Chicago Booth Class of 2014 - Admitted Students Thread

Anyone?
(Anyone from the Class of 2013 or earlier who can pitch in?)
Thanks...

From what i heard from my admissions counselor, all checks will be done in July. Not sure how long they take, but my guess would be 2-4 weeks (this timeline came from a friend who was admitted to Duke)

Thanks for that info! I read some of your earlier posts which were kind of related to the same topic......did you decide when you will try to leave your employer? Are you thinking maybe early August, given the timeline you posted below?
Good luck, and please let me know if you hear anything additional about the subject.

Did you see that Booth sent out the background check form a few days ago? Looks like the check is really basic. They're not even checking salaries.

Yep, I saw that. The question though is whether they do a multistage verification process (i.e. before matriculation they only check employer info and an year into the degree they check undergrad/grad/recommender info). I would prefer to have the entire verification done before I resigned but it is what it is...

I don't think any schools do that type of verification. I doesn't even make sense imo.

They've already checked your undergrad info...remember, we had to send our official transcripts a while ago. And then from the e-mail they just sent out, it looks like they're going to call your HR department to verify title and start/end dates. Then they may call your recommenders to verify that they exist.

I really think that it's as simple as that. Booth does this in house. And with 500+ students per year, I doubt they have time to do much else.

Perhaps I am paying too much attention to detail, but here are the data points I am aware of:

1. In the admission letter, it was stated that employer, degree credentials, and recommender info will be checked
2. Even though in the verification email it is clearly mentioned that only the current/last job details are being verified, I have read on the booth website that they often perform periodic checks on students who are currently pursuing their degrees/have already graduated. This would infer that whatever hasn't been verified in the summer months, will be verified later.
3. Your point about submitting transcripts is valid, but there are other schools with more students than Booth (Wharton for instance) that employ a verification company to call undergrad/grad institutes to check validity of degrees. Even though Booth does this in house, we cannot say without any reasonable doubt that all verification is completed within the summer months.

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I agree with MDF. I doubt the school has the time, resources, or motivation, to check all these aspects for each applicant.

Also, what are the chances that someone who actually got admitted to Booth has problems with their employment information, AND their transcripts, AND their recommenders? That would be........an AMAZINGLY ghost-written application.

Philosophically speaking, though, there has to be some element of trust too - between the students and the institution, as well as among the students themselves. I do not think that someone who is an outright liar (e.g. a totally bogus application pointed to above) would survive in the real world of internships, job offers, professional performance etc. That is why a school probably takes most things at face value, because if you lie, you ARE going to get into trouble later on - not if, but when.

mattpitt82 - I am going to resign soon, and take some time off before the internship grind begins as soon as we get to Booth. I am not going to wait for the checks to be complete. As you said, "it is what it is". Good luck to you, and try to chill (a little).

Although, if someone could let me know how many days/weeks it took for them to get their employment verified, I would be grateful.

I logged into the admitted student website today and upon checking the application checklist saw a "green check mark" and a message saying Employment Verification Received. A couple of days back when I had submitted the verification form it had a "red cross mark" and said Awaiting Verification...

Has anyone else seen this too??

^ That's cool!! I still see a red cross.. Hopefully it turns green soon.. I know its just a formality but feels good to get over such things..sooner the better!

I have a green check dated 7.09.2012. My employer verifies employment through a third party. It went from red x to green check within a few hours of when I sent in the info.

Hmm....no such luck here. My company does this in-house and will ONLY do this via fax, after they get the signed release from Booth. No verbal verification over the telephone. Probably going to take a long time, and it does suck to stare at that red X.....

I have a few questions about the "Cost of Attendance." I'm not really sure how to word this question, so I'll just come right out and say it: the estimated "Cost of Attendance" figure they site, is it REALLY enough? I'll have enough to worry about--treks, trips, networking functions, better suits, etc. Does the school work with students if they need to borrow more money? and how flexible are they about it?

Additionally, I received a decently sized outside scholarship from my firm. As a result, Booth is reducing my financial aid package to fit within their estimated "Cost of Attendance" figure. In doing so, the school is essentially making the scholarship I earned irrelevant to my financial situation, as the outside funds are being swapped for the merit scholarship I received and a portion of my federal loans.

From what I can tell, the quarterly COA figure, less tuition, fees, health insurance, will net a reimbursement of $9,050/Qr. That figure less quarterly rent expenses in Chicago ($4500/Qr), books ($700/Qr), transportation ($450/Qr), and Food ($1800/Qr) will leave me with $1,600. (Note that I didn't even mention the fact that I desperately need to purchase a new computer for school!)

I guess what I'm trying to ask is twofold: 1) is there a way to get the school to reconsider how it applies my outside scholarship? The firm explicitly states in the letter that the scholarship is to be applied to expenses--including tuition, cost of living, books, fees, etc.--related to my MBA. Must they reduce the whole of my aid package just because I did something good.. geez; and 2) to revisit my initial question, will it be possible to increase my direct loan amount once school starts, if need be? Trust me, in my case an increase will be necessary. I don't want to have to miss out on anything during my time at Booth on account of money. I'm almost certain that in my case, without additional funding, I will, hence why I sought to compete for and obtain an outside scholarship in the first place.

I hope I'm making sense. Any response and/or insight would definitely be appreciated.

Thanks all!!!

^If you don't have enough savings to bridge the gap between the COA and the actual amount you'll need, you could take out an additional loan through a private lender.

There is also an option to 'Appeal to the cost of living' on the finiancia aid website (see here: https://financialaid.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/). I'm not sure how it works, I just remember coming across the option.

Congratulations on the scholarship! Is it possible to have the scholarship money sent directly to you? If the firm that awarded the scholarship allows it to be used for expenses outside of tuition why must the money go directly to the school? A lot of people work around the issue by just not disclosing the additional scholarship money to Booth since the school never sees it directly. Just a thought.