowship in equal installments applied to the fall, winter and spring quarters. Your fellowship is contingent upon your remaining in good academic standing and upholding the UCLA student code of conduct. Good academic standing is defined as maintaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all courses along with a 3.0 GPA in the Management Core. Please note that your fellowship may not be applied to the $1,500 enrollment deposit.

In addition to the fellowship, you may be eligible to apply for student loans. Instructions are included in the Welcome Guide and on the MBA Admit Central website. If you have any questions, please contact Ji Choi in our office at 310-825-2746 or ji.choi@anderson.ucla.edu.

To be selected as one of our fellowship recipients is a tremendous honor. On behalf of the entire admissions and financial aid team, I congratulate you on your award. We look forward to having you join us at UCLA Anderson in the fall.

I received a similar email but in my case the email said: please return an statement of acceptance via mail, fax or email. No link. I would call/write financial aid so you can confirm they have received your acceptance.

Posted from my mobile device

That's the same wording I received.

Hmm weird. How can an automated email have different wordings. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the amount offered. I'll definitely contact the Financial Aid team.

The link goes to a UCLA website as following:

Maybe it's because I received the e-mail in December (early admission). Probably they didn't have the link ready.

Yes, that makes sense since I got my fellowship offer on Jan 28th.

Ji Choi confirmed that they got my fellowship acceptance. I'm amazed that she replied my email within 2 minutes!