Chicago Booth Chat with First Years

A few weeks ago, Chicago Booth School of Business hosted an online chat with first-year students tackling all aspects of student life, academics, and of course, admissions questions. Here are just a few snippets of interest to anyone applying now; check out the lengthy transcript for the complete lowdown.

What’s the hardest thing to adapt to?

Being able to juggle classwork, recruiting, and social events all at the same time. It tends to get very busy, especially during recruiting season, and so it’s vital that you stay focused on the things you are most interested in. There’s so much going on and so much to learn, that it’s easy to get stretched-thin in terms of time.

Are international students allowed to take loans without a cosigner? if yes, up to what amount?

Once you are accepted, Admissions will send you instructions on the application process. Everything is done online, and all you need to do is to fill out some forms online following the instructions. You are able to take $70,000 a year.

There are various clubs such as management club, leadership club etc in any MBA education. What is the importance of these clubs besides the education?

Career-focused clubs at Booth are extremely useful. Members can avail of career-focused recruiting and informational events. For example, the management consulting group holds weekly events where they have industry professionals present on campus. They also send out a resume book to consulting firms. I would highly recommend joining such clubs.

Any word on 1st round application volume?

We did receive an increase in application volume in our first round. As for the second round, we are making no predictions on what the volume will look like!

For Round I applicants, is it too late for alumni to submit Letters of Support?

You are welcome to send in a letter of support from an alumnus, but please know that we are starting our final reads of applications. We will add it to your file as soon as we receive it, and it will be taken into consideration at that point. As we are currently reading, I would recommend sending it in soon!

One of Booth’s key differentiating factors is the uber flexibility in the choice the courses. Was it daunting to choose the courses? What avenues were available to guide you through?

The flexibility of Booth’s program is indeed one of its key differentiators. As for how to go about choosing courses, the school offers lots of resources to help with this process. Each student is assigned an Academic Advisor whom you meet with before school starts. Another great resource is 2nd years, who have gone through the process and can offer advice as to which classes to pick in order to position yourself for recruiting in your industry of choice.

Did any of you come to Booth with spouses or significant others? Have you been able to involve them in your activities?

…The couples Random Walk (offers) a chance to meet other partners who are in the similar boat… moving to a new city along with their spouses. Additionally, spouses & partners are also welcomed to attend all of the big class parties and the LPF community events held each Friday afternoon in the Harper Center.

What’s the average size of most first-year classes?

Most first-year classes (in classroom) is about 50-60 people, most of which are fundamentals like accounting, stats and economics. However, bare in mind that we have no classification on first-year or second-year classes, you are free to choose whatever class you would like to take, and you will be sitting with both first- and second-year students in the same room. It is a free market, it is Chicago Booth ; )

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