Chicago Booth Class of 2015 - Admitted Students Thread

I may drive to Chicago Thursday that way I can move around quicker and easier between schools.

Will look into the bidding options. Thanks Top10MBACandidate.

Hello and congrats to all fellow admits. Looking forward to having some time to meet and celebrate at admit weekend.

Someone mentioned a google doc for roommates... should I assume that will be linked up through the admitted students website? Or did someone else start that on their own?

When you join the Facebook Group, look for a post on February 19th. That will give you the people's names you can message to obtain the roomate Google doc. To join the Facebook group, send a friend request to Emily Salans (of the ad com) and she will add you to the group. They keep the group totally secret for privacy (keeping in mind that many people have not told their employers that they are leaving yet).

Hello and congrats everyone!

On the Admissions Response Form, why do you think they ask what other schools we applied to, and our statuses at those schools? Do you think that information affects the scholarships they offer to applicants (e.g. applicants who are accepted to other top tier schools receive better scholarships)?

Thanks for your thoughts!

I heard once- and don't quote me on this, my memory could be foggy- that they want to know to make a hard sell on why you should be going to Booth instead of those other schools. i'm sure it's also done for reporting puposes.

My form is pretty basic with Yay/Nay at the end.

Hi Everyone!

Congrats!

Is anyone worried about the social scene at Booth? I hear really mixed reviews. Interested to hear if fellow admitted students share my concern.

Thanks!

Worried? Not at all. I have a lot of friends who went to Booth and it really is what you make of it. You would have a hard time NOT having fun in downtown Chicago. A lot of the students are clustered in a few different buildings which end up being almost like dorms and I know that TNDC (thursday night drinking club) can get pretty rowdy.

These are going to be my personal experiences, so please take everything with a grain of salt.

Admit Weekend is a great time to start your housing search. You won't know availibility of specific units, but you will know a general price range for the building and get a feel for the community, finishes, and up-keep. On Saturday of admit weekend, Booth puts on housing tours and you can choose two neighborhoods. Personally, I was pretty certain I wanted to live in the Loop, so I used the housing tours as a time to explore other options - so I chose to visit the South Loop and River North. On Sunday, I set up private showings of the buildings in the Loop that I was most interested in.

1) South Loop - A lot of people say that the benefit of living in the South Loop was more bang for your buck. Personally, I did not find that to be true (do your own research!). The South Loop is full of shops and restuarants and is very lively. It's less touristy. The commute to campus is faster and there are more options than the commute from the Loop-so that is a benefit. The Boothies in the South Loop seem to have a community feel and they get together for dinner/happy hour. People with cars might prefer the South Loop, because parking tends to be cheaper and they don't force you to do valet like some places in the Loop (aka Millennium Park Plaza - MPP, and I think Columbus Plaza - CP). There is also good greenspace nearby so it is good for people with dogs.

2) River North - The area that we actually visited on the "River North" tour was Streeterville. Streeterville is very quiet with very little shops/restaurants/bars in the immediate surrounding. Of course the walk to River North shopping is not very far, but you are not living amongst it. There are not many Boothies that live in this area. I would personally not want to live in Streeterville.

Then on Sunday we visited several apartment buildings.

1) MPP - Right on Michigan Avenue but South of the Magnificent Mile touristy-area. Right across the street from Millennium Park and some units have great views of the park (no one bedroom units have those views). Forced valet is going to be annoying for people with cars (have to wait to get your car, potential for door dings/scrapes, etc). Parking is $240 a month. The fitness center and indoor pool are nice and well-kept. The finishes in the units vary. No W/D in unit. One bedrooms start at $1595 a month. Overall, pretty good value. It's $40 to join the waitlist. At night, there were some not-so-great characters hanging around - but you will find that in any big city. Just a half-block or so from the public transit that takes you to Hyde Park. Also, they force you to start your lease on the first of the month which is really annoying and clearly they're just trying to make a quick buck. I'm sure this method backfires when everyone tries to move in on the same day.

2) MDA City Apartments-online, this place looks really great. In person, I found the units and the ammenities to be pretty beat up. It's significantly more expensive than MPP. There was broken glass/beer bottles in the community room. I would not consider living there. I believe it was $75 to join the waitlist.

3) Shoreham/Tides - This was the nicest of those I visted in the Loop. It's more expensive than MPP. Tons of closet space, and the properties are extremely well-maintained. W/D in unit. This would be a good area for people with dogs, as it's set back from Michigan Ave and there's a big park that is shared by all the condo buildings in this area. I found the area to be very homey and cozy. However, since it's set back a little bit there's a little more walking involved to get to get to Public Transit - although she said there's a Pedway entrance nearby. I hear these buildings are popular among Boothies, but not as popular as MPP. Parking (for an un-reserved but guaranteed covered spot) is about the same price as MPP, but you can self-park. Free waitlist.

4) Astoria Tower in the South Loop - I visited because the finishes were nice. But ultimately it's not a great location and not worth the extra $$ to me.

5) Columbus Plaza - I didn't actually visit the interior. I stayed at the Hyatt right next door and boy is that area DEAD at night. It's not far from MPP at all, but since it's the same price as MPP and MPP is in a better location, I personally wouldn't consider it.

If you set up your own private tours when you visit, I planned one every hour on the hour. Some leasing agents might keep you walking around forever - so just make sure they know they only get 45 minutes of your time. Shoreham/Tides will take the longest because there are two buildings but we were still able to finish in 45 minutes and wrap up remaining questions via email.

After you have considered the buildings and inquired about their waitlist fees, you can make the decision to join one or multiple waitlists. The waitlists essentially give you notification of available units before they go out to the general public. I think how each building runs their WL is different, so be sure to ask about it if you are curious.

Not worried at all. Go to admit weekend and your mind will be at ease. I promise.

Hello all, I have a question on the Admissions Response Form: when you choose "I accept the offer", can you actually change your mind later in favor of another school, e.g. at the stage when you are required to place the deposits? The deadline for the Form is May 1st - are we supposed to sort out the other schools by then?

You should not accept the offer until you have decided to come to Booth. The R2 deposit deadline ($2k) is also due May 1. Some people pay the deposit but decide later to go to a different school (yes, you lose your $$). Unless you want to do that, I would advise figuring out where you want to go by may 1! Usually, people pay deposits but don't end up coming because they got somewhere in R3 they wanted to go to more, or got in off the WL of another school they wanted to go to more.

Thanks! I was missing the deposit information piece - I figured out from last year's thread that such information will be sent separately by AdCom, and only after addressing all additional info pieces I should start filling in the Response Form. This setup was not clear from the acceptance letter though.

Hi everyone! Setting up shop here.
I can't tell what I'm more excited about, the fact that I got into Booth or the fact I get to be a part of rhyme and cheetarah's network

Try clicking the "Yea."

Just wanted to say hi, and that I'm looking forward to meeting all of you at admit weekend!

Top10MBACandidate, thanks for the apartment run-down... I live in Chicago now and am frankly pretty worried about living in the Loop--the Loop at night is the worst!--but I do feel like I'll get the best experience if I'm living around a lot of other Booth students. At least I'll have the opportunity to do plenty of building-scoping on my own time...

I would tend to agree - the Loop isn't particularly lively at night and I had an unpleasant experience with the after-dark loiterers (nothing major, just enough to dampen my perspective of the Loop area). I think my top choice of neighborhoods would be the true River North area - but it's quite spendy. Plus, I agree with you - I want to live near the rest of the Boothies - so the Loop it is. At least it's close to River North!