Linda, Anderson's applications have been going up since 1993, when the school received 2,668. This year, the lastest figure I have in front of me shows Anderson's app total to be 3,872. That's a 45% rise. Not too shabby. Why, in your opinion, is Anderson seeing such healthy growth?

I think several factors. One is the robust economy here in California. Second is the international demand for a U.S. MBA education. You also have, in general, more people from a lot of different backgrounds looking at getting a graduate degree that will allow them the opportunity to enter into different industries. Liberal arts undergrads now see that management tools are necessary to be mobile and have choices to travel into the international arena. It's [the MBA] a short degree too, in terms of duration. So there are a lot of aspects to the popularity of the degree.

Let's jump right into the numbers. How many spots were available for this year's class?

A class of 300 is what we shoot for. This year we got 323. We offer the student opportunities to waive courses based on waive exams. Those students who do waive are able to take other courses so there isn't that much congestion. For example, the CPA who has accounting skills or a math major who has stat skills can choose to stay in the foundation class or go on to additional, challenging opportunities. And we don't hold them back.

How many people did the school need to admit to fill the class? And, what was the yield?

We admitted 615 and our yield was about 53% to 54%, which is better than the previous year. It's a number that reflects the competitiveness of the candidates that we attract. And we fight hard for them. So we think that we're admitting the right people.

Anderson improved its non-U.S. enrollment from 20% in 1996 to 23% for this year's class. Is this a result of new recruiting efforts?

Let me tell you first that it's 25%, and our class is still going through orientation. I think that, as I mentioned earlier, the international pool and quality of that pool expanded. Our goal is to provide a global education, and having a diverse student body lends to that goal. So certainly, international applications cater to the diverse student body.

I think the increase in our international applications is absolutely a result of our recruiting efforts. We did information receptions in Santiago (Chile), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Taiwan, Tokyo, Korea -- which is, in most cases, the first time we've visited these areas of the world. And we'll be going to Sao Paulo (Brazil) for the first time this year and probably add Singapore and perhaps Shanghai.

Are alumni involved in Anderson's recruiting efforts?

We involve faculty, alums, and the admissions staff. At many of our receptions, we usually have a panel of admissions officers and faculty who will talk about a topic relevant to their topic of expertise. Al Osborne [director of Anderson's entrepreneurship studies], for example, will be going to Latin America and he will be speaking on the development of our entrepreneurship studies program. We'll also have a panel of alums who will talk about their experiences and answer questions. The admissions officers will go into detail about Anderson's application process and will field more targeted questions such as what would be a suitable amount and type of work experience, etc.

We also do evaluative interviews at these receptions, but we do interviews by invitation and individuals have to send us a request for an interview. We will either schedule it in their country, at an MBA Forum site, or in conjuction with a reception. Another option is for applicants to come here [to Anderson]. We hold interviews on weekdays and on some Saturdays.

Linda, you have been quite active throughout your career in promoting diversity in the classroom. What types of programs have you supported or enacted to achieve diversity at Anderson?

I think that from the admissions perspective diversity has varied aspects: geography, academic background, life experience, areas of interest or aspiration, and it also has gender and race involved in it as well. It no longer has gender and race here in California however. Prop 209 and SP-1 are two legislative measures that have sought to eliminate race and gender from the admissions process. SP-1 was a regent decision within the UC system enacted in 1996. And, effectively it seeks to eliminate gender and race. So it's been in effect for one year now. Proposition 209 was voted into law by the State of California this year, and it goes a step further by seeking to elimintate race, gender, and national origin in terms of the selection process. So, in effect, it does the same thing that SP-1 does, but perhaps broadens it a little bit more. It [Prop 209] also raises questions in terms of services that can be provided.

What types of services are you referring to?

Things like fellowships. Other schools are able to offer specific fellowships and scholarship to minority students. And that makes it challenging for us because these other schools have no constraints. What we're finding is that we really are just going to have to work harder in terms of attracting top-caliber students. And we're going to have to work awfully hard in terms of our yield opportunity. A brochure specifically targeted to an ethnic group or nationality is not something that we are able to do now.

But we do have fellowships and merit- and need-based scholarships. In fact, 30% of our incoming students received fellowships. So I think there's a perception differential. People perceive that the state may not necessarily welcome minority students, but we're finding that there hasn't been as much of a chilling effect as we thought there might be.

In short, Prop 209 simply means that state dollars and staffing cannot be allocated to things that are exclusive. Now, perhaps we would not be attending the National Black MBA Association or the Hispanic MBA Association conferences doing outreach there. However we might proceed with other types of outreach activities.

How do you plan to proceed, from an admissions standpoint, now that the playing field has been significantly altered?

Well, the totality of the student body has responded to the challenge. They've begun to talk more to people about the environment of the school and have encouraged individuals to think about the school if they decide to go for an MBA. Students have also been very aggressive at making prosective applicants' stays and class visits more welcoming. I think sometimes a law like this can be misinterpreted and may color the relationship of the people in the school, but it really hasn't here. So, we want to prepare students to be strongly competitive and do more to encourage students to apply.

Have you initiated any kind of open discussion about Prop 209 and SP-1 and the effects the legislation now brings to the table?

Not in a general newsletter, but for our outreach measure we do HR projects, so certainly our first year core courses have had some interesting discussions.

We are quite involved with outreach programs. A major source of difficulty as far as MBA education is concerned is that individuals don't have information or don't have adequate preparation. The Riodan Progam, conceptualized and founded by Mayor Richard Riordan and Professor William Ouchi approximately 10 years ago, is a response to what they felt was an underrepresentation of individuals going into the business arena. It basically targets inner city high school students, and has expanded in scope to include individuals of various backgrounds and socio-economic strata. So "Riordan Scholars" are comprised of 100 kids that are bused and taught by alums from Anderson and a number of other schools.

Another program called the Riordan Fellow Program is targeted toward students who are juniors, seniors, or recent graduates of college. And participants attend classes here at Anderson on the weekend called "Saturday Seminars" where they learn about marketing, finance, management consulting, and the various areas that are associated with getting an MBA degree. And then they do case analysis. This program is comprised of 40 students. So these are short-term and long-term strategies for addressing the development of an applicant pool. In both cases what has occurred is that we've been able to help the applicant pool not only for our school but other top b-schools as well.

Well, despite the limitations that Anderson has been put under by SP-1 this past year, its incoming class has a 9% minority segment (excluding Asian-Americans). That's a 1% increase from last year. What are you doing to increase this population group?

It's a combination of different things that have enhanced our ability to build our numbers as far as minority representation. One is the outreach programming. Second, we do a lot of active recruitment, which we personalize. By that I mean we have a mentoring program with our alums where we contact alums who are then partnered with prospective applicants to talk about opportunities, go to dinner and chat, and/or introduce the prospective applicants to other friends they (alums) have in the school. The idea is to provide the prospective applicant with someone face-to-face to answer any questions they may have. In addition, our staff spends time calling and interacting with candidates. So once someone is admitted we work hard to have them commit to us.

In your opinion, do you feel it's harder for a minority student to get into a top-tier b-school today than it was a decade ago?

Probably so. It's harder for any student to get in, though. Bottom line is it's harder to get into b-school period. The qualifications and the intensity of the competition makes it difficult for everyone. Actually, as a humorous side note, during orientiation one of our assistant deans said that if he got into Anderson today, he'd have to rely on his good looks and punchy humor.

Okay, let's delve into the actual Anderson application. Can you list for me the different components that are a part of the app?

Sure. There's the GMAT, and we assess both the verbal and quant aspects of the test. You can take it more than once and we only take into consideration the highest score. Next is the GPA, and we look at overall average plus the last two years taken separately. We look for trends, the type of courses taken, and the college attended. Then we look at extracurriculars and the leadership demonstrated while in college. We also look at recommendations -- there are two. And if you've been out of school for two years or more, we'd like to hear from employers who can talk very specifically about your character and career progression. Next is the essays, and we have four. From the essays, we're looking to get a sense of direction. What do you feel you have accomplished? We're also getting an idea of how you might fit in our environment. We definitely want to see how you've challenged yourself and how resilient you are. Last but not least are the invitational interviews, and they are evaluative.

Do you review an application in a certain order or progression?

We do a holistic assessment. Certainly there are ways to make the process efficient. We like to build a skeleton and use the essays to fill it out. We use the academic profile, extracurricular profile, work experience profile, and recommendations for the skeleton. And the essays give us the substance and the additional knowledge needed to make an informed decision.

I noticed you didn't throw the interview in there.

The interview makes a statement and is like a recommendation or evaluation and I sort of put it in there .. but not in the same level as the other variables. But recommendations are given perhaps some more consideration because they cover a longer duration of time, and most of them have more depth in terms of what's being said about the candidate.

What tends to set admitted students apart from those who have excellent credentials but don't get an offer?

The ones who are exceptional admits are individuals who excel across the board in terms of their academics, work accomplishments, and in terms of how they take advantage of the opportunities they've had. In the essay you get a glance at how they've directed themselves and their ability to think out of the box. So their approach may be different from those who try to mimic. The individuals must feel comfortable with themselves and articulate why and what it is they want to achieve .. why this school is the right place for pursuing an MBA.

The others do it to a certain extent, but the individuals who tend frequently not to be the exceptional admits are usually not as creative perhaps .. not as capable of articulating who they are and maybe that's a source of not having adequate self-evaluation.

What you're finding these days is that most individuals who apply to top-tier schools will have solid academic profiles, and the great majority won't be that different from each other. And then you'll have the exceptionals who set themselves apart by being able to articulate themselves creatively and from a broader perspective. They've done some real soul searching and self-assessment.

Some 65% of Anderson's Class of '99 was interviewed (up from 52% from last year). Does that mean that you do not place an inordinate amount of importance on interviews, as far as the evaluation process is concerned? If I recall correctly, interview by invitation was just recently implemented ...

For the class that we just admitted, the interview was not based on invitation. This year will be the first year by invite. We're thinking that this will allow us to focus on the individuals that we want to know more about. I think that interviews can be too much of a marketing situation. We'd like to utilize this as more of an informational insight opportunity. It also allows us to use our resources a little better.

I think that we've tried to make ourselves accessible and, in addition to that, encourage students to come and interview here so that we can share with them our new state-of-the-art facility (that should be ready in two years), have them interact with the students, learn about the Anderson experience in the greater depth, go to classes, and get a sense of the quality of teaching. So the interview is just one part of a much more indepth experience.

Do you use the interview to encourage or discourage applicants from applying to Anderson?

I would say that the interview is an opportunity for applicants to tell us more about themselves and for us to tell them more about who we are. So it's a dialogue, and in that dialogue, we're asking questions and hope that they would ask us questions too. Ultimately, we would hope that the interview would give both of us an opportunity to learn. That way it makes the interview a lot less intense and you don't feel as pressured.

What should applicants do to prepare themselves for the interview?

They should have read the materials that are available either through the catalogue or the Web, or maybe gone to a group info session in a local city or here at Anderson (where the sessions are conducted three times a week). Then they should think about looking at the essay questions. If thoughts don't come to them right away, those questions will help. And lastly, they should think about their own questions to pose to us.

Who at the Anderson School interviews applicants?

We have a team of interviewers that consists of 150 alumni, 20 second-year trained students, and then four admissions officers. And we have set schedules as to when we set interviews up. We also interview at forum sites and in conjunction with our receptions. To get up-to-date information about when and where we will be holding receptions, students can click on our web page (http://www.anderson.ucla.edu). And to schedule an interview, you can call our office or fax in a request. You don't have to wait for your application to come in to request one.

About how many candidates would you say the school interviewed for the Class of '99?

Collectively we interviewed 3,000. There are times where I'll do 50 in a week and 75 in others. On the road, when I'm doing presentations to I-banks, we often take time to interview a number of top candidates at an individual point in time.

What do you generally ask during the interview session?

I think that every one (of the different Anderson interviewers) will have you share a little bit about yourself which says something about your communication skills and thought process. And then we'll get into more involved questions about work experience, your work with groups of people, the challenges you may have faced -- client management, budget management, questions dealing with the progression of your career.

Any other questions may become apparent based on the feedback you give. So it's a dialogue and there's really no prepared set of questions that we follow during the interview. Certainly I may want to ask questions that deal with changes or transitions that the applicant may have had, whether it be work-related or life-related. Let's say an applicant is leaving his career in New York City and then goes to Uganda to work in the Peace Corps. Well, the interview becomes an opportunity to know the individual better and understand how that experience links with the MBA.

Do you ever ask the applicant whether Anderson is their first choice?

No. I don't find that very interesting. My assumption is that individuals do make applications to other schools, and that, given the technology and the competition, it's a good idea to spread your eggs.

What mistakes do you look for in the essays?

You've gotta have the academics in order to suit up and be a part of the batting order. If you don't have them, you can't be part of the order at all -- that's a sort of given. So you're going to find the people who can suit up, and after you've satisfied that requirement, then we're going to slice it a bit differently. Essays are a part of that and certainly we look very carefully at them because we see them as a vehicle to communicate with us who you are and what has been significant about your life -- in terms of your accomplishments and decisions that you've made to date. They give you the opportunity to reflect on how you see yourself progressing and where you want to have an impact in life, professionally speaking, and with your personal life.

We also want to find out how we fit into the picture, because we're selecting individuals to whom we can hopefully provide maximizing opportunities. And those individuals need to have a good sense of who we are and what we have to offer and how they might utilize this environment.

You mentioned that Anderson requires applicants to submit two recommendations...

That's right. We require two recommendations and if you want to add a third you may. But it should provide us with additional insights.

You mentioned that you much prefer recs to come from supervisors or managers. Does that mean that you don't particularly care for recommendations from academicians?

Well, the recommender must be able to assess your performance and be in a postion to know the quality of your work. Usually that's a manager, supervisor, or in some cases, it's a client. Academic recommendations can be useful in rounding out your portfoilio however. For example, say you wanted to add strength to your academic performance and were able to get more than an A .. like you did a unique project or were actively involved in groups or involved in an internal thesis -- then certainly a professor can add insight.

Sometimes a recommendation from someone who knows the quality of your community work is also beneficial. If that person can describe your particular outside endeavor, be it organizing, assuming a leadership role, or mobilizing resources, that can also shed a lot of light and give insight in terms of your development of a managerial skill set.

Do you accept, or have you accepted people into your program without any work experience?

None. However we did accept individuals who had less than two years of experience. It's not the amount always, it's what one has accomplished with the time. But I must say that one might look at our average work experience and say that we have individuals that look a little older. We also attract individuals who have had substantial work experience and part of that is that we have an entrepreneurial study center and there are a lot of people who are looking to become entrepreneurs who have had substantial work experience. Also, from the California Basin, you have a lot of people who are engineers and traditionally they don't make the transition out of engineering until a bit later. Individuals with substantial work experience can certainly add to class discussion and that's another dimension in terms of diversity.

Do you allow accepted applicants to defer?

No we don't. The only exceptions are those who have medical or family emergency situations. We encourage individuals to reapply and usually those who reapply who we admitted before will be readmitted. Timing plays an issue, and the reapplication process is very, very short; it's a two-pager.

Do you utilize the waitlist?

Yes we do utilize the waitlist, and the number that we accept off of it varies from year to year depending on the size of the pool and the competitiveness. In terms of size, the waitlist typically runs between 100 and 160 applicants. This year we took probably about 15 out of 160. But there have been years where we haven't taken anyone.

We encourage those that are waitlisted to interview if they haven't already because it may fill in the blanks that may be a part of their application. Second, it gives us additional info that we can then utilize in terms of completing our class because in no way is being put on the waitlist a sign of inferiority. In some instances there's an overrepresentation in certain majors or certain work backgrounds; what we try to do is see how the pool is evolving. And it's important to remember, that if you're put on the waitlist, patience is of the utmost importance.

Do you encourage rejected applicants to re-apply?

Yes we do.

Is there a counseling network set up to go over the application with denied candidates?

Denied applicants have the opportunity to write to us to ask for our reason(s) for denying them. We will either respond by phone, in person, or in writing. We encourage individuals who are reappying to seek that info.

One of the reasons that Anderson is popular is its comparatively low tuition rates. However, out-of-staters' tuition has been steadily rising. What's this year's amount for both in and out-of-state students?

In terms of the amounts, tuition for the mandatory student fee is $12,586, and fees for out-of-staters total $21,570.

What would you estimate the cost of living ot be?

We say the total living cost and other costs -- because we have a laptop requirement -- is $19,000. And that covers books supplies, a computer, health care, rent utilities, food, etc.

When did laptops become a requirement of the Anderson program?

In 1996. We have a few that students might consider. There's a little bit of a change every year, and there are new options available each year. At a point in the admissions process, we send a letter that is very specific about the dervices and platforms that we provide. And we bundle software.

So a lot of what we do is provide info and the students can decide what they want to acquire. And if you have your own laptop, you can bring it in and see if it connects with our network. We have what are called "personal connectivity" sessions where the students meet with computer specialists to talk about what kind of a laptop they have and whether it works on our system. And there are a lot of classes to learn the ins and outs of the laptop if you are unfamiliar with the technology.

What type of financial aid and scholarship help does Anderson offer?

About 70% of our students receive aid and also take out loans. And 35% receive fellowships, while 60% receive some type of grant.

What advice do you have for students in terms of the best way to go about searching for and receiving aid?

The interesting thing is that you need not make a special application. The Anderson application is also the application for fellowships. Because financial aid is such a horrendous process, one should start early. If you don't, you're in trouble. If you're going for a fellowship, you should apply in the first round, and that deadline is January 30. So if you have not applied by the third round, you will not be in a priority position for a fellowship.

Linda, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale appointed Professor John Mamer as Interim Dean of the Anderson Graduate School of Management to replace William Pierskalla. Mamer's interim deanship officially started on September 1, 1997. I know the school has been searching for a permanent dean since the beginning of August. Are there any prominent candidates?

Actually our chancellor is relatively new to the system as well, so he's making very sure that our selection process is a thorough one. There has not yet been a selection comittee put together at this point. That will be happening, I would assume, probably in the fall quarter. [Editors Note: The committee has since been selected, in late October].

Is Dean Mamer taking the school in a new direction? Or is he pretty much just holding the fort until a full-time dean is appointed?

I think that Dean Mamer is someone who has worked very well with the faculty. He knows the initiatives that have been happening here. Mamer will be a person who will be active. He's been chair of the faculty for several years so he's very aware of the issues that we face and also of the direction that we are currently going. He has a very active executive committee as well. So we are continuing along the lines that we have been.

Anderson's LA location puts it at a comparative advantage over its competitors. For one, it can tap the creativity and economics behind Hollywood. Is Anderson's entertainment management concentration growing in popularity?

Well, it's not the most popular area of study here. We feel that the thing that attracts students is our strong general management focus as well as the curriculum's flexibilty to explore. You'll find people here who want to get a solid finance education -- many international students are aware of our finance department. Students also feel that our entrepreneurial program will help them explore their interests. Moreover, they feel that they'll be in an environment that is innovative. Entertainment management is one of the things that one might explore while they're here, but it's more of an exploration opportunity.

In your opinion, what type of applicant "fits" into the Anderson mold?

One who is highly motivated, well organized, knows how to assess the environment and take advantage of the opportunities, and can handle things well academically so that they can engage in the many other activities that are available as far as internships, management field studies, mentorships, etc. He or she has good initiative and has to have great interpersonal skills because that's how the opportunities become available. So you better have some type of expertise that you can barter with. We call our students "masters of time mangement."

And on the reverse side of the coin, what type of student doesn't do well at Anderson?

A person looking for things to be totally structured for them and who wants to engage in the experience part-time only. That won't work -- it's an immersion experience here. I always say it's a return on investment: If you're going to take two years out, you may as well get as much as you can. If you find yourself in the library all the time or are working part-time, you lose too much, you don't get a full return on investment.

Who are your toughest competitors?

Based on my knowledge, they are Wharton, Northwestern, Harvard .. and on the West Coast, Stanford and Berkeley.

Linda, Thanks a lot for discussing the Anderson program and admissions process with me this afternoon.

You're welcome. And thank you for the opportunity to put some useful information out there to prospective students.