Chicago (Booth) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

I have had 2 very contrasting interviews with alumni.
Kellogg - Very short 15 mins, but direct acknowledgement from the interviewer that I fit into the program.
Booth - 1.5 hours interview, very neutral reaction from the interviewer.

No idea how the length of the interview matters! We shall see once the decisions are announced ...

Traveled to Booth yesterday to interview on campus. Questions were fairly standard - Why MBA, why Booth, what makes a good leader, what kind of leader are you, etc. My interview was nice and very conversational. We ended up talking about wine country in California and went off on other tangents like that. There has been some discussion in previous posts about how much the Booth interview matters, but does anyone have more clarity on this? Is Booth like Michigan where they generally have a plan for each applicant going into the interview (ie they are fairly sure an applicant is in the waitlist pool)?

In the case of Booth, once the interview is done, the entire application along with the interview report goes to a different admissions director for an independent evaluation. So I don't think they form opinions of the candidates before the interview.
Source: Interview with Kurt Ahlm, PoetsandQuants

Done with my intvw, with a very senior alum in Mumbai. Was very conversational & he hardly asked any questions except - Tell me about urself, Why MBA & Why Booth, Which other Schools you applied to. The last question is pretty mandatory I think for Booth. Not even the Goals questions

Lets wait now.

Is booth R3 friendly? I am considering applying and would love to know if anyone else is considering applying or has applied previously successfully to Booth in R3. Also. how does the school view alum recommendations?

Rocky312, I'm sorry to hear about your bad interview experience. I can imagine that it would leave you with a bad feeling about Booth. Just keep in mind that ALL schools will have alumni like this. Take Harvard, for an example. Sandy is a prominent admissions consultant for Harvard and frequently writes columns on PoetsandQuants.com. Take a look at the bolded information:
https://poetsandquants.com/2012/10/17/ho ... rview-2/4/

"Sandy, what’s the best kind of interviewer an applicant can have?
If you can help it, you’ll always be better off with an interviewer with a lot of experience because they are less likely to make oddball judgments. You want a normative interviewer, someone who knows the standards and who has been through it a million times. Alumni often have a chip on their shoulders. They may have issues with the school that can get projected in the interview. They may want to use you to deliver a message to the school, or they could have a prejudice against people who are in Teach For America or other non-profits. That happens a lot. And some alumni interviews can go on for more than an hour. They’re just so much more unpredictable."

I don't want to make it seem like I don't sympathize with your situation, I do. It really sucks. But just know that these types of things can happen at any school, even Harvard.

here is the transcript URL: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/programs/fu ... 2013-02-28

I'm supposed to have my interview Wednesday morning and will be flying in from the west coast Tuesday night. Been checking the weather report constantly and Tuesday is now at 100% snow with accumulation of 4-6 inches...oyyy

Definitely keep on top of the weather updates. Hopefully you have some extra time built in in case of flight delays...and if your flight gets canceled (not sure how bad the storm will be), you'll be able to reschedule the interview. Good luck!

+1 on that. My flight was canceled twice causing me to miss my interview time slot. However, I informed the admissions committee of the weather conditions / delays and they were very accommodating in rescheduling my interview.
Just keep the admissions office updated about your possible delay a day or so before your interview.

Thanks man

1000 flights at Ohare cancelled this morning. Good luck to all the interviewees trying to get in and out of Chicago over the next few days!

Still On Schedule...for now. My coworkers are taking bets on whether I'll make it or not.

I had to cancel my on campus interview due to the weather. My flight was cancelled this morning. The admissions office was very accommodating, however, I had to reschedule with an alumni because all the on campus interviews are booked until Saturday (March 9th - last day of interviews). No slots open. I'm still a strong believer that an on campus interview is looked at more favorably than an alumni interview but oh well can't predict mother nature!

Good luck to everyone!

We all got introduced to the Chicago weather this year. Hopefully things work out for the best for everyone.

Sorry to hear but I feel ya! I'm supposed to fly in from New York on Friday for the Saturday interview, which should be fine if the storm touches NYC tomorrow and goes by Thurs as forecasted. Still I'm dreading the possibility my flight may be canceled and I'll have to reschedule my interview and day off from work... already running out of lame excuses. I don't think on-campus interview is necessarily looked upon more favorably than alumni interview but I do appreciate that on-campus interviews tend to be a "safer" bet than alumni interviews which can be a hit or miss depending on your luck with the interviewer. Hope you get a good one!

My gut is don't contact AdCom about this until after you get the decision. I just find it unlikely that they will a) rectify this before your admissions decision somehow and b) have that reflect positively on you. At best it won't hurt your chances.