UCLA Anderson Application Essay Tips, 2023-2024
What makes UCLA Anderson stand out among MBA programs is its location in a large city with many different industries, its collaborative culture, and the flexibility it offers to customize your business school experience. Keep these characteristics in mind when completing your one required application essay for the school, and perhaps the optional essay as well.
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A) Essay: For the 2023–2024 application year, we have one essay question that is required for first-time applicants and optional for re-applicants:
UCLA Anderson seeks to develop transformative leaders who think fearlessly, drive change, and share success. We believe the ability to persevere is an essential component of effective leadership. Please share an example from your personal or professional life where you demonstrated perseverance to accomplish a significant goal or milestone. (250 words maximum)
Strong essays describe the impact of your achievement and clarify its connection to your future MBA plans in the short- and long-term. We look forward to learning about the specific ways your achievement helped set you up for future success.
This year, Anderson has shifted its essay to focus on perseverance. While the prompt is akin to last year’s question about an achievement, the adcom directly ties strong leaders to demonstrating perseverance. Anderson continues to want to understand how your story of perseverance ties to your career goals. With only 250 words, you will need to be concise, yet show introspection.
While we like to recommend the CAR method (Challenge, Actions, Result) to tell stories in essays, 250 words makes for a quick CAR! Consider using 150–200 words to talk about your perseverance story and then 50–100 to clarify how the story ties to your future success, which should include how it connects to your goals. Quickly start with your Challenge, then focus on the Actions you took, and end with the Result, including the impact of your actions. Next, clarify the connection to your goals. Be clear about how the experience informed your short- or long-term goal. Be sure to talk about both, given that the prompt specifically asks about both. Anderson will be looking to see the link between your short- and long-term plans.
If you are making a career change or pivot, this would be a great opportunity to share a story about what inspired you to make that change or pivot. If you are looking to advance in your current career, identify a story that helps explain why you need an MBA for your future plans.
Remember Anderson’s three pillars: We Share Success, We Think Fearlessly, and We Drive Change. Highlight how your experience will help you share success within Anderson’s community while following your career dreams and thinking fearlessly to innovate and drive change!
B) Optional Essay: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)
Optional Essay: 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)
The optional essay is truly that—optional. This is a place where you can address any questions that the admissions team might have when looking over your application. Usually, these questions center on your academic readiness, your career potential, or your choice of recommender. This essay is an opportunity to explain to admissions what was happening “behind the scenes” that they couldn’t glean from the other parts of your application. Were you working a full-time job to support your family while in undergrad, which might have affected your grades? Have you chosen someone other than your direct supervisor as a recommender? Is there a gap on your resume? Use this essay to provide the bigger picture. But if you don’t have any extenuating circumstances, best to leave this one unanswered.
Reapplicants: Reapplicants are those who applied to the MBA program within the last two application years, so those who applied three or more years ago are considered new applicants.
Reapplicants may answer one or both of the essay questions above as options, and they must provide additional updates within text boxes given in the application for any new test scores, career developments, or other changes since their last application.
If you are a re-applicant, this is an opportunity to add a new essay to your profile. Since this year’s question focuses on perseverance, reflect on whether your achievement essay from last year highlights perseverance. If not, strongly consider adding a new essay to your reapplication.