Yale SOM vs. UCLA Anderson

Question

Hi all,

I've already committed to Yale, but wanted to ask a question (mostly to feel mentally comfortable with my decision):

Is Yale SOM or UCLA Anderson the better option for someone who wants to pursue a career in finance (VC, PE, or banking)?

My thought process was that SOM is likely better connected to NYC and networking may be better there as compared to UCLA. That said, UCLA sent a lot of people to a lot of great banks according to their most recent employment report, whereas it looks like Yale is struggling a bit (Goldman Sachs, for example, didn't pull a single intern from Yale SOM this year).

So, what are your thoughts? Even though this wont affect my decision (deposit is paid!), perhaps our discussion can help future generations of MBA applicants.

highwyre237 · Answer

Well... would you rather end up in NYC or LA?

If NYC, Yale is the obvious choice, for LA UCLA is the obvious choice. If your goal is anywhere outside of Cal, I'd pick Yale.

aerien · Answer

Ok, y'all know I'm biased but I'll give this anecdote...

My UCLA interviewer wanted to be in finance and he was dissatisfied with the recruiting at Anderson, not necessarily because of Anderson's recruiting office/strength but because of the quarter system. UCLA starts relatively later than most (all?) other schools. While that means you have a really long summer break, it also means that NYU/CBS/Yale/Sloan/HBS all have multiple more chances to visit Wall Street firms and get into the recruiting game earlier. By the time UCLA starts classes and has time to fly to NYC, all these other schools have at least had multiple informal chats/meetings if not more serious internship/full-time talks. That hurts you as a candidate.

Said interviewer did intern/full-time in finance but is still in the LA area at a non-GS/MS/JPM/CS, etc-type firm.

Highwyre is right, if you want to stay in CA (especially southern California), UCLA can be a great option for you. But can you go to Yale and still have a career on the West Coast/outside the Northeast, if that's what you want? I think so!

Feel free to PM if you want more details.

CobraKai · Answer

To be fair, UCLA has babes, sunshine, and In N' Out.

Yale has some skull and bones Movie starring Paul Walker (a guy who would be homeless if it wasn't for the Fast & Furious franchise).

All kidding aside - what the other guys said.

thomashobbes · Answer

Many thanks for the replies! I'm beyond psyched about Yale and am really looking forward to starting in August (wow that's soon!).

codytravers · Answer

I'd mostly agree with everyone else. If you want to work in finance in NYC, definitely Yale. You're within a train ride of the biggest economy in the country. If you want to work in CA, choose UCLA.

I have a co-worker who went to Yale for his MBA. Due to family circumstances he had to move to SF, and is now doing the same thing I do (except obviously I'm pre-MBA and he's post). From what he's said, the Yale MBA network is relatively weak on the West Coast. I'm sure he would have been able to get a much better gig if he went to a West Coast school in the first place.

Truth is, outside of H/W and a lesser extent Stanford it really helps to go to school in the area where you'd like to work (for the top 20 schools).

fremontpea · Answer

Which school is better for working in East Asia (Taiwan, Japan)? My first hunch is Yale because it is part of the Ivy League and carries a stronger brand.

aerien · Answer

I think it depends what industry you want to go into and where you want to be. UCLA has a lot of connections to East Asia, due to proximity and the types of students who attend (e.g., a large percentage of international students there are from East Asia). Yale has connections there as well, and the brand name of the university probably carries some weight as well, but that doesn't mean someone will hand you a job either

Poirot19 · Answer

To revive this question,
UCLA Anderson (with a lot of scholarship) or Yale SOM (no $$$) for a career in consulting?

bb · Answer

Thank you for continuing a strong thread/discussion though your situation is slightly different (Consulting vs. Finance). The two schools are amazingly close ranked and rated. Yale seems to send slightly more people to Consulting jobs than Anderson but that may be geographicaly driven. About 28% of yale grads go into consulting jobs vs 14% or so in UCLA. UCLA is definitely a BIG brand in LA and if you want to be in So Cal down the road, it is a great place and a great network to rely on. UCLA is highly admired and only misses when it comes to Bruins vs. Trojans. The one downside of LA is that many large companies have left SoCal due to taxes and economic climate and you only have regional offices and lots and lots of small and mid-sized businesses. Not that many large companies are left in LA. I can think of Toyota, Amgen, Netstle, Movie studios, or Defense Airspace and that's about it. Yale is Yale - you have the Lux et Veritas and hundreds of years of tradition and a good rivalry with Harvard. It is Ivy League and has a very strong alum base worldwide - i feel it is much more global and tight than UCLA (undergrad and grad). The only downside to Yale i can think of is New Haven. There is only one airline flying into the airport (thank goodness someone is - American flies 3x a day; it used to be none); this makes it tougher to take recruiting trips/fly in and out for holidays/etc; minor pain but can be meaningful. Though Yale campus is super nice, the last time I visited, the town was on a downhill trajectory (it may have improved since then; I would definitely do a campus visit if you have not yet to set the expectations properly). If i were in your situation, I would weigh in your work location after graduation and if you are going into consulting on East Coast, I would probably stick to Yale unless the financial burden would make it impossible to attend. If you are heading to So Cal or planning to be there then Anderson would be a strong choice with the full scholarship which would offset some of the weaknesses with consulting recruitment. P.S. As a full disclosure, I have not attended either school but have visited both campuses, so it makes me somewhat of an expert, right? :lol:

Yale SOM vs. UCLA Anderson

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