Donna@StratusPrep wrote:

MBAreapplicant84 wrote:James- It might be interesting for people to hear what you liked best about UCLA- what is the best kept secret there? How helpful were they in the process of working for Microsoft? What was your favorite thing to do at UCLA?

It's difficult for me to successfully depict my experience at UCLA Anderson in such a limited space. This usually works much better for me in one-on-one conversations, but I will do my best.

For me Anderson was a place where I met amazing people, pushed myself intellectually, and ultimately transformed myself professionally and personally.

Academics
The academic experience overall was great! I'll be the first to admit that I didn't love all my classes and there were some professors I could have done without, but on the whole I found myself learning and challenging my own understanding of business on a daily basis. One of the things I loved most about the academic side of Anderson was the diversity of learning experiences and methods I was exposed to. It wasn't all cases or all lecture, it was a nice balance of those two, plus a good amount of experiential learning. Not only were the majority of the professors great, we also got some amazing guest speakers. Alex Rodriguez, the President of Adidas North America, one of the founding members of CAA, David Aaker, Al Michaels, and Jessica Alba just to name a few.

The people
One of the main reasons why I decided to attend Anderson was the people and the student culture. During the application process, Anderson was the only school where 100 percent of the people I reached out to actually got back to me. Those I spoke with were sharp and really knew their stuff. However, the thing that won me over was how noticeably happy they all were. Needless to say, I came into the program with high expectations for my peers. I was not disappointed in the slightest. Not only was I surrounded by incredibly accomplished and intelligent individuals, they were down-to-earth and approachable. During my two-years at Anderson, I made some of the best friends I will probably ever have.

Career
Although there are many other aspects of my Anderson experience, the last one I will mention here is career. The Career Services Center at Anderson is second to none. I would seriously put them up against any other school's career center. The people I worked with not only wanted to help me get a job, they were deeply interested in helping me better understand myself, my motivations, and my skills so that I could land the right job. I spent many hours with my advisers researching jobs, identifying target companies, and interview prepping. Without all of that, I wouldn't be where I am today. Another big asset of Anderson on the career front is the location of the school. The business community in LA is thriving and the opportunities to work within that community to gain real experiences during school are endless. Not only did I do a full-time summer internship, I did three part-time internships during the school year that really enabled me to make the dramatic career shift that I did, operations at Goldman Sachs to marketing at Microsoft.

In the end, the 21-month experience cost me over $100,000, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The experiences I had, the friends I made, and the opportunities have been opened up for me wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't gone to Anderson.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, please reach out!

Best,
James