Calling UCLA Fall 2009 Applicants

Good to see you guys being proactive. I will also be applying to Anderson in the fall. I tried to visit last April, but the admissions office was less than helpful (in late March, they informed me that they hadn't finalized their class visit schedules yet...). I'll be making a return trip in October (hopefully when I'm being interviewed early for USC-Marshall, hehe).

I'm going to entertainment marketing/consulting, so there's really no better place than LA.

I'm seriously considering applying to UCLA. I just moved to Southern California, hopefully I will be able to do a school visit once classes start.
BTW: Anybody from San Diego here?

Hey guys,
Count me in too. I'll be applying in fall 09.

Good to have this thread up and running. I was thinking of starting the same for the last 3 days, but held back, coz no admission info is available at this point of time.

Best of luck everybody..... May we all land into DBS (Dream Business School )

Count me in. I'm a college senior though, so it will be an uphill battle.

So I wanted to post my thoughts from my visit to UCLA last week. It was a great visit overall and UCLA is definitely near the top of my list.

I stayed with my girlfriends parents out in Temecula which is a 1.5 hour drive to Westwood on a normal day. With traffic on a weekday it is over 3 hours and bumper to bumper a large part of the way. Needless to say even leaving at 6:45 am, I was about a minute late to my Business Strategy class. Overall, the class was wonderful. We started off discussing a case about Walt Disney and basically the question was what would you divest if the year was 2000? Of course the groups were not allowed to use events that had transpired since then and it was great to hear groups justify their decisions. One of the students had worked as an Imagineer at Disney and could provide some great insights on the management style of one of the executives we discussed in class. I was really impressed at that point.

After class I had a meeting that I had pre-arranged with a student from the Finance Club. I gained some valuable insights on the Finance program at Anderson as well as some information about investment banking recruiting. Basically there are some great professors at Anderson, maybe not as many as at Wharton or Chicago, but some are really top of their field. Only about 45-60 students really want to do I-Banking each year out of 350 or so in the program, so the competition is a little less than other M7 schools. All of the major banks come to campus, roughly about 18-20 each year. They mostly recruit for the LA, SF, and NYC offices. Two things that I learned: first, GMAT matters only if it is below 700, otherwise it doesn't and two, UG GPA really only matters to top banks like Goldman and Lehman. If you have a strong MBA GPA in your first year, then UG GPA probably won't matter as much.

The Finance Club does a tremendous amount for students, including: arranging trips to NY and SF, interview prep by 2nd years, case study presentations by banks, and modeling workshops. Pretty standard at most top finance schools, but I was cool to see they offer their memebers a lot of services.

Another cool thing about UCLA is they allow you to take classes outside Anderson, including Law classes. One class that was offered last year as an elective was a 'Deal' class offered in partnership with the law school. All the class did was analyze past deals with the actual deal bankers and lawyers presenting the material. I thought this was really, really cool.

After lunch, I visited a 1st year core class, Managing & Leading Organizations. The professor really kept the class interesting during the lecture portion of the class. During my visit they discussed negotiation techniques, which I really enjoyed learning. I was impressed how Anderson teaches soft skills such as leadership and negotiation during the core classes. These are really valuable skills for luse ater in life. The professor left me with one piece of wisdom that I will share with you: "Never learn the cynical lesson when the outcome is not in your favor". I thought this was a great lesson for b-school applicants. Even if you don't get in this year, learn where you went wrong and come back stronger next year.

Overall, I thought Anderson was amazing. The facilities were top notch and overall UCLA is a beautiful campus!! I like how the business school is right on campus and doesn't feel isolated like at some other schools I have visited. The students seemed really bright and engaging. Several were tremendously helpful, although the admissions office lived up to its prior reputation. I went in to ask to speak with someone about the new curriculum changes the administration is currently discussing. I was politely told I could not have a 1-on-1 counseling session and was handed the UCLA guidebook instead. The student who helped me obviously had no idea about the new changes.

One final negative I heard from students was the start and end date of classes. Most b-schools start at the beginning of September and recruiting starts almost immediately, while Anderson starts in the beginning of October. This is a slight disadvantage in recruiting, although not that big of a deal. Most students at other schools have already had a full semester of classes by the time 1st year interviews start and students at Anderson have only had fall quarter. Also, Anderson ends classes in the middle of June, when most formal internship programs are already under way.

Hope this helps anyone thinking of applying. Let me know if I can answer any questions about Anderson (as if I'm some kind of expert ) or my provide any additional information about my experience.

I'm located in LA so I have visited a couple of times. I have similar thoughts to you. The school seems to be a gem for Finance/Investment Banking recruiting on the West Coast, and there are not very many students interested in it, so the competition is slim. The faculty and the facilities are both top notch - and it feels like a private school at a public school price. Unlike Columbia and Chicago, which are located in average at best neighborhoods in NYC/Chicago, Anderson is located smack dab in the best part of LA. There are internship opportunities abound within literally a 5 mile radius and the Westside is also the most happening area for 20/30 something young professionals.

One last thing to consider is that private equity/venture capital firms are plentiful on the West Coast and they are a major backbone of the entrepeneurial economy here. It seems very possible to break into a smaller PE/VC firm in Southern California out of Anderson - as it's the highest ranked school in SoCal. It is a step below Stanford for California PE/VC, but I would consider it to be on the same level as Haas.

I'll admit that one big weakness I see in Anderson is consulting recruiting. MBB seem to prefer Haas grads over Anderson, and a lot of the Anderson people interested in consulting seem to end up at 2nd tier firms. I have no interest in consulting - so this won't affect me in the slightest.

In general, I don't think you can go wrong with being a financier on the West Coast. Just looking at simple supply and demand - top investment bankers and financiers are almost a commodity in NYC. There are far fewer of them in California, and the booming economy here still warrants and will continue to warrant a lot of demand for their services.

I completely agree that the location is absolutely top-notch. I love Westwood and the West L.A. area. I think something can be said for being a financier on the West Coast, especially in Southern California. There are plenty of small PE/VC firms that might be willing to hire an Anderson MBA. It could be a great opportunity, but I really don't want to go that route just yet. I really want to go into banking and while I may do recruiting for a VC/PE, I think I have a lot to learn before I can make a real contribution to a VC/PE firm. One day after 3-5 years at a bulge bracket would be ideal for me.

One other concern of mine is the brand recognition of Anderson on the East Coast. I know Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, etc. have a better brand across the country than UCLA. If I want to stay on the West Coast, then UCLA is great, but if I want to go to NYC, then the brand isn't quite as strong. I'm not sure how this will ultimately play into my decision as one of my dreams has always been to work on Wall Street. Maybe not right out of b-school, but sometime down the road.

I'm having trouble making the same decision that you are - i.e. should I go into banking first for a few years. It'll be something to think about and worry about in a years time I guess

As far as NYC placement - if you want to be a banker in NYC, you will have that opportunity from Anderson. Several students at Anderson told me that the BBs have far more demand than availability for spots in the West Coast offices. Once everyone comes to Anderson, they mostly want to stay in California. If you want to go to NYC, they will gladly accomodate you and place you out in NYC. NYC banking jobs are a dime a dozen compared to the relatively few number of spots in the California offices. You are correct that the brand is not as strong, and the Ivy League network dominates Wall Street and NYC, but you will certainly have the opportunity to recruit for NYC jobs and be placed there out of school if that is your desire.

Several experienced bankers say that if you want to make a career in investment banking at a bulge bracket, you would be wise to spend a few years in New York City and build your network/connections there before moving to a regional office. The main decision makers are in NYC, and it is good for them to know you well. Personally, if I attended Anderson, I would take this with a grain of salt as I don't think I'm cut out to be a career banker - I think it's just a great training ground for any finance career.

Thanks for posting your UCLA visit recap! Lots of good information there.

I went to UCLA undergrad and plan on applying for bschool. My time at UCLA weret the best years of my life (I was born and raised on the westside of LA), and I would not mind living in the Westwood bubble for another 2 years. I was actually supposed to go to the diversity workshop that they held last year, but I couldn't make it, so I can't quite speak of class/professor quaity. All I can comment on are the secondary aspects associated with the school. One thing to keep in mind...despite what everyone may tell you, if you go to UCLA, you don't need a car if you live in Westwood village. And if you do bring a car, be prepared to pay high parking fees, get numerous parking tickets, not find parking at all, or get a campus parking pass to a lot that is on the other side of the school (campus is huge). There is a good bus line that will take you directly to Santa Monica/Venice (beach, 3rd st promenade, venice boardwalk etc), and when it comes to partying on the weekends (there are only two bars in the village), you either stay local, take a cab, or get a friend to drive. Everything else you might need, groceries, movie theatre, restaurants, coffee, movie rentals, clothes...even electronics to furniture can be found within walking distance. Just something for you out of staters to keep in mind.

From what I've been seeing, the Anderson network in San Francisco's investment banking community is really something to be reckoned with. I think you'll find just as many Anderson grads in SF I-Banking as you will M7 grads.

I hear you, but as a career-switcher to banking I'm a little concerned about going to SF. I've been talking to several people about the value of the network you develop starting out in NY. I think if you went to a mid-tier like JMP or Thomas Weisel that is based in SF you'd be fine, but I'm wondering how great an advantage you would have at Goldman or Morgan Stanley being in NY over SF.

I love Anderson and would be very happy to get an acceptance there this fall, but after thinking about it a little deeper, I see why a lot of people have UCLA as a backup to the other top finance schools. It's not a knock against Anderson per se, but more a result of their alumni's geographic concentration on the West Coast. The brand just isn't as strong nationally and that is a fact. People always talk about the best school by ranking, but I think it's really more about the best brand. What school has that certain Je-ne-sais-quoi? What school makes everyone else on this board jealous when you get an admittance? That is the power of the brand.

Starting out in NY and developing that network is important if you want to be a career banker. If you want to switch to PE/VC or something else after a few years - I would argue it's easier to do it out of SF than it is out of NY - especially VC. Also, people in California are far less pedigree-oriented than people in NYC - so they could care less whether you went to Anderson or Columbia/Chicago as long as you know your stuff and you're a good person to work with.

Personally, I find technology banking to be the most interesting and if you want to be a tech banker - it doesn't really make sense logically to start out in NYC. Goldman and Morgan's Technology groups in SF are some of the most prestigous banking groups nationwide. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank hold a lot of clout in Tech Banking as well.

To sum it up, given my career goals, if I get admitted to an M7 - I'll probably go. If it's between Anderson/Haas and schools like Duke, Yale, or Tuck - I'll probably just go with Anderson or Haas. I don't particularly have any desire to ever leave California - I moved here last year and I absolutely love it.

I'm available for some of the stuff I found out about Anderson from last year. Good luck y'all!

With the new director of admissions, hopefully it'll be easier for applicants to get in touch with the school. if you have trouble, let me know and I can refer you to some of the people I spoke with last year.

Anyone else think it's a little annoying that UCLA isn't releasing their essays until August? I know that's only a week away (well till the first), but seems so far behind some of the other top schools.

Yes, it is very annoying. In my opinion, actions speak louder than words and this shows me that the school may have a culture of procrastination and being disorganized. Or perhaps, it's just the admissions office.

If you want to start working on their essays, I believe the "Why MBA" and "Tell us about where you grew up" questions are staples of the UCLA application year after year.

unfortunately UCLA is famous for being disorganized (just the admissions office). The school is still great and the staff is super helpful and supportive. Don't give up on the school because of their admissions office. I was hoping they would be a lot better this year with the new admissions director.