Calling all UCLA-Anderson Applicants(2015 Intake)Class of 17

I'm in the same boat. I didn't realize how much I wanted to go to Anderson until I visited campus and then interviewed 1 month later. Anderson is now at the top of my list - I never thought I'd use such a cliche, but the "fit" at Anderson truly won me over.

I think you're reading too much into the thank you for the thank you note thing. I also wrote a similar note and did not hear back, but I don't think it means anything. One thing I took from our interview... she was incredibly busy!

Glad to hear you guys both had good interview experiences. I wouldn't worry too much about not getting a message back from your interviewer. I actually think it's on the rare side to actually hear back from them. I never heard back from mine, and I managed to get in The interviewers are 2nd-years, and are incredibly busy, so don't worry about it.

I know what you mean about the wait. It sucks. I wish I could tell you something that would make it better, but I am not sure I can. It's just the way MBA admissions goes. That being said, getting an interview invite early is a really good sign.

Good luck to everyone interviewing or waiting on invites! Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks, man. Appreciate the insight.

Invited for Interview. Received the email at 6AM IST.

Congtraz!!! all the best for the interview.
Can you share your profile pls?

Got an interview invite on Nov 4! I am scheduled for the evening (EST) on Nov 18th. Any tips for those of you who have already interviewed? Any unique insights for a Skype interview or an interview with a current student?

The 2014 Business Week rankings are out. UCLA Anderson is up from #18 in 2012 to #11 this year! https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... ings-table

edited.

While to me UCLA is definitely top 10 school, any ranking which puts Duke as #1 and Harvard as #6 is not a ranking which carries any authority

Anyone from technology who got an interview invite?

Nope. still waiting ! I think ucla decided to ding people interested in technology

Ha Ha..either that or people with a technology background with interview invites are shy

From my interview I gathered that UCLA actually understands technology quite well, even product management roles. I am really looking to go to school there.

Posted from my mobile device

Haha, agreed! I don't know of many people that choose Fuqua over HBS. Rankings in general need to be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, looking over the spectrum of different ranking can paint a decent picture of where a particular business school stands in the overall general landscape. But deciding to apply or attend a school based on these less than perfect rankings alone is a mistake. People need to do more research than just looking over the rankings. Find out what each b-school you are interested in has to offer. How will it help you reach your short and long-term goals. Go to the school that will best position you to be able to achieve those goals.

So, I don't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, but I guess I will just for a minute. I have talked with several prospective students regarding why I chose Anderson. They other night at a prospective student event, an individual asked me what other schools I was accepted to and why I chose Anderson. I mentioned that I was accepted to Darden as well and the individual quickly responded, "Darden is higher ranked than Anderson. Why didn't you just go there?" I explained my career interests and that many of the companies that I am interested in don't actively recruit from Darden (I am not bashing Darden in anyway, I loved Darden, it's a great school). I also told him I want to stay on the West Coast after graduation.

Another thing I have come across frequently in conversations I have had and on forum, blogs, etc. is the perception that because of the relatively low number of students that go into consulting compared to other top schools, Anderson is not strong in consulting. I think it's important to look beyond the numbers and ask yourself why the numbers are the way they are. Last year, about 14% of the students took full-time position in consulting. At a quick glance, you can come to the conclusion that compared to other top schools where the percentage going into consulting can be much higher, closer to 30%, Anderson is just not strong in consulting. Or if you took the time to dig a little deeper you may come to the realization that the number may be lower because there is just a more diverse set of career interests among the student body. I think more important than the percentage of students going into a particular field, like consulting, is how many students wanting to get a job in a certain industry get one? What firms recruit students from that particular school? For consulting, if you are interested in MBB, of those interested in going into consulting and target MBB, how many land jobs there?

I'll get down from my soapbox now, but the moral of the story is, whether you are looking at Anderson or any other school, take the time to look beyond the rankings. Understand yourself and what you want to get out of b-school. Then when looking for a school that will get you to where you want to go, take time to do a bit more research than just browsing the school websites, career stats, and looking through ranking information. The things you learn may end up changing your mind on where you want to go, I know it did for me.

Sorry to go on forever. Good luck to everyone applying, interviewing, or waiting for invites!

I am from tech background, interviewed on Nov 5th. Long term and short term goals are also in tech.
I will reiterate the above comment - After my interview, I felt UCLA is one of the best school for tech PM roles. Looking forward to an admit.
Any idea what is the interview to admit ratio?

With that my last hypothesis for not getting an interview invite is busted!!
This is more or less the end of the line for me as far as UCLA is concerned

I definitely understand your anxiety and I feel for you. I just want to remind everyone that we don't know how or in what order Anderson reviews our applications, and similarly, we do not know how they hand out interview invitations. Therefore, I am hesitant to draw any conclusions based on this assumption that all interviews for a given industry/function go out at once. If I'm not mistaken, last year's Anderson thread showed interview invitations all the way up to the winter break.