MBA Decision Tracker: Monitor Application Status in Real Time

gmatclub

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2 months ago

Wow! Congratulations! Amazing job!!! I am guessing Fuqua is what's looking most attractive?

1 month ago

Thank you so much!! Actually after talking with alumni and current students I'm leaning strongly towards UCLA Anderson. Fuqua is truly an incredible school but for my specific goals it came down to a few things:

I want to go into Growth PM / Product Marketing in tech, and most of those roles are in California. Being physically there for 2 years means I can network and recruit locally instead of flying in for treks. This matters even more right now because international students at schools outside of tech hubs are really struggling to land tech internships; companies are being more cautious with sponsorship and proximity makes a huge difference. Also, Anderson's alumni network and the career center specialized in tech makes sense for someone targeting the intersection of tech + growth, that pipeline feels very direct.

Plus, Anderson offered significantly more funding which takes a lot of financial pressure off during recruiting.

Does that reasoning make sense to you? Would love to hear your perspective!

Congratulations!

I think it makes quite a bit of sense however being in LA is not quite the same as being in Bay Area but you are a five or six drive away so definitely something you can do over the weekends with a few good podcasts.

There’s definitely tech recruiting in LA, Google has offices there and they think Mehta does as well especially a lot of the gaming and entertainment industry focus.

Even if you’re not in Palo Alto, being in LA is much better than NC for this purpose. And with tech industry being challenged significantly to reinvent itself with PMS literally working themselves out out of their own jobs, having a nice scholarship to take the edge off it’s going to be helpful.

I would say your biggest asset will be your work experience and being able to demonstrate some necessary tech PM skills which I’m probably not that much different from consulting so I would also strongly encourage you to recruit for consulting which unfortunately Fuqua is much stronger (this comes down to the consultant club and the fact that M.B.B. have offices on campus), but regardless doing case interviews and preparing for structured consulting recruiting is a strong move. It will help with the later stage tech recruiting.

There are there a few tech p.m. internships out there and I’m not sure if you can pay with your job to sound like a product manager position but with strongly recommend pitching a nonprofit or a local organization to see if you can volunteer as a product manager and perhaps shadow one. They may not be looking for an intern or an assistant but with a bit of persistence you can convince them that it will be more help than hassle. The more you can make your résumé look like you know what you’re doing and you will be a good fit the more attractive you will look to recruiters.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much for taking the time! Really good point about consulting recruiting as preparation.

Sorry I should have given more context on my background! I actually have +3 years as a Product Manager in a beauty company. I built digital platforms and led their growth strategies. I think I can say that my biggest chllange is more about transitioning geographically and breaking into the US tech ecosystem as an international. Right?

Really appreciate your perspective!

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coolboots

Hey sorry, know you might not be on this account anymore because its a year later but could I DM you about your application? I'm applying this round and hesitating over my essays