Beat The GMAT a GMAT & MBA community

Asking the adcom for feedback is sort of like asking an ex-girlfriend why she dumped you. If it was something obvious, you would know and wouldn't have to ask. If it wasn't obvious, she's not going to tell you the truth because:

(1) She's not sure you'll be able to handle the truth, or
(2) She really doesn't have a specific reason, but she knows she doesn't want you anymore

Same with the subjective process of b-school admissions. No one is going to come out and say you were boring, or that you came across as too dorky, or that your essays or rec letters or interview sucked. Further, keep in mind that the official "written notes" are often more cryptic than what was intended (because again, no one will write on the record that they don't like you or that you sucked -- and they can reject you for something like that). So having to get someone who didn't review your case to interpret some other adcom's written comments puts the person giving you feedback in a bit of a squeeze.

Again, b-school admissions is as subjective as getting a full-time job. And it's not like you can get feedback from a company that didn't hire you (because again the real reasons they didn't hire you won't be written down at all).

In any case, the fact that you got an interview is a sign that you were competitive. Your written application was probably good enough for you to be considered. And if you felt the interview didn't go well, then chances are that had something to do with it. Perhaps you came across much stronger on paper than you did in person. Or that you were on the margins on paper, and you had to really hit a homerun in the interview to get the nod. Or, you just didn't stand out enough -- from what little you wrote, my hunch is that that's what killed you more than anything. As you probably know, there's tons of engineers applying, many of whom likely have similar profiles as you. You probably put together a well crafted application, but one that came across as a bit dry and dare I say boring (and this is probably the biggest issue for a lot of applicants now -- it's not that their essays are horrible from a structural/technical standpoint, but that they come across as too cookie cutter and uninspiring). And that they were hoping you could knock it out of the park in the interview - but you didn't.

Another thing could've been your goals -- an adcom (especially one at Anderson or any LA-based school) is probably jaded enough since they live in the entertainment capital that is Los Angeles that they are skeptical you can make that switch. Or that you may be a bit naive in how to make that switch (and they're not going to write that down on the record or say that to your face). It's hard to say.

If UCLA clearly states they don't give feedback, they won't. You can always call and try, but chances are they will likely blow you off for the reasons I stated above.

_________________
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com

zero_cool666,

Asking UCLA for feedback when they clearly state they don't provide would be OK if you didn't plan to reapply, but might create a negative impression given your plans to reapply. I can give your application a thorough 'ding analysis' that will identify both the major and minor factors behind your rejection. One thing I can tell you off the bat is that your GMAT / GPA combination raises issues since they fall below UCLA's averages. You should try to raise that score, especially if either the Verbal or Quant score is unbalanced. You could also consider (re)taking some pre-MBA-type courses to offset the GPA. Feel free to send me your resume for a closer look.

_________________
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
http://www.paulsbodine.com/
paulbodine@yahoo.com
(858) 412-4550

Thank you Paul and Alex for your quick responses. Well first of all I didn't study in a GPA system I just converted my percentage. In my class i was in the top 30 out of 200 students. If properly converted to GPA I would be somewhere above 3.5 or 3.6 but sigh absolute grading. Secondly I can tell you what I think but that might not be true but here it goes. I think I am a very good writer. Been writing stories, essays and articles for a long time. I am pretty sure my essays were anything but dry. Although I believe I marginally make it to the 80% GMAT range of UCLA. But I was kind of overwhelmed at the time of interview. WHY? because it was the first ever MBA interview I was giving and it takes me a lot of practice at speaking to be confident at that. Add to that my dream school and we have the perfect confidence killer combo. So that could be the reason. The second one that I can think of is that I have less OFFICIAL work experience related to entertainment industry and with an engineering degree maybe they find it hard to believe I can really nail my goals.

But In this scenario what CAN I do to improve my candidacy for next application when I don't exactly know the reason?

If you want to break into the entertainment industry, get some direct experience in it.

That means volunteering your time or taking unpaid internships on top of your day job -- talent agencies, casting offices, production companies and so forth can always use some interns (and no, the industry norm is they won't pay you). If you're unwilling to do this, then you'll have a hard time convincing any adcom that you're committed to the industry.

Again, keep in mind that you're applying to a b-school that is located in Los Angeles. Chances are, the adcoms at UCLA have more first hand knowledge about how the entertainment industry works (i.e. their next door neighbor is a casting director, etc) and they know how it works more than perhaps any other b-school adcoms.

If you've already done some internships in the industry, then great. Continue doing more.

Think of it this way. If you're going into an industry where working unpaid internships to "pay your dues" is the norm (unlike most industries), how will you as an MBA grad convince a production company, studio, etc to pay you $80,000 - $120,000 plus benefits?

And you answered your own question. If you thought your interview sucked, then that's what you need to work on.

_________________
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com

My interest in social media led me to article about an actress who is using the SDA Bocconi Italy MBA to break into the Entertainment Business. She plans on going on exchange to other top b schools renowned for their experience in entertainment either UCLA or DUKE(SDA Bocconi has special partnerships with these schools . She also mentions the future of the industry is in learning to manipulate digital media.