UCLA Anderson MBA Sample Essays

UCLA Anderson Winning Sample Essays – 1

UCLA Essay 1: How have events of the past year influenced the impact you would like to make in your community, career, or both?  (250 words maximum)

We welcome reflection on any events that influenced you in your personal or professional lives, or in society in general, and look forward to learning about specific ways you want to leave your mark and positively impact those around you.

My mother was a single parent who started a road side food stall to survive and provide for me. She was my inspiration when I started my entrepreneurial venture – “PataNow” to help small businesses establish their presence online.

Last year when COVID imposed lockdown, my team actively reached out small road side vendors whose business came to a standstill. This is where I first met 25-year old Pauline, a marketing major by education but a struggling single mom, who used to sell imported clothes in a makeshift stand, on the corridor of my office building. 

With zero footfalls Pauline business collapsed overnight and she was struggling to support her two children. Over the next two weeks, I personally mentored and trained her on setting up an online shop at PataNow platform and taught her the basics of online selling through Whatsapp. After a few weeks, when i met her again, I remember her happiness when she told me that her business is averaging from $5 pre COVID times to $30 a day now. She had finally managed to save enough money to put her eldest child through school as well. 

This one small customer anecdote summarizes my entire last year as the Co-founder of PataNow when we grew our business 300% with the help of people like Pauline. My mother never had such support but today I am proud that PataNow is empowering others for a better life and this further reinforced my belief and commitment to making PataNow successful. 

UCLA Essay 2: How UCLA help achieve your goal? 1000 characters

As a Co-founder, my primary reason for choosing to do an MBA is to upskill my business knowledge and leadership skills so that I can successfully lead my business to long term success.

When I started my research for ideal B-schools, Anderson’ focus on entrepreneurship classes is what first drew me to the school. The classes such as “Managing Entrepreneurial Operations”, and “Business Plan Development” are perfectly suited to equip me with the tangible skills to scale and lead my business in Africa.

Besides classes, I really look forward to leveraging Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Anderson Venture Accelerator to gain mentorship and practical experience of raising investments for start-ups. 

Additionally,I believe, Anderson’s location next to the Bay Area start-up ecosystem would be a perfect place for me to groom myself and develop my network with other successful entrepreneurs/start-ups. That is why, UCLA would be a perfect school to help me achieve my goals. 

UCLA Essay 3: Describe your short-term and long-term post-MBA career goals, 600 characters

I am currently the co-founder of PataNow – Online eCommerce/Reselling platform. In the short term, post-MBA, I aspire to come back and grow my business from the current 2 to at least 10 African countries. We are currently operating in Kenya, Rwanda and expect to operate in Egypt this year. We already have plans afoot to expand our operations further into Morocco, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Ghana. 

In the long term, my dream is to be the biggest online e-commerce platform in all the 54 African countries and have an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange to give a successful exit to partners who have believed in me so far. 

Optional Essay : Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware?  (250 words maximum)

I would like to explain my GPA in my undergraduate and a gap year in my profile. 

When I first went to university, I didn’t spend much time on studying. I spent my time at the yoga association and hosted multiple events on the campus. Therefore, my first semester didn’t get a good GPA. it was only 2.94/4.00. However, after 1st year, my GPA consistently improved and I finished the fourth year with a 3.42/4.00. After that, I also performed exceedingly well in my master’s and secured a GPA of 80.68/100.

In 2009-10, I also took a gap year and after completing my 200 hours yoga teacher training requirement I moved to Shanghai to work as a yoga instructor. For a year, I took Yoga classes and trained more than 200 people to improve mentally and physically.