ldryan wrote:
Hi Guys,
I asked this question on the main Booth forum, but I want your opinion too. I got into Booth off the waitlist but have already put down a deposit at Ross. I want to do healthcare consulting after school. What initially drew me to Michigan was the school spirit, Ann Arbor, and the friendly student body. I visited Booth for my interview and met a couple nice people, but don't think i got a good feel for the student body (i was only there for a day and a half). I am worried that Booth is a bit of a commuter school and that I won't get a tight knit community feel. Can any current Booth students speak to that? I know many business school students live in a few buildings across Chicago, so that might help the lack of community that often comes with urban campuses. I am so torn. I do not have a scholarship at Michigan, so cost is not really a concern for me. I will be going into a lot of debt either way
Also, does the flexibility of the curriculum at all hinder the social life at Booth? A lot of schools have cohorts, so you develop relationships with people pretty quickly because you are taking classes with the same people. Anyone have an opinion on that? Thank you for all your help in advance!
Hi, current first year (and a squad leader for AW2, so I might've met some GCs in person) here.
In my experience Booth is anything but a "commuter school", despite the unique geographical set-up of school (majority of classes take place in Hyde Park) and residence (~80% of us live downtown). The reality is that most of us live either in the same building (Millennium Park Plaza aka "the dorm" being the most popular) or within a few blocks of others that it's a dynamic and tight-knit community. The upside here is that our "dorms" are centrally located high-rise apartment buildings that are considerably nicer than my friends' living situation at peer schools.
Booth, by the way, does have a cohort system. You'd go through the month-long orientation / LEAD classes / LOR with the same group of people and will surely make some close friends right away (if you haven't through your Random Walk trip by then). When "real" classes start, the flexible curriculum allows you to take classes and form study groups with anyone, including second years. Many go get their MBAs so that they can enhance their professional and personal networks... what is a better way to expand yours well beyond the folks randomly assigned into your squad/cohort/classyear ?
Also, let me know (via PM) if you want to connect with current students with background similar to yours.
Best,
S