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Located in Los Angeles, the UCLA Anderson School of Management stands out for its flexible curriculum and wide array of specializations. "UCLA Anderson prepares the brightest aspiring MBAs to become leaders in the business world," and the recruiters at Anderson come from the country's top companies.
With more and more students worldwide wanting to pursue careers in management and take advantage of the school's location in Silicon Beach, getting admitted to Anderson is more challenging than ever. Anderson looks beyond the numbers. Famous for its 3 pillars (share success, think fearlessly, and drive change), Anderson seeks applicants to deliver value to the community and the classroom.
Application Deadlines
Round 1
Application Due: October 5, 2021
Decision Date: December 14, 2021
Round 2
Application Due: January 04, 2022
Decision Date: March 22, 2022
Round 3
Application Due: April 12, 2022
Decision Date: May 17, 2022
Essays
Like last year, Anderson asks its first-time applicants one essay question for the 2021-2022 application cycle. Applicants can also submit an optional essay. The required essay question is optional for reapplicants.
From Anderson Website: We look forward to learning about your perspectives and plans via your essay responses. Essays complement the answers you provide throughout the application to show us your whole profile. The best applications are introspective, genuine, and succinct in directly answering our questions and showing clear plans for the future.
Here is MER's analysis of Anderson's essay.
A) Essay: How have recent events influenced the impact you would like to make in your community, career, or both? (250 words maximum)
We welcome reflection on any events that influenced you in your personal or professional lives, or in society in general, and look forward to learning about specific ways you want to leave your mark.
The past year and a half have seen unprecedented changes and uncertainty, and it is still not over. The global pandemic and shutdown have turned lives upside down worldwide. In what ways have these changes impacted you? How have you responded to these events? Has it impacted your family or friend, or neighbors? How did you deal with it? Has it affected you? Thousands of people have lost jobs. Are you one of them? How did you handle it? Many people have sprung to action in this pandemic, helping underprivileged people and migrant workers with food and transportation, etc. Are you one of them? If yes, how did you help them? Has your perspective towards family and friends, or life in general, changed during this period? What are your plans? In what ways do you want to make a difference in your community and/ or your job?
Write this essay with your heart; let your emotions about the events in the past come through. Express your feelings about what you have felt about what happened during the global pandemic. You can describe multiple stories. With the limited space (250 words), you can share 2-3 stories briefly. This essay requires you to do deep introspection even before you sit down to write. When brainstorming your ideas, don't worry about the word count. Your goal should be to pen down your thoughts and experiences during this time, the impact of your actions on others, and the plans to drive change in society and your career, all within the context of recent happenings.
When outlining your desired impact on your community or career, be genuine. First, explain what you plan to do post-graduation and then describe your intended impact in the long term. Make sure that your goals stem from your past experiences and your experiences at UCLA Anderson. Lastly, and most importantly, keep Anderson's motto in mind "share success, think fearlessly, and drive change." Make sure that your response reveals these traits or at least two of them. To sum up, the essay should reflect your values
To meet the strict word limit of 250 words, make every word count. Instead of providing generic details of the events of the past two years, outline your experiences, thoughts, actions, and plans.
B) Optional Essay: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words maximum)
No preference is given in the evaluation process to those who choose to respond to this optional essay, so please use your best judgment.
As directed in the essay prompt, you should use the optional essay to address a weakness in your profile. For example, if you have a lower-than-average GMAT score, any grades below a 'C' on your transcript, academic probation, or a significant employment/ education gap, you can explain that in this essay. Also, if you cannot get your recommendation letter from your current supervisor, you should explain that in the optional essay.
Your response should be positive, straightforward, brief, and fact-focused and should not sound like you are making excuses for a weakness in your profile. To provide a context for a weakness in your profile, make sure your reason is genuine to convince the Ad Com that your low grades or employment gap occurred due to unforeseen circumstances beyond your control. First, explain the facts, then show how you have addressed the issue, and finally, spell out why this will not impact your ability to handle the program's academic rigor.
Your weakness may also bring out a positive aspect of your personality. For example, when discussing your employment gap, you may explain that you did something productive during that period, such as traveling, volunteering, or handling a family medical emergency.
Please note that the admission committee asks you to submit this essay only if you need to.
Reapplicants
Reapplicants are those who applied to the MBA program within the last two application years, so those who applied three or more years ago are considered new applicants.
Reapplicants may answer one or both of the essay questions above as options, and they must provide additional updates within text boxes given in the application for any new test scores, career developments, or other changes since their last application.
Through this reapplicant essay, the Ad Com would like to know that your need for the UCLA Anderson MBA is as strong as it was last time. Hence you should demonstrate your continued interest in UCLA by explaining how you have enhanced your application since you applied last time. You may answer this by focusing on the areas you have improved upon since you applied last. Whether you have taken extra classes, boosted your GMAT score, received a promotion, led a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on a personal challenge, this is your opportunity to showcase that. The key here is to demonstrate that you are now a stronger candidate since your last application. Your conscious efforts to strengthen your profile and work on your weak areas will prove how determined you are about your Anderson MBA.
The school also asks reapplicants to comment on how they have refined their career goals and conducted additional research into the UCLA MBA program over the past year. You may mention any meetings with alumni/ professors/ad com or any information session you have attended. You can update on the enhancements in your resume and additional steps you have taken to learn more about the school and your 'fit' with the school's culture.
Reapplicants should submit only one new recommendation, and it can be from the same recommender as the previous application.
Lastly, and most importantly, you should use the feedback you received from the school on your previous application and focus specifically on those areas, e.g., clarity of goals and improved essays with clarity of message.
Interviews of a few successful MER Students who got into Anderson:
1. Eduardo- UCLA, Yale, and Haas Kellogg admit
2. Dennis- UCLA, and Haas admit
3. Saurav- UCLA, and Kellogg admit
Free Resources
10 Key Essay Tips with Examples
MER Students Share their Success Stories
Essay Analysis of Other Top Programs-2021-22
Case Studies
AIGAC Virtual Conference 2021: MER's Key Takeaways
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This blog was first published in myEssayReview.