Let me hear you! UCLA MBA Essays for Fall 2009

Let me hear you! UCLA MBA Essays for Fall 2009

Aug, 26, 2008

For its Fall 2009 application, the UCLA Anderson School of Business has done something completely unique in the annals of MBA application history (Please someone tell me I am wrong!). They now request that applicants provide a one minute audio response to one of three questions. While it is possible to opt out of this audio option, only someone wanting to commit “application suicide” would do that. WHATEVER YOU DO, MAKE A RECORDING. If your TOEFL iBT Speaking score is weak, this is your best shot at showing you can say something meaningful in one minute. Get a decent recording device, prep your answer intensively, and get this one right if you want to be part of the Class of 2009. After all, no other school asks this question, so UCLA admissions will be able to judge how much time and effort you put into their application. I have more to say about this question below.

Here are the questions and instructions taken from UCLA’s website:

The UCLA Anderson Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, genuine, and succinct. We are more concerned with the content of your essays than their form or style.

All responses to essays must be on double-spaced pages that are uploaded in document form, except for Essay 4 for first-time applicants and Essay 3 for reapplicants, which may be submitted as an audio file instead. (Please note the word limits in parentheses.)

Four required essays:

1. How has your family and/or community helped shape your development? Please include information about where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (750 words)

2. What experience has had the greatest impact on who you are today and why? (500 words)

3. Discuss your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now at UCLA Anderson? (750 words)

4. Audio or text: Select and respond to ONE of the following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio response (up to 1 minute). If you are unable to submit your response via audio, then please upload a written response (250 words) instead. The supported file types for audio files are: .avi, .wav, .mp3, .wmv, .midi, .wma, .aiff, .au, .mp4

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
c. What is something people will find surprising about you?

5. OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)

The first thing you should notice about this set of questions is its emphasis on personality. It is fair to say that it is almost the total opposite of application like Columbia Business School’s that has a focus on work-related topics. It would indeed be possible to write UCLA’s entire set of questions without including a standard “leadership” or “greatest work accomplishment” essay. It is worth considering what UCLA says about its admission criteria:
The Admissions Committee evaluates applicants? prospects as leaders in management and their projected ability succeed in, benefit from and contribute to the UCLA Anderson MBA Program. Committee members carefully consider personal and academic background information, GMAT scores, TOEFL scores (for most international applicants), achievements, awards and honors, employment history, letters of recommendation, and college and community involvement, especially where candidates have served in leadership capacities. The Admissions Committee seeks to create a community of students who bring unique contributions from their diverse backgrounds and experiences and who will collectively enrich the educational experience.

UCLA is very focused on understanding your ability to make a contribution to their community. This very much at the center of the education they offer and how how they differentiate their program:

Student life at Anderson is exceptional, highlighted by:

• Challenges: Whether it?s tackling the intricacies of corporate strategy, leading a student initiative, or climbing a nearby mountain, students will be tested by both the academic rigors of UCLA Anderson and development activities outside of class.
  
• Values: The values of UCLA Anderson set it apart from other schools. By working with professors and administrators, students forge a community that values learning, teamwork and research-based practical knowledge
  
• Collegiality: The hallmarks of student life at Anderson are compassion, mutual respect and support, which students demonstrate toward one another. The UCLA Anderson community is built on the collective strengths of our diverse student body.
  
• Access: The network of personal relationships and industry contacts that students develop while attending UCLA Anderson and after they graduate is arguably as important as the academic degree they earn. Countless opportunities exist for students to connect with individuals, business and community outside the classroom, and for alumni to stay in touch with the school, faculty, fellow alumni and current students.
  

I mention all of the above because I think it is quite helpful in understanding what UCLA is looking for: Highly collaborative, community-oriented individuals, who are great at networking. The Anderson School is also very focused on entrepreneurship. You should most certainly look at the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies webpage.

1. How has your family and/or community helped shape your development? Please include information about where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (750 words)
While UCLA does not ask a standard contribution question like Kellogg does, this question, which for years has been the “UCLA Question” should help admissions understand who you are and what you can bring to their community. While the question does not require to only focus on your youth, it certainly requires that you emphasize the past.

While there is the potential for overlap with Essay 2 (see below), I will suggest below about how you can avoid that.

Use this essay as way to help admissions understand who you are and where you come from. This might take the form of personality traits connected to your parents, values connected to the community you were raised in, and/or core skills that you can trace to your youth.

Given the length, I suggest providing two to four “stories” including at least one about yourself (a highlight or special memory) that will help admissions understand who you are. The other stories may be about you, your family, or other aspects of your background that will demonstrate who you are.

It is not necessary to be explicit about how you might make a contribution at Anderson, but it is important that you tell stories and analyze them so that the adcom will really understand what you could contribute. Therefore, it is critical that you just don’t tell stories, but you provide a very clear interpretation of them in order to highlight what makes you a unique individual.

You need to think carefully about what will work here. Always ask yourself whether what you are telling admissions will really help them understand why you should be a part of their community.

2. What experience has had the greatest impact on who you are today and why? (500 words)
As I mentioned above, there is the potential for overlap between questions 1 and 2 because it is certainly possible that the experience that had the greatest impact on you occurred in your youth, but even if that is case, I suggest you don’t do that. Instead, think about Essay 1 as focused on your past and Essay 2 as focused on your present. I suggest you focus in Essay 2 on an experience that has a connection to your future professional objectives.

Think of Essay 2 as story that will serve as your bridge to the future you will write about in Essay 3. The possibilities here are great, but think about that one story that will really help UCLA know who you are. This essay could take the form of a leadership experience, a mistake that you greatly learned from, and/or an accomplishment.

Whatever you write about, keep in mind that “why” of the question is at least as important as the “what.” Make sure that you provide a strong interpretation of why this particular experience has had the greatest impact on who you are.

3. Discuss your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now at UCLA Anderson? (750 words)
As I mentioned above, this question is focused on the future. Rather than repeat much of what I have previously written about other versions of this question, I would suggest that you look at my analysis of Kellogg 1, Stanford GSB Essay B and Chicago GSB Essay 1 as much of what I write about those schools can be applied here.

A great Essay 3 will clearly answer the “Why now” aspect of the question without focusing too much on past experience. One core focus of this essay should be on how being a part of Anderson’s Class of 2011, will contribute to your intended professional future. Make sure that your motivations for pursuing that future are clearly stated in this essay and perhaps explained further elsewhere in your essay set.

UCLA puts great emphasis on applicants demonstrating that they have become informed about The Anderson School, so I strongly suggest that you visit if you can, but at least attend one of their admissions events. Getting in contact with UCLA alums would also be helpful. At a minimum, learn as much as you can from their web page. You really need to convince adcom that you know what you need from UCLA for your future goals. If you have the word count do so, you may also want to address what you can contribute. Japanese applicants should most certainly take a look at The Japan America Business Association (JABA) page.

4. Audio or text: Select and respond to ONE of the following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio response (up to 1 minute). If you are unable to submit your response via audio, then please upload a written response (250 words) instead. The supported file types for audio files are: .avi, .wav, .mp3, .wmv, .midi, .wma, .aiff, .au, .mp4

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
c. What is something people will find surprising about you?
I have already mentioned that I COMMAND you to send them an audio recording! If you are technologically challenged, get someone’s help. Unless you lack vocal cords, I am not sure what excuse you could have.

Basically they are asking you to write and deliver a one minute speech. Structure your answer so that you are clearly answering one of the three options and that you make a clear point. If you think about it, this is a great way to test an applicant’s ability to say something meaningful in the amount of time that one might typically make a comment in a class. My suggestion is that you practice enough so that it does not sound like you are simply reading a piece of paper. Record yourself a few times until you are happy with the result.

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
As I mentioned above, UCLA has a strong entrepreneurial focus, so if your goals are specifically entrepreneurial, this is a great question to answer. My suggestion is to pick one or possibly two specific values or qualities and brief example to explain what entrepreneurial spirit means to you.

b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
For those with an international, environmental, or social responsibility focus to their personal or professional goals, this is a great question to answer. Keep in mind that the “why” is just as important as the “what,” so don’t become overly focused on the global issue itself. Make sure that adcom understands why this issue is so important to you that you are using one of your precious essay questions for it.

c. What is something people will find surprising about you?
This question is a great opportunity to balance out the rest of your application. Is there something really important about you that would not be clear from your application form, essays, resume, and recommendations? Is there something you really want to emphasize about yourself? Here is the chance to do that. Unless a professional topic would reveal something surprising about you, I don’t necessarily think this question lends itself well to most work-related topics. Otherwise, the options here are wide open. As with option b., just make sure that adcom understands why this issue is so important to you that you are using one of your precious essay questions for it. Finally, make it surprising! If it is obvious from your application, it will bore them.

5. OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)
This is a nice open-ended version of the standard “anything negative” optional essay. If everything is good, you don’t need to write this one. If it is not, I suggest doing so. See my comments regarding Chicago GSB’s optional question as they apply here.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on “Why I don’t analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant.” If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
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