Many acknowledge UCLA Anderson’s unique connections to the media and entertainment industry. However, far fewer MBA aspirants are aware of the tremendous opportunities Anderson provides to students interested in investment management. Established in 1987, the Student Investment Fund (SIF) at Anderson is a fellowship that provides a limited number of students with a hands-on opportunity to apply what they have learned thus far about investment theory. Students must apply for the opportunity to manage the portfolio, as one of the ten SIF Fellows, by participating in the four-round application process that includes panel interviews and essays. SIF Fellows engage in investment strategy, asset allocation, and security analysis for more than 18 months and explore both value and growth approaches to investment as well as fixed income investments. Fellows get together weekly during the academic year, meet once a month with the Faculty Oversight Committee, and visit at least 30 investment professionals throughout the fellowship to learn about different investment philosophies. Fellows also receive assistance in securing summer internships in the investment management industry. Those interested in a career in investment management should give UCLA Anderson a closer look.
For more information on UCLA Anderson or 15 other leading MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday.
We believe that asking MBA candidates about their goals is plainly absurd, because so many students change their goals while they are in business school. Further, the pursuit of an MBA is supposed to be about career development and exploration, right? Regardless of how we feel regarding the subject, though, you must ensure that if a school asks about your goals in its essay questions or an interview, you have a compelling story about where you believe your MBA will take you. Several years ago, getting a banking job may have sounded compelling to you—are you really capable of making that transition today? Certainly, fewer jobs are available now in the real estate world—is this a likely next step for you during a prolonged real estate drought? Venture capital and private equity jobs are challenging to land even during the best of times—are you able to compete with the elite during a downturn?
These are just a few examples of questions you should honestly ask yourself. Keep in mind that not only are the admissions committees examining your story to determine what attributes you might bring to the next class, but if you are a borderline case, they may also send your profile to the career services office to help confirm whether your stated goals are realistic and if you will be difficult to place by or after graduation (i.e., whether you will hinder the school’s employment stats and thereby negatively affect its standing in the rankings). So, pay special attention to your goal statements and make sure that you can credibly stand behind them—and, as we have written in the past, even consider being prepared to discuss some alternate goals.
*Please note: You are viewing an essay analysis from the 2016-2017 admissions cycle. Click here to view our collection of essay analyses for the current admissions season.
We have to assume that New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business was pleased with the essays that last season’s applicants submitted, because the school has made no changes to its essay prompts this year. Stern requests that candidates answer a few key questions (within a 750-word limit) about their interest in and knowledge of the school, their reasons for wanting an MBA, and their immediate post-graduation career goals. The school then balances this essay with its very broad “personal expression” prompt, which appeals to applicants’ creative side and offers a largely blank slate with respect to the medium used. Successful candidates will use these two submissions in a complementary way to convey a well-rounded impression of themselves as individuals, professionals, and potential Stern students. Read on for our suggestions on possible ways to do so.
Essay 1: Professional Aspirations (750 words maximum)
Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?
What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?
What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?
The three points that make up Stern’s Essay 1 question basically constitute a personal statement, and because personal statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge. Please feel free to download your copy today.
With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. In this blog series,Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense.
Remember those times when you were sure you got the answer right, only to find out that you got it wrong? For a moment, you even think that the answer key must have a mistake in it. Then, you take another look at the problem, check your work, and say, “I can’t believe I did that!”
By definition, a careless mistake occurs when we did actually know all of the necessary info and we did actually possess all of the necessary skills, but we committed an error anyway. We all make careless mistakes; our goal is to learn how to minimize these mistakes as much as possible.
A lot of times, careless errors are due to one of two things: (1) some bad habit that actually increases the chances that we will make a mistake or (2) our own natural weaknesses.
Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday.
When candidates who have already taken the GMAT exam once ask us whether they should take the test again, we always reply with this key question: “Do you think you can do better?” If the individual does indeed believe that he/she can improve, the next question we inevitably get is “What do business schools think of multiple scores?”
Fortunately, most MBA admissions committees do not frown on candidates taking the GMAT more than once. Many applicants feel that they have to be “perfect” the first time and that any subsequent test they take—particularly if they receive a lower score on it—might be damaging to their candidacy. This is not the case. Dartmouth Tuck, for one, anticipates that applicants will take the exam more than once and openly states its willingness to “consider your highest quantitative and highest verbal scores,” if they occur on separate tests. Meanwhile, other programs have been known to call candidates and tell them that if they can increase their GMAT scores, they will be offered admission.
A first-of-its-kind, on-demand MBA application experience that delivers a personalized curriculum for you and leverages interactive tools to guide you through the entire MBA application process.
Many acknowledge UCLA Anderson’s unique connections to the media and entertainment industry. However, far fewer MBA aspirants are aware of the tremendous opportunities Anderson provides to students interested in investment management. Established in 1987, the Student Investment Fund (SIF) at Anderson is a fellowship that provides a limited number of students with a hands-on opportunity to apply what they have learned thus far about investment theory. Students must apply for the opportunity to manage the portfolio, as one of the ten SIF Fellows, by participating in the four-round application process that includes panel interviews and essays. SIF Fellows engage in investment strategy, asset allocation, and security analysis for more than 18 months and explore both value and growth approaches to investment as well as fixed income investments. Fellows get together weekly during the academic year, meet once a month with the Faculty Oversight Committee, and visit at least 30 investment professionals throughout the fellowship to learn about different investment philosophies. Fellows also receive assistance in securing summer internships in the investment management industry. Those interested in a career in investment management should give UCLA Anderson a closer look.
