This post is a part of the Student Blogger series – each post is written by a current UCLA Anderson student, and provides first-hand perspectives and experiences about being an MBA student at UCLA Anderson.

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I’ll preface this by saying there is no one Anderson experience, and my first impressions might differ from that of my peers. However, one full quarter’s gone by and I can confidently say it’s most definitely been a whirlwind.

As Winter Quarter classes start this week, here are my observations and learnings from fall quarter:

1) You’re never going to feel like there’s enough time.

Academic and social activities can feel so intense that sometimes you’ll feel like you can’t even take care of yourself. I haven’t gone to the dentist once, though I desperately need it. If you asked my doctor I’m sure he’d say I should exercise more. And I’ve stopped cooking food altogether because I would never take any time to do my dishes. Business school is a huge lifestyle change from working life, and I’ve found the best way to get through the week is to heavily manage my time. Today I use my calendar religiously, and even share it with my Sig-O so he knows the days I’ll be home late from campus. Some of my classmates rely on project management tools like Trello and Evernote to stay on top of their various commitments. Not every quarter will be like this, but you’d be surprised how time-consuming it is to be a student. It’s taught me to value my time more than anything, and to make sure I’m making the most of it.

Tip: If you can, take some time off prior to business school so that you can come in refreshed.

2) The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is real on so many levels.

Anderson students use GroupMe chats to communicate across the student body, which means you always read what people are up to. And if there’s one thing I discovered right away, it’s that everyone’s doing something interesting at any given time of the day – whether it’s academics, social, or recruiting. It can be hard not to go to every event or join all the clubs, and it took me a while to get a sense of what events I liked and what was right for me. I felt torn choosing among recruiting paths, international class trips, and even happy hours. I realized it was hard to stay grounded (and sane) if I didn’t recognize that my priorities differed from other people’s. So I had to get a reality check by consulting my family, my friends, and my career advisors. By the end of fall, I learned it wasn’t productive to try and do it all, and today I think I’ve gotten the hang of it!

Tip: Know that there are opportunities and resources out there but everyone has his or her own personal journey.

3) There’s a bubble, and you’re in it.

People not in business school don’t get your struggles. I quickly found out that my business school jargon only made sense in the business school bubble. Multiple people have asked me why I’m “recruiting” when I meant that I was recruiting for companies, not that I’m becoming a recruiter. My family has questioned me repeatedly why as a graduate student I need a summer internship. Friends have inquired as to why I’m paying to join campus clubs. It didn’t take long for me to gather that I had spent so much time talking to my classmates about the same things over and over again, that I forgot other people didn’t share this all-consuming experience. It can get dull talking to someone who is always griping about their accounting homework. To get over this disconnect, I tried to actively communicate the things I was up to as well as get out of the bubble every now and then.

Tip: Revel in your school experiences, but also share them so others can understand what you’re going through.

If you can’t already tell, it’s been a fun and chaotic quarter, but totally worth it. Now onto Winter quarter!

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Student Blogger: Adrienne Chang ’18

Undergrad: UCLA

Pre-MBA: Digital Marketing at ForeScout Technologies and Simply Hired

Leadership@Anderson:
Brand Management Chair, Director of Finance & Membership – Marketing Association, Director of Recruiter Relations – AnderTech, Director of Technology, Asian Student Management Association, Anderson Leadership Development Program

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