The mbaMission Podcast: West Coast MBA Programs You Have Probably Not Considered (But Should) | Ep 91

For most West Coast business school applicants, the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the Haas School of Business at the University of California readily come to mind for West Coast during the school-selection phase of the application process. However, these programs are far from the only strong options in the region, and candidates often overlook schools that might actually align more closely with their goals, risk tolerance, or desired industry.

Smaller MBA programs such as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the USC Marshall School of Business, and the University of Washington Foster School of Business offer tight-knit communities, powerful alumni networks, and strong regional recruiting pipelines—often with less competition than the more headline-grabbing schools.

In this episode of The mbaMission Podcast, host Harold Simansky is joined by MBA Admissions Managing Director Debbie Choy to explore the hidden gems, distinctive culture, and career pathways that define West Coast MBA programs. Together, they unpack how geography influences classroom dynamics, recruiting pipelines, and leadership style, and why programs such as UCLA Anderson, USC Marshall, and UW Foster might offer strategic advantages, depending on one’s goals.

New episodes of The mbaMission Podcast are released every Tuesday on all major streaming platforms (including Apple Podcasts and Spotify), with full video episodes available on mbaMission’s YouTube channel. Sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with Harold, Debbie, or another member of mbaMission’s admissions team.

Harold Simansky: So we’re here today to talk about West Coast schools. Of course, the only way to do that is by coming to the West Coast. I had to! I was forced to come out to beautiful San Francisco to talk to my colleague Debbie Choy. Hello, Debbie.

Debbie Choy: Hello, Harold. Welcome. You brought the sunshine with you.

Harold Simansky: Yeah—not from Boston, I can tell you that. I can absolutely tell you that. But Debbie, obviously, you’ve been on the West Coast for a long time, including as a business school student at Stanford.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely.

Harold Simansky: Which we have a couple of podcasts about as well. When people think about West Coast business schools, Stanford, of course, is the first school that comes to mind. Or maybe Berkeley is the first school that comes to mind, but obviously, we got a lot of other schools to think about. Generally, people think about maybe UCLA, USC; if they consider the actual West Coast, they’ll go up to Seattle, think about Foster. And of course, there are a few other schools we’re going to talk about. But from your perspective, how do these all match up? How are West Coast schools different? Is there something special? Or why do you love some of these schools?

How West Coast MBA Programs Are Different

Debbie Choy: I think that for applicants who are rooted in California and on the West Coast, these schools are a great option to add to that list, apart from Stanford and Berkeley. I think it has very strong alumni on the West Coast. One of my clients was doing real estate in LA, and the Trojan network for USC is just incomparable. So these schools all have very tight-knit communities, small class size, usually below 400 people for each of these schools. If you’re looking for that intimacy, if you’re looking for that tight-knit culture, to know your classmates all by name, to be rooted on the West Coast, I think USC, UCLA, and Foster are really good schools to add to your target list.

Harold Simansky: Absolutely. And it’s my understanding, USC and Foster are probably bouncing around about 200 students per class. That’s obviously a much different experience. You’re going to know everybody, you’re going to know them by first name, then you will certainly have hung out with them, and I think that really makes it just a great place to go to school, not to mention the weather, not to mention just the entire vibe. Traditionally speaking, I’ve always thought about these schools having real niches in terms of what they do, but I’m actually surprised the more I find out about them. I’m really surprised about where their specialties are.

Debbie Choy: I think these schools have really strong connections with the companies and the industries around them. For example, have you heard of Silicon Beach, Harold?

Silicon Beach and LA’s Tech Ecosystem

Harold Simansky: I think I have a vague sense of it. I’ve certainly heard of Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley and Silicon Fen out in Cambridge, but what is Silicon Beach?

Debbie Choy: Silicon Beach is an area within LA where there are over 500 tech companies, from start-ups to some of the now more-established ones like Snap, Hulu, Headspace, Calm, Riot Games. So, really innovative. So if you are looking to join a start-up, if you’re looking to go into tech, you don’t actually have to come to Silicon Valley. There is Silicon Beach right there.

Harold Simansky: That makes sense. And listen, I think it’s a product of just how expensive Northern California has become and that dynamic element of Los Angeles now.

Media and Entertainment: UCLA Anderson versus USC Marshall

Harold Simansky: And just to pick up on that in terms of industry focus, I always tell my clients, if you’re thinking about media or entertainment, it’s hard to beat UCLA and USC. It just is, in terms of where the alumni are, in terms of your location, in terms of sort of what people are learning at school. So I think from that perspective, they’re really exciting places.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. There are big companies, like Disney, Sony Pictures, for people looking to make those connections with alums and industry experts. I think there’s no better place to be than LA. There’s also biotech. Don’t forget about Amgen, which is in Thousand Oaks, California, but very close to LA. So these are all great companies that are really very close to these schools. And the schools have taken huge pains to foster that connection. And they really focus on placing their graduates at these great companies.

Harold Simansky: Certainly there’s also some, I would say, less intuitive things happening at these schools. USC has put a huge amount of money into entrepreneurship. First of all, it is a wealthy school, so if cost is a consideration, if you really need a scholarship, USC could be a great choice. But also it has become, maybe reflecting LA, maybe reflecting their own commitment, a great entrepreneurial program. A great entrepreneurial curriculum. So again, something else to consider. And I think when you think about these schools, and obviously you’re connected to the city in a very significant way, frequently that also means real estate. When I think about top real estate schools, I frequently think about places like, obviously, Wharton, but also University of North Carolina. But UCLA and USC, you’re going to get this great real estate education, like you said earlier, in terms of that alumni network. And let’s just push a little bit more in terms of what else is happening in Southern California. A school like Pepperdine, a school like Chapman, which sends a lot of people into media. But Debbie, let’s move north up to Seattle. So what’s happening at Foster? What’s happening in that community?

UW Foster and Seattle’s Corporate Pipeline

Debbie Choy: Foster, of course, is in Seattle, which is home to great companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and there is a huge pipeline from Foster into these companies. And I’ve worked with a lot of applicants in the past that really appreciate those connections and being able to get placements directly from school at these companies. So, absolutely, if you’re near Seattle, if you’re rooted in Seattle or close to that area, Foster is a great school to consider.

Harold Simansky: I was at Foster a couple years ago, and again, only I think about 200 students in each class. And I’ve never seen a career center like that. I think they tell folks—and I believe them—that from the perspective of most career counselors per student, number one is Foster. Their ability to place students quickly into some of the top Northwest companies—the Nike, the Microsoft, the Amazon—is in many ways unparalleled. And if you think about product management, for example, or you want to land in this very, very dynamic place, Foster is certainly the place to be.

Debbie Choy: And they have a great focus on hands-on learning, coupled with that job placement. I think it’s a really fantastic education for people looking for that duality. How do I apply the skills that I learned in a classroom to a real-life job situation? A lot of times, we talk about the small size of the programs. And Harold, I think that sometimes people think, how does that translate into alumni network? Right? So don’t forget that these schools have a lot of great part-time programs.

Alumni Network Strength and Part-Time Programs

Harold Simansky: That’s right.

Debbie Choy: Yeah, so that translates into, you know, I looked at the numbers for these schools, and it rivals the alumni network at Stanford and Haas. So, collectively, there are just as many alums from Foster, from UCLA and Marshall, as from some of these bigger programs.

Harold Simansky: And that brings us to a slightly different point. If your dream school, for example, is Haas, Haas has a wonderful EMBA program. And if that’s where you want to end up, an EMBA program certainly may be worth considering as well.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. As well as a weekend program.

Harold Simansky: Yes.

Debbie Choy: So a lot of my clients who are in the Bay Area or don’t mind the commute to the Bay Area, they look at these weekend programs as a really great option. Very low opportunity cost, very rigorous. You still have to do a lot of work. Absolutely. But certainly, you don’t have to relocate, and you don’t have to leave your job for two years.

Harold Simansky: And let’s talk a little bit more about geography. Obviously, in Northern California, a lot of exciting things happening, but maybe there’s some schools that are really completely off the radar that just because of their geography alone can really get you where you need to be.

Overlooked Bay Area Options

Debbie Choy: Santa Clara is a fantastic program. I think it is often overlooked, is often overshadowed by the two other big schools in the Bay Area, but [it’s] certainly no less connected to the tech world. You will find a lot of Santa Clara alums in the tech industry.

Harold Simansky: Isn’t NVIDIA right next to them?

Debbie Choy: Yes, yes. So if you’re looking for that connection to post-MBA, Santa Clara is definitely a good consideration.

Harold Simansky: Well, let’s dig a little bit more into each of the programs. Let’s talk about what’s actually happening at UCLA, what’s actually happening at USC. There are some really unique pieces to their programs that you just don’t see anywhere else.

UCLA Anderson’s Hands-On Curriculum and Finance Strengths

Debbie Choy: One of the things I love about the UCLA program is there is a capstone project that all students have to complete. And I think that the length of that project—you work on it across semesters—working with real companies, real clients, really allows the students to apply the skills that they learn in the classroom to actually making a real impact for companies.

Harold Simansky: That makes sense. And UCLA really is all about hands-on. For example, when you come to the world of asset management or finance, you have the Fink Center for Finance [& Investments], and UCLA Anderson students actually run a fund. And that is really not what you see at many, many schools. Talk about getting your hands dirty. And of course, that makes for a very efficient pipeline into that world, into the world of asset management.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. Don’t forget big finance companies on the buy side, such as Capital Group, have offices in LA and regularly recruit a lot of Anderson graduates.

Harold Simansky: Right. And again, keeping with that notion of entrepreneurship at UCLA—you have a good idea? By all means, take it to the Price Center for Entrepreneurship. Get some money from them, at least to get things started. Join their incubator program. And at that point, you can really get your company up and running in a very real way, like you said before, a Silicon Beach—not just the fact that things are happening there, but bringing in mentors, bringing in people who can really inspire you as well.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. I think the incubator is definitely a program where you can make things happen. You can get funding, you can take your ideas from zero to, you know, get it off the ground.

The Power of USC Marshall’s Trojan Network

Harold Simansky: And switching over to USC, the thing about USC that really cannot be understated is just the power of the alumni network and the fact the alumni are crazy. Whether or not that’s because of the football program—I mean, the USC Trojans, you know, what can you say about a place that every Saturday brings together like 80,000 people into one location? At that point, it’s sort of a whole different ballgame right there.

Debbie Choy: I’ve had many clients applying to the Marshall School, and they tell me Trojan alums are just willing to take them out to lunch, spend time with them, talking about the program, and they’re just still applying. So the Trojan Network, I have to say,  I’ve had clients get into UCLA and USC Marshall. And I think the Trojan Network is really a secret key to winning a lot of people over.

Harold Simansky: I think that’s right. And one of the ways that they’re really able to pump up the number of alumni is they have so many different formats for an MBA program. You certainly have your usual two-year, you certainly have your part-time, you certainly have your EMBA or weekend programs, but then you also have something we talked about on another podcast, which is the USC IBEAR program. So you have mid-career professionals as well. And from that perspective, this network for you just keeps on growing and growing, particularly if you’re geographically focused. I have to tell you, it’s hard to make the case to go all the way to the East Coast if you’re going to find yourself back in Los Angeles. At that point, then, USC should really bubble up as one of your top choices.

International Focus and Asia Connections

Debbie Choy: Yeah. And I think the international focus of these programs is really unparalleled. For applicants who are looking to do business in Asia, who are looking for that Asian market perspective, you will find a lot of international students, classmates from Asia. So I think you have the best of both worlds, right? You have people bringing in an international, Asian perspective, and also being connected to the rest of the US. And so I think it’s fantastic if you have that international focus.

Harold Simansky: And just sort of another plug for USC. The application is a little bit different from other schools. You actually are not required to have a recommendation, which sort of then gives you another degree of freedom. You don’t have to bother that recommender. Not a hugely difficult application. I mean, you still have to do your homework for it, but not a hugely difficult application. And you may just find yourself at USC. And USC has one of the finest film schools in the country. If you think about the alumni coming out of that film school going right into the world of media one way or another, entertainment one way or another, USC Marshall students, they cross campus, very early in maybe someone’s career, they start helping the creatives think about—in a very business way—how do the creatives take their idea and take it somewhere? A USC Marshall student can help them do that and developing relationships with the individual people who are creating the next-generation media, those next blockbusters, as well as maybe developing deep ties with all the USC alumni in these great companies, the Disneys of the world or wherever it might be. And again, that is really unparalleled. You’re simply not going to do the same thing from another school.

East Coast versus West Coast Media Careers

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. Having access to the creatives, to the writers, the producers in the industry right there, I think it’s tough to beat that. I think that’s a niche that they’ve really carved out.

Harold Simansky: So Debbie, let me just share with you an example of a client who kind of hit some potholes in their resume, but they were committed to media. They were committed to entertainment. And at that point, their choices became somewhat limited. And when you think about media or entertainment, you’re thinking about, in my mind, four schools: NYU, Columbia, UCLA, or USC. The client got into all of them but then really took her time to think about okay, what did she want to do? Where did she want to be? And honestly, very quickly, she knew she was heading to the West Coast. Very quickly, she knew USC was going to be the place for her. And again, there’s just such a back and forth between what’s happening on the USC campus and what’s happening in Hollywood that it honestly became obvious at some point.

Debbie Choy: What, in your mind, Harold, do you think is the difference between media on the East Coast versus the West Coast?

Harold Simansky: I think it’s the notion of which one is more focused on entertainment. I think that that’s really it. When you think about Columbia, you think about a lot of journalists. There, in fact, is a special fellowship for journalists. And I think New York City is more traditional media. It’s really traditional about news gathering, whether it’s Fox, whether it’s CBS, whoever it else is, as opposed to Southern California. It’s like this notion of an industry of entertainment creating the new world, really going back to its roots. And I think Disneyland. I think all of that just makes it in some ways a much more fun place.

Debbie Choy: I agree. I’ve had clients in media and entertainment, and that’s how they think about it as well, that New York is kind of more traditional media, and Hollywood or LA is maybe a little more diversified in a way. Streaming is a new one. I think that’s the future of entertainment. I don’t think it’s entirely based on the West Coast, but I think on the West Coast, you do have more access perhaps to other areas within media, [whereas] maybe on the East Coast, you get more of the news reporting, news broadcasting. I would say, for folks interested in media and entertainment, certainly cast a wide net. Yes. But also think about long term, which area within the industry do you see yourself focusing on?

Wharton’s San Francisco Advantage

Harold Simansky: I think that’s right. Listen, let me put in a plug for another West Coast program that people don’t really consider a West Coast program, and that’s Wharton now they have their San Francisco campus. First of all, Wharton, as we all know, one of the top schools out there, a really powerful school, but there’s certainly a new dimension to it in terms of Wharton students spending some time out on the West Coast and in San Francisco.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. That’s a great way to look at it, Harold. I will tell you that statistically, Wharton sends more graduates into Silicon Valley than Stanford does.

Harold Simansky: That’s really interesting. I did not know that.

Debbie Choy: Just because of the size of its program. It’s crazy. But certainly don’t feel that you are obliged to stay within a hundred miles of where you went to school. Definitely look at where the alumni [network] is spread out. And I can tell you that for Wharton, it’s spread out all over the country, if not the world. Even for West Coast schools, UCLA or USC, they have 75 alumni chapters. I went and looked because I was really curious. So probably anywhere in the world that you choose to live, you can find a UCLA alum or USC Marshall.

Harold Simansky: And again, USC Marshall, just a huge alumni network. What I also really like about Wharton, and they talk about a semester in San Francisco, the reality is it’s even more than that. Frequently, you’ll have Wharton students, they go through the recruiting process, knowing they want to be in San Francisco. They end up finishing class in whatever it is, May, immediately moving out to San Francisco, doing a summer internship out there in Silicon Valley. At that point, then, being in class, but not really in class. In fact, many of them continue that summer job by doing an internship. So suddenly from about May into January, they’re out in San Francisco. They’re living the life, breathing the air, and developing a very deep relationship with one of these dream Silicon Valley companies.

Debbie Choy: I think that’s a really smart way to go about it if your goal is to work in Silicon Valley. You’re cutting down on all the cross-country travel that you’re making.

Debbie Choy: So I think the connections, being able to meet a tech entrepreneur or a VC [venture capitalist] for lunch in San Francisco, I think that’s unparalleled.

Harold Simansky: Absolutely. The Wharton alumni network is so big and, as you just said, a lot of them are out in Northern California, and you can get to know them. Okay, let’s keep on going north. We’re talking about University of Washington Foster. And again, this is where those relationships, where the alumni network really makes a difference. Because you’re going to find UW Foster folks, including part-time folks, including folks who went to an EMBA type of program, in companies like Amazon, in companies like Microsoft, and with people in career services who are really committed to you. So from that perspective, Debbie, who do you think should go to Foster?

Ideal Candidates for UW Foster

Debbie Choy: I think if you have a strong connection to Seattle or a real passion for these companies like Amazon, Microsoft, even some of the non-tech companies like Starbucks, and those are your dream companies where you want to work, I think you need to include Foster on your list.

Harold Simansky: I think that’s right. And again, this is what they really do great. And what they do is they get people out of the classroom, into internships with some of these companies, and there’s no better way to get your foot in the door than getting an internship. And in terms of really being there, let people get to know you a little bit, supported in a very, very significant way by everything that’s happening at Foster.

Debbie Choy: Their curriculum is very practical, very hands-on. You’re looking at doing projects, doing internships, as you mentioned, Harold. So really, they are training you to be very employable.

Harold Simansky: Definitely. And honestly, in a world like product management, where connections are so important, we’re sort of developing some, I would say, very practical skills, [and] Foster does it in a way that candidly, many Northeast programs don’t do it. Product management sometimes is just a really hard job to get. And at the end of the day, the fact that Foster does give you a leg up on that is really important if you’re thinking about this being your job and your career.

Debbie Choy: Absolutely. And I think there are a lot of different types of product management roles. Some are more technical, others are less. So I think Foster really has the breadth for you to think about what type of product management role really fits your skill sets best and what the roles are, what the jobs are in different companies.

Harold Simansky: And again, University of Washington, great football team, great alumni at the end of the day. Really, it’s also a nice place to be. Seattle’s a great city. It’s a lot of fun, actually. Okay, so we talked about University of Washington, we talked about UCLA, we talked about USC; we also talked about Wharton and their San Francisco program. And we also, I think equally important, talked about some other smaller programs that people should really be considering. Whether it’s Santa Clara for tech, whether it’s a place like Chapman for media. And again, if you really want to be out on the West Coast, a lot of different options there. And clearly you do want to be out on the West Coast, Debbie.

Final Takeaways on West Coast Fit

Debbie Choy: I love it here. The sun, the people. Well, there’s a phrase: “West Coast, best coast.”

Harold Simansky: Listen, as someone who is from the East Coast, tried and true, the reality is I’m really having a good time here.

Debbie Choy: That’s fantastic.

Harold Simansky: Well, Debbie, thank you very much for joining our podcast today, bringing your perspective about the West Coast schools. And we have another couple of podcasts with Debbie, talking about places like Stanford that are on the West Coast. So by all means, look for them. And if you want to talk to me, if you want to talk to Debbie, if you want to talk to one of our other 25 or so consultants, sign up online a free 30-minute consultation where you can get to know us a little bit more and we can help you think through some of the things like what coast is right for you, let alone what school.

Debbie Choy: Thank you, Harold. You’re welcome here anytime. Please come back.

Harold Simansky: Thank you very much, Debbie.