Anticipating Admit Weekend!

Can you believe that Admit Weekend 2 is already here? Almost 350 admits and partners will be arriving at the Harper Center for an action-packed weekend of receptions, activities, tours, dinners, faculty discussions, trivia, and after-hours outings. This week, we have Sheelu Nandigam, a first-year student, reflect on her experience as an Admit Weekend Squad Leader and the things about Booth she loves most. We also have our next installment of the Day in the Life series, featuring yours truly. I'll give you a glimpse of just how time consuming the New Venture Challenge really is and how great it's been to be a Wine Club co-chair. On behalf of all of us at Booth, congratulations to our Round 2 admitted students!

Dana

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As Round II Admit Weekend approaches, it’s hard to believe that just a year ago many of us were in the same position as the hundreds of admits that will descend upon the Harper Center in a few short days. Ask any first year and there is a common sense of disbelief at how fast a year has flown by, but also how excited we all are to celebrate the latest round of admits and to share our experiences over these past nine months with all of them. Particularly as a Squad Leader, I have a unique opportunity to help admits get a taste for what life at Booth is really like.

I will confess though that before coming to school I was always a bit skeptical when I heard people talk about how business school is such a transformative experience. Ever the pragmatist, I just didn’t see how it could really be that different from undergrad except for the fact that we were all a little older (and probably a few pounds heavier). Well, it was my experience as a Squad Leader during Admit Weekend I that truly helped me realize that maybe those people weren’t just making it all up. Hearing Dean Kole welcome the Round 1 admits in February, I found myself nodding along a she mentioned how Booth helps prepare its students for an ever changing environment or as she explained the strength of our community. I always thought I knew my answers to the inevitable “why Booth” question, but over the course of the weekend I discovered more answers to a question I have answered countless times and it is my hope that I can help admits do the same. It is all the things that can’t be measured in stats or read on Poets and Quants that truly make Booth a special place to be – it is the classmate who invites you over just mere hours after moving to Chicago or the second-year who brings her husband (who you don’t know) to Starbucks on a Sunday to help you prep for an interview. It is winery tours in Argentina during Random Walk, Winter ski trip to Aspen and dancing the night away with 80+ of your classmates on spring break. Most of all, it is sharing these experiences with admits and helping them create new experiences together during their short time with us Chicago that makes Admit Weekend so much fun (not to mention getting to know who will be sharing the Winter Garden with us next year)!

From LEAD to Random Walk to exploring Chicago nightlife with classmates, there is so much about the Booth experience to enjoy but there is one common thread makes it all so wonderful – the Booth community. Whether it’s hanging out in the Winter Garden, running into classmates in downtown Chicago or traveling the globe, I am excited to help admits experience the richness of our community first hand. If Admit Weekend I was any indication of the level of awesome that is to come, I can’t wait to do it all over again for Admit Weekend II!