UCLA - Anderson School MBA Essays 2024-25

Applying for UCLA's MBA program and sceptical about the MBA admission essays? Check out the article to understand the kind of questions that are asked in UCLA's MBA admission application and how should you go about it with some expert tips to ace your applications. 

Guided by three pillars - ‘Share Success’, ‘Think Fearlessly’ and ‘Drive Change’, the University of California, Los Angeles’s (UCLA) Anderson School of Management has one of the most coveted MBA programs in the USA. Be it customized coursework, career support, global immersion courses, or launching a business, while pursuing the program, UCLA Anderson has everything that is needed to create ‘Transformative Leaders’. As it is considered a sure-shot way to kickstart one’s career, the UCLA MBA program is quite competitive when it comes to the admission process. Among various deciding factors during the evaluation of applications, MBA essays, if attempted thoughtfully, can be a way to outshine among scores of other applicants. In this article, we will analyze the University of California MBA essay prompts as they can be your gateway to the MBA class at the Anderson School.

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Analysis of UCLA Anderson MBA Essays 

The UCLA Anderson MBA essays focus on the school’s intrinsic values as the admissions committee (Ad Com) wishes to know what a candidate will bring to the table when it comes to the value systems of a leader. Here is the analysis of the UCLA MBA essay prompts (2024-25). 

Essay 1 of UCLA Anderson MBA Admission: Why are you pursuing an MBA? (150 words) 

This short essay question of 150 words requires you to mention your motivation for pursuing an MBA degree. For this UCLA MBA essay, you need to be specific about the reasons why you want to pursue this degree now. Instead of providing a generalized response or a childhood fascination, you must include a recent instance which inspired you for this degree. To create an impressive response, you need to be crisp and precise. Mentioning the skills that you need to acquire or any specific specialization you want to gain through this program, will strengthen your reasons of choosing this MBA program. 

Essay 2 of UCLA Anderson MBA Admission: Describe your short-term and long-term post-MBA career goals. (150 words) 

This essay prompt directly asks for your career goals after completing the UCLA MBA degree. You must contemplate well before you pen down this answer as you have just 150 words to provide your response to this question, and you must provide specific career goals. Mention about your immediate career plans as your short-term goals, including your preferred designation or dream companies. You should briefly mention the roles and responsibilities you plan to undertake in this position. For long-term goals, you must elucidate where you envision yourself 10-15 years after completing the degree. The clarity in your response will allow the Ad Com to see you as a determined person, who is focused towards achieving your career goals. 

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Essay 3 of UCLA Anderson MBA Admission: At Anderson, our mission is to prepare transformative leaders by developing students to think innovatively, problem-solve, and adapt to others – all with a driven and purposeful mindset. How do you plan to achieve your goals and develop into a transformative leader during your time at UCLA Anderson? (250 words)    

This University of California admission essay is a strategically framed prompt through which the university is looking for various important skills in a candidate. The challenge here lies in reflecting these skills in a concise response of 250 words. It must be noted that the essay prompt clearly explains UCLA Anderson’s mission and what exactly it is seeking in a candidate. As the university is focused on developing leaders who can think of innovative ideas without any inhibitions and succeed in bringing revolutionary change, you need to show that you can be one such transformative leader. Before you brainstorm ideas, please remember that the focus of this UCLA MBA answer is to find a ‘driven and purposeful mindset’, which means the intent to continue towards one’s goals, despite challenges or failures.  

While writing this answer, you must mention your plans for achieving your goals and being a transformative leader during your time at UCLA Anderson. You need to reflect on how you will use your innovative approach - to work on projects, problem-solving ability  - to handle the rigours of the curriculum, and adaptability - to collaborate with a diverse peer group. By providing your specific plan of action, at UCLA Anderson, you need to clearly show that you will fit into UCLA Anderson’s notion of leadership.  

Optional Essay of UCLA Anderson MBA Admission: No preference is given in the evaluation process to those who choose to respond to this optional essay, so please use your best judgment: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words maximum) 

This 250-word optional essay by UCLA Anderson is quite specific as it is only to be used to explain any extenuating circumstances. Such circumstances can be a low CGPA, unsatisfactory grades, low GRE or GMAT scores, or any gap year in your profile. Please do not respond to this answer in case you do not have any explanation that can impact your application. Mentioning anything unrelated would not give any returns as UCLA Anderson clearly states that they will not give preference to those who choose to respond to this optional answer, without any actual explanation needed. So, it is important to use your judgement in this regard.  

In case, any aspect of your profile needs the Ad Com’s attention, please briefly explain the circumstance, and how this extenuating aspect will not impact your performance as a UCLA MBA candidate. You must use this answer judiciously to make up for any omissions or inconsistencies in your academic or professional record. A well-explained answer can actually make your case stronger and improve your chances of selection. 

Tips to Remember while Writing the University of California MBA Essay 

• Be concise in your response. Adding unnecessary details will take away the essence of the essay. 

• Write simple, meaningful, and grammatically correct answers.  

• Follow the word limit as exceeding it can impact your application negatively. 

• Brainstorm various ideas. A sound judgement is needed for choosing the particular instance or any extenuating circumstances for the optional essay 

• Working well in advance will pay high returns as you will have enough time to prepare impressive answers and get feedback from others. 

These are some pointers to keep in mind while preparing responses to these questions. For more info, reach out to Shiksha counselling services.