|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
24 Mar 2021, 23:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
A Day In The Life Of A Chicago Booth Student
It’s no secret! Getting into an M7 school is nothing short of a magical feeling. I know I speak for everyone when I say that I often wonder about what really gives these schools the Magnificent status! How must it feel to be a student at one of these schools? Well, wonder no more!
To understand what a day in the life of an M7 school student looks like, we had a tête-à-tête with Mukunth Raghavan, a second-year Chicago Booth student!
Mukunth grew up in Chennai, India, and went on to receive his BTech from NIT, Trichy. He worked at Goldman Sachs for six years before deciding to pursue an MBA. Mukunth chose Chicago Booth for two reasons:
- a) The flexible curriculum combined with academic rigor
b) The city of Chicago
As a Boothie, Mukunth is involved in a myriad of activities, right from working as an admissions fellow(and a Global Booth Ambassador), a Career Advisor, Editor-in-chief of Chicago Business (Booth’s newspaper) to co-chairing the Booth Vegetarian club! Read on to know more.
What is a typical day at Booth for you?
- I’m afraid there’s no “typical” day at Booth. As gripping as they are, days at Booth are equally dynamic! No two people will have the same schedule on a given day. Booth is famously known for its flexibility, so, a day at Chicago Booth is what you want it to be!
At Chicago Booth, one is offered with a scrumptious buffet- it’s up to us to make the most of it. Very often, you’ll find me with my plate brimming, yet scouting for more! You may wonder why! You may wonder why! It’s this idea I call YOMO- You Only MBA Once.
I want to make the most of the buffet offered for two simple reasons.
- -MBAs are expensive.
-MBAs require time: not only is it two years of our lives, but it’s also two years of missed opportunities professionally and personally.
For me, it’s important to not spend my time here just earning a degree, but to walk away with a lot more - a strong network, an interesting job, finding a way to give back, and explore as much as possible.
And here at Chicago Booth, your priorities shape your day! I’ll give you a gist of how I go about framing my day – it boils down to three core aspects; consider it a triangle! A triangle with community, academics, and recruitment placed at each corner. It’s next to impossible for one to hit all three vertices of the triangle simultaneously!
For me, it is all about balancing the three vertices of the triangle. On any given day, I’m probably working with the Admissions team, attending lectures, planning events, setting up meetings, or catching up with a friend for a drink! It’s all about the routines you set for yourself!
So then let’s start with your morning routine. Do you have one?
- Yes, definitely. In the dynamic schedule of my days, my morning routine is what gives me a sense of grounding and purpose throughout the day.
I religiously start my mornings with a workout. I hop on the treadmill and listen to podcasts or some rock classics from AC/DC and the like (Rage Against the Machine is my current go-to when I want to amp up my productivity).
I try to protect my mornings for myself - I finish up with my breakfast, workout, and squeeze in some personal reading time. I also use this time to accommodate a few calls with other time zones (say with admits from Asia, for example).
At Booth, we have numerous personalities visiting for talks. Recently, we had Trever Noah, from The Daily Show and Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard giving talks at Booth. I ensure I don’t miss out on such wonderful opportunities to interact with people of such caliber.
So, with a lot of meetings, talks, classes, and events all day, my mornings give me the space to be present, reflect on my days and plan ahead effectively. Once I head out the door by 11 AM, it’s just a lot of back-to-back work throughout the day until 10 PM and at times even beyond!
Give us an idea of what happens once you’re out the door?
- Pre-Covid, I’d usually head to the campus which is a 20-minute Uber ride from my apartment. Booth gives us a ton of flexibility to pick and schedule classes.
I’m taking several very interesting classes this year - International Corporate Finance by Professor Raghuram Rajan, Pricing Strategies by Professor Jean Pierre Dube, and so on.
Each class in Booth is three hours long. I set aside a few hours (depending on the subject) for homework, research, and pre-work for the class. I’ve thoroughly benefited from investing a good amount of time into my academics, and I would highly recommend incoming students to do the same in order to get the most value out of their classes. As the day progresses, we meet up as groups to grab a cup of coffee, finish assignments, discuss the class and maybe wrap up a submission or two. The study group meetings are when you get to really challenge your learnings and ideas, and solidify your understanding of concepts.
Throughout the rest of the day, I’m often occupied with meetings and other commitments pertaining to various clubs. As a Career Advisor for Management Consulting, I regularly speak to several Boothies who are interested to pursue a career in Consulting and take them through the nuances of cracking the interviews. During the consulting recruitment season, I spoke to over 150 students one-on-one to help them with various aspects of preparation - it might involve solving a case together, conducting a mock interview, helping them frame their stories, and bringing all their aspirations alive!
Right now, my responsibilities as a Career Advisor are slowly coming to an end and will conclude with me picking the career advisors for the next class and passing on the baton to them!
Along with this, as the Editor-in-Chief of ChiBus, Chicago Booth’s campus newspaper, I source articles, delegate tasks, edit, and publish content to ensure that the newspaper has something for everyone - right from exciting start-up ideas to events happening across the campus!
To really summarize my day, it involves meeting a lot of new people, attending classes, participating in events, outdoor walks, dinner parties, and so on! However, due to COVID, I have restricted a lot of in-person activities, but the workload has definitely increased!
Your day surely looks packed. How do you manage it all so efficiently? What drives you to be so productive?
- As I previously mentioned, not everyone’s day is as packed. I consciously choose to be occupied because it keeps me going – to each their own! It’s all about prioritizing.
One needs to learn how to manage his/her calendar effectively. According to me, calendar management solves half the problem!
It is also important to multitask efficiently. If I’m listening to a podcast or a talk, I’m likely not spending all my brain-power on it so I try to multitask and finish up tasks that don't require a lot of focus including sending out calendar invites, or just keeping up to date with all social media platforms!
It’s definitely tiring but it’s what keeps me thriving! It’s all part of the MBA experience! So, find YOUR calling. As cliche as it may sound, do what you love- it’ll keep you from burning out.
Pro Tip: Have clear priorities- What do you want from your MBA experience? Having clarity on that question is essential.
Any thoughts on Chicago as a city through the eyes of a student?
- UChicago in itself is a huge, gorgeous campus with a lot of exciting research and interesting events taking place all the time. And, Chicago is perfect for a student. It has everything - the city vibe, the cultural side, and a thriving food scene!
Chicago is the birthplace of stand-up comedy! It also offers some excellent venues if one enjoys live music including blues and jazz.
The Chicago river and Lake Michigan add a great vibe to the city – one could walk along the river, run along the lake, or even kayak on the river! It has all the perks of a big city but is far less expensive and crowded than some of the other large cities. It has an excellent public transport system and an extremely well-connected airport. The summers here are amazing, but the winters are definitely harsh! My advice? Put on a jacket and soak in Chicago in all its snowy glory!
The city is great to live in from a professional standpoint as well. A lot of retail industries, fortune 500s, healthcare, manufacturing, automobile industries are here- it’s truly an exciting time to be in Chicago!
Most Booth students live in the downtown area and most offices are within walking distance. I have walked into several firms’ offices multiple times, set up meetings with consultants over there, and just really understood the vibe firsthand. Having that kind of exposure and facetime proved to be a huge advantage when I attended my interviews.
Chicago also has a great culture! One could quickly grab a drink, go for a basketball game with friends or just have house parties (thanks to our close proximity)! Pre-Covid, we’d often get together for a house party on Thursday evenings and then head out to explore a different bar each week!
All things Chicago!
- Favorite place in Chicago: That’s tough! But I do love a good brewery and Chicago has some amazing beers! The best one has to be the District Brew Yards.
- Current read: “The Body” by Bill Bryson and “How not to be wrong” by Jordan Ellenberg
- Favorite place on the campus: Regenstein Library, The Pub, Plein Air Cafe
- Clubs you’re a part of at Chicago Booth: South Asia Business Group, Management Consulting Group, Innovation and Design Group, and so on
- Events you're looking forward to: Given I'm entering my last quarter at Booth, there are many things I'm looking forward to - The Emerging Market Summit, Booth TechCon, and Spring Fling to name a few.
⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.
Thank you,
GMAT Club Moderator Team.
25 Mar 2021, 09:27
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks so much Anupamakashyap97 for doing this interview!
Are there any other interviews you are doing that we can look forward to?
Are there any other interviews you are doing that we can look forward to?
25 Mar 2021, 10:52
Kudos
Bookmarks
bb
YES! A lot of exciting interviews in the pipeline.
Also, planning on more articles on a day in the life of students from different M7s!
