The MBA Student Voice

School's Out For Summer!

It's hard to believe, but my first year at Anderson has come to a close! Well, there are a couple of take home assignments to wrap up, but as of today all of my classes and in-person exams are over. 

It's been a year for the ages... I've learned a ton in the classroom, met some amazing people who I'm sure will be life-long friends, and had some memorable experiences. 

Now that school is out, it's time for a week of relaxation, and then off to the San Francisco Bay Area for my summer internship at Hewlett-Packard!

I'll be working in the Workforce Strategy group at HP, and am excited to get started! I'll be sure to keep you all updated this summer as to how the internship goes. 

In the meantime, here's a few photos from over the course of the year... so many memories!

Welcome to Anderson! Beautiful entrance into the complex everyday. 

Class of 2014 pride was shown off during social events during orientation. 

Our first learning team bonding activity took place during the scavenger hunt part of orientation. 

We've been through Game Days...

Taken advantage of LA's professional sporting events...

And traveled the world...

Through it all, the first year has reaffirmed that Anderson provides the type of education and experiences that make anything possible!

 (plane sky writing that "The sky is not the limit UCLA")

Until next time, 

~Kyle Forrest, follow me on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA

2/3 Through Year 1, 1/3 Through the MBA!

With the winter quarter having wrapped up and spring quarter just beginning, it's hard to believe... I'm 2/3 of the way done with my first-year! All that remains between me and my summer internship are the 10 weeks of Spring Quarter (which will be action packed). On top of that, I'm 1/3 of the way done with my entire Anderson MBA experience! That is even more mind-blowing...

With that in mind, I'm dedicating this blog post to some activities that took place over the end of Winter Quarter and Spring Break. 

Academics Wrap-Up

The one required core class for Winter Quarter is Operations and Technology Management. Above you can see the wheel of knowledge that you move around throughout the quarter. While the class is challenging, as its the first time many of us have been exposed to operations in a granular fashion, I certainly learned a lot. Especially after learning about Queuing Theory - now everytime I see a long line I just want to fix it!

The second core class that you have the option to take in the Winter Quarter (if not in Winter, then you take it in Spring) is Strategy. This was my first class that is truly case-based - every class there was a case to read. Above you can see the themes that we learned about through all the cases. It was an amazing class, and a great way to learn a lot about a wide-variety of industries and companies through the case material.  

Our Strategy professor also closed out the quarter for us with some "gratuitous remarks" (shown above). The biggest takeaway I had was that people should keep their minds open to careers they hadn't previously thought of before entering business school - examples include health care, where the large scale reforms require tons of changes that business managers can assist with, and "non-sexy industries" such as baby carrots, where people have the opportunity to do exciting work and make a great living but might not have an exciting job from an outsider's perspective. 

UCLA Anderson Harlem Shake

 

On the non-Academic front, Anderson hopped on the Harlem Shake trend to pull together a video of our own right before spring break. Here it is, along with a look behind the scenes below. 

Behind the scenes

 

And from a smaller group of students, done on a beautiful, 75 degree day in Hermosa Beach... Harlem Shake Hermosa Beach

 

 

Japan Spring Break

This trip was unbelievable. 120 first-years, second-years, and significant others visited Kyoto, Osaka, Atami, and Tokyo over the course of 9 days. I need to give another HUUUGGEEE shout-out to the organizers who pulled off an incredible job! Some highlights are below: 

In Kyoto we had the pleasure of witnessing the last day of a 15-day long sumo tournament, which rotates cities on a bi-monthly basis. Our timing couldn't have been better! Having heard about sumo, but never seen it on TV or live before, it was quite the experience. There were some epic bouts that really got the crowd going, some matches that ended almost before they even began it seemed like, and plenty of ceremony.  

At one shrine along our journey, we had the chance to be instructed in zen meditation. It was a very peaceful moment during the trip, and gave everyone a chance to pause, take a breath, and relax. During the second part of meditation, we had the opportunity for the monk to help us "focus" by asking him to politely tap us on the back with a stick. Apparently this is done to monks in training to help clear their minds - not as painful as I thought it would be!

Another highlight was the trip to one of the Toyota factories and showroom. In the Operations Management class we had a case about Toyota, where we learned all about the Toyota Production System which is world-renowned in manufacturing circles. This was an incredible chance to see what we had learned in action - and also check out some really cool cars. One of the Lexus' on the showroom floor had back massages installed in the back seat! 

We had the good fortune of being welcomed by blooming cherry blossoms upon our arrival in Tokyo. Apparently they bloom annually sometime between March 25 and April 4, so we were truly lucky. It made for some gorgeous photo taking and walks around town from one location to another. 

Some of my classmates were adventurous enough to go to the Tsukiji fish market to witness the auction that takes place every morning for fresh fish. Now we know where the sushi we eat in LA comes from!

Looking forward into the Spring Quarter, it's jam packed! Over the course of April we have Anderson Admit Days (aka A-Days) where a large number of admitted students from the class of 2015 will come to Anderson for a weekend full of events; we have C4C Sports Weekend at Stanford where the battle for the Golden Briefcase will be decided; we have AnderProm, the annual spring formal; and tons of other events that take advantage of Anderson's location in LA and the beautiful spring weather. 

I'll be sure to keep you filled in on all the action!

Until next time, 

~Kyle Forrest, follow me on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA

 

 

Lets talk High Tech!

It is that time of the year where a lot of you must be deciding which MBA school to go to (of course you should choose UCLA Anderson!). For those of you interested in technology or those who have not decided what they want to do after their MBAs, I want to share with you why Anderson is such a great place for transitioning to a job in the high tech industry. 

 

Location!

Anderson is located very close to Silicon Valley, the San Francisco bay area, and Seattle. You can find the headquarters of all the major high tech companies in these areas. For example Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Ebay, etc. All just a drive or a short plane ride away.

Los Angeles is also home of many startups, including those in the high tech industry, but you don't have to take my word for it, click here to read a great article from Forbes about why Los Angeles is becoming the new tech startup capital. 

Lastly, we are very close to Las Vegas which is home of the annual CES convention. Fellow blogger Kyle Forest just wrote an awesome post telling you all about it which you can find here. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend you do so! 

 

Parker CMC!

We just talked about the awesome location but how can you really leverage it? The Parker CMC , which is Anderson's Career Management Center, has a great relationship with all the high tech companies.  Most of them recruit on campus and post positions through Parker CMC. 

You can follow Parker CMC on facebook here. They do a splendid job coaching and preparing us for networking and interviews. They have a class just for this on your first quarter, they do workshops, and you can book an appointment with any of the advisors every week. Actually one of the greatest advices I can give you when you start your MBA is to meet with an advisor every week. They will do mock interviews with you, review your resume and cover letters, address your concerns, guide you on how to get your dream job, and so much more. I usually meet with Emily Taylor or Regina Regazzi, who have done an amazing job coaching me and I highly recommend both of them.  Needless to say you can't go wrong with any advisor you decide to work with, they are all great! 

This is Emily teaching us about Parker CMC during our first days of class! 

 

Alumni!

We have Alumni in almost any company you might be interested in and they are all happy to talk to you about their experience. It is actually one of my favorite things about Anderson, we have a great community where everyone helps each other out and that does not stop upon graduation. Contacting an Alumni is very easy, we have an ever growing database where you can search for them and obtain their e-mails. 

 

We have ACT Coaches!

You must be wondering what ACT Coaches are, they are second years who meet with a group of first years for an hour every week to guide and mentor them on their job search. ACT groups can be by industry or function, for example I am in an ACT group for high tech and in another one for finance. Let's discuss the high tech ACT group since this is a post about high tech. These are my Act Coaches: 

Meet Joshua Stark and Bradford Lyman from class 2013! 

Can we talk about how awesome Josh and Brad are? They keep us up to date with tech news, practice interview questions with us, and guide us all the way from how to decide what companies to target to how to get the most out of your internship. It is so nice to have a fellow second year to talk to about these things and their advice has been so helpful! I am amazed by how they know so much! 

 

We have Mentors!

If Parker CMC and ACT Coaches are not enough for you we also have mentorship programs in many of Anderson's clubs. I have a mentor from the HTBA (High Tech Business Association) and from the WBC (Women's Business Connection). When looking for a mentor in the high tech industry don't just look in the HTBA, many other clubs, like the WBC, will offer you mentors that match your function, country of origin, gender, etc. but that doesn't mean they can't also match your target industry! My mentors Daisy Chen and Shiva Ramesh from class 2012 have been providing me invaluable advice and connecting me with many other alumni. I highly recommend that you sign up for mentorship programs when you are at Anderson. 

 

HTBA and Tech Treks!

The HTBA (High Tech Business Association) organizes events throughout the year to help you meet and talk to representatives from high tech companies. Some of these events are:

-Career nights:  They are kind of like speed dating. You sit at a table with representatives from a certain company and after some time the organizer indicates that it is time to switch tables. It is really fun!

-Tech treks: The HTBA assigns companies for you to visit or you bid for them in a raffle system. You get to visit one or two companies per day and there is always an alumni networking event too. There is one for Seattle and one for the Sillicon Valley area and they usually happen during winter. 

Anderson students at Microsoft's campus in Seattle 

-Brunches: As the name implies it is a brunch with company representatives. There is going to be one this Sunday organized by the HTBA and the WBC (Women's Business Connection).

 

If all this did not convince you, I encourage you to visit our campus and talk to some current students. That played a big role for me when deciding what MBA to go to. If you can't come to campus contact some students by e-mail or phone, they are all very friendly and happy to help!

 

-Alejandra Rodriguez '14
Follow UCLA Anderson at @UCLAMBA

Glad to Be Back! Winter Quarter at Anderson Begins...

Whew, made it through the first quarter! After four straight finals that required me to know...

Assets = Liability + Equities (Accounting)

That the Firm is at the center of everything (Economics)

How to analyze a case using 3C, STP, 4P (Marketing)

And a variety of statistical methods (Data and Decisions aka Stats). 

I then went off and had a relaxing winter break. Now, fully rested and recovered, here I am at the end of week one of the Winter Quarter, and now more than ever am super excited to be at UCLA Anderson. 

Why am I super excited you might ask? Not that I didn't have an absolute blast in the fall quarter and learn a lot, this is the quarter where I get to experience many of the reasons I came to Anderson, starting with...

- Electives

This quarter we had more freedom in choosing our schedule, as the only two mandatory core classes for Winter Quarter are Operations Technology Management and whichever class out of Marketing and Finance you did not do in the fall (I'm in Finance). We had the option of doing Business Strategy now or in the spring (I'm taking it now), and of taking electives, whether at Anderson or classes offered through other graduate or undergraduate programs.

I'm taking Pay and Rewards in Organizations, since I thought it'd be pretty cool to learn about different ways firms try to incentivize employees. I don't have any action photos for this post, but here's a picture of Professor Phillip Leslie, who spoke at our Orientation closing ceremony and is the Business Strategy professor this quarter. 

- Extracurriculars

While continuing to be involved in the Riordan Fellow Mentor program, I'm also going to start volunteering with Project Echo. Project Echo is a business plan competition for high school students who are mentored through the business plan development process by teams of Anderson students. Not only is it a great opportunity for me to give back to the community, but its a valuable experience to watch people go through the process of bringing their idea to life. 

During the Winter Quarter, training for the Challenge 4 Charity sports weekend at Stanford will also begin, along with additional volunteering and fundraising activties. Right before classes started we participated in a Junior Achievement Bowl-a-thon, which proved to me that I should stick to team sports for Stanford weekend.

 (The eight section C bowlers out of the ~50 or so bowlers. We rocked it.)

- LA Marathon

On Sunday, March 18, I'll finally get the up close and personal tour of Los Angeles that I've been waiting for when I run the LA marathon. According to Runner's World Magazine, the race was named the nation's best big city marathon - no wonder Anderson's location in LA was such a key factor in my decision to come (well, other than all of the career related opportunities LA offers as well)!

After starting at Dodger Stadium, I'll get the chance to run by landmarks such as the Pantages Theater, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, and ultimately finish at the Santa Monica Pier, where I can plunge in the ocean to immediately begin icing my legs down. 

- Japan Trip

The shining light at the end of this quarter is the spring break trip to Japan organized by the Japan America Business Association (JABA). Last year over 90 students went on the trip, and I think we're on pace to easily top 100 this year. Highlights of the trip include visits to the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto and trying Zen meditation, checking out the entertainment district in Osaka, touring a Toyota factory and chilling out in the Atami hot springs, and of course, last but not least, SUMO!!!

That's all for now - I'll be back next week with more, as I'm heading out to Las Vegas tonight with members of the High Tech Business Association to attend the Consumer Electronics Show. 

Until next time, 

~Kyle Forrest, follow on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA 

Hawaii (redux) and NAAMBA

Only about three months have come and gone since my last post about my summer in San Francisco.  I think we're reaching a new record here, folks.  So I've decided to make this a massive, bandwidth-bustingly pic-heavy post to make up for my disappearance over the last several months.

My summer internship experience was a great one and it ended in mid-August.  The second year of school starts on Thursday, 9/27.  So what have I been doing the entire time?

Besides much career-focused deliberating, general soul-searching, and Instagramming any and all food items that come my way, I decided to make a trip to the National Association of Asian MBAs (NAAMBA) conference and expo a few weeks ago.  I was already in the Bay area so I figured it couldn't hurt to peruse around.  There, I ran into one of our Parker Career Center directors, Phil Han:

I also ran into my name (almost-)twin, another MBA student who goes to USC Marshall:

Continue clicking to read more!  

Relaxing Before the Action Begins

Last time I checked in was on the way to Costa Rica, so this will be a short blog post about the value of a relaxing vacation (whether international or otherwise) prior to the pre-orientation trips, orientation, and school!

My trip to Costa Rica started out with a bang...when the hydraulic support for one of the engines on our plane decided not to start. Three hours later, after two mechanical fixes, two trips back to gate, a deplane and re-board, we departed LA.

A few hours after that we arrived in Houston just in time for me to miss my connection to Costa Rica. Who would have thought that three hours of a layover would turn into an overnight trip? Fortunately, my girlfriend still lives in Houston, so a disappointing flight experience turned into an unplanned visit with her and our dog Campbell. 

(Cam, as we call him, is an adopted terrier mix. Super friendly, super quiet, thinks he's a person.)

The next morning I was back at the airport and finally on my way to Costa Rica. I flew into Liberia, which is a smaller airport on the west side of the country, and significantly closer to Tamarindo (my final destination) than the main airport in San Jose. An hour's drive brought me from the airport to the cabina that I was renting for my trip, where I immediately dropped into a waiting hammock. 

(I love hammocks...perfect place to relax.)

Once I settled into my apartment, I wandered the town to get my bearings, and then proceeded to spend the rest of my trip hanging at the beach. 

 

(My attempt at a photographic shot of the beach through some palm trees.)

I'm a huge fan of the beach as a place to relax and take your mind off of things, which is why I chose Costa Rica as my getaway prior to school starting. I think it's important for people to have the chance to take a breather after they've moved, worked there way through some of the pre-orientation tasks, and the general stress/excitement that comes with starting a new thing. 

Apparently I'm not the only one who thought the beach would be a good place to relax and think... but as shown below, I prefer to do my relaxing with a beer in one hand and a book (or e-book) in the other. 

Having never been to Costa Rica before the trip, I was impressed with the general friendliness of the people in Tamarindo. I was also surprised that there were quite a few expatriates who owned/operated several restaurants, hostels, and surf schools in town - people who had come to visit and never left. 

(A crab tried to join the crew at a local bar one night during some Olympics watching. It made it out of the bar alive...I think. The bar did serve dishes with crab and this one was crawling towards the kitchen. Fate?)

While in Costa Rica, I finished reading The Start-Up of You, which offers a fascinating perspective about approaching your career in a similar fashion to how entrepreneurs establish start-up companies. For more on it, and other good books to read pre-MBA, check out fellow blogger Ann's post!

Right before leaving Costa Rica I found out that my pre-orientation trip had been cancelled (not enough people signed up) and I switched to another one. With the knowledge that I'd still be on the water (I went from canoeing to kayaking), I went down to the beach for one last sunset and mentally prepared myself for all that was about to start. 

I left Costa Rica refreshed and excited... and my excitement only continues to grow as we get closer to school starting. 

Next post will be about my pre-orientation trip!

~Kyle Forrest, follow on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA 

Tips to prepare for the move!

I am leaving for Los Angeles on Sunday morning and I have no idea how I will manage to get everything ready on time! I haven't even finished packing yet but I am very excited about moving!

According to google maps it takes 471 hours to walk from my house in Monterrey to Weyburn Terrace in Los Angeles. Good thing I am going by plane!

 Looking back there are a few tips I wish I would have known when I started preparing so I will now share them with all my lovely readers:

 - Inquire your cellphone service company about the procedure to cancel your mobile's phone number. It sounds silly but the cellphone company that provided me service required me to make an appointment to return in one month to cancel the mobile's number.

- Close all bank accounts and credit cards you will no longer be using and do so early. It's risky to even keep savings accounts open if you are not using and monitoring them because banks often change the account's minimum balance or the credit card's fees with just a small note in the account statement or e-mail. If you don't notice or are unable to act on the changes it could result in unwanted charges in your accounts. Your account's information can also be stolen and misused and it is difficult to discuss these problems with your bank if it resides outside the U.S. Some banks even refuse to cancel your accounts if you don't go to the banking center where the account was opened. Plan to do this with time because it can be a long process. I have been trying to close an account for two months and till no luck!

- For the bank accounts of credit cards you want to keep, check the expiration date on the card. You might find your card will expire soon after your arrival to the U.S. and they will probably only mail you the new card to an address in your home country. If you tell your bank you lost it they will send you a new one with a later expiration date.

- If there are funds you need to take with you to the U.S., research about banks in your home country that allow you to open a bank account in the U.S. Airports only let you take a limited amount of cash with you so this could greatly help you move your funds.

- Even if you won't pack till last minute start sorting your things early! It takes longer than you think specially if you have lived in your current place for long or if you are kind of a hoarder (like me). It took me two days just to sort through my accesories! Look at all the ones I gave away, I don't even know where all that came from:

Can you believe I used to wear that pink necklace during college? Yes believe it or not, it's a necklace! I even wore it with a tacky pink sweater and a pink hand bag! In the words of someone very dear to me "Ale, you just needed more pink".  It makes me wonder my judgement back then because I remember thinking I looked cool and stylish!

- If you are renting give proper notice that you are leaving to avoid losing part of your deposit as penalization.

- Make sure to cancel all services you have hired. Think internet, cable tv, newspaper, utilities, etc.

- For those buying a new laptop upon arrival to the U.S. move all your important documents to dropbox, a USB drive or any other storage device you prefer. I almost forgot to do this!

- Make a list of everything you need to buy when you arrive including furniture, appliances, school supplies, groceries, clothes, personal items, etc. This is especially important if you are renting a car to take care of buying these things. You are sure to forget a couple of them if you don't bring a list. It is also useful to research the prices for these items and including them in the list so you can avoid paying over the average price.

- If you are buying furnitre take a measuring tape with you, you will need to measure the space in your apartment and the furniture to know if what you are buying will fit.

- Check in google maps what stores are closest to your apartment or the school and take notes so you know where to head to when you need something. Some of you might not have a cellphone, laptop, or internet set up upon arrival so getting this information might be tricky and getting lost is not fun!


Good luck and if all else fails ask your classmates! Surely some of them are living close to you and happy to help!


-Alejandra Rodriguez '14
Follow UCLA Anderson at @UCLAMBA

Making the leap, saying goodbye again and shaping up (?)

That's it tomorrow I'm flying out to LA, well not quite but slowly taking a step in that direction. I arrived in London from Brussels this afternoon and am flying out to Washington DC tomorrow morning. An undergrad friend of mine is working in the White House and offered to show me around the West Wing so I'm stopping over on my way to California for a week-end of catching up and hanging out in BO's house. And on Monday morning I'm leaving for the Best Coast to start the adventure.

This did mean that I had to say goodbye to my friends and family again which is always a bit sad although I should probably be used to it by now. I just spent 3 weeks at home which is the longest I've spent there since my first year of college and I must admit it felt great, I slept like a log in my childhood bed. I also came to appreciate the place I grew up a lot more having developed a much wider perspective on life over the past few years.

Caroline (aka "big sis" left), Claire (aka lil' sis right) and I

My family lives all over now so it gets harder and harder to see them (lil' sis in Montreal, big sis in London, Dad in Lausanne and Mom in Cape Town) and me moving to LA isn't making things any easier so it's been nice to spend a bit of time with them. I also said goodbye to my old roommate in London. He's also one of my best and oldest friends so we went out for dinner with another childhood friend living in London and it feels nice to know I'll always have my closest friends from back home even while I'm making new ones halfway across the world.

Good old Belgian meal - for me mustard crusted pork foot with "pomme frite", for my lovely companion "boudins blanc et noir" with apple and potato purée

Finally, I've been trying (with little success) to get back in shape these past three weeks. When the pre-orientation trips sign-ups were open back in June I was in China and just about to go on a 20km hike up a mountain in one day. I felt great and signed up for a 4 day camping trip in Yosemite to Hetch Hetchy (supposedly very intense). 2 months later after having lounged around a lot, I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge. With other people talking about marathons, triathlons and even ironmen (!!! good luck Kyle), I've been feeling a bit uh... lazy. On top of that I'm hoping to get back into soccer this year. So I started running. Not much but enough to make sure that while I might be the last one up Hetch Hetchy, at least nobody will be carying me up. Luckily for me, I live close to a forrest and fields in Linkebeek and my runs are done where nobody can see me and in a beautiful setting.

My running ground

That's all for now as I better shape up - I'm visiting the White House tomorrow. See you all in LA!

-Chris Varin, 14'

Follow UCLA on Twitter @UCLAMBA

Touring Tokyo

After a phenomenal eight days in Japan, I’m back in sunny Los Angeles and ready to get down to business preparing for Anderson. But first, a quick recap of the Tokyo chapter of my trip (see previous post for Part 1). My brother and I left Kyoto on a high note, meeting up with family friends from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe for dinner and sake—really good sake. I probably learned more of the Japanese language in those few hours than ever before, including the most relevant word of the week, “atsui,” to describe the hot weather.

Great food, great sake... and peace signs!

The next morning we rode the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo and searched out our ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in a quaint section of town called Yanaka, which is known for it’s more traditional lifestyle and slow pace amid the hustle and bustle of the largest metropolitan area in the world. With home base established, we spent the next few days riding back and forth on the JR Yamanote line checking out each of the famous, and infamous, districts of Tokyo.

In Ikebukuro we found our favorite kaiten-zushi joint, where little plates of sushi move through the restaurant on a conveyor belt. Akihabara was an overload of electronics, arcades, comics and toys. The red light district of Shinjuku was wild, but that's another story for another blog! Harajuku lived up to its billing as a fashion and street style capital of the world. And we snapped a few photos at the famed Shibuya crossing, supposedly the busiest intersection in the world, before checking out the nightlife in that area.

 

Overlooking the city from the Tokyo Skytree.

Although I was unable to meet a couple Anderson alumni due to conflicting schedules, their advice was invaluable as we planned our days; it’s great to see the network in action. I’m particularly excited to get to know some of my international classmates from Japan and elsewhere. One of the great virtues of a business school like Anderson is the variety of backgrounds and diversity of experiences within the program... things you simply cannot replicate by Googling.

And speaking of diversity, in my next post I’ll share a little bit about two amazing programs with which Anderson has partnered to promote diversity and inclusion in MBA programs: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Consortium. These two organizations have helped me immensely in many ways, and I hope to pass on just a sliver of what I've learned.

Thanks for reading!

- Gregory Paige
  (Follow me on Twitter: @gregorypaige)

Welcome back to America!

Three years since I left the US and I still reminisce fondly on a blissful undergraduate life I had a short swim over the pond. Maybe it was the slight contrast between my college experience and my investment banking one but I somehow came to miss the US a lot while I was living in London. Don't get me wrong this year's Olympic host city is pretty fantastic and it's a phenomenal place to work but there was something that I was missing and honestly, I still don't quite know what it was.

I desperately needed change...

When I was a senior in high school I really wanted to go to the US. I was a long-haired kid who listened to heavy metal and played soccer, I had been living in Belgium most of my life and I needed change. I was looking for the college experience that I saw on movies as I tended to believe that Hollywood's portrayal of undegraduate experiences was exactly how it happened. Spoiler alert: it isn't - but I still managed to have four amazing years out there.

Can I come back please? - Obama inauguration 2009

I don't know if at some subconscious level I'm trying to recreate what I had but when I applied to business schools I didn't even look at European or Asian programs, it was the US all the way. I was also looking more towards the West Coast, here were some of my primary reasons for wanting to go back:

• Strength and reputation of the programs - might be obvious but I truly believe the US is still way ahead of other countries in their approach to MBAs
• Opportunity - possibly archaic European thinking but I still look at the US as a place where things can really happen for you if you work hard and stick to your principles
• Inherent diversity - having never lived in the countries whose nationalities I hold, I don't really have a place I really call home and the idea of mixing and mingling with people from all over again is just really cool
• Philly cheese steaks - I really miss my week-end breakfast. I think on the West Coast I'll have to get my fill of In-N-Out to satiate my appetite

Doesn't that look amazing first thing in the morning? I'm pretty sure it covered all the major food groups

There are countless other reasons I know but I prefer to keep this one to the point. Basically, if you're in Europe or anywhere abroad really and are considering the US for business school (or even undergrad although I'm not sure why you're on this blog) and don't really know that much about it, make the leap, it won't disappoint you!

-Chris Varin, 14'

Follow UCLA on Twitter @UCLAMBA