Calling All 2011 Booth Applicants!!

In the Extracurriculars section, are you guys listing dates for all activities, or just the Public service and community activities?

Keep in mind that Booth and the UofC as a whole prides itself on taking risks. This is also a good opportunity to show fit with that culture and type of environment.

I used a fairly old example to explain the basis for my own philosophical outlook on life which is revolves around challenging limits and taking calculated risks.

In my risk essay I basically told the story of the 'risk'; what it was, why it was a risk, how it turned out, what I learnt, and finished with how I've applied what I learnt.

I don't think that there's any right or wrong answer about what you learnt, but from the chat transcripts, the interviews with admissions people, and just talking to the staff at Booth I get the impression that they do want to see you write about a real risk. That means that there needs to be some consequence of failure and a definite reward for success (remembering that rewards can come in many different forms).

I was reading the free Veritas Prep guide for Booth, and according to it, the 80% age range for first-year full-time MBA students is 22-37. So that means 20% of the class is either below the age of 22 or above 37? It doesn't seem right.

They may have made an error. That looks a lot more like the 100% range.

Arbitrageur, Deechi and MJB. Thanks for all your insights. I just completed my Risk essay and I too feel it doesnt matter in what context you learn the lessons.
My structure is introducing the scenario, explaining the risk involved, how i took the decision to take it, opportunities i gained from the risk and lessons learnt, things i lost, and finally lesson learnt on risk.

Now back to my Goal essays .. ahem. I am sloggin at the last minute!

How are you guys approaching the presentation? Is there a need for a central theme for the entire presentation or could the slides be disconnected as long as they have something to convey?

I think the idea is entirely upto you. As long as it is clear and serves your purpose go for it. This post gives you some guidance on how to start.

walker-s-guide-to-slide-presentation-80253.html?hilit=walker%20guide

Wow, that's some incredible advice. Thanks for the link.

It's definitely a bit awkward to weave into the essay, but for us Chicago residents I think it needs to be addressed. I think Chicago residents are fighting an uphill battle regardless.

Anecdotally, I have 2 friends who had applied full-time with competitive apps and were interviewed then denied FT but given the option to re-interview for the PT program. Both now attend PT.

Yikes. I had no idea it was tougher for Chicago people.

I just wrote 1-2 sentences on the full-time vs part-time.

I wouldn't expect the adcom to treat Chicago residents differently. Non-Chicago residents still have part-time schools available in the cities in which they live. So, making the case for full-time is important for them too. The only difference is that competitive Chicago residents who are rejected are likely pushed in the direction of the PT program since it is a viable option for them.

I didn't explicitly mention the full-time program but feel like the reasons I gave for "Why MBA" were benefits only the full-time program can offer. For example, any of the following reasons make the argument for full-time instead of part-time without your needing to call out the full-time program specifically:
(1) immersive business education with complimentary experiential opportunities
(2) study abroad to country x
(3) desire to change industries

I feel if your have a good answer to the "Why MBA" question, you'll likely already be answering the "Why full-time and not part-time" question. When the adcom sees these reasons, she will probably won't doubt your need for the full-time program. Of course, older applicants may need to be a bit more explicit, but even though I'm 31, I didn't feel the need.

It would be great to hear different experiences or perspectives.

For booth re-applicants, how are you addressing 1d? The question does not explicitly ask how your candidacy has improved, but every analysis i read says that it needs to include that. If so, why didn't Booth ask that in the essay prompt?

Just pressed submit! Added myself to the spreadsheet (actually twice since I didnt realize it took five mins to update so the mod might need to remove the duplicate... sorry, I was enthusiastic)

Best of luck to all!!

Oh and one more thing, after you put in your essays and everything looks fine, and you hit save and proceed, GO BACK again to make sure your essays dont have any questions marks or anything else substituted in there. I hit proceed and went back and looked again and my essay's were all goofed up again. after i re-fixed it the second time it all stayed in plac (trust me, i checked it like eight times)

Slightly disappointed in Booth for not fixing this problem.

I fixed it. You don't need to be a mod to delete things.

I had the same issue when I submitted my application. I think it's down to 'smart quotes' in Word using characters that don't exist on Booth's system so when you copy, paste and submit your essays get mangled. It is a pain to have to go back in and correct stuff but then you were going to check your essays after uploading them anyway, right?

Anyway, good luck with your application!