Fernado Hernani: Anderson School of Business EMBA (Class of 2021)

UCLA Anderson School of Management is very heavy in entrepreneurship. I was already expecting that, but I was surprised at the number of opportunities to help you advance your ideas towards reality.

In the beginning, I felt out of place (impostor syndrome) from being next to so many talented and successful individuals. Then you realize that most people think the same way about everyone in the room.

When you break into your core teams, most people look to the veteran to get things going or start things up. Similarly, we tend to take an extra second to analyze things before jumping to conclusions.

Expect to spend more than 20 hours per week on schoolwork. You can get away with less, but it depends on what kind of grades you are looking to achieve. Also, most of the work is performed in teams; you must be clear with your teammates about grade and work expectations. You could be in a group where everyone is shooting for a B, and you want to get an A. In this situation, you will be doing most of the heavy lifting. In my case, I have spent, on average, 30 hours per week in schoolwork. When you are not working, you are doing schoolwork.

As a veteran, I received a lot of help getting my tuition requests from the VA established. I am using Vocational Rehab benefits that fully cover my tuition. My experience with our Veteran office has been outstanding.

If I used my GI Bill benefits, tuition would be fully covered too because UCLA is a public school. It is crucial to do your homework and find out how far you can stretch veteran benefits to cover tuition.

I am an active member of the Anderson Veteran Association (AVA). I have answered to many veteran requests for information about the program. Before beginning at UCLA, I did not know I could reach out to veterans at Anderson to help me navigate the application process. Please reach out to your intended school’s veteran association before applying.

Switching to 100% online was tough. UCLA was not immediately ready to do the change from my experience, but this was new for everyone. EMBAs were significantly affected because, in a hybrid program, we already have limited interaction with each other.

Since the beginning of 100% online classes, I have seen a lot of effort put in by Anderson faculty and classmates to enhance our virtual school experience. I can honestly say that UCLA is doing an excellent job of listening to student feedback.