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Application deadlines: Online Application Release: Early August 2011 Round One Deadline: October 12, 2011 Round Two Deadline: January 4, 2012 Round Three Deadline: April 4, 2012
Mid-Decision Date November 9, 2011 February 15, 2012 April 25, 2012
Decision Notification Date December 14, 2011 March 21, 2012 May 16, 2012
1. What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will a Chicago Booth MBA help you reach them? (600 words)
1a. RE-APPLICANTS ONLY: Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (300 words)
2. At Chicago Booth, we believe each individual has his or her own leadership style. How has your family, culture, and/or environment influenced you as a leader? (750 words)
3. Considering what you've already included in the application, what else should we know about you? In a maximum of four slides, tell us about yourself.
Question 3 Guidelines We have set forth the following guidelines: *The content is completely up to you. There is no right, or even preferred, approach to this presentation. *There is a strict maximum of four pages, though you can provide fewer if you choose. *Acceptable formats for upload in the online application system are PowerPoint or PDF. *The document will be viewed electronically, but we cannot support embedded videos, music, or motion images. *Additionally, all content MUST be included in the four pages; hyperlinks will not be viewed. *The file will be evaluated on the quality of content and ability to convey your ideas, not on technical expertise or presentation.
Rankings: Full-Time MBA Program #1 BusinessWeek biennial rankings, 2010 #1 The Economist, 2010 #5 (tie) U.S. New & World Report, 2011 #12 Financial Times (global), 2011 #4 Forbes biennial rankings, 2009 #1 BusinessWeek biennial rankings, 2008
Executive MBA Programs #5 Financial Times, 2010 #16 Wall Street Journal, 2010 #2 U.S. News & World Report, 2011 #2 BusinessWeek, 2009
Part-Time MBA Programs #1 (tie) U.S. News & World Report, 2011 #12 nationally, #4 in the Midwest, BusinessWeek, 2009 #4 Forbes biennial rankings, 2005
History: Chicago Booth traces its roots back to 1898 when university faculty member James Laurence Laughlin chartered the College of Commerce and Politics, which was intended to be an extension of the school's founding principles of "scientific guidance and investigation of great economic and social matters of everyday importance." The program originally served as a solely undergraduate institution until 1916, when academically oriented research masters and later doctoral-level degrees were introduced. In 1916, the school was renamed the School of Commerce and Administration. Soon after in 1922, the first doctorate program was offered at the school. In 1932, the school was rechristened as the School of Business. The School of Business offered its first Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1935. A landmark decision was taken by the school at about this time to concentrate its resources solely on graduate programs, and accordingly, the undergraduate program was phased out in 1942. In 1943, the school launched the first ever Executive MBA program. The school was renamed to Graduate School of Business (or more popularly, the GSB) in 1959, a name that it held till 2008. During the later half of the twentieth century, the business school was instrumental in the development of the Chicago School, an economic philosophy focused on free-market, minimal government involvement, due to faculty and student interaction with members of the university's influential Department of Economics. Other innovations by Chicago Booth include initiating the first PhD program in business (1920), founding the first academic business journal (1928), offering the first Executive MBA (EMBA) program (1943), and for offering the first weekend MBA program (1986). Students at the school founded the National Black MBA Association (1972), and Chicago Booth is the only U.S. business school with permanent campuses on three continents: Asia (2000), Europe (1994), and North America (1898).
Academic Concentrations: Students in the Full-time MBA, Executive MBA, and Part-time MBA programs can elect to concentrate in one or more areas of study, although some concentrations' required coursework may necessitate schedule modifications for students enrolled in the Part-time program. The various concentrations are: Accounting Analytical Management Analytic Finance Econometrics and Statistics Economics Entrepreneurship Finance General Management Human Resource Management International Business Managerial and Organizational Behavior Marketing Management Operations Management Strategic Management.
Research and Learning Centers Accounting Research Center Applied Theory Initiative Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory Center for Decision Research Center for Population Economics Center for Research in Security Prices Chicago Energy Initiative George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State Initiative on Global Markets Milton Friedman Institute for Research in Economics Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship James M. Kilts Center for Marketing
Archived 'Calling All Booth Applicants' Topic
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Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
13 Nov 2011, 16:30
8
Kudos
Hi all, finished my interview on-campus yesterday. The interview was done by an alumnus.
The questions were (not in the same order) -What are your goals? -Walk me through your resume -Tell me about your community service -Why MBA? -Why now? -How would your colleagues describe you? -Why that industry post-MBA?
One of the current students said that he received a call from adcom when he was admitted. Is this the case for every admitted applicant? I understand that the official notification date is Dec 14th. Does anyone know if they start notifying admitted applicants earlier than that?
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
10 Nov 2011, 07:11
7
Kudos
goodbyeboy wrote:
PTK wrote:
tgtivyleague wrote:
@ PTK
Look at it this way. Even if they take 45% females this year, that still leaves 55% of the slots open for men. It is not the ladies' or the school's problem that the no. of men who apply to B-Schools are way more than the ladies!
But yes, I agree that most top schools may end up having a 35%-40% range wrt their female applicant pool this year, keeping in line with their intention of increasing the gender equality in their respective schools.
Cya
This is an assumption I used to arrive to a possible explanation/reason of why Booth dinged dinged today so many people ( I assumed guys). 65% of slots for men last year or 55% slots this year, makes a signigicant difference when it comes to assumed comparison of % admition rates separately for men and women. (way to many assumption I am making today after the Booth's ding).
I think we are missing a critical piece of the puzzle here. We really cannot just look at people's GMAT scores and GPAs and say that this person should have gotten in or this other person should not have. I also don't think this is about gender either. I do not believe a school would admit someone on the sole basis of gender if that applicant was not qualified for the program.
B-school applications are a holistic process. Essays matter A LOT. They want people who are different and who can round out the class. So, if you're in finance or consulting, for example, you're competing with the thousands of other people who are also in those industries. In the end, it's going to be about how you stand out, what it is that makes your application "sparkle" (to quote Kurt Ahlm), and what kind of contribution you can make to the class.
Sorry to disagree with you, but you CANNOT possibly say that gender or race doesn't play a role when it comes to decisions, and I am not saying this to disrespect female applicants or minority applicants. Some undergrad schools, especially in the west coast where they have overwhelmingly many Asian applicants, flat out say that they limit their pool and look more fondly to other minority students. It makes sense for the school, but for applicants who happen to come from those "common" background - it surely works as disadvantages. I am 100% sure this is the case for business schools as well.
Also, the problem with those terms, such as "holistic process" or "sparkle" are extremely vague terms that don't really mean anything. How much time do you think is spent on adcom's side to take a "holistic" approach to find "sparkles" on each applicant? I am 100% positive that it's merely a fraction of how much time and work applicants spend on their application, not including the time they spend on nervously waiting for their decisions for weeks, sometimes for months since the summer. Yes they get thousands of applications and have a little time - but I really wish that people and school would stop giving out such vague terms. It really doesn't mean much to applicants, whether they're accepted or rejected.
I don't think we are missing any puzzles here. We all know about the weight of GMAT score, GPA etc. GMAT community is a lot smarter than that. Some got dinged not because they don't have "sparkles", aren't unique, or their essays were bad, it's because Booth also "failed" to find the "sparkles". It's alway a two way street. Some schools find them, and some don't. We move on. The end.
Of course gender and race play a role, but I don't think it's in the way that you assume. Schools don't say we have 500 seats and 200 of them have to go to women, 50 have to go Black Americans, 60 have to go to Hispanic Americans, and only 100 can go to Indian males. That would be one ugly Venn Diagram if that's how they work.
I know that people don't want to believe this but while admissions committee do look at the overall applicant pool when building the class most schools do not "bucket" people. How can they? Do they bucket you by ethnicity? professional background? career goal? region where you live? There's just too many categories. I am a Black female, but that doesn't mean they can compare me to another black female who has different goals, undergrad institutation, and professional background.
No, a school won't take every 750+ GMAT and 3.7+ GPA it sees. It's easy to focus on GPA and GMAT and say, "I should or should not get an interview." However, that's such a small piece of the picture. Contrary to what you're saying schools really do take the time to review each application holistically. Some apps, while very well put together show that the student isn't a good fit with the school. Sometimes red flags are raised by the recommendations. And please remember, just because an essay is well written doesn't mean that it's compelling. Also, adcoms can sniff a whole lot out of not just what you say, but how you say it.
Honestly, I don't really think it's about "sparkle" or "uniqueness." An application can be boring as all get out with a run of the mill 700 GMAT and 3.3 GPA and still stand out if the story makes sense and the fit is there. Sometimes these conversations really get to me because people start to insinuate that people are getting in because they are a woman or a minority and that's NOT the case. While race and gender do play a role in how adcoms try to build the class it's not the sole determining factor and it doesn't mean that un(der) qualified people are gaining admission over qualified candidates. At the end of the day the whole purpose of going to b-school is to get a job (a good paying one at that). With average salaries at 100K+ at the top schools and over 90% of graduates employed within 3 months of graduation it's obvious that even if a 670 GMAT was admitted over a 770 it's not diminishing the quality of the class.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
15 Nov 2011, 08:48
7
Kudos
Hello Everyone,
I did my interview with a Booth alumni at a coffee shop in Boston last night. The interview was about an hour in length. The questions were:
Walk me through your resume. Why do you want an MBA? What are your goals? Why Booth? Tell me about a time you had to give difficult feedback to someone working for you. Tell me about a time someone gave you constructive criticism/feedback. What did you learn? What is your leadership style? What classes do you plan on taking at Booth? What cities do you plan on living in, in the future? What is your favorite super hero? Why? What is a powerful childhood memory? Why? What is your favorite toy? Why?
The interview was pretty intense and we covered a lot of ground. It started out with questions I knew to expect from reading previous accounts, but then he started throwing me some real curve balls. I think it went really well though. He started off pretty serious and wasn't giving much away with his expression or body language, but by the end he was smiling and laughing. He said he thought I would make a great student-teacher for the LEAD program, so I hope that's a good sign. In addition to all the questions he spent a lot of time telling me stories about Booth and comparing it to other programs. He had a lot of good advice that I really appreciated. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for good news on Dec 14th!
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
01 Feb 2012, 20:08
6
Kudos
I hope everyone realizes that BTG and GC are a VERY small sample size of Booth's R2 applicant pool. You can't extrapolate how many invites have gone out based on how many people have posted that they've gotten invites (hell, you can't even be sure that all the claims on any of these sites are legit). If interviews are coming over a 3 week period and we're only one week in, it would be more logical to assume that they're not even half done sending invites. Heck, the majority of invites could come in the last week.
As was said before, it is TOO soon to start the speculation that the invites are drying up. Can we at least get to Feb. 10 before that type of talk starts. I know that waiting is painful and everyone is anxious, but the negative paranoia doesn't help anyone. So please just chill.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
20 Mar 2012, 09:54
5
Kudos
There is WAY too much melodrama on this board folks. Look back to RD 1 and to last year and see that admit calls came out throughout the day, into the late afternoon. Seriously stop feeling sorry for yourself and just wait for the call to come or not come.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
Updated on: 01 Nov 2011, 11:06
4
Kudos
BYURover wrote:
I heard from a member of DSAC that most invites will go out closer to November 9th. Probably not worth getting excited about anything until then.
I love all the conflicting information. At this point, it's not even worth guessing anymore. We have a Booth chat transcript from 10/20 saying "in the next few days," we have someone who called the adcom and was told 11/1 and now we have a DSAC member saying closer to 11/9.
Starting to feel like we're at the end of a long game of telephone.
Originally posted by BStand on 01 Nov 2011, 08:54.
Last edited by BStand on 01 Nov 2011, 11:06, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
15 Nov 2011, 13:41
4
Kudos
I just did my off-campus interview with an alum. Lucky for me, I had been prepping for every question I was asked and I felt that my answers came out sincere and not rehearsed.
In no particular order, here are the questions:
1. Tell me about yourself (essentially, walk me through your resume) 2. Why Booth? 3. Why an MBA? 4. What is your plan for after graduation? 5. If you could change anything about your career up until now, what would it be? 6. How would your friends describe you? 7. What are your plans if you don't get into Booth? Will you apply again next year?
We only had 30 minutes for the interview, so I was only asked those 7 questions and I was allowed time to ask some of my own questions. Remember to prepare some good questions because I really got a deeper sense (beyond what I already had) of the Booth alumni community from one of the questions I asked.
In all, it really didn't feel like an interview; it was more like a conversation. So, do your prep work, practice out-loud in front of your mirror and don't sweat it!
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
22 Nov 2011, 19:31
4
Kudos
I had my interview with an alum yesterday and it lasted around 80 minutes. Firstly, I think the interview depends a lot on the interviewer. In my case, the interview started with walk me through your resume, then a very mysterious 'What next?', and then what other schools am I applying to.
The interviewer then opened up a long and really interesting discussion on what he had done, why did he choose booth and how is he on many non-profit boards. During all this conversation, he nudged and I asked questions and he answered freely. He then asked me my views on the current trends in education (my current work stream) and again we engaged into a discussion on the same.
Then he talked about some books that Booth faculty has been writing (who he is in touch with and is also a guest lecturer himself at Booth) and we talked about those a bit. He is sending me a copy of that book!
Then he came back to the schools I am applying to and said that he too only applied to Wharton and Booth and we talked about these schools a little. HE further prodded for second round schools and then convinced me (:D) how Booth is the best school for an MBA.
He then asked me how did I plan to pay for the MBA if admitted and engaged into a description of the scholarships available at Booth and a scholarship that he has instituted which is given to one foreign admit each year. We went back to the other Booth alumni I know from my previous consulting experience and he recalled knowing one of them and took details of the other.
Finally, after about 70 minutes or so, he said he needs to get into a meeting but that I should keep in touch with him, we exchanged cards (he said I will surely send you that book). His final words to me were, do keep me posted and let me know if you need any help in deciding schools in case you are admitted to both.
I sent him a thank you email today morning and he replied within 10 minutes saying he is sending me that book. (I guess he really loved that book :D).
Overall, I really liked the experience I had and was impressed with his passion for the school and that he is still so active with school related activities (he's an '89 graduate).
All the best to others! I have a book to read to kill the wait.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
20 Mar 2012, 15:43
4
Kudos
I'm IN!!! Got the call about 90 minutes ago on my drive home from work. Also got $$$!!! I am so overwhelmed and grateful right now.
Thank you everyone for all of the encouragement and support. The call didn't come til about 5:10p.m. EST so I was really freaking out. The adcom I spoke to told me that they had a ton of calls to make so hopefully they aren't done yet.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
26 Oct 2011, 07:58
3
Kudos
I just spoke to the admissions representative and I was told that the interview invites will start going out next week. Hope my name will be in one of those "invited for interview" files.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
09 Nov 2011, 07:15
3
Kudos
Hello Team,
I am part of the group that has anxiously checked updates on this board every day, eagerly anticipating a Booth interview invite. Of course, I cannot help but feel a bit discouraged feeling that I may be on the ding list today. However, while it would be disappointing to not make the cut, I do hope that we can all remember that MBA admissions are a lot about the perceived "fit." The positive side of this is that lack of perceived fit at Booth in some cases might mean that an applicant MAY be viewed as a stronger fit elsewhere.
Based on the background qual's I have seen represented on this board - I am optimistic that each potential ding today is another great school's target candidate. For whatever it's worth, I hope that everyone feels at least a small amount of personal satisfaction and pride today in having the qualifications to get to this point.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
09 Nov 2011, 13:27
3
Kudos
PTK wrote:
tgtivyleague wrote:
@ PTK
Look at it this way. Even if they take 45% females this year, that still leaves 55% of the slots open for men. It is not the ladies' or the school's problem that the no. of men who apply to B-Schools are way more than the ladies!
But yes, I agree that most top schools may end up having a 35%-40% range wrt their female applicant pool this year, keeping in line with their intention of increasing the gender equality in their respective schools.
Cya
This is an assumption I used to arrive to a possible explanation/reason of why Booth dinged dinged today so many people ( I assumed guys). 65% of slots for men last year or 55% slots this year, makes a signigicant difference when it comes to assumed comparison of % admition rates separately for men and women. (way to many assumption I am making today after the Booth's ding).
Overall I belive that this tendency to equate the men/women ratio should not be so sharp at it was last year at Wharton. Such changes must takes years of smooth transition.
I think we are missing a critical piece of the puzzle here. We really cannot just look at people's GMAT scores and GPAs and say that this person should have gotten in or this other person should not have. I also don't think this is about gender either. I do not believe a school would admit someone on the sole basis of gender if that applicant was not qualified for the program.
B-school applications are a holistic process. Essays matter A LOT. They want people who are different and who can round out the class. So, if you're in finance or consulting, for example, you're competing with the thousands of other people who are also in those industries. In the end, it's going to be about how you stand out, what it is that makes your application "sparkle" (to quote Kurt Ahlm), and what kind of contribution you can make to the class.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
15 Nov 2011, 19:46
3
Kudos
Just got back from my off-campus interview. We met at a local Starbucks and my interviewer was very professional. I felt that we had some awkward moments where I thought he would comment but he didn't. I think I rambled for 90% of the time:
1. He started off with why MBA? (threw me off cause I figured he'd want to walk through my resume first, he never asked me to go through it. I also went ahead and answered why now and why booth?)
We got off on a tangent talking about markets and investments (we have a similar background). Then he says he needs to get to the required questions.
2. Tell me about a time you made a decision you regret. 3. Tell me about a time you had to juggle a lot of responsibilities. 4. Are you applying anywhere else? 5. How do you think you'll contribute to Booth? 6. Any questions for me?
I asked him 3 questions. I had more in my pocket, but I could tell he was ready to go. The whole interview lasted about an hour. I'm not too confident that my interviewer liked me...fingers crossed. Good luck everyone!
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
15 Dec 2011, 16:18
3
Kudos
booth1styear wrote:
Hi All,
I am a first year student at Chicago Booth. Congrats to all who made it. For people who did not make it, please do not lose heart. I know you might think that it is easier for me to say this because I am already in. I was in your shoes last year and was anxious about my results. I worked very hard on my essays and succeeded in getting in. I was happy but now i regret joining Booth. Contrary to perception, Booth students are struggling in getting internship. There are 200+ chasing consulting for internship with very few consulting opportunities out there. Banking recruitment is down and bank did not make enough offers to 2nd years who did internships. There is hardly any collaboration among Booth students. I and most of my friends have struggled in getting any guidance from batch mates, seniors and alumni. No matter what the admissions blog tells you, Booth alumnus don't respond to your mails. The faculty is great and one learns a lot. But it's practically impossible to land your dream job or anything close to that.
If you have a choice between Booth and H,S,W,Kellogg, Sloan, choose the other schools. There is much more support available. In case you are from Asia, NUS and ISB are better if you consider the money invested in your valuations. It's your career and the choice is completely yours. I just wanted to put the truth out there.
Regards
Your well wisher
I love this kind of stuff. The school is definitely doing a great job. Honestly, you don't seem to be a Booth student (are you in the WL? or have been dinged?).
As far as recruiting goes, we have more than 100 internship invite slots for interviewing at McKinsey. Same thing for Bain and BCG (therefore, 300+ slots for a class of 570 people).
Here the last update from Career Services (November'11):
Class of 2013: Internship postings: up 12% overall (consulting up 10%, IB up 5%,
About student collaboration, one of the things I'm liking the most about the school is about how extremely collaborative are the students. For example, I cannot tell you how many times in the Metra (train) to the school I've seen people helping others with individual class assignments due the same day. By the way, I remember you that here we are under GND.
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
05 Oct 2011, 10:46
2
Kudos
gmatpapa wrote:
Quote:
Essay 2: At Chicago Booth, we believe each individual has his or her own leadership style. How has your family, culture, and/or environment influenced you as a leader?
In this question, can we write about the work environment and professional activities that have influenced us as a leader or should only non professional activities be listed here?
I have prepared for both actually and depending on the requirement of the essay, will decide whether I'd want to give this essay a mixed flavor..
Any suggestions?
You know I think this is one of the most open ended questions on any application I've seen..They've specifically mentioned family & culture, but by including 'environment' they've opened up the door to virtually anything under the sun...The 'environment' being referred here could be professional, political, social, economic or whatever...Won't elaborate on professional or social since they are the most obvious ones..but regarding the other two examples...
Political environment.. say someone interacted intensely with really strong political leaders (Arab Spring ) or actively participated in any sort of social revolution in a country, his/her leadership style could've been influenced heavily by this experience and this might make for really good essay points
Economic environment..so say someone got laid off during the recession of '08-'09 and then formed a self-help kinda group to help out people in similar situations.. or ..perhaps he/she met someone at that time who was really inspirational and that motivated him/her to get a new job & look at life with a new perspective...this could've influenced his/her leadership style in a big way as well...
So...long story short..In my opinion, the essence of this essay is to list the TOP factors that have influenced your leadership style the most and weave it into a nice story that shows your progression and maturity of leadership...if your influencing factors are professional, so be it, if they are not, nevermind...
Re: Booth 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
12 Oct 2011, 22:02
2
Kudos
scorpionz wrote:
rid82 wrote:
Good luck guys!! Honestly it was the best decision to come here, I cannot be happier. I hope to see you guys next year!
Thanks @rid82! For the benefit of the lucky R1 folks who will be invited to interview down the line, can you please share your interview experience from last year? If you have already posted that (last year or earlier this year), we will really appreciate if you could guide us to that post!!
Updated on: 21 Dec 2011, 09:58
) or actively participated in any sort of social revolution in a country, his/her leadership style could've been influenced heavily by this experience and this might make for really good essay points
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