Why Anderson? – Thoughts from Fellow Admits and Current Students (Part 9)

This post is a continuation of "Why Anderson? – Thoughts from Fellow Admits and Current Students."  Thank you again to all the individuals who have submitted their thoughts.

I chose Anderson for a number of reasons.  Great brand, collaborative culture, unique programs.  One of the main reasons, however, was simply due to geographic location.  MBA graduates, by a large margin, end up taking a job in the region where they completed their MBA.  For the highly represented industries (consulting, finance, etc.) with many offices nationwide, you'll most likely be speaking with recruiters from the offices in your region.  Knowing how beautiful California is, and knowing the types of opportunities that are growing here, it seemed like a fantastic place to begin the next phase of my career.

By far, what I've enjoyed the most is getting to know the other students at Anderson.  Unlike some schools that are known primarily for a particular industry, the career backgrounds and career choices for Anderson students are incredibly diverse.  Typically, you'll see about 20% of students each go to consulting, finance, marketing, tech, or entrepreneurship/start-up.  Because of that diversity, you have a tremendous number of opportunities to collaborate with other students and do not feel the competitive pressure that you might at another program where career interests are more narrowly focused.  It's nice, and has definitely been something that I've taken advantage of since I arrived.

- Ryan L., UCLA Anderson Class of 2015