Hello,

I am going to apply to both USC and UCLA MBA. I am in the process of writing my essays.

I would be grateful if former or current students could explain what the respective advantages (and weaknesses) of these two universities are.

Thanks,

Laurent

Some useful info about Southern Cali MBAs: http://www.find-mba.com/board/6849

Good call, York. Nice to see someone's keeping an eye out on what's going on elsewhere on the board.

No answer me this: how come you've got three stars for 70+ posts and I've only got 4 for almost 250? Either your comments and advice are just much better than mine (hey, I can accept that!), or I smell a global conspiracy.

I need to know!!!*


* Not really.

Hiya laurent - I lived in California for a long time, and can tell you that both schools - USC and UCLA - are pretty neck-and-neck in terms of reputation. Both are excellent! Either one will be fantastic for your resume. Don't quote me on this, but I think UCLA Anderson had a slight edge in the rankings...again, that's just my dodgy recollection. And though both campuses are beautiful, UCLA also has a slight edge in terms of location in Los Angeles. My hunch is that you can't lose with either one. Good Luck! Evan

No answer me this: how come you've got three stars for 70+ posts and I've only got 4 for almost 250? Either your comments and advice are just much better than mine (hey, I can accept that!), or I smell a global conspiracy.

I need to know!!!*

* Not really.

you may both have more stars then me, but my star is bigger!

;-)

Andy

It's not the size of your star that counts, but how you use it.


Oh....

I happened to come across this link to some info sessions UCLA are doing with NUS to publicise the two schools' EMBA program. I know that's not the precise course you're looking at, but staff from UCLA will be at these, and with events in most big cities around the globe, perhaps this could be a good way of finding out a bit more?

http://ucla.nus.edu/e-flyer/ProgramBriefing2009/index2.htm

UCLA > USC

What Are The Top MBA Programs?

If you've read my postings on the Businessweek, GMATClub, or WallStreetOasis forums, you'll undoubtedly know that I try to avoid the rankings talk. Rankings debates usually disintegrate into pissing matches, with the resulting discussion exaggerating the differences that no one else but applicants and students would actually care about.

What I've posted below isn't something I care too much about, but it seems like enough people are curious about my opinion as an admissions consultant. This is the first and last place I will post anything about rankings.

Here?s how the tiers more or less break down:

Top Three: HBS, Stanford, Wharton (some say Wharton is just a rung below HBS and Stanford but above Kellogg, MIT, Chicago, Columbia or Tuck, which I won?t dispute ? opinions vary).

Elite Eight: Top 3 plus Kellogg, MIT, Chicago, Columbia and Tuck. Some say Tuck is just a rung below; again opinions vary.

Sweet Sixteen: Elite 8, plus Michigan, Duke, Darden, NYU, Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, Yale (some will say that Cornell and Yale are just a rung below, but again opinions vary).

Rest of the Best: These are the top regional schools including (in no particular order) UT-Austin, Georgetown, USC, UNC, Emory, Babson, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon.

Big Two International: It?s basically INSEAD and London Business School (LBS), and then everyone else. The caliber of the student body and reputation of both these schools are comparable to the US Elite Eight.

There is no material difference in reputation between schools within the same tier. In other words, don't ask whether Columbia has a better reputation than Chicago or Kellogg, because other than the alums and students, no one cares!