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31 Aug 2019, 23:59
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Booth Student is Here to Answer YOUR Questions!
One of the Chicago Booth current students has accepted our invitation to interact with the prospective applicants, share his insights about the Booth experience, and answer the queries of applicants.
If you have any questions about Booth, now is your chance to get them clarified by posting your questions here in this topic. We have a live chat with him on Saturday, Sep 7th, 9 AM PDT in our chat room.
Chat Room: mchat.php?fl=menu
Date & Time: (Sep 7th, 9 AM PDT/Sep 7th 9:30 PM IST/Sep 7th 4 PM GMT)
Signup to get email reminder of this chat.
⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.
Thank you,
GMAT Club Moderator Team.
11 Sep 2019, 10:25
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Transcript of the chat with Chicago Booth current student
This chat is with butchmil
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Did you find having just 3 years of work experience to be a hindrance either in the application process or while at Booth?
Good question! Several people, including my dad and many admissions consultants, advised me against applying. They said 3 years in a corporate role, as opposed to PE or ibanking or consulting, would be a risk. But there wasn’t much downside, so I rolled the dice and applied anyway
It was a bit of a longshot, and I got waitlisted at first, but it worked out in the end
What was your gmat score?
760
Thanks for joining us today. I’m planning to apply for the weekend program; any advice on the application would be great
I don’t know much about the application process to the weekend program. A lot of the advise around here would apply I think, though I’ve heard the process is less intense than full time
Did you apply to other M7 schools -- wharton / GSB / harvard / kellogg ?
I applied to Harvard and kellogg too, rejected by both
Given that you were an engineer who transitioned to a finance role, how helpful was Booth and it Career Resources Centre in making a switch? How common is it for Booth students to switch careers? Would you be able to give an idea of what % (approximately) of your class constitutes of switchers?
I’d guess 70% are career switchers at Booth. Career services are a helpful side resource but really students, especially career focused clubs, drive the process
Can u please help us understand How having a 3 years of work experience in corporate helped you land up in Booth
Well even with less experience at a decent, not great job, can be made impressive to adcoms by storytelling, so I played up how “cool” my nuclear job was
Is having 8 yrs + work ex and being a 32 yr old considered to be negative by adcom
I don’t think so. I know several older students, and they offer good insights to the classroom
Booth is known as a finance school. For someone not interested in finance, does it make sense to apply?
In my opinion, all the reputable schools are good enough for anything really, unless it’s very specific. Management consulting is the most popular career at Booth
butchmilLocation can also be a good reason to apply, as that can make more of a difference than a school’s academic specialty when job hunting09:10 am
Hi - could you talk about age in your class / classes -- many people above 30 ?
Average age is around 28, maybe 20-30% of folks over 30
As u mentioned that you utilized the story telling skill, how long did it take to craft your application?
I worked on my application for about 2 months. Heads up, if you get an interview I think they ask for another essay, so just be prepared
Do you think that a steep career growth ( in the company) is essential for an application to Booth? What was the experience in your case?
I actually hadn’t been promoted once when I applied. My supervisors loved me but upper management did not lol. Yes it can be done. I got promoted while my application was pending, updated the admissions committee via email
Possible to get in without career growth but just more difficult
Could you talk a bit about DITL -- do you get a lot of "Free time" ? | or are you a time management guru now -- roaming with a calendar everywhere ...how how many hours of sleep ? I have heard only 5 hours
I have a significant amount of free time. It depends a lot on your career choices, since that determines when you’re recruiting. Banking and consulting are nasty I. The dall but easier once ur done
Apart from a great gmat score, What do you think is the part that is common amongst all applicants that is like a "must have"?
I’d say decent essays, and try to show some authenticity. That can be an important part of communicating who you are
Is it possible to get in without leadership or management experience?
Sometimes you need to discuss influencing without authority as a type of leadership, so yes you can get in without having formal authority but you need to talk about leading others
how often does Booth offer scholarships?
30% of folks get scholarships, amount varies
Please tell us also about Career Management Centre and how alum network enhances the likeability of job conversion?
Career services coordinates events and establishes connections with forms. They don’t necessary know the best of how to get a specific job. For that I’d go to students. Alums are also good and usually willing to talk
What was the most distinguishing point in your profile that made it appealing to adcoms?
My gmat score probably helped. My job was pretty unique so that was also good
Could you talk a bit about how did you do school research- - did you reach out via linkedin to current students / email them / did you visit personally / did you care about ranking or specific classes ? Thank you
I looked for people that went to my undergrad. Also visited the Chicago schools. It was pretty easy for me since I only applied to 3
One of the unique features of Booth is that classes are debate and discussion-oriented. How easy/difficult was it for you to contribute to class discussions as someone who has 3yrs of experience (which I’m guessing is less than a significant no. of your peers)? I’m curious to know how you highlighted the "What I can bring to the table" in your application to Booth!
Some classes are discussion oriented, it varies a ton. I haven’t really found myself unable to contribute, but more classes for 2nd years are prolly discussion related
In terms of “bring to the table” I highlighted my unique job, which was related to safety in a manufacturing setting
Hi -- what % of the class activity is case based vs. exam ..do you have any advise for the case based courses ..Thank you !
Curriculum at Booth is very flexible. Say it’s more lecture based but you could try making your schedule a majority case based
Also I would like to know what are the reasons why you choose booth if you had a chance for admission in any other school? Did you really faced any kind of situation?
Booth because I love Chicago. Got rejected by other schools so the choice was made for me lol
Thanks for taking out time to chat with us. What are career options post MBA for people like me who has experience in statutory audit (EY and Deloitte) for 4 years. Is it possible to change the field easily? What kind of jobs are available for people with accountancy background?
For career switching, the clubs, especially for banking and consulting are important. Other students are key
Could you talk about how you choose banking as the career switch ? Why not consulting for example ...I am confused b/w banking or consulting ...
Consulting is popular because I think the work is moderately interesting and the lifestyle is ok
I chose corporate because I’m lazy, or lazier than banking or consultants. Banking is for those who want the $, likely to make almost a million 10 years out but some think the worst isn’t interesting
How hard is it to recruit for multiple careers? Say I want to do consulting recruiting but also have a 2nd interest in tech or entertainment. Is that feasible? (Of course something like recruiting for IB and consulting would be nearly impossible)
A lot depends on timing. Banking and consulting are hard to do both because they’re in the fall. Corporates and tech are in winter or spring, and are less stressful in general. A lot of people try for consulting in the fall and have corporates as backup
Is it possible to change the field easily? What kind of jobs are available for people with accountancy background?
I’ve seen accounting folks go into banking a lot. It’s a natural fit
What is it that makes Booth a class apart from other ivy league B schools? Any specific insight on this?
Booth tends to be more analytical quant heavy compared to peers. They are very proud of their professors. But it’s not a huge difference for mba student experience
For careers such as consulting and banking where peer network plays a key role in career success, did you perceive any disadvantages of Booth’s flexible curriculum? Do you think that the networking opportunities were sufficient to help you learn? What are some informal events that one should not miss?
I’d say work closely with the student clubs like the banking and consulting groups. Also, there’s lots of 1st and 2nd year interaction at Booth which helps
10 Jul 2023, 09:36
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⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.
Thank you,
GMAT Club Moderator Team.
