Experience during the program

The admissions team is helpful and available. Opportunities to be involved in activities open as soon as you're admitted. Big push on their career services and the team has been very supportive. If you're looking to be involved in clubs, they are not as FEMBA-friendly as they imply. It is definitely focused on the full-times. Classes are team oriented (as are all B schools). They'll assign you to teams your first three quarters and then you pick. Take the first 2 quarters as opportunity to be involved in happy hours and meet with people as this will be your best chance to make friends and pick a good team for the next two years.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Facilities

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Entrepreneurship
Management

Can be improved:

Brand/Ranking

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Experience during the program

Only go if you can afford it. Think about what you want from an MBA before you go. Once you figure that out the school will help you get there. Being around competent and driven people is inspiring. Get the most out of it. Meet everyone you can. Get to know your professors. Go surfing. Network. Go outside of your comfort zone. If you are not from an upper socioeconomic class, as most of your classmates will be, prepare to hear about people doing things they want to do vs. taking high paying miserable jobs to pay off loans. Don't stress too much. The career advisors are fantastic and bend over backwards; they genuinely want you to succeed. Overall, it's a great choice for the right person.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Alumni Network
Brand/Ranking
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Student body, diversity
Career opportunities provided by school

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Experience during the program

Anderson offers a great environment where the students, alunmi and the school all work together to help you reach your goals. I am especially indebted to the students and alumni for their dedication to help the first years in recruitment. The culture allows for the first years to take advance of the experience and trial/errors of the second years and also for the second year students to give back to the community by helping the first year students prepare for the interviews. The career services works hard to help each student strengthen his/her candidacy.

In terms academics, there are some really good and interesting courses offered. there are many opportunities to specialize your studies to the area of your interest. Although Anderson offers a collaborative environment, the students are still very competitive and their diverse experience offers an interesting and helpful discussion both inside and outside the classroom.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Location
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Tech
Entrepreneurship
Management

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking

Read More

Experience during the program

Anderson's diverse student body is its biggest strength. From my experience over two years, I believe that Anderson accepts and matriculates some of the best students in the country from a wide array of fields. I think that many of the students that end up at Anderson are applying for business school because it's the next step in their career, but people don't know what the following step is going to be.

Classroom competition is more like camaraderie, and there is little to complain about in the LA sun and the bubble of Westwood. Even through the most challenging times first year, people generally find a support group, and the student body has enough social events to keep people engaged and grounded.

Anderson was one of the best experiences of my life. The first year is difficult, but exciting and challenging, and the LA Anderson network sticks together. I'd recommend UCLA to anyone looking at business school. Anderson competes favorably with any school, and it's the best business school in Southern California.

About professors, classes and curriculum

I enjoyed Entrepreneurship classes, but there's a wide variety of classes for every sector. Two professors with great credentials, Peter Guber: owner of the GS Warriors and Jeff Moorad, former owner of the Padres, and baseball agent.

About job placement process

First year internships are easier to get than full-time jobs. The career counselors are really great, but it takes a significant amount of time if you don't want to go back to your internship for a full-time position.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Career opportunities provided by school
Location

Best fit at this program:

Marketing
Tech
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Admissions Team
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Read More

Experience during the program

There are lots of advantages of going to business school in LA, but make sure that it is the right fit for you. Attending bschool in such a large city can be overwhelming. There are always lots of social events going on, but it can be hard to connect with people on a deeper level. UCLA has a very strong alumni network on the west coast, so it's definitely helpful if you want to stay in California, but you will probably have to work a little harder if you want to find a job in another region of the country.

About job placement process

UCLA has a very strong alumni network on the west coast, so it's definitely helpful if you want to stay in California, but you will probably have to work a little harder if you want to find a job in another region of the country.

Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
Schools contribution (3.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Location

Best fit at this program:

Tech
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
Facilities

Read More

Experience during the program

Anderson has exceeded expectations in most ways -- it's truly a hidden gem of a business school for a few reasons:
1) Location: Being in the bustling and diverse LA area means having robust connections to thousands of companies, and a large proportion of students take advantage of that by doing term-time internships that augment that experience.
2) Academic rigor: Rather than the fluffy 100% case-based curriculum, Anderson offers a mix of lecture, guest speakers, seminars, and cases -- you'll come out of it with a much better handle on the intricacies of accounting, finance, etc. than you would otherwise.
3) Student body: Not a finance fratboy environment, which is a HUGE plus; being collaborative is rewarded and a part of the school's ethos.
4) Access to faculty: Professors and deans alike are super happy to sit down to have lunch with you (an initiative sponsored by the school); already been to the faculty club for lunch three times with professors and I've only been there 4 months...

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Entrepreneurship
Management

Can be improved:

Admissions Team

Read More

Experience during the program

The school has provided a great program for students that also work full time. There are many options for night and weekend classes with many available seats in those classes. The capstone project, GAP, provides a fantastic bonding experience for you and a small group of MBA students as well as extensive real world consulting experience with an actual international company.

However, as much as the program harps on the FEMBA experience being similar to the MBA experience. There is definitely less day to day interaction between the FEMBA students (as most of us are working full time and do not have time to socialize). Another negative is that there are still many events and classes that take place during the standard M-F 9-5 workday which fully employed MBA students will have to miss.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (3.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Location
Facilities

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Marketing
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Culture & Student Support

Read More

Experience during the program

Overall, Anderson offers a diverse course offering for many different career tracks. The student support is nothing I could have ever imagined which to me, is such an important part of the business school experience.

My main critique for Anderson is the lack of support for career changes in the FEMBA program despite being one of the few schools that even offer any support!! Full time students have interview prep built with career services into their curriculum leaving FEMBAs at somewhat of a disadvantage throughout the recruiting process. I understand the difficulty in creating a program for FEMBAs given our work/life balance, but I do wish there was more involvement and support in helping FEMBAs transition into new careers during their time.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Professors have been hit or miss. I have had some of the most inspiring professors ever and some less so.

About job placement process

The Anderson network is huge. I got my most recent internship through a current FEMBA.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (3.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support
Facilities

Best fit at this program:

Marketing
Tech

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school

Read More

Experience during the program

UCLA Anderson's program significantly surpassed my expectations. I found my summer internship at my dream company through university events and the alumni network. The quality of speakers visiting campus regularly is impressive, with a constant stream of business celebrities sharing their vision with the students. The amount of resources made available by the university is more than can be possibly be needed by any student. The school's location offers great quality of life and numerous opportunities in various industries. But what truly sets Anderson apart is the people. The student body is quite collaborative and very participant, and the staff is always ready to help.

About job placement process

Career Services office at Anderson is among the best. They will give great advice, and pressure students into recruiting efficiently. Also, placement in the West Coast is really strong due to the huge alumni network UCLA has in the region.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Career opportunities provided by school
Location
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Entrepreneurship
Entertainment, Real Estate, Sports

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors

Read More

Experience during the program

I am current student, soon to be graduated (FEMBA 2016). When I was applying for part time programs back in 2012-13 there were only few schools who made to the ranking system for part time from west and location being my constraint that was my primary criteria to select. I ended up selecting UCLA based on location and the ranking.
Now that I am almost done with the program, I recommend this school over any in southern California. The students that get admitted to it are elite, smartest and diverse. I got to learn from them as much as I got to learn from the classes itself. All the class discussions were so rich in content that at the end of 33 months I am happy that I did it.
There are definitely things that can be improved like the facilities itself (more study rooms, class rooms), more options for electives. But the school has been improving in these area a lot. I am sure in future they are going to do the best.
As a working professional, this is the best part time program targeted and catered toward working schedules.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Brand/Ranking
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Tech
Entrepreneurship
Management

Can be improved:

Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Read More