UCLA FEMBA this year or HAAS EWMBA next year?

[kenny_kar]

Hi Guys,

I am in a quandary now. I applied to Haas EWMBA (PT MBA) program in R1 in Nov 2012. I was waitlisted a couple of times and eventually was rejected. I applied to UCLA FEMBA program and was accepted in the last round. Now, since I was so close to getting into Haas, I will have great chance of getting in next year. So, should I start in UCLA Anderson or start in Haas next year (if I get in)?
I am a San Francisco Bay Area resident and commute is something I am certainly considering. I would appreciate any feedback in terms of network of UCLA Anderson in Bay Area compared to Haas.

Thanks in advance!
K

[essaysnark]

Hi K -

Congrats on the admit to FEMBA! It's definitely a good program and you could do great things with a UCLA MBA.

We hate to be such a Debbie Downer but we're not so confident about your chances for getting into EWMBA this year. Unless you have made some big improvement to your profile that you didn't mention, we're not seeing how they would be more likely to admit you this time - you applied in Rd 1 last year so that gave you the greatest chances, yet they weren't able to find a spot for you throughout the entire admissions season. That says to us that it's unlikely to work out differently this time. Obviously we don't know the whole story so we could be wrong on it, but we'd hate to see you forego the FEMBA opportunity for a big unknown - the risk is you end up with nothing.

Also, just in case this was influencing the thought process: It's quite a bit easier to get into FEMBA than it is to get into EWMBA. An admit at the former says nothing about probabilities at the latter.

If you're OK on possibly delaying things further then sure, skip FEMBA and go with EWMBA (it's like we're writing a limerick or something!). Your EWMBA app needs to demonstrate marked improvement in one or more areas. If you do that, then it might work out since Haas is reapplicant-friendly; but we're worried about the gamble.

Your real question though is about the Anderson network: It's not the same as Haas but it's still pretty darn good. Anyone wanting to do finance out of UCLA while staying on the West Coast likely moved up to SF after graduating; plus there's all the tech stuff here. The Bay Area alumni clubs hold lots of events which is a very good sign: https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/alumni/alumni-network You'd likely do just fine as part of that network. This is a question you could also be asking the school - see if they will hook you up with alums who are local to you (or since you're already admitted, maybe you can search through the database yourself and do some outreach).

Let us know what you decide!

EssaySnark

ps: Happy 4th!

[kenny_kar]

Hi essaysnark!

Thanks for your detailed response. Well, I was told by many that Haas is reapplicant friendly and you highlighted that too. There will be a feedback session sometime next month when they will let me know on things I need to work on. To be honest, I am really not sure what went wrong with my application. Perhaps they thought my Short-term and Long-term goals were unrealistic. That's the only explanation that I can come up with. With a 710 GMAT and a pretty good profile (at least from my view), I was waitlisted for 6 months and eventually was dinged just because I belong to "Indian Techie Association" . It's pretty painful to go through all this. In fact, I feel it's probably easier to get into some Full Time programs compared to getting into Haas EWMBA.

You are totally right about my chances next year. There is certainly no guarantee that I will get in next year. After talking to a lot of folks and also after visiting the UCLA campus (I applied very late - after R5 deadline and hence did not get a chance to visit the campus - had a phone interview) I decided to go with UCLA FEMBA. It's definitely a very good program and from what I heard there is really not a huge difference between Haas EWMBA and UCLA FEMBA. After all, "A bird is hand is worth 2 in the bush" I am not getting younger either!

Hopefully, I have taken the right decision.

Cheers!

[essaysnark]

"A bird is hand is worth 2 in the bush"

We are happy to hear you say this - agree completely!! Congrats on making a great decision. Yes these two schools are very similar in terms of the ability to open doors and a strong alumni network (particularly in CA) - and since you already did the heavy lifting of getting admitted to one, we're fully behind you in the decision to go for it at UCLA FEMBA. You will not regret this!

Have fun, it's going to be a wild ride!

EssaySnark

[kenny_kar]

Thanks essaysnark!