The Military MBA – The Prep & The Story (Part 2 of 3)

Applicants with a military background bring unique and practical leadership experiences to an MBA program. At Chicago Booth, we have quite a few classmates with extensive military experiences.

Frank Hauben was in the US Army for six years. His specialty was in communications and he spent three years in Germany as a platoon leader and operations officer, a year at Fort Hood, Texas, leading a communications team for an air cavalry squadron, and 15 months in Baghdad as a strategic planner. Jean Park was a U.S. Army officer in the Signal Corps (communications). She worked in various roles throughout her service – Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, Assistant S-3, and a brief stint as a Liaison Officer to the Korean Army in Iraq. In this post, Frank and Jean share their experiences before and after admissions at Chicago Booth.

What motivated you to pursue an MBA?

FRANK: While I had fun during my Army time, I wanted to shift to a career in the private sector. An MBA provides the perfect opportunity to transition to the business world. A large percentage of people who go through business school are career switchers, and the career services office has the whole process down to a T. There are inexhaustible opportunities to learn about new industries, companies, functions, and to prepare students for the application and interview process.

JEAN: I realized that I needed to learn a lot of the business fundamentals that I did not have exposure to. I had a lot of operational experience before business school from my experience in the Army and at GE. However, I wanted to expand my business knowledge foundation and explore more opportunities that could put me on fast-track to senior management.

How did you prepare for the admissions process?

FRANK:

GMAT - I used the Official Guide for GMAT, The Princeton Review, and the Kaplan guide. I found the Princeton Review the most helpful as far as test-taking strategies, and Kaplan had the hardest questions. The Official Guide had actual previous tests, so I found it to be the best assessment tool. I studied an hour every other night after I was finished with work. Since I was deployed to Iraq at the time, I never had a 3 hour block of free time for the practice tests. So I took the practice tests in 30-45 minute blocks and then put it on pause for the next day (which I would not recommend). I took the test during my two week R&R in Europe, which is also something I would not recommend. Luckily I did well, but this strategy leaves no time for a re-test.

ESSAYS - I highly recommend the book How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs. A friend at another top business school recommended it, and it proved invaluable. This book helped me frame my experiences to best answer the essay questions. I also had friends in grad school (both business and law) critique my essays.

SCHOOL RESEARCH - I emailed alums and current students through the Armed Forces Group. I also spent time reading MBA journals on the Business Week website, and looking through student comments on Vault.com.

JEAN:

I had to do a lot of soul-searching to find out the true reasons why I wanted to go to school. This was extremely beneficial in crafting my essay themes and ‘why business school’ questions. I realized how passionate I was to go to a great program and become a part of a solid alumni community.
GMAT - I think the most important thing is to do full-length practice tests. I wish I had done more of these, because it was a little difficult to sit through the entire exam on GMAT day. I wish I had done more full-length practice exams to simulate the actual test taking experience.
ESSAYS - I found it difficult to find examples from applications with similar experiences to mine. This was mainly because I had military experience in addition to business experience. Instead of looking at other example essays, I thought of my strengths and weaknesses and how a business school experience would give me the tools to have a successful career. Veterans have extraordinary leadership experiences that should definitely be highlighted in essays.

What were the top 1 or 2 factors that helped you decide on the choice of school?

FRANK: What impressed me most about Chicago was how polished everything was, from the smooth application process and proactive admissions reps, to how welcome everyone made me feel as an admitted student. Chicago Booth students and administration go that extra mile, and were the biggest factors in choosing this school.

JEAN: Career Services was a huge factor for me, because I wanted to have an extremely solid support staff who had built long-lasting relationships with outstanding companies. The alumni community also played a large role because I wanted to be part of a community which had strong ties to the school and was still a part of the overall community once school got officially over.

How has your school experience been so far?

FRANK: The social atmosphere has been great and there is a real sense of community at the school. I love how many students live within a few blocks downtown, so there is always someone to work out with, study with, or go out with for some drinks. School has just been a lot of fun!

JEAN: It’s been amazing to be surrounded by a group of peers that’s so diverse in their experiences, knowledge, and backgrounds. It’s also very humbling to experience my business school career with such a phenomenal group of people. Much like the military, there is a certain sense of camaraderie with your classmates and it’s been an awesome experience to be a part of.

What has surprised you the most about B-school till now?

FRANK: I’m surprised at how much I learn outside of the class, just from talking with other students. I have learned so much about business functions, industries, and companies that I had no idea even existed.

JEAN: The amount of time I actually spend with “school.” Before I came to school, I almost had a sense of relief once I got into school because I thought that it would be less stressful than the work grind. However, I soon realized that times flies and that I had to prioritize my academic, career, and social interests. Business school is all about juggling your priorities and I never thought I would be this busy!

What kind of activities are you involved in outside of classes?

FRANK: I am most actively involved in the Armed Forces Group, which is a networking group that also helps military applicants navigate the admissions process, and Give Something Back where I am a tutor for children at Ray Elementary School at Hyde Park. I am also a member of the MCG, CMSG, and DSAC groups.

JEAN: I am a Class Agent, an elected Alumni Relations representative of my cohort. It’s been a great experience to get involved in alumni events, especially since I have a strong interest in building a strong alumni community. I am also involved with the Armed Forces Group, DSAC, Management Consulting Group, and CWiB.

How was the transition from work back to school?

FRANK: I found the process to be very smooth. Grade non-disclosure certainly helps keep the stress off of things, and if you can apply that military work ethic to academics, you’ll be just fine.

JEAN: I think I’m still transitioning....there’s something new every day! Just be prepared for things to start running at 100 mph once you hit ground at school. The best thing I ever did was to ensure that I was moved in and settled before school and orientation ever began. There is definitely little time to unpack things and explore your neighborhood once school starts!

Any advice that you might have for applicants with a military background?

FRANK:

• Contact the Armed Forces Group and talk to other MBA veterans – their experiences and advice are invaluable.
  
• Be aware of positive and negative military stereotypes. Certain stereotypes will work to our favor: leadership, work ethic. Others will not: uptight, not creative, relies too much on rank.
  
• Be aware of these and actively work to combat these with prepared stories about how you needed to come up with a creative solution or how you got a senior officer (someone who you didn’t have any rank authority over) to do what you needed. Finally, even if you’re deployed during the application window, you should still apply.

JEAN:

• Each school definitely has its own vibe and feel.
  
• Get a good sense of what this is like and see if you can see yourself as being a part of that community for the rest of your career.
• Reach out to current students and alumni...you’d be surprised how open people are to speaking about their experiences and helping out!
  
• As a veteran, use your leadership and team building experiences to your advantage. You’ve been in stressful situations where you’ve had to deliver results with very little resources...be sure to highlight your strengths!

B-school students with a military background are known for their analytical abilities, no-nonsense approach and people management skills - traits that make them prized picks for consulting firms and industry leadership positions. If you are a military applicant and would like to know more about the Chicago Booth MBA, feel free to reach out to the Armed Forces Group or DSAC.

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

Business Week - The 5 year MBA prep plan.

BusinessWeek has a useful article here for undergrads about using the years before business school to position themselves for B-School admission. Given that the average MBA has about 5 years of work-experience before they join school, this article (first of a series) shares a year by year plan for prospective students.

Even for people who plan to do their MBA sooner, this is a great start-point which promises to touch on key prep issues like the GMAT, networking etc. Hope you find it useful!

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

The Prep and The Story - Part 1

Starting this week, we bring you a series of profiles of 1st year students with an unconventional background who discuss their experiences before and after admission at Chicago Booth...

This week we have an international student - Shriya Lall. Before Chicago, Shriya was an entrepreneur in India, running her own fashion accessories firm and exporting across the world. Besides business interests, she was also instrumental in founding Aastha, an organization that promotes welfare of street children and is also an exponent of an Indian classical dance, Kathak.

What was your background before business school?

Before Booth, I was an exporter of fashion accessories in New Delhi, India. I started my own firm that manufactured bags and belts and exported them to fashion houses in Europe. I started the business right after undergrad and have been running it for the last 5 years.

What motivated you to pursue an MBA?

While my business was challenging and exciting, I felt that my management exposure was getting limited. I’d been working in the same job/ industry for over 5 years and was getting a sense of stagnation. I wanted to explore further opportunities as well as interact with people from diverse backgrounds to find my niche. Being an entrepreneur was great, but the exposure that I’ve received in just my first quarter at Booth has been phenomenal, to say the least.

How did you prepare for the admissions process?

GMAT - I used The Official Guide for GMAT and The Princeton Review. I took a lot of tests, as many as I could find, including the Kaplan tests. I would recommend doing a few tests, finding out weaknesses and specifically focusing on them. I also read the explanations of the test answers to understand my mistakes. I studied for an average of 4 hours a day for 2 months before my exam.

Essays - I took advice from a lot of friends who had already applied. I asked them to review my essays and share their feedback. I also looked at quite a few websites that explained the questions and the logic behind them.

School research - I found alums and 2nd year students to be the best resources. I spent a lot of time researching the websites of the schools to get in-depth information about them. I researched courses, professors as well as student groups and other extracurricular activities offered. Some of the websites that helped me were www.clearadmit.com and www.accepted.com

How has your school experience been so far?

The experience has been awesome – I’ve had the opportunity to meet with people from 6 different continents and over 30 different countries and have attended the lectures of some of the finest professors in the country. I also think that I was fortunate to be here at such a defining time in both American history as well as the school’s history. I feel that I have experienced more in the last 3 months than I had in the last 10 years.

What has surprised you the most about B-school till now?
The pace of life - everything happens super-fast and before you know it, one quarter is over and you are heading into the new year!

What kind of activities are you involved in outside of classes?

I am involved in a number of student groups. I am a member of the South Asia Business Group and organized the entertainment for the annual Diwali party. I am also on the committee for the India Leadership Summit that will be held in May next year. I am involved with the Business Solutions Group and currently working on a customer perception project for a client. This nonprofit consulting experience gives me a chance to experience consulting before deciding about choosing it as a full-time career choice. I am also a part of the DSAC through which I help answer questions that prospective students might have about the application process and the school in general. I even set up my own student group called the Family Business Group for students who come from family businesses. Outside of these, I am also a participatory member in EVP, MCG and the CWIB Groups.

How was the transition from work back to school?

After working for 5 years, it takes some time to get back to studying. I think Chicago Booth makes this transition very easy by providing a lot of support. We have great Academic Services and Career Services teams who are always open to answering your questions and helping you adjust. I think it takes a few months to get used to the transition but sometimes you are just too busy to even think about it!

How was relocating to a new country?

Moving to a new country is always hard. You have to adjust to a number of things as well as get used to living without your family. You had to get used to fending for yourself, find accommodations, open bank accounts and pay bills. You have to make new friends and learn how to balance you school work with your social life. Coming from a relatively protected life, it was a huge adjustment. I think what helped me was the fact that there are so many other Indian students who are going through the same set of issues – that’s a great support system! We all figured out how to do these things together and helped others whenever one had a problem.

What advice would you have for applicants with a similar background?

Try to bring out your unique skills in the application. Research the school well and be ready to answer all school specific questions. If possible, visit the school or speak to students and try to get a feel for the school.

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

School Culture & Fit in the application process

“Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game - it is the game”

- Lou Gerstner

As a DSAC co-chair and an international student, I get many opportunities to interact with applicants across the world. Some of the most common questions are about the “culture” at Chicago Booth:

· How would you define the culture at the University and the business school?

· How does the AdCom determine fit with the school culture?

· Could you give me some examples or incidents that exemplify the Chicago (Booth) culture?

· And the more blatant “How did you show the AdCom that you were a good fit for the school?”

As a former applicant, I understand where these questions are coming from, but obviously there are no fixed answers – trying to define culture based on my worldview or experience here, is likely to be irrelevant to someone who ‘sees’ through very different eyes. This question is also fascinating because Chicago Booth has its cultural roots in the University (of Chicago) with its own spirit of inquiry and famous intellectual traditions.

Based on my discussions with other students, here are some sources that have helped us understand what the Chicago (Booth) culture is about:

1. Economics as a contact sport: George Papajohn’s famous article from the Chicago Tribune is one of the first prescribed readings for Bob Topel’s Microecon class and what an article it is – it nails down the rush and thrill of the Chicago economics right on – available from The Chicago Tribune archives (Paid link)

2. University of Chicago Record – This is the official record of the speeches that accompany the graduation ceremony at Chicago Booth; as someone who wandered in my 1^st year all over the campus and read about five different University related publications, I found this 2007 issue inspiring for the following reasons:

a. In Page 9, Prof. James Schrager underlines the importance of strategy and Chicago’s perspective on it… Starting with Ed Wrapp’s take on the subject, he goes on to describe how to use all that we learn in a world filled with “mystery and intrigue”!

b. Roger Altman (MBA ’69, Chairman, Evercore Partners) talks about how life’s defeats rather than successes have taught him a lot and therefore mean the most to him. Starting with his first sales experience that literally sank to his being fired by the Clinton administration, Altman makes his point with brevity and wit.

c. And finally in Page 10, Drew Tyler Dir, an undergrad student presents Anne Bogart’s argument that “the act of creation is inherently an act of resistance against our own death. To fight entropy, then, is to have the audacity to introduce something new into a universe that resists our very existence… and the single most important thing we can do as human beings is to confront the great heat death of the universe and to defy it. For four years, you’ve been doing just that - talking, writing, collaborating, creating - fighting entropy ten weeks at a time. Today begins the fight of your lives. Life naturally pulls us down toward death, but today you graduate; and today, entropy meets the University of Chicago. This is your graduation. This is your fight.”

3. The Chicago Approach: There have been quite a few distinguished professors who have laid out the Chicago approach to management education. Allen Wallis and James Lorie developed a 10 year plan called the “Chicago Approach to Business Education”. Later, Harry Davis and Robin Hogarth’s “Rethinking Management Education: A view from Chicago” built on the topic – these papers exemplify the school’s approach and are likely to provide useful insights.

4. Student blogs: Quite a few students and professors write blogs; known student/ alumni blogs are available as links on the DSAC site and can yield detailed information not only about classes and professors but can act as a window into the thoughts of the student body here. Professor’s blogs are usually independent and googling any famous professor will usually yield enough links/ information to form an opinion of his or her research and academic beliefs.

5. Chicago Booth Magazine and journals: Researching Chicago Booth journals, magazines and alumni award winners can be particularly helpful - what does the research say: Does it validate current beliefs? Challenge? Confront? Which parts of their Chicago experience do alumni enjoy the most? And what do they say about these experiences?

6. Chicago Alumni And Students: Nothing ever compares to hearing it from the Maroons' mouth... both alumni and students who have been through the Chicago Booth experience could be the best possible sources of finding out about the school and its culture. Many students, self included, were convinced about their choice of school after hearing either alumni or current year students hold forth about their experiences. We would strongly encourage you to reach out to alumni or students through the many available forums - the Admissions staff, the discussion boards, interviewers etc.

So with all this research done, what do you think we are like? Intense? Intellectual? Interesting? Whatever you decide, you may find it useful to form a clear idea of what a school stands for – not only will this bolster your application and your interview interaction, but will also help you decide on the critical “fit” between you and the schools you apply to.

We hope you found this post useful – in case you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to us at dsac.chicagogsb@gmail.com

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

Golden Gargoyles - The Chicago Booth Filmfest!

Golden Gargoyles is the student film fest at Chicago Booth which also marks the culmination and celebratory end of the LEAD module. As part of LEAD, the 1st year class is split up into 10 cohorts - over the course of the quarter, each cohort makes a short film about life at Chicago Booth with the help of fellow students, faculty... and even Dean Snyder!

These films are then evaluated by 2nd year LEAD facilitators and in a ceremony grander than the Oscars, the Golden Gargoyle awards for different categories are presented to winning cohorts. My favorite film is the one below - to catch the best scenes, fast forward to 2:16 in the video:



When the markets are down, well... humor helps! To check out other Golden Gargoyle videos, just search "Golden Gargoyles" on YouTube!

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

An exciting rerun - BW 2008 MBA rankings!

Last week, the excitement about the BusinessWeek rankings peaked as we watched the live release of the results in the student lounge at the Harper Center – of course, the room erupted in cheers when the verdict was out! After the David Booth gift, it was a nice "one-two" end to our week.

Dean Snyder in his classic understated style sent out this email to the student body:

Chicago Booth has been ranked as No.1 in Businessweek’s biennial ranking of full-time MBA programs. In the previous BusinessWeek ranking also, Chicago Booth ranked first.
Since 2001 our policy has been to report MBA rankings from six media: BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, the Economist, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. Of the 69 rankings reported since then, 67 are in the top 10.

He also mentioned in this Chicago Maroon article about how its business as usual after the rankings: “Having noted these positives, we strenuously avoid confusing our identity with rankings. So, it’s back to work.”

Although quite a few of us follow the rankings closely, it’s great to see the pragmatic tone that the Chicago Booth management assumes, which keeps us grounded and focuses on what needs to be done. I personally remain convinced that the student and applicant community ultimately benefits from the B-School rankings by different publications, despite the various biases and controversies that plague each release of ranks and I suspect you would agree with me. There is an interesting take on this subject by Business Today (Student Magazine published out of Princeton) in their latest issue.

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

Going global over the winter!

Over winter, different teams of Chicago GSB students head out to various destinations across the world to explore career opportunities, establish contact and sometimes, for more worldly reasons (like the powdery snow at Whistler!).

Dubai, LA, Whistler, Hong Kong, London, NYC are just some of the places that we will be heading out over the next 2 months – for more details, you could check out the attached handout (picture files).

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums

Chicago GSB is now Chicago Booth!

On Nov 6th, all members of the GSB community were invited to the Winter Garden for a historic announcement – we’d become Chicago Booth! In honor of the largest gift to any business school, Chicago GSB has been renamed after a business leader who (literally!) used his Chicago experience and connections to build and grow his firm. According to Dean Snyder’s e-mail to students, this gift is “unconditional” – it allows itself to be deployed in whatever way that the school might deem proper to aggressively move forward and capitalize on our current momentum.

There are obvious gains because of this change for us:
1. Higher endowment and financial resources for deployment that will allow us to focus on:

- Building on our strengths of world class faculty

- Additional resources available to build a diverse and accomplished student body

- And anything else to keep the Chicago Booth flag flying high (this is where the “unconditional” clause kicks in!)

2. Stronger brand identity

- From a generic “Graduate School of Business” to “Chicago Booth”

- To make a stronger impact as we kick off our global marketing campaign

All jazz apart, from a personal perspective, it’s an exciting change for all of us studying here – after the event, a small group of us were discussing that this couldn’t have come from a better alumnus: David Booth leveraged Fama’s “Efficient Market Hypotheses” to build his firm, Dimensional Fund Advisors. Over the last 27 years, he has built his firm with the guidance and ideas of various Chicago professors like Merton Miller, Myron Scholes, Abbie Smith, George Constantinides, Jack Gould, Jim Lorie and Marvin Zonis. And of course the fact that his gift comes at a time when the financial markets are at all-time lows, makes it even better.... some of us will miss the good old “GSB” label, but with the school and alumni extending their reach across the world, Chicago Booth looks like a strong and enduring identity that we can build upon.
Needless to say, we are also excited about the new T-shirts going around, new jokes popping up, and of course, new ideas about what this change holds for our future. If you have any questions about this change, please feel free to reach out to us.

Want to discuss this topic some more? Head on over to the Chicago Booth Discussion Forums