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jumsumtak
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 07 Jul 2013, 11:11
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randomwalk
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Good question, randomwalk (great username btw).

Traditionally the Booth PowerPoint has been a great way to present the life story stuff as you've stated, and that's what many have done and seen success. And we don't really see how things need to change this time. Last year there was also just the two short-answer prompts - they were in fact even shorter, at just 200 words each. The main difference of course is there was also a standard career goals question, which is not there this time. We're gonna be talking about that on the blahg tomorrow.

What we invite you to do with this set of Booth prompts is look at the school. They've changed their tactics, but the prompt for the Booth presentation is actually the same as what they had last year. Has the school changed from last year? Or is it the same awesome place with the same great offering - and the same culture, and value prop, and people, and values?

If the answer to that question is no, that the school is indeed the same, and if this open-ended question that they're asking is the same, then we think it's a fine strategy to proceed with what's worked in the past - and a presentation of a life story is one example of that. Certainly not the only way to go, but we can green-light that idea as one that can work.

As always, it all comes down to the execution, and we're talking in hypotheticals and concepts here - not everyone's "life story" (in terms of how they construct it in a PPT) is created equal. YMMV and all that. But conceptually, sure, we don't see no problem with that - as one possible choice among many.

EssaySnark

Thanks EssaySnark. Will be looking forward to your take on this year's Chicago essays. On a side note, I think the first essay can be used to indirectly mention your goals. We can frame it like .. the favourite part of my work is x y and z. These would implicitly link to elements of a career post-mba or a longer term personal vision.
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hmm yep, may be we can. Also, it will be interesting to see whether the application contains a short question on career goals or it has been removed completely.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 07 Jul 2013, 12:13
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jumsumtak
Also, it will be interesting to see whether the application contains a short question on career goals or it has been removed completely.
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Yeah, we're going to be looking out for that, too - they are explicit in the phrasing "the rest of the application" so that implies there could be another place to lay out the goals.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 08 Jul 2013, 07:23
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EssaySnark post about Chicago MBA essays.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 10 Jul 2013, 11:35
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jumsumtak, you were right; just noticed this on the Booth Insider blog post announcing the essays last week:

Quote:
You may notice that we do not have a formal essay question asking you to outline your career goals and reasons for an MBA. Our full online application, which will go live within a couple of weeks, will offer an opportunity for you to share this important information as well.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 11 Jul 2013, 09:21
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And here it is - from Booth Insider's chat

Quote:
Lei: Hello! Thank you for making time for us. My question is, seems like that this year the short term/long term career goal essay went away, is that for real? If yes, is this career goal thing supposed to be addressed through the presentation/600 words essay?
Carrie (Adcom): Great question! We did eliminate the essay question that focused on career goals, but that information will still be captured in the application. When filling out your professional experience, we have a space for you to tell us about your post-MBA goals (in a short-answer format). Our application will be live in the coming days, so stay tuned for more information!
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And wait, there's more!

Quote:
randomboy: Thank you for organizing the chat. Would love to know why Booth removed career essay question this year (I'm aware that a version might be present in the main application)
Carrie (Adcom): We took a look at our entire application and tried to eliminate any redundant information. We found that we collected that information in many ways throughout the application process, making the career essay a bit repetitive. We certainly value this information, but wanted to make the application as streamlined as possible for applicants.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 11 Jul 2013, 10:20
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Chat transcript.
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transcript - Copy.docx [163.07 KiB]
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 11 Jul 2013, 21:52
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The adcom informed that the application will go live next week, most probably..
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 12 Jul 2013, 12:14
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In for R1.. Good Luck to everybody!
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 17 Jul 2013, 14:21
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Application is up and running! Good luck everyone!
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 Updated on: 17 Jul 2013, 21:06
Originally posted by Blax0r on 17 Jul 2013, 14:41.
Last edited by Blax0r on 17 Jul 2013, 21:06, edited 1 time in total.
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MBAUnderDOG
Application is up and running! Good luck everyone!
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Here we go!
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 17 Jul 2013, 14:54
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Blax0r
Dear Booth,

Please consider adding an ED option like Columbia's app.

Best Regards,
Re-applicant who will likely do Columbia ED, despite having Booth #1.
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Not that we're trying to be the Ethics Police but... this really is quite lame. If you know that you'll pick Booth over Columbia, then you cannot apply Columbia ED. It's an Honor Pledge that you're signing when you apply under ED. Please think carefully about this.

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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 Updated on: 17 Jul 2013, 21:06
Originally posted by Blax0r on 17 Jul 2013, 15:01.
Last edited by Blax0r on 17 Jul 2013, 21:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 17 Jul 2013, 15:14
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So you're not applying to Booth at all?

If you are applying to Booth, and to Columbia ED, what happens when they both admit you?
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 Updated on: 17 Jul 2013, 21:07
Originally posted by Blax0r on 17 Jul 2013, 15:23.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 17 Jul 2013, 15:28
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Blax0r
I am committed to attending Columbia Business School and will withdraw all applications and decline all offers from other schools upon admission to Columbia Business School
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Good to know that you're planning on doing the right thing, as your original post:

Blax0r
Re-applicant who will likely do Columbia ED, despite having Booth #1.
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... definitely implied otherwise.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 23 Jul 2013, 11:17
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Posted this on admitted students thread. Thought, I'll ask here as well.

Need some advice on the ppt.
The guidelines mention : "The document will be viewed electronically, but we cannot support embedded videos, music, hyperlinks, or motion images"

Don't quite understand the italicized part. I get the fact that we are not allowed to put in gifs etc. I wanted to know whether it is okay to use animation? Is anyone using it in their ppt?
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 23 Jul 2013, 11:39
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jumsumtak
Need some advice on the ppt.
The guidelines mention : "The document will be viewed electronically, but we cannot support embedded videos, music, hyperlinks, or motion images"

Don't quite understand the italicized part. I get the fact that we are not allowed to put in gifs etc. I wanted to know whether it is okay to use animation? Is anyone using it in their ppt?
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@jumsumtak, never heard the adcom speak directly to this but they recommend converting to PDF so that implies the answer is no to animation. We've also never worked with anyone who included PPT transitions or effects so can't be sure. Filesize can only be 16MB, don't those features tend to bloat the PPT anyway? The content is much more important than the presentation; you want it to look nice but it doesn't need bells and whistles to make a good impression.

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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 23 Jul 2013, 11:43
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essaysnark
jumsumtak
Need some advice on the ppt.
The guidelines mention : "The document will be viewed electronically, but we cannot support embedded videos, music, hyperlinks, or motion images"

Don't quite understand the italicized part. I get the fact that we are not allowed to put in gifs etc. I wanted to know whether it is okay to use animation? Is anyone using it in their ppt?
@jumsumtak, never heard the adcom speak directly to this but they recommend converting to PDF so that implies the answer is no to animation. We've also never worked with anyone who included PPT transitions or effects so can't be sure. Filesize can only be 16MB, don't those features tend to bloat the PPT anyway? The content is much more important than the presentation; you want it to look nice but it doesn't need bells and whistles to make a good impression.

EssaySnark
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Thanks.
It wasn't bells and whistles I was thinking of. By using animation, I could have placed a LOT more content than I otherwise could have done. Probably I shouldn't rely on that strategy.
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 23 Jul 2013, 11:50
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As the adcom promised, the online app does in fact ask about goals:

BoothApplication
* Proposed industry post-MBA (dropdown)
* Proposed job function post-MBA (dropdown)
* What is your short-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
* What is your long-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
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Booth (Chicago): Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 23 Jul 2013, 11:54
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essaysnark
As the adcom promised, the online app does in fact ask about goals:

BoothApplication
* Proposed industry post-MBA (dropdown)
* Proposed job function post-MBA (dropdown)
* What is your short-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
* What is your long-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
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700 char. is approx. 125 words. That's a very decent amount of space for a direct quesiton.
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