The MBA Insider's Blog

Veterans Day Holiday

The UCLA Anderson MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Office will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 in observance of U.S. Veterans Day. We will be back at work the following day, Thursday, the 12th at 8 a.m.

Women in the MBA on Monday, November 2

Please consider joining us this Monday, November 2nd for our special preview event, Women in the MBA. Learn more about the UCLA Anderson experience and our commitment to developing female business leaders.  The day includes lunch, a campus tour, class observation, an information session and the opportunity to engage in intimate dialogues with current students, alumni and staff.  Register now!

Recruiting MBA's in London

The last stop on my European recruiting tour featured two events where I met interesting candidates:  the QS World Tour MBA fair and our UCLA Anderson Information Evening held in Royal London House.  Fortunately our alumni panel at the Info Eve was able to mingle for quite awhile after the presentation, so everybody got their one-on-one questions answered too.  At the MBA fair all five of our current second-year students on exchange at London Business School showed their eloquent Anderson spirit.  Prospective students definitely appreciated the insights from those already living the MBA experience.  Afterwards our team went out for a fun dinner -- it was the best possible send-off for my return home, and I look forward to seeing our current students again when they come back in January.

Tips on Preparing Your Audio or Video Clip Essay

Here are some insights into why the UCLA Anderson MBA program's application for admission includes an essay that can be submitted via audio or video clip and how to approach this option.

Rationale
The reasons for offering the audio and video options are two-fold: 1) to respond to applicant requests for additional means to present themselves to the Admissions Committee before an interview and 2) to augment written essays with more multidimensional verbal and/or visual communication methods. Based on our experience last year, multimedia gave us additional insights into applicant personality, sense of humor, intonation, verbal skills, creativity, etc.

The Question
For those of you who have not seen our application essays, Question 4, listed below is the one that allows for audio or video (or written) response:

Select and respond to one of the two following questions:

a. Entrepreneurship is a mindset that creates new opportunities in established and new organizations.  Describe an instance in which you exhibited this mindset.

b. What is something people will find surprising about you?

Tips on Preparing the Audio or Video Clip

• submit a written essay if you prefer that option to an audio or video clip
• avoid the Shakespeare Syndrome: we are more interested in your ability to communicate cogently and clearly than in your ability to write like a future Nobel Laureate
• forget the Hollywood Lights: we are more interested in your ability to communicate cogently and clearly than in your ability to present like Elizabeth Taylor or Kirk Douglas
• listen to a few from audio clips from last year on our MBA home page to get a sense of what applicants submitted (and close your eyes; the animations associated with these clips were created after-the-fact by UCLA film students)
• learn from your predecessors, who enjoyed creating an audio clip once they got over the fear!
  

UCLA Anderson MBAs Go Global

Beginning with the Class of 2012, MBA students will have an international requirement that can be fulfilled in one of three ways: 1) take an international elective, 2) spend a term abroad at one of more 50 premier global partner business schools, or 3) complete an international Applied Management Research (AMR) project.

From Israel to Europe to UCLA MBA

My trip to recruit international students for our MBA Class of 2012 started in Tel Aviv and continues through several cities in Europe.  Frankfurt and Milan were just brief stops for our UCLA Anderson Information Evenings.  Here in Paris the QS World MBA Tour fair introduced many prospective applicants to our program, and some of them also came to our Information Evening to learn more in depth.  Faithful alumni and our current students on exchange at the HEC MBA program were all most helpful in sharing their experiences at UCLA Anderson.  Next comes London, my final stop, where more students and alumni are waiting to help shine a spotlight on our school.

    

 

Fernando Montero, Class of 2010, Reflects on Year 1 of B-school

Don't miss the most recent Business Week MBA Journal post by Class of 2010 student, Fernando Montero. Fernando, no stranger to hard work, travel and cross-cultural experiences, reflects on the unexpected lessons of business school.

East-West Finance at UCLA Anderson

I participated on a panel hosted by the Private Equity Association of Los Angeles (PEALA) earlier this week, along with representatives from other top MBA programs, including Stanford, Harvard, Kellogg, and Columbia. Each of us panelists spoke about the finance curriculum and activities at our business schools. I was pleased to share just a few of the many offerings of UCLA Anderson, including:

• Top-ranked, World-Renowned, Finance Faculty: UCLA Anderson has four fomer presidents of the American Finance Association on faculty, was recently ranked #1 in the world for its Finance Ph.D. Program (you'll get to know these faculty as an MBA), and offers access to a wide variety of resources.  
• Fink Center for Finance & Investments: endowed by Blackrock CEO, Larry Fink, and his wife, Lori, the center hosts distinguished speakers in finance, global conferences (e.g., Alternative Assets Conference of '07, Global Finance Conference of '08), and other events.
• Student Investment Fund (SIF): alumni report that this fund regularly outperforms the market. Many students who have participated in this fund have gone on to work on Wall Street and assume positions in major financial institutions.
• Investment Finance Association (IFA): one of the largest organizations on campus, with 300+ current members and thousands of IFA alumni. The IFA hosts diverse events, including workshops in valuation and financial modeling, rountables in investment management and private equity, and events dedicated to corporate finance and women in finance.
• Diverse Finance Electives: select from more than 50 electives, with an opportunity to specialize in investment banking/investment management, corporate finance, and/or venture capital and private equity.

So, if you think we're strictly media and entertainment or not serious about finance, then get to know us. UCLA Anderson offers world class curricula taught by world class faculty across business areas.

Attend a sample UCLA Anderson MBA Class this Saturday at the World MBA Tour

UCLA Anderson professor Sanjay Sood will be leading a sample MBA class at the OS World MBA Tour this Saturday, October 3rd at 3:00 p.m, in Downtown Los Angeles. Professor Sood specializes in cutting edge research in marketing management, brand management, advertising and consumer behavior. This class will be a great experience for prospective applicants interested in learning more about what class is like at UCLA Anderson.

While you are there, don't forget to stop by the UCLA Anderson table to meet Adrian Aguirre, one of our Associate Directors and some of our current students to learn about the school, admissions process and requirements.

Event Information:

World MBA Tour

When: Saturday, Oct. 3rd at 3:00 p.m.

Where: World MBA Tour Wilshire Grand Los Angeles

Register at: www.topmba.com

Representatives from MBA Admissions, the Parker Career Management Center and students from UCLA Anderson visited the great city of New Orleans last week to participate in the 31st Annual National Black MBA Association Conference.  The event drew over 5000 attendees and over 300 corporations. The conference is focused on stimulating discussion about education, diversity, professional development and career advancement for MBA's.  The conference provided a great opportunity for students of the African American Students in Management to network with their MBA peers from other institutions and also potential recruiters.