Any help/insight here would be appreciated. My background is in a niche real estate consulting role but I'm trying to transition to real estate private equity post-MBA. I'm also considering IB but realize that will be difficult. My initial goal was NYC, but I was waitlisted by both Columbia and NYU. Anderson is ranked a little higher and is offering more money, but I feel that long-term (post-MBA) I'd probably prefer to be in Texas vs. LA. Any thoughts?

Congrats on your admits and welcome to GMAT Club!

USC has a real estate track in their mba program.... and maybe Anderson does too? though not sure you have to really do a track but it helps with recruiting and pooling people together.

Since you are going to recruit mostly off campus and have to network, I would focus on your network reach and ability to leverage it for your goals.

I would say the caveat is that the reach of McCombs and Anderson will be regional, and if you are thinking Texas long term, then McCombs probably makes more sense so you can continue to leverage the network should you need contacts/connections.

My vote probably geos to McCombs but I am not sure how strong your preference is for Texas and I can see LA being a more vibrant real-estate market.
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goforthegreen1050 I'm a current student at Anderson and have a similar background and career path (real estate strategy consulting and now moving to the principal side).

I would echo everything bb said. It's solid advice. Real estate is a very regional industry, so you want to make your decision to a certain extent from the perspective of where you see yourself settling long-term. Having said that, I would also say that it is possible to attend your MBA program in one geography and then relocate to another for work. Academically, the industry's underlying principles remain the same regardless of geography. You only end up focusing on the specific regulations and laws of the geography you're operating in once you begin working in the industry. So you want to make sure you're also considering the overall quality of your education, the faculty, and the resources that the school offers you.

Without "selling" this too much, I must say that my Anderson experience has been fantastic so far. The Ziman Center for Real Estate is renowned nationally and has all the resources you could need to build your foundational skill-set and professional network. Even within UCLA, the real estate faculty are ranked amongst the top in the University. In terms of the alumni network, naturally, they are more concentrated in California, but our alumni are present everywhere. I know second years who did their internships in other states, so you are not geographically bound. I cannot speak to the number of Anderson alumni in Texas specifically since I am not actively looking at Texas myself. Still, I would encourage you to do some research on LinkedIn to understand this better.

Ultimately, it does boil down in large part to your priorities, but I will say that Anderson is solid in real estate, so you'll be in good hands if you choose to come here.