Calling All Booth MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022]

For the interview questions around previous experiences, do you think it's worth coming up with different examples than what was mentioned by your recommender in their letters? I'm debating only because the examples in their letters are my strongest leadership instances, but I also don't want to rely on the same examples and get dinged for that.

While most applicants work with the recommenders to help their recommenders do a better job, I’m not sure that you are supposed to really know what they put into a recommendation letter or to have read it. Therefore, I don’t think anyone could fault you for duplicating the content that you are not supposed to have access to.

Similarly, if you are asked Why MBA in the interview, I think the interviewer will be very surprised if you use different talking points than what you have to put into your application.

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Hi bb

Sorry I wasn't clear - I am thinking of sharing different (but maybe not as strong) examples that convey the same themes in my essays and the examples my recommenders and I brainstormed in together that were leadership examples specifically.

My reason for why an MBA definitely wouldn't change.

Also, I'm making an educated guess that the examples we discussed are in their letters, since we worked on specific projects together, I haven't actually read their letters.

For those not interviewing on campus, how quickly do they send out interviewer details? Do we have to organise a time with the interviewer or do they tell you when you and your interviewer will meet?

For me it took 36 hours, but they say up to 3 business days. They send you the email of the alum, and you have to set the time and date with them.

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Thanks fatmike, this makes sense and is in line with what I was thinking. Just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page!

If you got your invite on Thursday or Friday, give it some time. I’m sure the weekend added a day or two on to the response time.

coltaylo94

People who play it safe with this stuff fail fail fail. It's just such a common mistake for people to think that they need to stick to being professional, there is no greater myth in the world. That is the absolute kiss of death because that sticks you in the same bucket as everybody else.

Why not the dog idea? Made me laugh. You want them to get to know you! This is job #1 for your application.

Boring and professional will make you blend in.

You need to separate yourself…you are the product they are selling to other applicants/recruiters… Help them understand how you be fun to work with and people would want to interact with you. Show a sense of humor help them get to know you on a personal level like your friends would know you.

This is the very point of the essays: resume, recs, application boxes are all professional.

For the essays, adding color is super critical, not inappropriate obviously, but you want to show your humanness

Hi guys!

I have a former boss that is a Booth Alumni, class of 2004. We worked together for a very brief time - just for 8 months in 2014/2015.

Do you think a side letter from him would be a good idea? This was almost 5 years ago and he graduated 15 years ago - I don't know if this is relevant enough to bother the admissions office with, but any point counts, right?

About the essays, my approach was to be very personal.

In the first essay, I wrote about my brother-in-law following my steps in Economics and how I was surprisingly a role model for him (something that I didn't have - I wrote that in my essay). For the second essay, I talked about my passion for soccer and cuisine - how I like to create common ground with different people so we can bond. Kind of silly, but personal and at the time I tried to show some traits that are not in my application. What do you think about this approach? Any feedback is appreciated!

Appreciate the feedback MBAPrepCoach. I understand the desire to set oneself apart with these short responses, but I think in my case a personal (not “boring”) approach is best. There are a few things I was able to highlight in other apps that didn’t come across in my Booth application, so I think it’s best for me to address those rather than try for a lighthearted approach.

What I’ve drafted so far reinforces qualities that I feel passionate about, and I feel like a passionate, personal response is preferable to one that tries to make the adcom laugh, which I think is risky since there’s a very real possibility that it falls flat.

Thank you again for responding to my question though, I really do appreciate it!

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Ultimately the choice comes down to you, how you want to portray yourself to adcom. Obviously you want to make your essay stand out, your essay personal, and your essay not boring. With that though, I just wouldn’t go completely off the wall “funny” or crazy with it.

Alright folks, looks like the GMAT Club execs have decided to make old fatmike here the moderator. Things are about to tighten up on here! Haha. I don’t want to hear anything about that random school that starts with an H and ends with a BS or that no name school across town. This is for all my future classmates that’ll be showing up at Booth next fall! Who’s ready for interviews?!!

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I'm not disagreeing that these short answers can be a little more light-hearted/unique, but I dont see that anywhere in the instructions. All I have is "There's still more we want to learn about you! Please respond to one question from Group A and one question from Group B (two responses in total), each in 250 words or less. Submit your responses by November 1 at 11:59 PM CT." Nothing about that indicates they want these short answers significantly different in tone than the main essays you've already submitted. I think the interview is a main place for your personality to shine through, I'm obviously not an expert but just my thoughts

Hi everyone! I can't figure out if it has been discussed already, but how is Booth's acceptance rate post interview? I'm on what would typically be considered the lower side of the ideal GMAT for an Indian applicant, so wondering if I should get my hopes up.

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It’s about 50/50. Quick math is Booth gets roughly 4500 total applicants. Of those they interview about 40%, that’s 1800. Of those 1800, roughly 900 get accepted. Booth’s acceptance is a little over 20%, but you get the point.

Thank you! And wow you've done your homework haha.

Yeah, I agree with your interpretation wraider84. I was referring to the part of the instructions that says:

That said, I think it's definitely a good idea to highlight your other strengths through different stories/examples than those in other areas of your application while maintaining a consistent tone.

Thanks for the insight and best of luck with the interview/short answers!