About Jonathan: Jonathan (Jonny) has been shifting states since he left his hometown in suburban Boston. He first attended Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where he studied Statistics, Applied Mathematics, and Political Science and served as the president and coxswain of the Emory Crew club rowing team. Since graduation, he has held a few business analyst roles at tech startups and Elevance Health and was even a rowing coach at William & Mary. He has always been fascinated by numbers and data analytics but also the challenges of big picture projects. He intends to pivot into Corporate Finance using his MBA from UCLA Anderson and move to the San Francisco Bay Area.

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The application process for MBA programs can be a tough challenge. Between taking tests, researching programs and writing essays, there is a lot that goes into a prospective student’s journey. However, the hidden, key step in understanding your school options is talking to current students. I stumbled upon this insight accidentally while applying to programs and it is one of my key reasons for choosing to attend UCLA Anderson.

To some, this advice may seem too obvious. As the old saying goes, “It’s not what you know but WHO you know.” And while that is a truism in networking, job searches and daily work life, talking to current MBA students aims to accomplish a different goal. Current students give the best insight into a program, its structure, offerings, and especially its culture. You may get a general sense for the program just from info sessions, but reaching out to a student contact can provide answers to questions you hadn’t really considered.

In my application cycle, I spoke to two Anderson students in the Class of 2024. The first was the VP of Admissions for the Investment Finance Association. He was someone who was easy to talk to and gave great information about club resources, school life and social life. However, he couldn’t answer all my questions and gave me the contact information for another IFA board member. This second student was equally approachable and offered the additional information I needed about finance opportunities, plus his own perspectives about school and social life.

After these two conversations, I realized there was an implicit question that had been answered despite me never asking it out loud or giving it much thought entering the calls. My question was: “What is the general personality of Anderson students?” and I think this question is incredibly vital to ask and have answered through honest and open interactions with current students. As I reflected on those conversations and compared them to ones I had with current students at other schools, I realized that the Anderson student body had the friendly and supportive community that I would be happy to be a part of. While students at other schools had treated informational conversations impartially, the two Anderson students had been warm and eager to share their experiences with someone they weren’t even sure would be admitted.

I’m glad this positive feeling towards Anderson began before I even submitted my application. Based on that experience, my advice is to connect with current students attending your priority schools and see how they respond to your questions. Are they approachable? Do they happen to answer other questions you have by being excited to tell you about the school? Do you find their attitude to be one you could work with in a classroom setting? These are questions you can’t ask aloud but can still have implicitly answered throughout a conversation. Navigating the application cycle can be tricky, but talking to current students will ensure you are on the right track.

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• Student Blogger: Jonathan (Jonny) O’Brien ‘26
• Undergrad: Emory University ‘19
• Pre-MBA: Business Intelligence Analytics at Elevance Health
• Leadership@Anderson: Director of Interviewing, Anderson Admissions Corps; Director of Finance, Jewish Business Students Association; Riordan Scholars Fellow Mentor, Technology Business Association (member)
• Instagram: @jonnycobrien