Experience during the program

I had an amazing experience at Booth. The program and culture live up to the mantras of "Challenge everything" and "Independent thought" in my experience. Personally, I was drawn to the fact that there is no one path at Booth -- you're not forced into a cohort, you're not told which classes you have to take, you're not assigned to study teams and instead, you have the freedom to chart your own course (within some guidelines of course!) and you gain much wider exposure (e.g., taking classes with 2nd years). Looking back, the LEAD course was extremely helpful and I apply those lessons about leadership and self-awareness everyday now. The student culture is very strong (and different than what many perceive) -- it's a bit different from other schools where there's a concentrated campus that everyone lives near and again, things aren't dictated for you. I was incredibly impressed by my classmates -- not just their intelligence and career drive but also their passion for traveling and experiencing the city of Chicago. I did not find it to be competitive at all - I think because of the grade non-disclosure but also in recruiting, I had so much help from my classmates.

A bit about my experience: I was a career changer. I worked in HR before and worked in consulting afterwards (boutique/startup firm in Chicago). My course specializations were Strategy, Economics, and Marketing. I was very involved with the Admissions team while there, serving on the student adcom, leading tours, planning admit weekend, etc. I also loved the Business Solutions Group where I worked on a pro-bono consulting project for a non-profit education company. I lived in Hyde Park (rare for Booth students, but I loved it).

My advice to future applicants: engage with the Booth community as much as possible. Visit campus, sit in on a class, talk to students and alums, connect with the alumni group in your closest city. Be prepared to have reasons for "Why Booth" beyond just the finance reputation and flexible curriculum.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Amazing professors - my personal faves were Murphy's Turbo Econ, Epley's Managing in Organizations and Boethner's Strategy and Structure. Also recommend taking advantage of the many lab classes and the Polsky Center for those interested in entrepreneurship.

About job placement process

Strong across the board but especially strong in consulting and finance. Companies that recruit for marketing are really impressive too, and they seem to value Booth's data-driven approach to marketing. Some classmates recruiting for jobs in California had to do more of their search on their own, but that may have improved since I was there.

Experience during the program

Chicago Booth is an incredible program in one of the great cities in the US. If you have not visited Chicago, I highly recommend a visit. It is a huge draw that Booth should play up far more. For me, it was a big sell to be in a global city. If you enjoy a metropolitan experience, Booth should be high on your list. As Booth has also just moved to the #2 spot in the MBA rankings, every applicant should have Booth on their short list.

My first goal going into school was to have a diverse network of students to bond with. I was immediately blown away by the global nature of the class. From Moscow to Yugoslovia to Guatemala, if you are looking a program who truly is serious about a diverse class, Booth is highly committed to finding students from all the world.

Secondly, I was seeking a program that had the career services to help get my career to the next level. I will confidently say that Booth's career services is one of their great competitive advantages. They are a powerful force with intimate connections in every industry you can imagine and with the ability to help students land the most niche, specialized jobs. I've witnessed them help students get very specific jobs in the most far away countries they were targeting. Although Booth is known for finance and consulting, their career services is powerful enough for any student. Booth career services is a machine that will get you wherever you want to go.

Third, I wanted a program with a strong alumni network. I tested this by cold calling alums after my admittance. The responses were 100%. Some late but all replied. I actually didnt truly realize this until later on via conferences and networking that the Booth alumni network is powerful, loyal, and embedded in every industry. For those seeking a voluminous network, Booth fits the bill.

Lastly, I wanted to have the best two years of my life. Booth works harder and plays harder than any program I encountered. Chicago is the perfect place to encapsulate both; a serious global business city, but the epicenter of great social and nightlife events. I was fantastically surprised by the nature of the admits, they were over the top helpful and friendly. Booth admissions has done a fantastic job of selecting students. For those who seek a good balance of work and play, Booth is also a great fit.

I hope I've been able to cover the major topics!

About job placement process

Chicago Booth's core competency is their career office; it is a machine with an expertise in helping find students jobs in any area far and wide no matter how niche.

Experience during the program

The mantra of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is it’s all about the idea. Students focus on generating, analyzing, comparing, and refining ideas in order to elevate them to better ideas.

The full-time MBA program consists of 20 classes plus Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD). The flagship of the program is its flexible curriculum. Unlike many other top schools with lockstep first-year MBA programs, Booth does not require its MBAs to go through every class together. One key exception is the LEAD course, which all MBAs must take. However, by and large, students design a program tailored to fit their own career goals.

Experience during the program

Before coming to Booth, I was very aware of its reputation of "quant-y." Although I found this to be somewhat true as everyone I encountered was very smart and many were analytical. I found it very misleading to label an entire school under one umbrella. The people at Booth were for the most part, very well-rounded individuals, each with their own unique characteristics. As I spoke with my friends from other top business schools, like Kellogg, Wharton, or HBS, I thought it was insulting when they said everyone at my school was a "nerd" since that wasn't the case at all. I was and still am constantly impressed by the level of people I have met at Booth.

Experience during the program

Every (successful) Booth applicant has likely heard about Booth's flexible curriculum, yet I can't stress enough how this "we'll treat you like an adult and let you make your own choices" philosophy can shape one's Booth experience. Personally, having worked in finance and completed the CFA program before Booth, I opted not to take the basic Investments and Accounting classes that would have been mandatory at peer institutions in favor of advanced finance (including PhD classes and a well-known bankruptcy/restructuring class at UChicago Law) and additional entrepreneurship coursework. I saw many classmates similarly take full advantage of the ability to pick and choose from a diverse course offerings to pursue their varied passion. This is not to say that academic is the dominant factor underlying a Booth experience; like other top MBA programs, we spent large chunks of our time exploring career options, preparing for and going through interviews, traveling, and of course, partying. But one shall not ignore how much whom you meet IN the classroom shape your MBA experience. I was fortunate to meet and become good friends with "Boothies" in my class as well as the classes immediately above and immediately below mine, many of which came from a wide variety of fascinating backgrounds. I became a better person because of knowing them.

Last but not least, Chicago's relatively low cost-of-living and the fact that >80% of Booth students live right in the heart of Chicago (with an easy train commute to school) mean that we all had a great time!

Experience during the program

Depending on the area of focus/industry you are interested in, the school offers different sets of resources. For example, if you are interested in investment banking or consulting, there is a wealth of resources (current students, alumni, clubs) that are available to help pursue an internship or job in these areas. However, if you are interested in some of the less common professions like marketing or PE, then much more of the onus is put on you to guide your search. Booth still makes great efforts to help in these areas but it still lacks in comparison to others.

I would suggest coming into business school with a purpose and an idea of what industry/profession you want to pursue. Although the school does a great job of providing background in most areas, do your homework before coming in to get the most out of the resources provided. There are great social aspects that add to your experience, but not enough to justify the high price that business school costs.

Experience during the program

Chicago Booth was extremely helpful for my career and the program fully met my expectations.

The student culture at Booth is amazing and students are very collaborative. Paying-it-forward is an important part of the mentality and students go to great lengths to help their classmates. Many students take leadership roles in student groups and help organize activities outside of school.

The academic experience is of highest quality and the flexible curriculum allows students to tailor the experience to their needs. Booth offers the option to take classes with world-class faculty but also offers opportunities for experiential learning in lab classes and internships. Students get flexibility and can choose between classes at the University of Chicago campus or at Booth's downtown Chicago facility.

Career services is highly professional and well-connected to industry. Firms recruit on-campus at modern interview facilities. All the major firms from key MBA industries (Consulting, Investment Banking, Tech) recruit talent from Chicago Booth.

Chicago is a great location for an MBA degree. The city offers all the restaurants and culture of a major city and has many interesting neighborhoods. Housing prices are affordable in comparison to other major cities with many housing options in modern high-rise apartment buildings downtown. The city is also well connected with direct flights to many cities in the U.S. and across the globe – very helpful for recruiting or leisure travel.

Experience during the program

From the very beginning Booth was very helpful to prepare for internship recruiting. The school and second-years provided a lot of help and training in a variety of different career paths. I was able to explore marketing, finance, PE before I decided on my chosen post-Booth area.

As far as classes, I enjoyed that we could pick whichever class we wanted and there was really no set curriculum. The professors lived up to the hype and I learned a lot on a variety of different subjects.

My business school experience at Booth met all of my expectations and I would highly suggest Booth to any future prospects.

Experience during the program

I have loved my time at the school, but I wish the school had more options on the career portal and I wish that they were more proactive in assisting with the recruiting process. I am working in MBB consulting this summer, but would have been cool to explore some amazing internships via the career portal (I know that HBS has many more options). There are also some career paths (e.g. Private equity) which are nearly impossible to get from Booth.

Cirriculum and professors are first rate, as is the student body. There is a culture of helping students in the year beneath you, which I greatly appreciated when preparing for interviews. I do wish the campus were downtown - Hyde Park is not a desirable location.

Experience during the program

- Phenomenal program for investment banking (speaking from personal experience), from academic preparation to career services and student body support/guidance throughout the recruiting process
- Academic/Course Selection flexibility enabled me to challenge myself (undergraduate finance/marketing major)
- Greater than expected diversity of personalities, backgrounds, and thought
- Amazing culture of paying it forward (more than expected)
- Social flexibility to create your own unique experience by getting involved with areas of interest to you; academic flexibility encourages you to interact with different people based on the classes you choose (also leads to better integration between 1st and 2nd year students)

About professors, classes and curriculum

- Many great professors, notably Raghuram Rajan (former IMF Chief Economist and Reserve Bank of India Governor) back as a professor teaching International Corporate Finance