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Joined: 21 Oct 2008
Posts: 128
Schools:Rady School of Management at UC San Diego GO TRITONS
Nontraditional Applicant Thread
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22 Nov 2008, 10:22
So I'm looking at the class profile for UCLA, one of my top choices, and I see that less than half of the class comes from a Finance/Consulting/High-Tech background. But it seems like those three industries get a lot of airtime around here. So, any nontraditional applicants around here? Coming from health care? Nonprofit? Arts? Education? What's your story and why are you looking for an MBA? What schools do you think are best for nontraditional people?
Since I'm asking, I guess I'll start - I have an extensive background in music (actually was accepted to grad school in composition last year, but rethought it) and spent a year running a business as a private piano teacher. Now I work as a university admin for the creative writing department, coordinating admissions for the graduate program, working out scheduling for undergraduates, maintaining the website, and planning events. I'm hoping to go into arts management, probably in music - I want to do general management for a symphony, jazz festival, arts prep school, etc. Eventually, I'd like to start my own school or non-profit arts organization. Alternately, depending on the direction of the music industry, I'd consider working for or starting a record label. My top choices are probably Stanford and UCLA for their location, appropriate programs and curricula, and opportunities for entrepreneurship.