The MBA Insider's Blog

Admissions update - small batch of decisions released

Hello everyone!  The MBA Admissions team recently revisited our waitlist and admitted a small batch from this group earlier this week.  Waitlisted candidates who have not received a decision at this time will remain on the waitlist for now, and an update on the status of your application will be sent no later than the Round 3 decision deadline of June 6th.  Please feel free to send updates to your file as outlined in our waitlist guidelines post (remember all updates are completely optional).  We will continue to revisit the waitlist periodically throughout the summer. 

Our office is still very busy evaluating Round 3 candidates, and as always we thank all of our applicants for your continued patience, enthusiasm, and courtesy as we get through the home stretch of Fall 2012 applications in the next several weeks.

2012 Entrepreneur Association Conference - May 11th

Each year, the Entrepreneur Association (EA) Conference attracts more than 500 entrepreneurs, investors, students and faculty for a day of networking, instruction, and inspiration.

This year’s conference theme is Vision in Action, highlighting the lifecycle of an entrepreneur from idea to execution. Through a series of panels, case studies, and keynote presentations, conference attendees will share matters important to seeing and seizing new business opportunities.

Mark Suster, partner at GRP Partners and founder of Launchpad LA, and Mike Jones, entrepreneurial internet executive, former CEO of Myspace and founder of Science, Inc., will keynote the conference. A series of panels and case studies featuring local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and industry experts are also scheduled.

The EA Conference will take place Friday, May 11. For more information and to register, please click here.

Remaining Round 2 Decisions Released

The MBA Admissions Office released our remaining Round 2 decisions yesterday morning.  The number and quality of our applicants was so high that it was difficult to select our admits from the variety of great folks we got to know on-screen. 

Candidates who are on the wait list should check their emails for a status update request.  Submitting additional information for the admissions committee's consideration is possible, as explained in the waitlist guidelines blog post with details on our waitlist policy. Applicants waitlisted without an interview have been notified via email to schedule an interview with us shortly.

To all our applicants, we want to thank you for your spirit and for sharing your stories with us throughout this process!

UCLA Anderson and Forte Foundation to bring "Career Lab" to LA-area undergraduate women

Forté Foundation and UCLA Anderson will host their second annual “Career Lab” in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, April 11th. The event, which will take place at UCLA Anderson, B210, Gold Hall, 110 Westwood Plaza, will present panels of career women who will share how they have benefited both personally and professionally from a career in business and an MBA . The event will also offer networking, a career workshop about breaking into different industries, and refreshments. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore their own passions and learn strategies for applying them to a professional career.

The Career Lab will present women’s perspectives on topics that are important to undergraduate women, including:
• Career Workshop with Regina Regazzi, Executive Director of Corporate Relations, Parker Career Management Center
• Women in Business / Industry Introduction Panel – Perspectives from UCLA Anderson alumnae and current MBA students from various industries
• Networking
• Business School Admissions Tips / Q&A with Admissions Officers

Undergraduates at area colleges and universities are invited to take part in all or part of the Career Lab offerings. Women of ALL majors are encouraged to attend. The Career Lab is a non-threatening yet powerful forum for young women to figure out what they want to do with their professional lives. Seats are limited, so attendees are encouraged to visit http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=10221 for more information and to register. The registration deadline is Monday, April 9th.

We hope to see you there!

Another batch of early Round 2 decisions released

The MBA Admissions office released another small batch of decisions earlier this morning.  We are continuting to interview candidates and evaluate files and at this point do not plan to release any more decisions until the notification deadline of Wednesday, April 4th.  Again, we are working hard as we wrap up our remaining Round 2 applicants and thank you for your patience!

Early Round 2 decisions released

Happy Friday!

The MBA Admissions office released an early batch of decisions late yesterday afternoon.  Please note that this was a relatively small group and that we are still evaluating files, conducting interviews and sending out interview invitations as we speak.  Some, not all, admits also received fellowship offers, so be assured that upcoming Round 2 admits will definitely be considered for fellowships as well.

As I mentioned previously, we are still sending out interview invites, and plan to do so for the next few weeks.  We are doing our best to evaluate all files as quickly and carefully as possible and really appreciate your patience as we process our biggest round of the year.  Our office plans to release another small batch of decisions in the next week or two, but expect that the vast majority of Round 2 applicants will get their decisions on the final release deadine of April 4th. 

Waitlist Guidelines

Our remaining Round 1 decisions were released last week, and we’ve received a number of questions from candidates who were placed on the waitlist.  For clarification on our waitlist policy this year, please read on.

• Your name will remain on the waitlist until a final decision is made on your application or you request your application be withdrawn.
• Waitlisted candidates (excluding those who withdraw) will be reconsidered for admission in subsequent rounds. 
• Specifically, Round 1 applicants will receive an update on your application status by the Round 2 decision deadline of April 4, 2012.  Some candidates may be offered the option of remaining on the waitlist for consideration in Round 3.
• Waitlisted candidates may send in updates to their application since the Round 1 deadline to wlmgr@anderson.ucla.edu.  This is completely optional.
• We ask that you use your personal judgment and discretion in submitting information that is relevant to your application.  Some examples include (but are not limited to): updated GMAT scores, promotions at work, and recent extracurricular accomplishments.
• We cannot give individual feedback to waitlisted applicants.
• Chances of being admitted off the waitlist are difficult to predict since the number of students admitted from the waitlist varies from year to year depending on the size/strength of the admit pool, number of admits who enroll, and other factors.

Before you rush to submit additional information to the waitlist manager, please keep in mind that:

• Every interaction we have with you moving forward can be a data point on your file – make sure your interactions are targeted and value-added
• This is the busiest time of year for most admissions offices
• Quality of information/communication count more than quantity

As always, we appreciate your continued enthusiasm for UCLA Anderson and thank you for your patience as we craft the Class of 2014.

Mid-January admissions update

Our office is on the home stretch finalizing Round 1 decisions, and we are also polishing up our iPad screens to gear up for some intense Round 2 file reading.  The next several months are going to be extremely busy for us, especially given that applications for the full-time MBA program are up again this round!  Not only are the numbers looking good, but the quality of the pool continues to impress us, and we're definitely looking forward to meeting more outstanding candidates as we craft the Class of 2014 . 

On that note, here's an update on what our applicants can expect over the next few months:

- Round 1 decisions: The rest of our R1 decisions will be released on the morning of Wednesday, January 25th (Pacific Time).  You can log into your online application for a status update then.  Admitted students will also receive a phone call from the admissions office (or an email if we are unable to reach you).

- Round 2 applications: The vast majority of R2 files will be released to the admissions committee after round 1 decisions are out.  Although the application deadline was a week ago, we want to make sure each R1 application gets adequate evaluation time by the admissions committee before focusing on R2.  Which takes us to our next item...

- Round 2 interviews: Interview invitations will be sent via email starting next month.  We anticipate most will take place throughout February and March, depending on how quickly the admissions committee can evaluate applications.  Please note that R2 is our heaviest round by volume, so even though we will devote our time and resources into file reading, it will still take time to go through each one.  We thank you in advance for your patience through this process!

- Cool happenings: We have some amazing executives coming up on campus this year, such as Vice-Chairman & CEO of McDonald's Corporation Jim Skinner and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki.   Off-campus, faculty member Jim Stengel will be a featured speaker at this year's TED Conference in Long Beach.  Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for updates on these and other upcoming events.

Hello 2012!

A happy new year to our readers!  2011 was an exciting year for us with lots of great changes, and 2012 is already off to a wonderful start.  The admissions team was busy reading files throughout the university closure period, and we arrived back in the office today ready to release many more round 1 interview invitations.  We are wrapping up our round 1 files and will continue to invite applicants to interviews over the next few weeks. 

With the Round 2 deadline just about a week away, we're also gearing up for the busiest time of the admissions cycle, as this is typically the round in which we receive the greatest number of applications.  Layer on top of these impending files all of our upcoming admit events, winter admissions events with Inside the MBA and The MBA Tour, plus tons of other ongoing projects and you can see that the life of an admissions officer is never boring.  But hey, that's what we love about this job :)  Remember to check Facebook and Twitter for quick application tips and updates in the days leading up to the deadline.

One last update - class visits for winter quarter will begin on Tuesday, January 17th and registration is now open.  Click here to sign up (select Category 04. Full-Time MBA: Class Visit and search in the date range desired).

As always, feel free to send us any questions/thoughts via the comments section below, email, or phone.

International Students Play “Big Role” at UCLA Anderson

Working as a marketing director in Mexico City, Ron Friedman decided it was time to earn an MBA – in the U.S. In addition to wanting to open new doors in his career and gain a better understanding of the marketing field, he also wanted to follow in his brothers’ footsteps by going to a top school in the U.S.

We asked Ron, who graduated last May and works as a senior brand manager for L’Oreal, to talk with us about why he chose to come to UCLA Anderson and to share some of his experiences as an international student. Here’s what he had to say:

“I decided to come to Anderson because it was the best cultural fit. I felt a different energy here that was very welcoming and vibrant. Also, Anderson is known for its collegial atmosphere and that fit both with my personality and also my line of work in marketing, which is more team oriented.

“After interviewing with an alumnus in Mexico City, I was admitted and my wife and I moved to LA. Immediately upon arriving, Anderson held a special Orientation program just for international students, which was really helpful. It turned out that around 40% of my class was from all over the world. We even have six other Mexican students as well as many students from throughout Latin America. Our study groups always included an international student or two so that we were exposed to American students and vice versa.

“As we got into the school year, I became president of the Latin American Business Association and we held a ton of academic and social events that focus on the Latin American region like a Brazilian Carnival party last winter. International students play a big role at Anderson and all students are impacted by and benefit from each of our cultures.

“On the academic and career side of things, there is a lot of support for international students. We can participate in programs to help with things like improving our language skills and we have our own staff member in the Parker Career Management Center who works with students who have international career interests or need assistance with Visa issues. The school really puts an emphasis on taking care of the international students.

“Living in Los Angeles was a great experience as well. With a big international airport, we could easily fly home to Mexico City, but we also had access to great restaurants and cultural events in the city. LA is a microcosm of the world and it’s easy for international students to find places of comfort that remind us of home.

“During the last two years, I’ve met an incredible number of interesting people and had so many opportunities both in terms of my career search and future endeavors. Coming here from Mexico was completely worth it – it’s been the best experience so far in my life.”