With an undergraduate degree from Pomona College and eight years of work experience, Leah Caldarone realized the job she most wanted ““ in the field of strategy consulting ““ would require her to learn more about business.
Now in her first year of the UCLA Anderson School of Management full-time Master of Business Administration program, Caldarone’s life is focused on the ins and outs of business and management, requiring her to attend classes, complete assignments and do group projects.
Most business students consider prior work experience an asset to graduate business school, she said, and Caldarone herself previously worked at the consulting firm Bain and Company in Chicago, and at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica.
“The MBA is maybe unique from other professional graduate degrees in that (business schools’ admissions offices) really like to see a few years of job experience before you go to school,” she said. “Other grad schools don’t care as much if you’ve worked before you continue your schooling.”
Caldarone took her GMAT, the Graduate Management Admission Test, and applied to the Anderson School hoping to learn more about the business industry, she said.
“Business school is a door-opener,” Caldarone said. “I want to go back into strategy consulting, and graduate school in business basically gives you the analytical tool set you need in order to solve the more complex problems that businesses face.”
The full-time MBA program lasts two years, Caldarone said; it is split up between core classes and electives.
“In your first year, you have a set of classes that are sort of predetermined for you ““ those are your core classes, a lot like general education for undergrads,” Caldarone said.
The second year of business school is dedicated to electives, she said.
Caldarone usually gets to campus around 9 a.m. for her core classes.
“I only have two core classes right now ““ a course on strategy and one on human resources,” she said. “I have those both two times a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
In addition to her two core classes Caldarone is enrolled in two electives: a fixed-income course in which she studies bonds, and a risk-management course that evaluates the financial risks of investments.
Caldarone visits campus on Mondays and Thursdays for her electives, and she also meets a study group once or twice a week in addition to classes, she said.
“What will traditionally happen is you might be on campus for your class and then meet with your study group,” she said. “After that, most students are involved with special-interest clubs.”
The clubs to which Caldarone refers may focus on running, surfing, or professional interests, she said.
“A big part of the MBA is really thinking a lot about your career and personal interests from the moment you step on campus,” she said.
AJ Prager, a second-year full-time Anderson student, said that, though undergraduates may spend a lot of time focusing on academics and studying, business school has a very different focus.
“A lot of people like to think of it like you spend one-third of your time on academics, one-third meeting recruiters (for future jobs) and one-third on social stuff, like going to bars with friends, networking with classmates and other club activities,” he said.
Prager said business school is the last chance for many to have free time before they enter or re-enter the business field.
“For me, I have a job lined up with Warner Brothers and a little bit of senioritis, especially after having worked for five years,” Prager said. “A lot of people, like me, want to take advantage of the free time business school can provide while they have it.”
Despite the flexibility business school can offer full-time MBA students, fully-employed MBA students at Anderson have very different schedules.
Hye Young Park-Tarin, an Anderson student with an international business concentration, is a full-time employee, mother and wife, and she is only weeks away from graduating.
Park-Tarin works at Buzznet, an Internet company, and is at her office from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day, she said.
Many professionals have weeknights and weekends free for leisure, but once Park-Tarin leaves work, she must rush to a study session or home to her family and homework.
Most of her classes are all day on Saturday, she said.
And after getting off work, she sometimes has to meet her group twice a week from 8 to 11 p.m., she said.
For students like Park-Tarin who are fully employed, the MBA program lasts three years, including classes during the summer, she said.
And, though she is glad to have participated in the Anderson program, Park-Tarin said it has caused her to feel exhausted and to make sacrifices.
“It’s not just you who’s going through this program, it’s the people in your lives who suffer and sacrifice along with you,” she said. “The commitment you get from those around you is really important.”
But despite the long hours and sweat that goes into the program for someone who is fully employed, Park-Tarin said the caliber of students in the program is remarkable.
“I feel like, through osmosis, I’m gaining something just by being around my fellow students,” she said. “Learning from fellow students is really stressed at Anderson.”
Anderson students’ high academic standards make it a great school, but difficult, Park-Tarin said.
“The level of work at Anderson and what’s expected of you is really high. Within the first week or two of classes, we cover as much material as a whole quarter of undergraduate coursework,” Park-Tarin said. “It’s really challenging.”
Despite the challenges, she said, the personal fulfillment business school has given her has made her dedication worth it.
“For me, it’s a personal thing,” Park-Tarin said. “Even if it doesn’t apply right here or right to the next job I get, there’s always a benefit to expanding your knowledge base.”