The MBA Insider's Blog

How to source strong letters of recommendation

I recently returned from The MBA Tour India where I had the pleasure of visiting Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Pune. The events were all very well attended, and I enjoyed meeting some excellent candidates in the region! I thoroughly enjoyed visiting a number of fascinating sites around the country, as well as sampling the delicious cuisine (and, of course, shopping!)

While in India, I participated on a few admissions panels alongside colleagues from other universities where I was assigned the topic of ‘Letters of Recommendation.’ For those of you who have not had the chance to sit in on an admissions panel this year, I thought I would provide you with a few tips:

-   What is important isn’t necessarily the title of the person writing the letter, but how well they know you in the workplace. At UCLA Anderson, we look to your letters of recommendation to help us assess from a third-party perspective your leadership and management potential, fit with the program, interpersonal skills and teamwork abilities. In most cases, someone you have reported to on a day-to-day basis can provide more insight into these qualities than someone higher up in the organization who may not interact with you regularly.

-   Prepare your recommender as much as possible.  Give them ample time to prepare a strong letter, and perhaps give them a deadline to have the letter prepared by. Provide your recommender with a copy of your resume and remind them of your key accomplishments.

-  Who to ask? At UCLA Anderson, we prefer professional recommendations over academic. Preferably, you should have a letter from your direct supervisor. However, we understand that sometimes candidates are not yet comfortable letting their employer know they are pursuing an MBA. Indirect supervisors (people who have overseen projects you’ve worked on, a manager from another department, etc.) are a good option, as well as former employers, clients (especially for those of you who are self-employed) and supervisors from extracurricular organizations.

Next stop(s)  –  Paris, London, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. I hope to meet more of you “on the road” soon!

UCLA Anderson en route to Brazil, Peru and Chile!

 

This post is going to be very brief as my flight has already started boarding. I am at LAX getting ready to travel to South America. My stops in this trip will include São Paulo, Rio, Lima and Santiago where we will be holding information events along with our great local alumni.

I look forward to meeting some terrific new applicants looking to learn more about our school and our terrific alumni. If you haven't signed up yet, please visit our events page and register (http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/mba-events.xml).

Look for more updates from the road later this week. I have to part ways for now or the next information session I give will be to the TSA staff at the LAX.

Saludos,

Adrian Aguirre
UCLA Anderson

UCLA Anderson Attends the National Black MBA Conference in Indianapolis

Once again the 34th Annual National Black MBA Conference was well attended by some of our UCLA Anderson students as well as students from MBA programs across the country. The conference provided a great opportunity for students to network with peers but more importantly get in front of recruiters. With over 250 companies in attendance, students had a diversity of employment options. Whether students were looking for traditional companies like General Mills or non-traditional companies like the FBI, they were able to find them on the career expo floor.

It's always great to be able to represent UCLA Anderson, support our current students, and connect with UCLA Anderson alums who are representing their companies. I'm looking forward to the 35th Annual Conference in Houston next year!

NBMBAA Conference Recap

The NBMBAA and the city of Indianapolis put on a great conference this year.  We met a good number of competitive applicants for UCLA Anderson, reconnected with alumni representing great organizations, and saw our own students excelling in on-site interviewing sessions.  I'm looking forward to the 2013 NBMBAA conference in Houston.  In the short time frame, the month of October includes visits to Boston, New Haven, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.  But first, back to the "City of Angels" for some rest, relaxation, and weekend fun.

NBMBAA Conference in Indianapolis

I am on my way to the 34th Annual NBMBAA Conference in Indianapolis.  I'm looking forward to connecting with UCLA Anderson students, alumni, and corporate partners from all over the US.  If you are at the conference, Tweet/Facebook/iMessage/etc. me and let's get together for lunch to catch up!

On the road – at Consortium MAPS in Philadelphia

I was in Philadelphia for the Consortium MBA Application Preparation Seminar (MAPS) last Wednesday.  It was a great opportunity to meet some outstanding candidates considering applying to the Consortium and the UCLA Anderson MBA Program.  Many were impressed by the recent news about the increase in applications at UCLA Anderson.

An added bonus was returning to the area for great cheesesteaks at Gino's, and walking the campuses of Drexel University and U Penn.

Philadelphia City Hall

A few FAQs from the road

I've recently had the pleasure of chatting with prospective candidates at The MBA Tour fairs in New York, Boston and Washington DC. It's always interesting to see the types of questions that pop up at these events, and I thought I would post a few FAQs that seem to be on people's minds at this stage in the admissions process.

Q. When is the best time for me to visit campus?

A.  Prospective candidates are welcome to visit campus at any time of the year. Thanks to our lovely LA weather, the UCLA campus is a beautiful place to visit all year round. We hold Group Information Sessions (GIS) on campus year-round. However, if you do have flexibility in your schedule and can visit between mid-October and April, we will have class visits available for you to sign-up for. At the moment, classes are not in session, so it may be best for you to wait until we have some additional offerings for you to get the most out of your campus visit. Schedules for class visits are typically posted in late September/early October, so please keep checking our website for updates.

Q.  Is it to my advantage to apply far in advance of a round deadline?

A.  Our application rounds are not rolling. So, if you decide, for example, you're going to apply for Round 1 (deadline: October 24th), you are at no advantage if you apply on September 1st or October 24th. Admissions officers typically start to review applications after the deadline has passed. However, it might be wise for you to click "submit" a day or two before the deadline just in case you run in to technical problems. Of course, we always recommend that you start working on your application far in advance of the actual round deadline.

Q. Am I at a disadvantage if I'm applying with a non-business undergraduate degree?

A.  UCLA Anderson reviews applications from candidates with all different undergraduate majors. In fact, there isn't really a "typical" degree from which we admit candidates, and we like to have representation from all different backgrounds. For candidates who do not have a lot of quantitative coursework in their degree, we do tend to rely a bit more on the GMAT exam to assess your ability to complete the rigorous quantitative coursework in the first year of the program.

Please be sure to check our events schedule for opportunities to meet our admissions officers in person in a city near you. If we're not in your region this year, don't forget to check out one of our weekly webinars. We're happy to answer any questions you may have about the admissions process and our program! 

On the road - a quick recap of MBA Tour events

It seems like admissions events start earlier and earlier every year - it's only July and we've already been or will be on the road in cities throughout the U.S. this month, with more travel to come from August until November.

I recently got back from Chicago and San Francisco where I attended fairs organized by The MBA Tour.  The event in Chicago was held at the Holiday Inn with a beautiful view of the city and river:

On Friday, I jumped on a plane to the Bay Area and spent a few days enjoying the wonderful weather in San Francisco before spending Sunday meeting prospective candidates at the fair.  I wish I had some pictures to share from my time there, but unfortunately my iPhone battery died!

In both cities, I met many wonderful prospective students for the Class of 2015, and truly enjoyed speaking in depth about our program, including our recently revamped curriculum, amazing SoCal location, and unique student culture.

UCLA Anderson will be at MBA Tour events in NY, Boston, and DC in the next few days - if you're currently in one of these cities, we'd love to meet you! And if not, please check out our event calendar online for more information on ways to meet us - either on-campus, off-campus, or virtually. 

Another Successful OP Experience

It's been a few weeks since we returned from this year's OP in Minneapolis and our students are keeping busy building a relationship with the company representatives that they met. For those of you who don't know, OP is the Consortium's week long Orientation Program that brings students of the seventeen member schools together. Not only does OP bring the students together but it also gives them an opportunity to participate in workshops, work on professional development, and explore recruiting opportunities.

The 15 students in our newest Consortium class and two second year school liaisons represented us proudly in their UCLA Anderson vests.

 

 

Meet UCLA Anderson at Kaplan's Road to Business School series

Another opportunity to meet UCLA Anderson admissions staff and alumni will be at Kaplan's Road to Business School series, which kicks off tomorrow in London and continues in several cities throughout the U.S.  Various staff members will be present at all eleven cities on the tour, and I myself will be attending the Kaplan events in Chicago (8/9), Seattle (8/11), and San Francisco (8/13) - mention this blog when we meet and receive a special gift! :D

For a complete list of cities in the Road to Business School series and to register, click here.  Looking forward to meeting you soon!

-Jessica