Ferris Boothie's Day Off

Mike dressed as Ferris Bueller
for Halloween

Ever wonder what it’s like to live in Chicago?  When you come to Chicago Booth for a visit, try to experience the city like a local – and let first-year Booth MBA (and Ferris Bueller aficionado) Mike Janko be your guide.

Prior to Booth, Mike worked at an entrepreneurial real estate investment firm, acting as Debt Portfolio Manager, Asset Manager, and Investment Analyst during his tenure.  At Booth, Mike is a member of the Admit Weekend planning committee, Follies Creative Team, Management Consulting Group, and Ski and Snowboard Club.  In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the array of neighborhoods in his native Chicago … and playing hooky once in a while.

--Matt Richman

“How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?”

In the classic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the title character utters this memorable line moments after he tricks his parents into thinking that he is sick and requires a day off from school.  Inspired by the free day before him, Ferris then leads his friends on a spectacular, day-long adventure, exploring the artistic, scenic, culinary, and cultural offerings of the nearby metropolis – Chicago.

Born and raised in Chicagoland, I have always idolized Ferris Bueller and his antics.  To me, Ferris embodies the best characteristics of our beloved Chicago: a friendly, optimistic demeanor; a passion for maintaining rich cultural traditions; an openness to exploration; and an ability to stand up and inspire.  Given these qualities, I cannot call any other city home, and I am eager to show my fellow Boothies why.

But how can I persuade you, visitor to Chicago Booth, that Chicago provides the perfect backdrop for business school?  Perhaps I can lead you on a day-long adventure of Chicago that will leave you almost wondering, like Ferris, how you could possibly focus on school with such an enticing city around you?

The Plan:

Leave your accommodations and grab some caffeine at an Intelligentsia Coffee location, a direct-trade coffee and tea retailer born in the Lakeview neighborhood.  Should you be near The Doughnut Vault or a Glazed & Infused location, please supplement your warm beverage with a piece of freshly baked heaven.

Glazed & Infused's Maple Bacon Long John...cue Homer Simpson drool

Arrive at Randolph and Michigan and meander through the modern landscape of Millennium Park.  Embrace your inner tourist and snap a picture of your twisted reflection on “The Bean” before walking across the bridge to the Art Institute of Chicago.  

Footbridge from Millennium Park to the Art Institute

There, enjoy the well-curated collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and American art, which include such iconic works as Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Wood’s American Gothic, and Hopper’s Nighthawks.

Hopper's Nighthawks, on display at the Art Institute of Chicago

Are you hungry after viewing an assortment of still-life paintings?  Yes?  Good.  Head towards the West Loop, Chicago’s flourishing culinary neighborhood, and enjoy a relaxing lunch at Michelin-starred Blackbird or Sepia.  Though fine-dining establishments, both restaurants provide more reasonably priced lunch menus than dinner menus.  Should you want something more casual, head across the Michigan Avenue Bridge (allowing your jaw to drop at the gorgeous cityscape along the river) and try the choriqueso torta and classic hot chocolate at Xoco.

Chicago River view from the Michigan Ave. Bridge

After lunch, take in Chicago’s incredible downtown architecture – the birthplace of the skyscraper.  The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a number of tours – by boat, on foot, or by train or trolley – of Chicago’s architectural icons.  Or, just hop on a CTA elevated “L” train in the Loop, crank up Kanye West in your ear buds, and enjoy the ride and view.

View of the Harold Washington Library from the L

As the sun sets over the Windy City, ascend to a rooftop oasis – like the famous Signature Lounge atop the Hancock Building or the The J. Parker – to sip from a frosty beverage while gazing at a panoramic view of Chicago.    

View from the 96th floor of the Hancock Building

Afterwards, head north for a unique bite at the legendary Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.  Situated directly across from the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (in a building that served as an Al Capone mobster lookout), CPOG offers pizza like you’ve never seen it.  Literally, or your tuition back.  (Note: The University of Chicago Bursar does not endorse this message.)

End the night with a laugh at The Second City – the most influential and prolific comedy theatre in the world.  The launching point for such comedians as Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Stephen Colbert (ever heard of them?), The Second City offers various stages to discover how Chicagoans best poke fun at life and the city that they call home.

Whether you now retreat to bed, grab another frosty beverage or two at The Barrelhouse Flat, or enjoy blues at the renowned Kingston Mines, hopefully you have developed a strong affinity for my and Ferris’s hometown, Chicago. The city provides a truly world-class cultural and culinary playground that will keep you and your classmates salivating, learning, exploring, admiring, laughing, and dancing for your two years at Booth – or a lifetime, if me, Ferris, and Chicago have any say. 

A true Chicagoan since birth, (Baby) Mike being held by
Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton

Black Tie, Dancing, Camaraderie, and…Jellyfish?

As the Winter Quarter draws to a close, Matt Tracey recaps one of the quarter's biggest events: Winter Formal. You can check out all of the glitz and glam of the evening on PhotoBooth's Facebook page.

Dana
***

Chicago Booth’s “Winter Formal” came with a bang three weeks ago...what an event. On the surface, it is what it sounds like: an elegant evening affair characterized by shiny black tuxedos, dashing cocktail dresses, food, drink, and photos galore. But Winter Formal, Booth-style, is so much more than that.

Socially, the Formal is rather unique in that it brings together so many people all at once. “Semi-formal” in the fall quarter, for example, involved only first-year students (that event was fantastic in its own right). Furthermore, our weekly bar events all over the city of Chicago involve both first-years and second-years, but total turnout—although strong—pales in comparison to the 800+ who eagerly attend the Formal. The end result of Winter Formal is a rich social experience that, beyond providing ample opportunity for friend-to-friend interaction, enables students to meet and talk with a number of new and different classmates as well as helps students experience nearly the whole Booth community in all its awesomeness. Connecting with so many peers at once reminds us that not only are our immediate friends and classmates so great in so many ways, but the entire Chicago Booth community is as well.

The Who/What/Where/Why/When
Who? Chicago Booth students. Roughly 800 of them, both first-years and second-years (and their significant others). What? Winter Formal. An epic social event that—in the twilight of winter quarter—gives students and their plus-ones a chance to unwind, share some quality time, dance, talk, look awesome in front of one another, and... Where? ...watch some dolphins and beluga whales chase each other around the Shedd Aquarium, a Chicago landmark that features—beyond the aforementioned dolphins and whales—a pretty sweet collection of aquatic life (including a rather unique jellyfish exhibit). This venue offered something for everyone. Those who wanted to eat could do so liberally at one of the many buffets; those who wanted to drink could find an open bar probably within 100 feet of wherever they found themselves at a given moment; those who wanted to dance could hit the dance floor for the Harlem Shake, Booth edition; and those who wanted to carry on a real conversation (yes, there were plenty of those as well) could meander off into one of the Aquarium’s many scenic corridors and park themselves on a bench. Why? Fun, obviously. That and friendship, camaraderie and celebration, all wrapped into one. When? Every year during winter quarter (February 23rd this year).

While a number of first-year students still are evaluating internship opportunities (depending primarily upon target industry), many attended Winter Formal having just emerged from the recruiting process. For those recently finished with recruiting, Winter Formal was an awesome reintroduction to the Booth social scene. For those students still pursuing internships (first-years) or full-time positions (second-years), Winter Formal served as a reinvigorating break from the process—and the perfect opportunity to share interview stories in a relaxed environment.

The Bottom Line
The sense of community amongst the students at Winter Formal was powerful, and the opportunity to celebrate life at Booth together pushed school spirit to a new high. The people make the Booth experience what it is. Check out some photos from the event here: Winter Formal 2013

Already looking forward to the next occasion for which I have to solicit help tying a real bow tie,
Matt Tracey

A Quarter of Booth, Told in Photos

Rather than compose a traditional blog post, Chris Hauck has shared the story of his first quarter of Booth through photographs. I hope you'll have as much fun as I did following what seems to have been a very busy and exciting quarter!

Dana
***

In my initial blog, I wrote a long post about the constant challenges you face in business school. However, now that you are working on another round of applications and probably reading and writing constantly, I wanted to do something lighter and actually show you my first quarter in pictures. This is an abbreviated list, but for even more pictures and updates from my first quarter, you can visit the photo album on the Booth Experience Facebook page.

With that said, let me take you through a very busy first quarter:

Uniquely Chicago
Understanding my first quarter at Booth means knowing the city I have called home for the last five months. The city you get your degree in will have a big effect on your overall experience. Does this mean Chicago is perfect for your experience? No. Each person thrives in different settings. However, it has been perfect for me. Let me show you...

My first week in the city, I met some of my new friends and headed down to the pier where they have a fireworks show every week during summer. This was one of the first moments it really clicked for me that I was actually going to Booth and kicking off a new adventure.

In October we took a trip out to a Cider Farm. For the record, I had very low expectations, but acquiesced to my friends. After eating a big meal, watching pig racing, driving Go Karts, navigating a corn maze and playing with farm animals, I was happy to admit I had been wrong.

Chicago’s annual Color Run. I normally hate waking up before 9:00am on a Sunday, but this was worth it. This “race” (some people run it, some people dance it) – is a corlorful trip through Chicago culminating in a DJed dance party at the finish line.

There’s perks to being a student. We secured $10 tickets from the University to see Les Misérables at the Cadillac Theater in Downtown Chicago.

And this is the view from my roof. After a long day of studying or recruiting, there are few better ways to unwind than having a glass of wine with my roommies up here.

LEAD
For those of you not familiar with LEAD, it is Booth’s leadership class. While I don’t have any pictures of the classroom portion, an important part of LEAD is the Leadership Retreat that happens during orientation.

Unlike the other sections, I can’t get into many details with LEAD. You just have to experience it. But I will tell you this is a “victory” picture after a heated competition. Ok, so maybe no one else would describe it as heated. I am just way too competitive. I’m working on it. In fact, I will be the best at not being too competitive.

And no retreat would be complete without an end of the weekend social. This is my roomies and me in our themed costumes preparing to head to the event.

The Booth Experience
If you are reading this, it’s probably no surprise that Booth has a lot of unique social, business and academic events. Here’s a few of them.

This is the Booth formal held early in the quarter. It’s a chance to dress up and socialize with your new classmates.

Booth holds an annual Leadership Challenge involving students and many of our prestigious alumni. Like LEAD, I can’t give details about the event. But it was undoubtedly one of the quintessential moments of my first quarter and helped me to network and grow as a person.

Booth brought in the CEO of Burger King to discuss the evolving concept of intrapreneurship and how it has helped spur growth in their organization.

Socializing with Boothies
Business school is also a great opportunity to network and make lifelong friends. And it’s a very unique setting. Similar to college, you’ll find yourself feeling very close to people here after the first couple of months. Having a great community is a key part of business school and has been a wonderful part of my Booth experience.

This is my first night hanging out in Chicago with my new roomies. Finding new roommates, thought mechanisms provided by Booth, and coordinating your move to Chicago are the first big business school challenges.

Of course everyone gets dressed up for Halloween. Zombies, fairy tale characters and business bunnies everywhere.

We had an unofficial Canadian culture night with some of the people in the Canadian Business Club. We started off by eating poutine at a local Canadian restaurant. Afterwards we drank Molson beer and watched episodes of Corner Gas.

For Thanksgiving, we hosted a big potluck for everyone who wasn’t flying home to enjoy the holiday with their families. Here, I made everyone smile and take an embarrassing picture for the blog before I would give them any Pumpkin Pie. I can be kind of evil like that.

The Startup Trek
The Startup Trek is a Booth tradition organized by the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group, where students travel to various parts of San Francisco and Silicon Valley to meet with entrepreneurs running both brand new and relatively established startups. We also visited a firm that does legal work for starts ups and a VC firm. The following pictures are two of the highlight collages from specific days on the trek.

Day 2 Highlights:
Upper left: Sitting in the offices of Fenwick & West getting a lesson from a former University of Chicago MBA/JD on important structural considerations for new ventures.
Middle left: Riding the BART back to San Francisco at the end of the day to meet the rest of the group for dinner.
Lower left: Speaking with the CEO of Agile Diagnosis, a medical information startup run by multiple Boothies. It was also a winner of the New Venture Challenge, which helped them get into the prestigious Y Combinator.
Right rail: Group dinner at an Italian restaurant in the city with some executives from Tinyco.

Upper left: Talking with Booth graduate and Gen 110 co-founder inside of their offices in downtown San Francisco
Bottom left: Two trekkers checking directions between companies after leaving 42Floors
Upper right: Beautiful Christmas tree erected in the middle of the city we saw while walking to dinner
Bottom right: We joined a Booth alumni event for fine food and cocktails at the end of a fun day.

This was my first quarter. Obviously, this doesn’t include class or recruiting where you can’t walk around taking pictures. For even more pictures and updates from my first quarter, you can visit the photo album on the Booth Experience Facebook page.

The Second Year Sprint

As 2012 draws to a close, Nupur Bhargava reflects on the first quarter of her second year at Booth. Life as a second year is certainly action-packed, but in a different way than it was during first year, as Nupur describes.

Dana
***

Happy holidays!! It’s been a while since my last post and as the year draws to a close I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on the quarter gone by.

This quarter felt a lot calmer than my first year at Booth in some ways, and a lot more hectic in others. On the calmer side, getting used to Chicago being home played a big role. When I came back this year I looked forward to being in the city, seeing my friends and navigating my way from downtown to Harper Center again. I knew what the weather would be like, and I knew how to find cheap coursepacks (thanks to a classmate, Farhan Ahmed, who created boothsell.com!) and I just felt a great deal more comfortable. Recruiting, on the other hand, did come a little bit faster and more intensely than first year. Whereas first year recruiting was more of a marathon, second year recruiting was a full-out sprint for a month. After our summer internships, most of us came back with a better answer to ‘what do I want to do when I grow up?’ or in many cases ‘what I definitely don’t want to do when I grow up’, which was important, as we needed to quickly act on these thoughts in order to secure full time positions. A large percentage of my friends have found jobs and our overall anxiety levels are significantly reduced.

The good news is the lightning fast sprint was over quickly and allowed me plenty of time to get to know lots of first-year students. It’s amazing how the caliber of students gets better each year, and I have to say I was completely blown away by the accomplishments and stories of many of the first years. My job now is to assist them in polishing and tailoring their stories to effectively navigate the first year recruiting marathon that they will go through in Winter Quarter. Helping many with resume reviews and coffee chats about the summer this fall was both rewarding and nostalgic, as I could remember going through the very same process last year and the people that helped me so much during that time. I’m very happy to pay it forward and am sure the tradition will continue!

Outside of the official work, be it classes or resume reviews, it has been fantastic to relax a little bit with my fellow classmates; whether it’s a game of Taboo, a quick Thanksgiving trip to Jamaica, or a night out in Chicago with my closest friends, it’s been a great quarter to further strengthen the bonds with my classmates, and I look forward to continuing to do so in the last couple of quarters we have left before we enter the big bad “REAL WORLD”!

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I wanted to have some fun and do a Booth fall quarter summary in numbers for me:
Number of admissions applications read (I'm an Admissions Fellow) = 24
Number of on-campus recruitment interviews conducted = 5
Number of coffee chats with first years = 8
Number of resume reviews done for first years = 15
Number of case interviews with fellow second years = 45
Number of books read (non-coursework related) = 1
Number of house parties attended = 15
Number of movies watched in the AMC theatre near Gleacher Center = 10
Number of holidays planned = 4 (executed 2, 2 more being figured out)

Happy holidays and good luck with the applications, especially as the Booth Round 2 (Jan. 9!) deadline draws closer!

Questions to Ask Before Spending $177,366

As the Round 2 application deadline draws closer, it's important to reflect on your motivations for wanting an MBA and why Chicago Booth is the right school for you. This week, Josh Hirschland, a first-year student and member of the DSAC Communications team, gives us an honest perspective on such a life-changing undertaking.

Dana
***

My name is Josh Hirschland. I am a first-year student here at Booth, I am a member of the Dean’s Student Admissions Committee, I am pursuing a concentration in strategic management, and I play a mean game of Settlers of Catan.

When leading information sessions with prospective students, one of the questions I am asked most is “How did I decide to come to Booth?” Every person has a different set of criteria that are most important to them. For some, it’s location and cost; for others, it’s prestige and career opportunities; and for others still, it’s size and networking opportunities. There is no one right or wrong answer, just as there is no single “best” school. But as you consider where to send applications or enroll, here are some things you may want to consider.


Do I want an MBA?

Are you sure? Are you really sure?

There’s a reason that every application asks you why you want to attend. Beyond the obvious—you should have a good reason before taking two years and spending upwards of $180,000 on a master’s —knowing why you want an MBA is essential because once you arrive, you will have precious little time to waste. Given Booth’s flexible curriculum, you have to choose your first semester courses less than two weeks after you arrive on campus, and recruiters for summer internships arrive within six weeks. If you don’t know what you want to do when you arrive, you could end up floundering or getting pushed in whichever direction is most popular.

Will this help me get the job I want?

While people get MBAs for many reasons, one near-constant is the desire for a new / better / different job. As such, one key criterion should be whether any particular MBA program is better aligned than another to secure your dream position. For me, one of Booth’s big differentiators was the list of major employers of Booth graduates and the fact that 93% of students had job offers within three months of graduation. Investing some time to determine which recruiters go to which campuses, job placement statistics, general reputations of different programs, and which departments are particularly respected within a given field are all ways to ensure that you find a place that’s a good fit for you.

What classes would I take if I attended here?

While it’s certainly not necessary to plot out six quarters’ worth of education before orientation begins, understanding the kinds of classes that different programs offer can help you better understand what your day-to-day will entail and how the school will (or won’t) prepare you for your career. Knowing that I could take Managerial Decision Modeling , Applied Regression Analysis, and Austan Goolsbee’s class on Economics and Policy in Telecomm, Media, and Technology was a big reason that I was so excited to apply to Booth.

Do I like the people?

One of the most important factors impacting your MBA experience is the students who surround you. Not only will your classmates play a crucial role during your time at school—joining you in classes, study groups, clubs, and happy hours—but they will also comprise your professional network after you graduate. As such, it’s important to find a program where you both like and respect the other students. Be sure to visit the schools you are considering applying to and soak up the culture. I figured out that Booth was for me the day that I came for my interview, during which I was able to attend a class, talk to students, and really getting a feel for the community. By immersing yourself, you can get a strong sense for whether you fit in.

Do I want to be here?

Entering an MBA program can mean moving thousands of miles and spending hundreds of dollars each month on plane tickets to see loved ones. Understanding how a move will affect your short- and long-term plans is an important part of preparing for business school. For me—a native Michigander who majored in Urban Studies—Chicago seemed like a great place to explore and to learn.

Beyond regional considerations, it’s also good to think about whether you like the campus itself. While facilities shouldn’t be the top priority for any MBA student, it’s not uncommon for MBA students to spend 50 or 60 hours a week in a single campus building. It’s important to feel comfortable on campus knowing that it may be the host to many future late nights.

How am I going to pay for this?

With interest rates low, federal loans readily available, and high average salaries for alumni, many incoming students brush off concerns about paying for business school until the invoice arrives. But even with all of the resources available to students, it’s important to understand how personal finances, loans, and expected future salary come together in meeting tuition payments. Talk to on- and off-campus financial advisors, create a budget, and begin plotting out your repayment cycle before you arrive, or your second-year diet may consist solely of ramen and boxed lunches from recruiting events.


These are just a few of the issues you may want to consider before applying to and selecting an MBA program. The key to finding a good fit is doing your research and visiting the schools you are considering so that you can make an informed decision.

Introducing...your new Communications Co-Chairs!

Hello Booth Experience readers! Beth and Dana here, writing to introduce ourselves as the new DSAC Communications Co-Chairs. We have some big shoes to fill. In the past year, Tina has brought this blog, the Facebook page, Wednesdays in the Winter Garden, and the Day in the Life videos to life. We are thrilled to have all of these forums to show you what life at Booth is all about. To kick things off, we thought we’d share a quick tale of how we first met and what’s in store for The Booth Experience over the next year.

How we met:
Maybe it was fate. Or maybe it was just a careless coat checker. But Beth and Dana were destined to meet, and it’s only fitting that their first meeting was facilitated through their class Facebook group.

Per Thursday tradition, both first year students met up with 100 or so of their classmates to kick off the weekend at a local bar this January. When Beth went to retrieve her coat from the coat check she was handed an almost identical coat and learned that hers had been given to someone else. She put a call out for her coat on Facebook and Dana responded. When they met at Harper to make the exchange, they learned that they had more in common than their puffy coats. They shared a passion for wine, live music, and all things admissions. Three months later, their relationship became official when they together took on the roles of DSAC Communications Co-Chairs.

What’s next:
We are so excited to work on The Booth Experience! In the coming year, we hope to continue to share the Booth community with everyone through all of our online channels, and to increase interaction with our readers through them as well. We’ll be featuring many of the academic, professional, extracurricular, and social elements at Booth that make this school such a wonderful place to be. We hope you’ll let us know what you want to see more of, what topics you’d like covered, and how you think we are doing. Here’s to a great year and getting to know each other better!

Also, this week, make sure to check out Beth's Day in the Life video to learn more about her! Follow her on a day where she plays strategy games in class, skypes with Australia, enjoys a sushi dinner and the kick-off to Admit Weekend 1 at a bar downtown, and ends the night with a Booth favorite - Rock & Roll McDonalds!

Looking forward to spring (break)

Hi everyone!

Wow, it’s really starting to feel like spring here in Chicago! We have been enjoying some days of 60 degree weather, with another week of it to come as we enter into Final Exam week next week. As we look forward to our Spring Break after finals, this week, Chloe Williams blogs about her plans as well as what other students are planning to do over our one week break.

Also this week, make sure to check out the next installment in our Day in the Life video series! Come along with Ingrid, a 2nd year student from Iowa, as she works out, goes to class, partakes in Chicago Restaurant Week and ends her day with a good book (and a class assignment). Let us know what you think and what you'd like to see in the future!

Tina

***
Spring Break

I never thought I would be excited for Spring Break after college was over, after all, it doesn’t exist in the real world. The build-up to Spring Break in business school has been amazing. I’ve been working hard since school started so I really wanted to seize the opportunity and do something amazing. So naturally…MEXICO it is. I never did the Mexico Spring Break in college, the closest I got was Puerto Rico my senior year so I jumped on the opportunity for an all-inclusive trip this time around.

Sometime in December two students sent an interest email about a Spring Break trip to Cabo San Lucas. I was in interview prep mode and knew I wouldn’t want to organize my own trip. This was perfect! I signed up for the 7-day voyage and that was that…it was easy. There are around 100 students going on the trip with more literally being added every day. I am excited as are a lot of my classmates. We have theme nights planned, group dinners, “sport” tournaments, as well as swimming and relaxing on the beach. We definitely have amazingly creative planners in our class!

Cabo is not the only option. There are also other group-run trips for Spring Break including the Greater China Club’s China Trek, the Chicago Global Citizens trip to Vietnam, as well as students going all over the country and the world. No matter where Booth students are venturing off to this Spring Break, I know we’ll all come back with great pictures, stories, and will have appreciated the time off!

Booth "After Hours"

Hi all!

Hope you’ve had a great week! This week at TBE, we bring you the third installment in our Day in the Life video series. Today we follow around Alicia, a second-year student from Lake Tahoe, California, as she embraces a day filled with a morning workout, classes, meetings, and a Valentine’s night Chicago Bulls game with her husband. Check out Alicia’s Day in the Life here!

This week, as I was reflecting on what we could blog about, I went back over our last few entries. I realized we were showing you a lot about the serious (and important!) side of Booth – recruiting, academics, etc. Here at Booth, we fully embrace working hard…but we like to have a good time too! So I want to take you on a tour of “After Hours” Booth by sharing what I did with friends last week. Come along, and hopefully you’ll get a sense of how we balance work with fun here at Booth!

Tina
***
THURSDAY

6pm – Happy Hour at the Purple Pig (River North)
The weekend starts with drinks and tapas-style snacks at one of my favorite Chicago establishments, the Purple Pig. Tonight, the occasion is a group reunion. Abby, Eileen, Lindsay and I worked together in Data-Driven Marketing (my favorite class at Booth) last year, and became good friends through the experience. Our schedules are very different this year, but I love the opportunity to catch up with the girls and talk about the classes we are planning to bid on for our final quarter. We even make plans to form a team for Entrepreneurial Selling with Professor Wortmann if we all get into the class!

8pm – Rockefeller Leadership Challenge Reunion (South Loop)
I head home by 8pm to get my apartment ready for guests. Tonight, I’m hosting my Leadership Challenge Team’s get together. Our team of 10 competed together for the Rockefeller cohort in the fall of our 1st year during the Leadership Challenge competition, and we’ve made an effort to stay in touch ever since. Every quarter, one of us hosts a get together to catch up. It’s a great group because we do so many different things at school that we rarely see one another – it’s really nice seeing them and using them to bounce off different ideas and reflect on the Booth experience.

11pm –LaSalle Power Company (River North)
Every Thursday night, hundreds of Booth students gather at a bar in downtown Chicago to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and generally unwind! This week we were at LaSalle Power Company, a bar in the busy River North neighborhood.



FRIDAY

5pm – LPF (Liquidity Preference Function) at Houlihan’s (River North)
Most Friday afternoons, Booth hosts LPF, an event normally held at Harper Center. It’s open to the entire Booth community – a chance for students, partners, faculty, and administratorsto mingle over beverages and steaming appetizers. From time to time, LPF is hosted “off-campus” – as it was this week. LPFs also usually have a theme – this week’s was a Mentor-Mentee LPF. I went to meet up with my mentee, year Liz, a first year from Miami, to see how her quarter’s been so far.

8pm – Potluck Dinner at Dan’s (Gold Coast)
Tonight, my friend Dan, who I met on my Random Walk trip to Nicaragua, is hosting a potluck at his apartment in the Gold Coast. Dan is busy working on his company for the New Venture Challenge, and tonight I meet the rest of his team for the first time. We get to know each other over Dan’s slow-cooked brisket, Jamie’s mac n’ cheese, my Thai fried rice, and much more.




11pm – House Party (Gold Coast)
Booth students live all over the city in a variety of housing options. Tonight, four students who live in the Gold Coast are throwing a party at their big spacious house, and have invited a couple hundred of their closest friends! Great chance to catch up with people and kick off the weekend together.



SATURDAY

7pm – Dinner at Chizakaya (Lincoln Park)
A few friends and I decide we are in the mood for Japanese, so we headed over to Chizakaya in Lincoln Park for some Japanese pub food. You should definitely try the Wagayu cheek skewers and chicken skin skewers (for the more adventurous).

11pm – Barrelhouse Flat (Lincoln Park)
After dinner, we hop down the street to check out Barrelhouse Flat, a bar offering late night food and specialty cocktails. We spend the evening people watching and mixing in with the Lincoln Park crowd.

SUNDAY

7pm – Dinner at Flaco’s Tacos (South Loop)
One of my best friends from before school, Meghan, comes down from Kellogg, where she is a second year. We grab dinner at Flaco’s Tacos right around the corner from where I live and catch up over tacos and burritos.

9pm – Eli Young Band concert at Joe’s (Gold Coast)
Afterwards, it’s off to see a country concert with Meghan (who is a big country fan!). Joe’s on Weed is a great venue that Booth has used in the past for off-campus get-togethers. It also doubles as an intimate concert venue. The band was lively and the people-watching of the crowd was quite entertaining. We had a great time!



MONDAY

6pm – Dinner at Avec (West Loop)
Tonight I catch up with a Booth friend from one of my old class groups at Avec, one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. They don’t take reservations, but luckily we can get there early enough to snag a couple of seats at the bar and enjoy their inventive gastropub fare (something I will truly miss about Chicago!).

TUESDAY

7:30pm – Cardio Dance class with CWiB (West Loop)
CWiB stands for Chicago Women in Business – it’s a club that brings together Booth’s women and through which I’ve met many of my good friends. CWiB hosts social events regularly, and tonight, a dozen ladies meet at the Lou Conte dance studio in the West Loop for a cardio dance class that gets our hearts pumping as we learn a dance routine.

WEDNESDAY

7pm – Ski Trip Reunion (Gold Coast)
The 5 of us who roomed together on the Aspen ski trip had been trying to get together for weeks to catch up and reminisce about that great week. Tonight, we meet up at Dana’s studio apartment in the Gold Coast, order take-out, and watch Aspen Extreme (a brilliant movie from the early 90’s that will make you want to quit your job and move to Aspen to become a ski instructor too!) to kick up some Aspen nostalgia.

So as you can see, we stay pretty busy both on campus and off!
What are you looking forward to doing in Chicago and at Booth “After Hours”? We’d love to hear your comments and ideas below.

From LEAD to FEAD

Hi there!

We are excited to bring you our blog entry for this week. In this week’s WIWG video, we have ask students about the Booth community. In this blog entry, we wanted to explore a particular element of the community and the student experience, which is participating in student groups. While Booth already has over 100 student groups to choose from (ranging from professional clubs to social clubs, to pick-up sports groups), students are encouraged to form their own group if there is none directed towards their interests.

This year, a group of enterprising students started FEAD, the Food, Environment, Agribusiness, and Development group. Read on to learn more from Carolyn Kriss, one of the founding members of FEAD. Carolyn is a first year at Booth interested in general management, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Prior to Booth, she worked almost five years in political campaigns and government, concluding at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she helped launch the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

Tina

***

First, for those who have already been gotten in, congratulations on your admission to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business! I remember being in your shoes a year ago and then having to make the difficult decision among schools. For those still applying, I hope you’ll find that Booth is a place where you can see yourself fitting in and thriving.

One new ace in Chicago Booth’s pocket—the newly-founded Food, Environment, Agribusiness, and Development (FEAD) group, an official club formed this year for students with a professional interest in food and agribusiness. I had the honor of working with an incredibly talented and dedicated core of first and second year students in founding the group, and our ability to so quickly mobilize interest from students and support from the school is a testament to the hunger for a food and ag group, so to speak, and Booth’s commitment to backing up Dean Kumar’s “Swing for the Fences” ideals with real resources.

While the group may be new, Chicago Booth’s excellence in the food and agribusiness space is anything but. Chicago is the world capitol for agricultural commodities and is poised to become a food hub with cutting-edge agribusiness developments, packaged good conglomerates, and food-focused startups. Over 1,000 Chicago Booth alumni are at the cutting edge of each step of the value chain, from farm to fork, including:

• Charles Harper, former CEO of ConAgra (and namesake donor of the beautiful Harper Center)
• David W. MacLennan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cargill
• Hugh F. Johnston, Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo. Inc.
• Robert Mariano, CEO of Roundy’s Supermarkets
• Matt Maloney, CEO of GrubHub.com

With FEAD, Booth is uniquely positioned to leverage its location and strength in business to empower the next generation of food and agribusiness leaders. And Booth’s commitment to building the bench comes not a moment too soon—by 2050, global food production must nearly double to feed the estimated 9 billion world population.
This humanitarian and business challenge motivates us in everything we do. Already, we’ve organized a trip to the Chicago Board of Trade (photo below), and successfully executed a consulting project with Green City Market, Chicago’s leading, year-round farmers’ market, to help them more effectively process food stamp benefits and provide greater access to fresh, healthy food for low-income families. We’ve held entrepreneurial brainstorms for those interested in launching food-focused startups and will host PepsiCo’s Vice President for Innovation and Strategy in their newly-established Global Nutrition Group.

While we’re very much looking forward to the networking events and consulting projects lined up down the road, we’re looking forward to something else—you. Because FEAD is so new, the class of 2014 will have a huge opportunity to help shape the group, moving it in the direction that matches the passion of its student members. The FEAD Co-Chairs look forward to welcoming you on campus and are available in the meantime to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to reach out, and again, congratulations!

Carolyn Kriss, ckriss@chicagobooth.edu; Tyler White, twhite0@chicagobooth.edu, Andres Imaz, aimaz@chicagobooth.edu; Monica Ganley, mganley@chicagobooth.edu; Khairunisa Mohomed; kmohomed@chicagobooth.edu

Surprise, Surprise

Hi everyone!

First of all happy new year! We hope you took some time to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. For those of you who just submitted Round 2 applications yesterday, congratulations on getting that in!

Students here are back at Booth and gearing up for our winter quarter. In today’s blog we thought we would step back and reflect a bit on first quarter. Today’s blog entry comes from Jason Wright, who is a 1st year student originally from Southern California, concentrating in Operations Management and Entrepreneurship, and looking to become a difference maker in urban education reform after spending some formative time in strategy consulting. Read on to hear more from Jason!

Tina

***

The sigh of relief. That’s what is passing through my lips as I write. I completed my last Final exam five minutes and half a Mushroom Swiss burger special ago. As such, I can finally reflect on the first chapter of my Booth story. I would entitle that chapter “Surprise, Surprise” as my first quarter at Booth has been characterized by a series of pleasant surprises:

1) This school is not full of socially inept nerds. I already knew that the incoming MBA class was full of brilliant, accomplished women and men recognized as rising stars in their respective fields. What I didn’t know was the level of kindness, sociability, and humor almost each of my peers exudes. I have seldom met a person I didn’t immediately want to spend my non-existent free time with. I’m now convinced that I significantly bring down the average “cool factor” of this school since I do little else but study and spend time at home with my wife and seven month old daughter.

2) This student body is not full of stone-hearted, exploit-you-to-death ambition. I honestly believed that I would be one of the only students on campus with a commitment to work in the social sector. I figured I would regularly voice the dissenting opinion of compassion in classroom discussion. Wrong again. A large chunk of both the 1st and 2nd year classes on campus have intentionally chosen career paths that allow them to do socially impactful work. More surprisingly, there are an inordinate number of students interested in my personal area of passion, education reform. I’m very excited to work with a number of them in the Social Entrepreneurship Lab course next quarter. Prior to enrollment, I would’ve bet you a significant sum of money this wouldn’t be the case.

3) I am not the only student from a non-traditional background or with color to my skin. Every business school claims to value diversity. As I’ve become acquainted with my first year class, Booth’s stated commitment has been proven true. As a recently retired National Football League player, I believed I would likely have one of the more interesting stories on campus. Then I met a classmate who performed and taught dance all over the country. Then I met another who worked in the White House. At a networking event I met an international volleyball player who became an accountant. I was shocked to see on Linkedin that one of my humble friends is a multilingual phenom who did multiple high level military missions in the Middle East. And let’s not forget about my friend who started an educational non-profit while sailing around the freaking world! Additionally, it has been so comforting to meet so many fellow African-American students as well as other minority and international members of our first year class. All of these men and women are extremely intelligent and as they inevitably succeed, Booth will have a noticeable presence in the increasing diversity of the global business landscape. That is an exciting thing.

4) I DO belong here. As confident as I may sound in the preceding paragraphs, I came to school expecting to be something of a village idiot given my low baseline of business knowledge. It turns out the Admissions office knows a thing or two about who to let in. While I have certainly had to spend additional hours in preparation compared to classmates who’ve come from corporate positions, I’ve also seen myself rise to the level of gifted peers in coursework and debate. This was in large part facilitated by the patient instruction of Marketing study group members, encouragement from academic advisor Christine Gramhofer, and impactful mentorship by the LEAD course facilitators. I’m grateful to each one of them for bringing me light years forward in both personal and professional development.

So with all that has happened this quarter, I can hardly imagine the remainder of my time at Booth being as dynamic. But if I’ve learned one thing about business school (and life in general for that matter) it’s that I don’t know truly know how things are going to pan out. I expect that the surprises yet realized will make my experience at Booth more fulfilling than I could ask, think, or imagine.

Why Booth?

Hi everyone!

Today is the big day for Round 1 decisions! If you’re among the lucky ones to get great news from the Admissions office, let me be one of the firsts to congratulate you!! Today’s blog entry from Nupur is geared around her decision to choose to come to Booth – read on to get another perspective on why Booth may be your perfect fit for an MBA program. If you are thinking about applying in Round 2, this will give some great insight on what differentiates Booth from some other top programs. Also, make sure to check out our Wednesdays in the Winter Garden video where we ask current students to share their reasons for selecting Booth.

Happy reading!
Tina

***

Congratulations! You’ve been admitted…but now what?

Hi everyone! At this time of year, many of you must be getting very familiar with your email/browser refresh buttons and your favorite b-school blog(s) of choice as you wait with baited breath for Round 1 admissions decisions. Step One: Breathe! There will be plenty of time for hyperventilation once you find out you’ve been accepted to all of your dream schools. Once this occurs, however, you might suddenly realize that you’re faced with a new dilemma: Where to go? This month, I thought I might try to create a checklist of sorts that hopefully helps you as you make your decision.

The quality of academics and breadth of opportunities for extracurricular leadership are certainly at the top of everyone’s mind when making such a decision, and I’ll direct you to Chloe and Didier’s blog posts from last week for more info on those items as they’ve done a fantastic job describing how awesome the Booth community and curriculum are. Here, we’ll focus a little more on some other fundamental questions you might want to consider; some that perhaps I could have spent more time thinking of beforehand and the answers to which over the past quarter have shown me how lucky I have been with my decision to attend Booth.

Career Switching: it’s all about information

When I was applying to business schools, I was looking at shifting from private wealth management into consulting. Pretty much all the top schools facilitate the switch. At the time, I felt like there wasn’t much to think about when comparing schools on this front. However, having been at Booth for a quarter, I realize that Booth’s key differentiator is its ability to dramatically streamline the process. Booth attracts so much focus from such a variety of consulting firms that I’ve spent the entire quarter learning about the industry. I’ve realized that when making a career switch, information is king. The better informed you are about the various firm characteristics (e.g., culture, problem solving approach, industry focus, geographic reach), the more intelligent and efficient of a career switch you can make.

Booth excels in providing this information for you by attracting so many firms all of who make themselves and people from junior consultants to senior partners extremely accessible to you. Firms have dedicated Booth on-campus recruiters, and these representatives organize multiple coffee chats, corporate presentations, lunch and learns, and more. As I look back at my calendar for the last quarter, most of my time was spent on recruiting activities that were initiated by firms who came on campus to meet us. Even now during winter break, firms are reaching out to us to set up time with senior consultants and partners for one-on-one conversations.

I know my classmates who focused on other industries have had similar experiences. The Booth name led to a lot of firms willingly opening their doors to talk to first years during career treks as they were eager to speak with members of the class of 2013. As you assess your options I strongly encourage you to evaluate the breadth and depth of information you can obtain about your career preferences. Ask how many firms come to campus, what cross-section of the corporate ladder makes itself available to you, and what the level of individual interactions with employees at these firms is like.

City vs. small town

Two years is a pretty sizable amount of time to spend anywhere. I’ve always been a city girl and I love living in a city. When looking at business schools I was definitely looking for a school in a city. I’m sure you’ve all heard how cold the winters get, but if a Singaporean like me can handle it, you can too! (it’s only snowed here once so far and yes I’ve successfully survived a week of 30 degree weather, soon to get colder I’m sure). Everyone is extremely friendly, and there’s a ton of things to do, you’ll find plenty to keep you busy whenever you get a spare moment from the rigors of Booth.

What I didn’t realize or think of before coming here was the access to firms that living in a city provides. Chicago is a hub for most industries – financial services, consumer goods, healthcare, automotive industry etc, and this translates into a diverse breadth of career opportunities and firms that come to campus. If you are an international student and want to stay in the US post b-school then definitely think about what city/area you might want to work in long-term, as recruiting within the city limits will definitely be (a bit) easier for you, especially if you have no roots or personal network in the US.

Access to alumni

Network, Network, Network. It’s one of the main reasons we all come to business school, and again, it is one of those things that seems to be so standard across all schools as to not even merit comparative consideration. But size of the alumni base and the number in prestigious positions are only part of the equation; without accessibility, they remain isolated islands to which you cannot connect. At Booth, the administration has implemented a community directory (accessible to you for life) where you can look up alumni anywhere in the world and reach out to them by obtaining their up to date contact information. That this directory exists is amazing, but perhaps more importantly, the fact that so many Booth alums keep their contact info current goes to show how excited the alumni are to engage. Everyone wants to hear from a fellow University of Chicago community member, and I know I’m looking forward to helping future students in any way I can.

Even more telling is perhaps that I haven’t had an opportunity to use the community directory channel yet, because I have been so occupied connecting with all the alumni that come to campus, whether for recruiting or just to chat with current students and hear what we’ve done or what our aspirations are. For example, some alumni organized an all-day on-site recruiting event for six of us Booth students at the headquarters of their firm. That, to me, was the most telling of the strength of the alumni network. Another classmate accidentally knocked over an older gentleman on a run, and the moment the gentleman found out that my classmate was a Booth student, all the commotion stopped and he was thrilled!! He actually said “Go run, study hard and make us proud!” No surprise there, the gentleman was a Booth alumnus.

Brand

Most people will tell you that rankings don’t matter and they are very subjective, but we all look at them. And even if we don’t our friends and family do. But rankings aside, what does the brand really translate into? It opens doors. The moment people hear that you are a student at Booth, they suddenly respect you more (even if you haven’t started the program yet) and are more willing to talk to you – this is true of not just recruiters but your former colleagues and long lost friends (who now might just want you to review their essays for them next year!!). I know my LinkedIn profile views went up significantly once I added Booth to my profile and a firm reached out to me for a summer internship position even before I got to campus. After I resigned, one of my ex-bosses told me that he was only letting me go because I was going to Booth and he wouldn’t have accepted my resignation if it was any other school. He then went on to offer to connect me to all his friends in Chicago. That is the strength of the Booth brand.

I hope this helps you think of some of the other factors you should consider as you evaluate your options. The student body and the community that you feel you will grow most in should definitely be at the top of your checklist, but I would encourage you to think beyond that. Feel free to reach out to any of us Boothies and we would be more than happy to tell you more about why we are here and what we’ve gained. A lot of us are also hosting dinner and drinks sessions around the globe over our winter break so make sure you attend those. More importantly though, congratulations to those who have gotten in, and I hope you have a fantastic holiday season!

Booth Entrepreneurship Week & Seedcon 2011

Hi everyone!

I know you must be getting excited about Thanksgiving! Here at Booth we have been busy as ever on campus before everyone heads out for the holiday. This week, we check in with our Entrepreneurship Correspondent, Dana, on Seedcon 2011.

***


Seedcon 2011: It was the perfect close to what was a very exciting Booth Entrepreneurship Week (BEW), which was brimming with events targeted towards students interested in VC and entrepreneurship.

Seedcon is the annual entrepreneurship and venture capital conference at Booth. This year, the conference spanned two days and included a fast-pitch competition, panels, and a fireside chat with 37signals co-founder Jason Fried.
Panel discussion topics included “What’s in the Future for Non-Technical Entrepreneurs?”, “VCs, Angels, and Accelerators,” and “Big Data, the Next Big Thing.” For me, the data panel was especially interesting. As an undergraduate, I interned in the marketing research department of a firm that had a wealth of subscriber data. At that time, marketers were just beginning to realize the importance of this data and the potential to create more targeted, relevant advertising. Based on the advances in data analytics discussed in this panel, the old pop-up/ banner advertisement model is a notion of the past and marketers should come to rely on real-time information much more heavily. As I create my team for the New Venture Challenge, I now understand the role that my data analytics/ research team member will have to fulfill.

It was also very motivating to see that the Chicago entrepreneurship scene is alive and well. Throughout the three panels, there was no shortage of excitement for the startups that are emerging from Chicago. Chicago has quickly become an entrepreneurial hot-spot; panelists believed that unlike other entrepreneurial cities in the US, Chicago has a much “flatter” network with fewer gatekeepers. This collaborative environment, with members of the community willing to connect with one another, makes Chicago the ideal city for those looking to start a business.

I’ve been a fan of Signals vs. Noise, 37signals’ blog, for quite some time now and rushed out to purchase the blog-inspired book, “Rework,” as soon as it was released last year. It was a real treat to have Jason Fried speak to us candidly on topics related to startups. Jason was quick to point out that data is not the end-all, be-all (ironically, this came after the data panel) and that it is important for entrepreneurs to trust their intuition. Jason also had a great point that truly resonated with me: “focus on doing one thing and do it really well first.” Sometimes, as I synthesize ideas for my business or reflect on the multitude of directions that certain ideas can take me, I have the tendency to get very distracted or overwhelmed. Jason’s advice reminded me that I should focus on the core of my business plan, before expanding into various directions.

Seedcon was a fantastic learning experience and I am proud to be amongst the company of so many innovative minds at Booth. Many thanks to the Polsky Center and EVC for coordinating Seedcon and for providing countless outlets to foster the collaborative spirit of entrepreneurship.