Chicago (Booth) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

Hi General,

In your opinion, what kinds of applicants would not fit at Booth?

Fit is a weird thing that I don't entirely buy into. Booth, like any b-school, is a diverse place with lots of people from different backgrounds and different personalities. I don't think there is a "Booth type" person and I don't think the culture here (if there is one definable 'culture') is narrow enough that people would feel like they don't belong. All that said, there are types of people that, if I were interviewing, I would probably think twice about. This largely overlaps with the types of people I just don't see very often here at Booth and is really limited to people who are cocky, arrogant, overly competitive, etc.

I will also note that Booth, the students, and the admissions committees and fellows are all well aware of Booth's reputation as a bit of an introverted nerdy school. I have not found this to be the case at all, but people are aware of the reputation, and so they do take steps to address it in admissions. This means that interviewers are really looking for people who are normal, can carry a conversation, have interests outside of work and academics, and seem relatively social.

I totally agree with the General (hello fellow Boothie!). I will also add that while there isn't just one type of Booth student, a common trait amongst Boothies is an ability to set your own course. If the adcom gets the idea that you are a person who prefers a more prescriptive experience then they will likely not think that you are a good fit for Booth. The General touched on everything else that would make an applicant not fit at Booth.

Hi General. In your opinion, how important is the interview? In my opinion, the fact that they set you up for interview means that they are happy with whatever they saw in the application. I think they just want to check if you can talk/have the social skills etc. So, are you most likely to be accepted so long as you don't screw up the interview?

I'll definitely let General speak for his/her opinion as it's more valuable than mine (I'm just an applicant)...However, estimates are between 40-50% of those who interviewed get accepted. Your logic would assume that 50-60% of the people Booth interviews cannot talk/do not have social skills. If you're okay with that assumption, then your conclusion could be correct. Personally, I think my competition is tougher than that - I don't think over half of the interviewees screw up. I would imagine there are some people Booth can easily throw out post-interview, but for the rest of the spots I would think it will be some combination of application/interview/class diversity.

Yes they like you on paper. But the numbers I heard tossed around last year were around 50% acceptance rate after the interview. You've got a great shot, but its by no means a sure thing.

Thank you,

and also thanks to the applicant who responded my question above.

I guess the only way to find out is to wait another week...

Less than a week... Our dream can become reality and change our lives.
This waiting time is really stressing me out.
I wish good luck to all of you, I really hope next year we will be classmates and we will laugh together about this stressful time!

Does anyone know how many applicants normally get accepted first round not including the wait list? Id imagine they would try to accept half the class so around 250 people???

Not everyone who gets accepted attends. Booth has about a 57-60% yield so they typically admit 1000 applicants. Round 2 is the biggest round with the most admits. The exact # or percentage in each round is unknown. Judging from the fact that R3 is so small because the class is mostly full, I'd say 85-90% of the class is admitted in R1 and R2, with more in R2 than R1. Work out the math from there to get whatever estimate you wish.

At what point are scholarships and fellowships discussed?...I was digging through last year's blog and found that some people were notified during their admission call, but perhaps some were notified much later. Is there a system to timing or is it totally random?

https://poetsandquants.com/2011/02/14/what-happens-when-you-apply-to-chicago-booth/ breaks down the math. Not sure how helpful this is, but in summary:

~4,000 applicants total
~30% applied in R1 (1,200 applicants)
~50% invited to interview (600 applicants)

Now taking it from the other side...

~575 students per year
~60% yield rate (~950 admits)
(assuming same 30% ratio) ~285 R1 admits

285 / 600 = ~48% admit chance after interview. This seems to be largely consistent with the numbers that have been thrown around in the past. Hopefully this helps, but personally, I don't find much use in this analysis for my own chances.

Many people are notified during the admissions call. Many others are notified later. I don't have the exact breakdown. The timing isn't random--it has to do with the particular scholarship/fellowship in question and purpose. Some scholarships are purely monetary, others aren't, etc. But I can't get into more specifics.

I think this is common for most schools. I got offered a scholarship from Booth during the admissions call. Kellogg, on the other hand, called me about 3 weeks after I had gotten in to tell me.

Merit scholarships up to 30K/year are announced up front when admissions calls you. Then right before the R2 deposit deadline (about a week prior), fellowship decisions are announced. Some fellowships require an application, others do not. There are fellowships for many different purposes so not everyone will qualify for each one. The details of each fellowship are on the Admitted Students Portal.
People who received a merit scholarship up front are still considered for fellowships of equal or greater value. I have a friend who was awarded a merit scholarship at admission, which was replaced in the spring with a higher value named fellowship. Some people who were not awarded merit scholarships when admitted also received fellowships later.
So if you get in and the adcom doesn't mention a merit scholarship on the call that is not your only shot at receiving some money. Hope this helps.

cheetarah1980, just read your blog and now I'm trying to make sense of Booth "quarters." Since Booth calls them quarters, I assumed that I would be taking 4 sets of classes each school year. But per your blog post it seems that the Booth 1st quarter lasts from Sept to Dec, which is a typical semester in most colleges. How many different times do you change classes each year? (I dug around Booth's website but couldn't find an academic calendar..am I missing the obvious?)

the four quarters are fall, winter, spring, and summer. Winter quarter will last from Jan-March, Spring Quarter from March-June, and Summer quarter (aka break) is June-September.

Im gonna assume everyone got the email from booth about the winter student hosted emails. Although, would be harsh to sign up and then get a rejection next week. Anyone else jump a little when they get these marketing emails titled "You're Invited"...a few more days