About Jack: Jack is born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, went to the University of Southern California for undergrad and has since worked in sports & media. Most recently, he spent 4 years working in outdoor advertising which, after the company was sold & acquired, inspired him to further develop his skills in finance and operations. In his free time Jack loves to run, play basketball, and golf!

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Choosing A Location

We all dream about the College or University we will attend as we matriculate from High School. Our undergraduate years come with excitement, a newness and freshness, and a journey that will set us up for many years to come.

I wish to begin this blog post with that in mind as the beauty of business school allows for us to capture that same opportunity, excitement, and learnings that only come from being a student again. It is a fantastic moment in time when we are able to decide which schools to apply for based on our business interests, people you meet and connect with, and the city you want to live and GROW in.

What is uniquely different about business school is the time in which we are all here, ~6-7 years of average work experience, and a knowledge of industries, roles, and functions we are and are not interested in. Therefore, choosing target schools based on location is vital. When I was applying, a piece of advice stuck with me, “Apply to schools you hope to build personal and professional grassroots. Your connections will begin and continue there, there is so much value in that for years to come. This advice solidified with me when I looked at the numbers of the 2023 Employment Report for UCLA Anderson, and noted that 76% of the class was placed in the West Coast (~over 60% in LA and SF).

It was important to me to grow with this community before, during, and AFTER graduation. Therefore, selecting the city you hope to live in is instrumental to this continued success.

Moving or Staying Home

When making your decision, making the leap to a new place or staying “home,” is an important one. Of course, a variety of personal factors come into play here, relationships, family, home friends, new friends, school, recruiting, clubs…your time must be spent intentionally! There are pros and cons to every decision. I’m born and raised here in LA, attended undergrad in LA, and now attend business school in LA. There are MANY networks, groups, and friends, it is important to remember that it is easy to get pulled into different directions. On the other hand, and what helped make my decision, were the many support systems that come with going to school in your “home.” While in the depths of finals, internship recruiting, and casing interviews, I was SO grateful to have them. It was tremendously helpful to spend time with people both inside and outside of the MBA day to day to remain balanced and fresh. There are certainly pros and cons to every choice, for example, moving away for b-school allows you to take a deep dive into one thing, SCHOOL. I do see the value in that too! It is a personal decision that only you can make.

In my personal experience, the ability to pop in and out of the MBA life (by having a home network outside of school) allowed me to love and embrace the entire experience even more.

I’m happy to be a resource for prospective Anderson students to continue this conversation.
Email: jack.ross.2025@anderson.ucla.edu

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• Student Blogger: Jack Ross ‘25
• Undergrad: University of Southern California ’17
• Pre-MBA:  Director, Strategy & Operations at Van Wagner Outdoor 
• Leadership@Anderson: ASA Social, JBSA Co-President, Management Consulting Association, Sports Business Association, Outdoor Adventure Club, Admissions Ambassador Corps