Calling Chicago GSB 2008 applicants

Oz, the picture in your avatar .. what place is that?

wow, what a day ! congrats guys ...

Did none of the guys from Asia get any mails from the ADCOM? (There is one on BW)

yeah, i think emails were supposed to go out to asia today per BW. So if you haven't heard from GSB at this point (like myself), no matter what region you're in, i think chances are SLIM. I've already told myself it's a ding.

There will be a total of around 30 people from ASIA in R1 (taking last year total figures). I expect more posts about those mails.

I sure hope so man, but in reality, I don't think they would email 1 or 2 people and not others. Think about it, there are thousands of people who apply in R1, and how many are on these boards and BW? not many percentage wise. There's a possiblity like 20 people from china/japan/korea/singapore/hk already got admit emails, but don't post here.

I do find it a bit strange that no one from India has posted..I supposed if you're in India you still have a chance, but not really elsewhere.

I know i'm new to this forum but I'm surprised you would say that. I think the characteristics that separate GSB from Wharton are what makes GSB so unique and such an incredible program. I would never choose Wharton over GSB- I didn't even apply to Wharton and resisted many attempts by friends and family to encourage me to do so.

So hope you are right abt that .........4 hours to go. Getting Mucho nervous now

It's one thing if one is like River who made a decision to eliminate certain schools before applying. But I have never heard an instance of someone picking GSB over Wharton when they get into both. Just like I have never heard someone pick K over HBS when they apply to both. Not saying it doesn't happen. It's just rare, especially since so many people who apply there want to go into a finance related field.

Anyone know how past GMATclubbers have handled this tough choice?

I met a Tuck alum who turned down HBS. I also met a student at MIT who turned down stanford. Neither got a scholarship or anything either. So people do choose schools over the top 3 for a variety of reasons.

And I'd say "Top 3" means completely different things to different people depending on your interests. For instance, as a finance interested student, I would never go to H. They have absolutely no depth of coursework in the area compared to C/W. I believe there's more than a historical name and the names are changing too. Although I frankly think that Chicago will be mentioned in the same sentence as H/S/W five to ten years from now (maybe less).

I think that is pushing it. Look, all of these schools have stellar reputations. But rankings are so fluid, especially BW rankings. Just 5 years back i think GSB was #10. Why the rapid jump? A new building? Sure...But i am positive Chicago was still pumping out Nobel prize winners then too.

Facilities can be improved, and curriculum can be also modified. However, schools don't get moved to Ultra Ultra Elite in five-ten years (or sooner). Reputations take a tremendous amount of time to build. And it is much harder to break in the Top 2 or 3 then into the Top 10.

I read an interesting interview from Bolton that said Stanford really only gets passed over for one other school - HBS. Of course there are anamolies like River pointed out. But the wide majority of applicants to who get into H/S (and W to a lesser extent) do not pass it up for other schools.

Don't believe me? Look at yield.

I still believe fit is most important. Especially considering the majority of the elite firms recruit heavily all the Top 10 schools.

Just my two cents. Congrats again, fellas!

I understand many of your points. Although I would point out that Wharton's '07 yield according to BW was only 67% and Chicago's (which I can't find past '05) was 60% so that isn't that far off and that is an old stat for Chicago, which I bet has gone up.

In any case, they are both high quality schools, and I'd be lucky to go to either!

Agree 100%.

Regardless of tomorrow's results, you must be feeling pretty merry going into the holidays.

I agree with picking the school best suited for what you want to study and the "fit" and not because of the rank, name, or reputation. However, HBS will get you a job in a lot more elite finance jobs (VC,PE,HF) than anywhere else just because of the name. But you are definitely right there are different schools for different folks, not just on the community feel but by where they have strong reputations. Pretty much any school will give you a shot at the top consulting companies...they hire a ton of grads from all of them. In my mind you are right out of the M7's for finance your focus should be on Chicago, Columbia, and Wharton since these are the schools considered finance powerhouses. General Management, then its HBS, Stanford, and Kellogg. High Tech, you would want to go for MIT or Stanford. Marketing is pretty much Kellogg, since thats what is so known for its very self selecting for that group. Heck my brother who works in advertising and pretty much all the marketing directors he deals with are Kellogg grads was amazed I would even consider GSB or MIT over it since in his field Kellogg is THE school. Opinions of the top schools really are biased based on peoples focus.

Sadly I think the top 3 are pretty entrenched in their positions and the others may beat them in rankings but dont have the world wide appeal that they do...in a way I think schools like Ross which seems to be admitting larger percentages of Indians compared to many other schools has an advantage. By brining in so many people from an economy that is growing so rapidly its going to build a very strong alumni base over there. While I think BW is considered an accurate ranking, USNews is probably slightly more highly thought of because its rankings of the top schools. In my mind its also a more accurate reflection because in reality GSB though its a great school is not above Harvard or Stanford in terms of most people opinion.

Well enough debate over schools, we dont want to have rankingsgod show up here and give his opinion.

One thing to remember is a lot of those wharton admits probably got into either HBS or stanford. Some probably also got merit scholarships from other elite/ultra elites that swayed decisions.

Either way this topic is pointless. GSB is an amazing school and anyone who goes there accomplsihed a great thing.

Agreed. So, for those waiting to hear in 1.5 hours, very best of luck. Either way, I hope you get into the program that best suits your needs and goals. I know I have.