Calling Fall 2010 Chicago Booth Applicants

Whenever you receive the deny status change...until then, you can still receive an invite. There is a reason why they have a deadline, they send invites gradually until that day. The adcom at Booth is really professional. I have been involved in 6 application processes and none rivals Booth in professionalism.

I think it's extremely unfair that you got two emails. I got just one. I believe by sending you two emails the admission committee is clearly showing a bias towards whatever background and geography you hail from.

In the light of this I have clearly decided to show my protest to the school my not checking my email for the last 45 minutes. I may not consider scheduling an interview. This has nothing to do with my not being invited to the interview so far. Or my believing that my application is in the ding pile already for not exhibiting enough diversity or whatever else they were searching for in it.

As a mark of protest to being sent just one mail, I have decided that I will definitely join the chat. So what if finance isn't what I am interested in doing. I will rather block that one slot so that the adcom realizes what they will be missing. What ? They don't know that someone with this name or profile applied ? Oh, I forgot they are buried under tons on profiles like mine and can't distinguish one of us from the other anyway.

Nevermind,I shall still hog their bandwidth and time, in another vain attempt to get noticed and get that email.

Posted from my mobile device

I have a question for those of us with some insider knowledge of Booth's admissions process. I understand from Rhyme's comments in R1 that the interview is not a "phase gate" for native English speakers (comments from the interviewer just go into your file as another data point). What I don't understand is what happens after the interview at the committee level. Since the file of every candidate invited to interview has been read by 3 or more persons (possibly including Rose herself), what kind of issues come up in comittee that lead to dings? I am assuming that if these issues are indeed deal-breakers, they would have been caught by at least two of the first 3 readers. In short, it's just hard for me to imagine why Booth would bother interviewing a candidate they know will not make it past the admissions committee, especially when the interviews don't "make or break" candidates.

What additional criteria is used to evaluate candidates at the committee stage? Is it fit? Diversity? Industry quotas? Geographic quotas? GMAT-balancing to improve the overall class profile? Recruitability?

I just need some clarity so I can stop worrying that some typo in my application that the first-stage readers missed will be noticed in committee and be cause for a ding. Any insights would be much appreciated.

Tdave,

I am a R1 admit to Booth. Not much insider info but let me help you calm down.

First, regarding your typo, don't worry at all unless you wrote how much you would love to attend Kotler's class at Kellogg or something like that. If it helps you, I completely missed the part of the instructions where it said "Please include your name in the header of ALL essays". Actually, I realized reading this forum of that and I sent an email to the Adcom apologizing and asking if I should consider myself automatically dinged for being an ass they told me "relax and enjoy the ride". And here I am, three months later and 1K less in my account crossing the days like an inmate until August 17th when I will move to Chicago for good.

On your main question regarding Interviews I would say that FIT is really important. Also, the interview is to find out if you are who you said you were in your essays. Also, you need to consider that all schools, probably with the exception of HBS and Stanford, are worried of losing their admits to other higher ranked schools. Therefore, you need to make a compelling case on why Chicago.

Also, if something looks weird on your app (i.e. weird career moves) you might be given the benefit of doubt and get interviewed and then dinged after you fail to explain why you X vs. Y.

Not sure how it is in Chicago, but in other schools (Stanford for example) when the interviewer submits the interview report, they also give a recommendation. Your interviewer might be either an idiot or just don't like you and recommend the adcom not to admit you. Then Rose and crew can decide that your app was that stellar that they can ignore your interview report. Or, it could be the case where you went to interview with some concerns from the adcom that the report really makes or break your application.

Finally, the Geo/industry/Gender/Race quota plays a its role. If you look at schools stats in certain countries, you will find that consistently they admit pretty much the same number of people...

If anybody has further info on this...

Thanks Latammc - very helpful! But are 50% of interviewed candidates actually dinged because they did not give convincing "Why Booth?" replies? Are interviewers instructed to pay close attention to the interviewee's "Why MBA?" response? Also, do adcoms flag concerns with the candidate's application to ensure that the concerns are addressed during the interview? There must be other criteria... 50% of the interviewed candidates can't possibly give weak interviews. Or am I just being my usual anxiety-ridden self?

tdave,

At some point they set a cut point...don't know what is that point is.

Maybe you have a score before sending that to interviewer. And then, based on your interview you are either accepted, dinged or WLed. By the way, your interview is blind.

I'm still confused how the interview is blind if I'm interviewed by an AdCom and not a second year student on campus. Don't the AdCom have access to my application? Maybe the interview being blind or not is irrelevant?

At this point I am tempted to point you my post on this very same page. They are inundated by tons of profiles like yours n mine that they can't distinguish one from the another

If you interviewing with alumni , I guess the blind interview easily makes sense. In case you are interviewing at campus, the possibility that you will interview with the same second year student who read and your app is limited.

I am 'assuming' that every adcom member looks at every app. On that case the possibility that he/ she remembers the particular story that you wrote is highly remote.Interview is not meant to corraborate or retest you. I would think it's a process to look at someone in person. The individual behind those sheets of paper. I know this for sure that adcom doesn't bother to read your app to prep themselves for your interview. It's just beyond their capacity to logistically do so.



Posted from my mobile device

Paging Dr. Rhyme - stat! Booth applicants seriously confused and anxiety-ridden! Your insight needed urgently! Paging Dr. Rhyme - stat!

Please include me in the people waiting for an interview invite for R2. I submitted the application at the R2 deadline and my application status has been "complete" for the longest time.

Profile (by Aug 2010)
M / 28 / 780 / 4yrs / IT.

I just gave myself a heart attack.

I went to check whether I included my name in my essay headers (I did not), and I noticed that, on one of the versions of my first essay--and there are many, many versions--I named the wrong school in the first sentence of the final paragraph!

It's entirely possible that I used a different version, but the deadline was such a whirlwind, and I have a gut feeling that this was the one.

I'm sure they didn't just send an invite to mess with me, but this is absolutely mortifying.

Oh the dangers of going back over essays. Yesterday I read a sentence in the novel I am currently reading (epic fantasy, anyone?!) in which the word "temerity" was used in precisely the opposite way that I used it in my application essays. I'm like, Sh*t, this guy is published, he must have it right, I have totally just embarrassed myself because I think I have suuuuuuch a great vocabulary and my appetite for alliteration, which is nearly carnal in its intensity (you guys simply cannot imagine how hard I have been reining myself in while posting here), compelled me to pair up "temerity" and "timidity" in a sentence.

Anyway, the good news for ME is that I looked up the word thirty seconds ago and I am in the clear.

The good news for YOU is that even if you did frack up, Chicago is interested despite your error. (I guarantee you I used the right name of the school in my essay and I have not heard a peep.) Congrats!

The Countdown

Guys and girls, seven more days to the mid-decision date. And since there is Saturday and a Sunday between those days, just five working days to receive an interview invite. Considering the number of people who have received an invite so far, Booth looks set to break quite a few hearts this year

All the best!

>And since there is Saturday and a Sunday between those days, just five working days to receive an interview >invite.

Sadly Monday is a holiday in the US. So ideally 3 days on which we can hear something.

I had forgotten. Three days to send all those invites. Consider how much pressure the adcom would have at this point.; )

Sup folks, I finally got an invite too...surprised myself really... but i'll take it.

I haven't visited the campus, I'd registered for last Booth Live, even went to Chicago, and make it to the school before it ended.. yep, i know epic fail.

Anyways, i'm scheduled to visit this Friday for booth Live!, and I figured I'd combine it with an on-campus interview.

the thing is, the only spot available is two days prior to Live!, which means I wouldn't have visited the school or sat in a class prior to my interview.

does that sort of defeat the purpose of visiting a school? Should I move my IV date to *after* i visit, and settle for an Alum interview?

Thoughts?

Does anyone know how to visit the campus on a weekend (weekend of 20th)? Is there a tour, or some classes that I can sit in?