This thread is for the Booth 2011 Application Year, meaning applicants that are starting School in the Fall of 2011. Please direct all of your questions for this year into the 2012 thread calling-all-2012-chicago-booth-fall-applicants-116701.html If you are a current student/admit, please consider visiting the thread for Admitted Students admitted-to-chicago-booth-class-of-2013-full-time-mba-thread-107432.html At Chicago Booth, you get more than just a world-class education. You become part of a global business force. Please use the following form to add your stats to the spreadsheet: Form link Edit Link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Av3d03301eNIdFozSUpyT2lUQzN0TG41MTFDWG83eHc&hl=en#gid=0 Spreadsheet 0Av3d03301eNIdFozSUpyT2lUQzN0TG41MTFDWG83eHc GMAT CLUB STATS Round 1 Deadline: October 13, 2010 Notification: December 15, 2010 Round 2 Deadline: January 5, 2011 Notification: March 16, 2011 Round 3 Deadline: April 13, 2011 Notification: May 18, 2011 Evening/Weekend MBA Deadlines: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/parttime/a ... #deadlines SCHOOL INFO Excerpts from Admissions Chat Events Application Review Process At minimum three people will review an application. We do not review applications in groups but the reader will have access to the previous readers' reviews. Our office hires students to serve as Admissions Fellows. These students will review the files(and conduct our on campus interviews.) Once the Fellows complete their review an admissions officer reviews and will make a recommendation. At this time a candidate is invited to interview or recommended for denial. If denial the Associate Dean will review the file. If invited to interview, after the interview takes place, the file is reviewed again by an admissions officer. A recommendation is made and ultimately the Associate Dean makes the final decision. We do not compare students between rounds; we only evaluate applications based on each round. The chances of being admitted are very similar from one round to the next. Interview As for interviews, Interviewers will NOT have access to your applications. We conduct interviews either on campus by admissions fellows or off campus by alumni. All applicants have the option of coming to campus or interviewing with a local alumni. Academics The Booth MBA is based on a discipline based approach to business education, with finance being at the cornerstone. Chicago Booth boasts a legendary finance curriculum, covering both corporate finance and investments. In addition, our long-standing relationships and success in recruiting with the biggest investment organizations in the world. General Guest: what are the top features booth is looking for in an mba candidate and how can i improve my chances of admission Kurt: The best way to be successful in this process is to really know your story. Where have you been? What skill and experiences have fostered over time? How do these things prepare you for an MBA, and a career post MBA? And finally, how does a specific program i.e. Booth bridge the gap effectively between where you are and where you want to be. Think through this effectively and convey this story utilizing all the aspects provided in the application will give you your best chance of success. To be candid we expect that students applying to a top school are smart, engaged and demonstrate signs for leadership potential. With those things being staples it is at the margins where you can most directly impact your outcome. And your story and fit is what lives in the margins. Neel the overwhelming majority of our students in the FT program are looking to make a career change. To do so you have to think through what you know about the desired industry, what skill and experiences do they covet and what do you bring to the table. In most cases once you do this exercise you will realize where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and at Chicago because of our flexibility and commitment to analytics you will have every opportunity to round out your necessary skill sets and go after the role you desire. Essays 1. The Admissions Committee is interested in learning more about you on both a personal and professional level. Please answer the following (maximum of 300 words for each section): a. Why are you pursuing a full-time MBA at this point in your life? b. Define your short and long term career goals post MBA. c. What is it about Chicago Booth that is going to help you reach your goals? d. REAPPLICANTS ONLY: Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? These short essays will require you to know yourself. You will need to understand where you have been and where you are going. Before you begin drafting the responses to these essays, take some time for self-reflection. Why do you want to return to school? Why is the MBA the right degree for you? We know that many of you will use your MBA experience to help you figure out what kind of job to pursue next. Even though your future career plans may not be clear at this time, you should still be able to discuss your goals and how they relate to obtaining an MBA. For our reapplicants, question 1d is where you can tell us what, if anything, has changed since the time of your last application. What has occurred in your life or career that has either reinforced or changed your goals? What lessons have you learned or how have you grown since you last applied to Chicago Booth? 2. Chicago Booth is a place that challenges its students to stretch and take risks that they might not take elsewhere. Tell us about a time when you took a risk and what you learned from that experience (maximum of 750 words). You’re probably wondering, “What kind of risk do you want me to discuss?” To be honest, we’re not looking for one kind of risk in particular. It can be a risk related to your professional, academic or personal life. It can be a risk that resulted in either a positive or negative outcome. We want to hear about a time when you challenged yourself and what you learned from that experience. How has that experience influenced your future actions? 3. At Chicago Booth, we teach you HOW to think rather than what to think. With this in mind, we have provided you with “blank pages” in our application. Knowing that there is not a right or even a preferred answer allows you to demonstrate to the committee your ability to navigate ambiguity and provide information that you believe will support your candidacy for Chicago Booth. Earlier this year, there was some discussion as to whether we would continue using the presentation as part of our evaluation process. With the presentation proving to be such an important tool in helping us determine who is a good fit for Chicago Booth, we decided it was necessary to include in our 2011 application. However, this year, we are giving applicants even greater freedom to decide what information they want to convey in the presentation. Since we’re providing you with “blank pages,” what you decide to address in your presentation is up to you. Look at the other aspects of your application. Are there messages or activities that you have not yet been able to communicate to the committee? If so, then the presentation will be an opportunity for you to provide us with this type of information. After reviewing your presentation, we want to have a better understanding of who you are and how you think. Also, please remember that it is the content – not the design – that should be the focus of the presentation. We understand that not everyone is a design guru. So, whether it’s through photos, images, graphs, or just words, the goal is to communicate your messages as effectively as possible.

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Calling All 2011 Booth Applicants!!

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cocoj

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10 Nov 2010, 13:36

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NDSkiBum

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10 Nov 2010, 15:41

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ding.

oldguru82

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10 Nov 2010, 16:30

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osbornecox

If my alumnus interviewer doesn't respond (only one showed up in the system for the city I live in!), I'll try to trek up to Chicago! Thanks w103psp

Only one shows up always, and you cannot change it. It's not like Wharton that you can choose.

If after 2 days he/she doesn't respond you should send an email to admissionsinterviews@chicagobooth.edu and they will contact him/her.

I had the same issue and 1 hour after they had already reached the alumni.

Good luck

rainmaker123

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10 Nov 2010, 19:06

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Does anybody know of a not-too-expensive accommodation near Booth campus?

jkl84

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10 Nov 2010, 23:12

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My suggestion is to try Priceline and use the Name Your Own Price option. I think they you can bid specifically for Hyde Park. It's usually a good deal when you book last minute.

oldguru82

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11 Nov 2010, 00:28

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Just came back from my Chicago interview. I'm very happy with how it went. I hope this debrief helps people.

My interviewer was an Alumnus. The guy holds an important position of an American bank in Hong Kong. The interview was in a meeting room at his office.

He arrived 20 min late to our appointment (I waited him in the meeting room). When he finally arrived he apologized for keeping me waiting and quickly started talking. We exchanged business cards and he presented himself briefly. He told me that he had been working and living in several continents (as I did) and explained about his different positions he has held. He was clearly a successful finance guy.

Then he told me to present myself and to walk through my resume. I started speaking about my education, work experience, the positions I held and projects I led, etc. I had prepared a lot the "walk your resume" questions so I did well, trying not to bore him but also trying to not forget anything important.

About my resume he only asked about my last job a couple of very specific questions, as his domain is related to mine somehow. He seemed like "testing" I really work where I say in my resume.

Then he jumped to typical question such as why I want to do an MBA and why now. Then why Booth is my best fit and so on, and why I plan to learn in case I'm accepted. I answered with totally sincerity and we started a great conversation about the school, about my career and many things about Chicago. He was very helpful and gave me advices.

He asked me what I like from Hong Kong (I'm from Europe), or why I don't prefer to continue working where I work now instead of spending two years studying. He also asked me about my personal life and if my wife supports me in my decision to do an MBA and things like that. This triggered 10 minutes speaking about my wife as she is also interviewing in Chicago.

Then I started asking him questions. He told me how Chicago helped him in his career, what concentrations he chose, what he liked from the school, where he lived, etc. We also spoke about other schools. I told him I was interviewing in others, and he asked why I preferred Chicago.

At the end we spoke around 20 minutes about my career progression, about the school, campus, the best places to live during the MBA, about diversity, and so on.

I have to say that the conversation was formal but I enjoyed it a lot. It was very interesting speaking with him and I think he also enjoyed it. At the end he told me to keep in touch, wished me luck and told me he was very satisfied and that I fitted to Chicago. Hopefully he'll write a good report....

For you guys that still have not interviewed, I think the interviews of this kind you should do your best to sell yourself, the interviewer is not going to ask you the questions you want (I would have loved to tell him more about some stories but he didn’t ask anything that could have led me to speak about them), so try to use each of the questions to convey the ideas you want he remember about you. Once the interview is finished, ask yourself: Did I speak about leadership? Did I say I'm X, Y or Z? Did I speak about my stories A, B or C? Did I say an MBA from X School is the best option for me?

w103psp

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Schools: Michigan (Ross) - Class of 2013

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11 Nov 2010, 08:01

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Got this email from Booth...

Join the Chicago Booth Admissions staff for a live chat today at 11:00 am CST. We'll chat about the 2011 application and the Booth admissions process.

Current students will also be available to answer your questions about life at Booth. Read their bios: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/boothconnect/fulltime/Nov11StudentBios.aspx

Click here to join this chat: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/chat/

madmax

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11 Nov 2010, 10:13

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Fresh info from the chat:

XXXXX asks: Hello. I was wondering what percentage of the Round 1 applicants
invited to interview will be offered a spot in the class of 2013.

Donna: We do not know the percentage for this year. In the past it has been between
20% to 40%. This includes those who are waitlisted and ultimately granted admission.

---

Another one:

YYYYY asks: They say R1 and R2 are given same weightage. Is it true? or applicants of
R1 possess better chances than others?

Donna: Honestly chances of admission are not greater in either round. We interview
approximately 50% of the applicants and admit 20 to 40% of those interviewed.

---
My note: now we can conclude that the secret admittance rate of Booth is 10% ~ 20% (as expected).

sausagenpeppers

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11 Nov 2010, 12:42

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Hmmmmm.... I imagine that the acceptance rate for interviewed applicates hovers in the 40-50% range. I'm assuming that the 50% interviewed number is correct and the last two classes really did have an admission rate of 24.8% and 22%.

Maybe I'm just being hopeful....

madmax

phillypointgod21

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11 Nov 2010, 12:55

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Am I late with the news that Business Week just released their newest edition of bi-annual b-school rankings? Booth is at the top again. Check it out...

https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/co ... hools+2010

wmcrockett

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11 Nov 2010, 14:56

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Rhyme - do you have any insights on the percentages listed above? I was also under the impression it was more in the 40-50% range for people with interview invites, but the adcoms seem to be stressing otherwise.

w103psp

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11 Nov 2010, 14:59

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wmcrockett

Under promise, over deliver?

Ha ha...I either need to start yoga or boxing after my interview to calm my nerves until December 15th.

babapi

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11 Nov 2010, 19:25

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Hi

Has anyone interviewed in Bangalore, India recently ? I have an interview scheduled sometime next week and it will be great if someone can share their experience.

BabaPi

cwhs

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Updated on: 12 Nov 2010, 07:16

Originally posted by cwhs on 12 Nov 2010, 06:47.
Last edited by cwhs on 12 Nov 2010, 07:16, edited 1 time in total.

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I really doubt that the admit rate after interview is 50%, especially since they interview 50% of the applicants. Most (good) schools have an acceptance rate of about 15%, not 25%. That would put the post-interview admit rate at about 30%, right in the middle of the range the Adcom specified in the chat session.

osbornecox

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12 Nov 2010, 06:59

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My interview will be a week from tomorrow!

rkn

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12 Nov 2010, 07:21

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I have an interview scheduled in Delhi next week. Anyone who can share the experience? PM me plz if u some1 is interviewing in delhi too...

cwhs

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12 Nov 2010, 12:05

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Retracting my previous comments... I just saw this on the front page of Yahoo.

1. University of Chicago
Booth School of Business
Selectivity: 22 percent

If they're admitting 22 percent of all who apply, and interview 50% of the applicants, that roughly means 40% of the interviewees are admitted.

BruceLee

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12 Nov 2010, 13:16

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Booth believes in a discipline-based approach, saying that managing a business requires understanding all of it's disciplines, such as marketing, economics, statistics, etc. Doesn't that go against the flexibility? I would expect this from a school with a core curriculum. There are some requirements at the beginning but I still don't understand how these two concepts fit together. Any ideas?

Gerrard

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13 Nov 2010, 07:16

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I had my interview yesterday. I met an alumni and the interview took place at a meeting room within his office at a large European bank.

It was really relaxed overall, he had a standard set of questions he asked about, most notably:
- Why MBA now
- Why Booth
- 3 most important things in your life
- If I could change one thing, what would it be

I walked through my resume briefly and he had a few questions there as well. I then had quite a few questions on Booth as well which he answered and the interview then turned into a general chat about Chicago and the program.

Overall the interview was much more relaxed than I anticipated. I had expected more direct and specific questions regarding leadership and experiences, but the questions asked were basically the top 4 you read about in all the accepted.com/wikiadmit forums.

An overall good experience and I'm still very excited about Booth. Nothing more I can do now to increase my chances of admission so now it's just a matter of kicking back, staying positive and checking the mailbox daily!

Best of luck to all other applicants.

oldguru82

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13 Nov 2010, 08:50

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Gerrard, thanks for sharing your interview questions.

Gerrard

and checking the mailbox daily!

Fyi, until December 15th they won't will tell you anything about the decision

On December 15th, the Final Decision date, we will release all final decisions at 9:00 am. You may view your status via the Online Application System.