Chicago Booth Admit Weekend II: Meet Your Co-Captains!

Admit Weekend is a terrific opportunity for admitted students to experience life as a Chicago Booth MBA for a weekend. Admits learn about the Booth curriculum, tour Chicago neighborhoods, and have plenty of time to get to know their future classmates. 

It takes lots of planning to make this happen, but fortunately we have a huge team of great volunteers. The students involved on the Admit Weekend Planning Committee take a “Co-Captain” role in a specific, key aspect of the Admit Weekend experience, from neighborhood and housing tours to partners’ programming.

Several of our Co-Captains offer reflections on their experiences and discuss why all admitted students should come to Admit Weekend!
--Matt Richman

John Choi
Volunteer and Operations Co-Captain

When I attended Admit Weekend last year as a prospective student, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of current student volunteers. It really spoke to Booth’s tight community and “pay-it-forward” mentality that is such a big part of Booth’s culture. I’ve definitely received a lot support from both my first year classmates and also the second years during my time at Booth, so I decided to join the planning committee to share this experience with the Admits. As the Operations Co-Captain, I work with over 200(!) student volunteers to ensure that the weekend runs smoothly and all your burning questions are answered. It’s a lot of planning and running around, but I have a lot of fun doing it. I hope you enjoy your Admit Weekend as much as I did and I look forward to meeting many of you!

Neha Poddar and Diego Ibarra
Student Fairs Co-Captains

                                                                                                                                                         

Having missed out on the opportunity to attend Admit Weekend last year, we are both very excited to be a part of the Admit Weekend 2014 organizing committee and to experience it as volunteers. Admit Weekend is the entire Booth experience condensed into a couple of days and as the co-captains of the student fairs, we hope to provide the admitted students a flavor of student life at Booth. We’ve organized some great events that will give you a sense of all of the resources and opportunities available to students, including:

• The Career Fair where co-chairs of the various career-focused groups at Booth answer questions about recruiting and professional development
• The Student Life & Resources Fair (SLRF), which will showcase the different cultural, social, diversity, and sports groups at Booth and give you an opportunity to engage with current students and envision what your social life might look like at Booth
• The Random Walk Fair, where you’ll learn about the far-flung destinations available to the Class of 2016. Click here to read about Booth’s Random Walk tradition!

It has been an incredible journey for us so far planning these fairs and we hope that you enjoy participating in them. We look forward to meeting you at the fairs!

Matt Riezman
Trivia and Events Co-Captain

My Admit Weekend experience confirmed for me all of the reasons why Booth was the best school for me. Admit Weekend gave me a great chance to experience the program and meet a lot of my future classmates, including my Admit Weekend squad mates, who are still some of my best friends at Booth. One of the highlights for me was the Booth Trivia Challenge. After a nail biter of a final round, my squad emerged victorious! Apparently, this qualified me to lead trivia this year (along with my sidekick Daniel!) Trivia is an awesome opportunity to learn more about Booth and Chicago in an exciting, challenging way. I can’t wait for you all to get here so we can try and stump you while having a lot of fun along the way. See you soon!

Admit Weekend on the Horizon: Meet your Co-Captains!

Admit Weekend is a terrific opportunity for admitted students to experience life as a Chicago Booth MBA for a weekend. Admits learn about the Booth curriculum, tour Chicago neighborhoods, and have plenty of time to get to know fellow future Booth MBAs.

It takes lots of planning to make this happen, but fortunately we have a huge team of great volunteers. The students involved on the Admit Weekend Planning Committee take a “Co-Captain” role in a specific, key aspect of the Admit Weekend experience, from neighborhood and housing tours to partners’ programming.

Several of our Co-Captains offer reflections on their experiences and discuss why all admitted students should come to Admit Weekend!
--Matt Richman


Mary Cate Waris and Jennifer Phillips
Admit Weekend Squad Leader Co-Captains

We both attended Admit Weekend last year and we had such a great time meeting everyone and learning more about the Booth community that we were excited to be involved in planning and organizing the 2014 events. As the Squad Leader Co-Captains we are responsible for selecting and training the squad leaders (current students who help lead admitted students through the Admit Weekend activities) and for organizing many of the events that you will take part in over the weekend. As you may know, Booth uses a cohort and squad system for the LEAD course that all first year students will take. After LEAD, students take whatever courses they want independent of any cohort; however cohorts and squads still function like your home base throughout your time at Booth. Admit Weekend squads work the same way. The squad and cohort activities of Admit Weekend will give you an opportunity to have fun and get to know both your new classmates and Booth’s current students. We hope that you will enjoy participating in the activities as much as we have enjoyed preparing them. Your Admit Weekend squad will introduce you to many of your closest friends during your time and Booth, as it did for us. We look forward to meeting you soon!

Emma Tan
Partners Co-Captain

Starting business school is an exciting journey for not only us, but also for our partners. While moving to a new city can be hard for a couple, Booth has great resources, such as the Partners Club, and an inviting culture that help make our significant others feel like an integral part of the Booth community. The experience so far at Booth for me and my husband has been wonderful, and I wanted to give back as part of the Admit Weekend team. Working as a co-captain to plan the partner-specific programming is a great opportunity for me and my team to share our experience and help admitted students and partners get ready to make the most of their time at Booth. Through the partner experience panel, we will invite students and their partners to talk about the fun and surprises they had living in the Booth community, offer tips, and answer questions about Chicago. We also planned a Chicago resource fair to create an opportunity for partners to share information, make new friends, and bond with this amazing community at Booth! It has been an incredible experience for us to be part of the Admit Weekend Planning Committee to share our excitement about being at Booth with the incoming class!

Prakriti Mishra
Neighborhood and Housing Tours Co-Captain

I am a former UChicago undergrad, and although I moved to NYC after graduation, I was hesitant about coming to Admit Weekend last year, because I felt like I already "knew" Booth and Chicago. However, I am glad I went against my instincts, and flew out for Admit Weekend. The Booth that I saw at Admit Weekend was vibrant, intelligent, and incredibly fun! In the three days over Admit Weekend, I met my current roommate, talked to 2nd years who got me interested in technology and consulting, and saw the city of Chicago in a completely new light. Now, as a Co-Captain for the Neighborhood and Housing Tours, I hope to provide admitted Booth students with a fun, informative and engaging way to see the city for themselves. We have student hosts and tour guides to take our guests around some of Chicago's most popular neighborhoods, and give them a chance to see some of the apartments that current Boothies live in. I hope many of you will take this opportunity to get to know Chicago, and I look forward to seeing you on a tour around one of Chicago’s many exciting neighborhoods!

Why I Am Here and Not Somewhere Else: My Admit Weekend Experience

By Jatin Jindal, Class of 2015

On behalf of the Admit Weekend Planning Committee, I would like to congratulate Round 1 admits on being selected to join the best business school in the world! When I got the call from the Booth Admissions staff last year, the first thing I did was book my tickets to Chicago for Admit Weekend. I knew that the 24 hour-long flight from Mumbai to Chicago would be well worth the experience I would have at Admit Weekend.

My ‘Why Booth’ Story: Perception and Reality

Chad Strader is a first year MBA student from Augusta, GA. He graduated from Georgia Southern University where he was a member of the men's soccer team. Prior to Booth, Chad worked at Entrepreneurial Capital Partners – a private equity firm based in Atlanta, GA – and PepsiCo. He is a member of the Booth African American MBA Association (AAMBAA), Booth Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (BETA), Booth Soccer Club, and Private Equity Group. Chad's hobbies include playing Scrabble, rooting for the Dallas Cowboys, and cooking.

As Chad was thinking through important questions about which MBA program he should attend, he took the time to come to Chicago for Admit Weekend. It was a transformative experience for Chad, and one that made Booth his top choice. In this post, Chad talks about what he learned about Booth during Admit Weekend and his first quarter at school, and why Booth was the right fit for him.

--Matt

Congratulations to the Round 1 applicants who were recently admitted! As I reflect back on the day that I received the glorious call from Chicago Booth Admissions, I remember the questions swirling through my mind. Is Chicago Booth right for me? Growing up in Georgia, can I manage the cold? Will the alumni be helpful? How will life be without a paycheck? After attending Admit Weekend and completing my first quarter, I would like to answer a few of those questions.

A-Team Perspectives

Admit Weekend is a great opportunity for admitted students to experience life as a Chicago Booth MBA. Admits learn about the Booth curriculum, tour Chicago neighborhoods, and have plenty of time to get to know prospective and current Booth MBAs. The “A-Team” is a group of volunteers who are members of the Booth Dean’s Students Admissions Committee (DSAC), and who are responsible for planning all of the weekend’s activities. Here, several A-Team members offer their perspectives on Admit Weekend.

--Matt

Tiffany Lee, International Captain

I ultimately chose not to take the 15-hour flight from Hong Kong to attend Admit Weekend here at Booth, and boy, did I regret it. Many of my fellow first years still often fondly refer to the “you-had-to-be-there-moments” of their own Admit Weekends. So, I chose to do the next best thing when I became a Booth student—help plan Admit Weekend and convince international admits to not make the same mistake I did. What I like about being International Co-Captain is that not only do I get to interact with potential new classmates from all over the world, but also, I am able to use my past experiences to help make the selection and transition process easier for students that are moving to the US for the first time. For example, my co-captain and I created a moving guide that is tailored for international students to answer any questions they may have, such as where to buy winter clothes and which country captains they can reach out to. We hope to see many international students at Admit Weekend and in the coming school year!

Marina Lidow and Amanda Litzenberger, Partners Captains

Working on the A-Team and planning Admit Weekend has been a great experience! Both of us attended Admit Weekend last year with our partners and were inspired by how the weekend was not only a great opportunity for us to interact with and learn about Booth, but also a wonderful way to show our partners what the next two years would really be all about. As Partner Co-Captains we help plan and execute the partner-specific programming for Admit Weekend. Through events such as panel discussions and conversations about neighborhoods, we illustrate the Booth partner experience, clarify what to expect, and answer questions about Chicago. It has been a great experience making new friends with each other and the rest of the A-Team, and also getting to know the members of the incredible partner community at Booth!

Emily Stetler, Music and Stage Captain

I had such an amazing experience when I attended Admit Weekend last year that I knew I wanted to be a part of it this year. As Music & Stage Captain, I am responsible for planning all of the music that you will hear throughout the weekend as well as the slideshows showcasing life at Booth. Given my love for music, this role enabled me to embrace my inner DJ in an effort to help create a fun, high-energy weekend that you won’t forget. Being on the A-Team has been a great opportunity to work alongside my classmates and meet the incoming class, who we are excited to have join us next year!

On behalf of the A-Team and Booth Admissions, we look forward to meeting you all this weekend!

Meet The A-Team!

The A-Team is a group of highly trained operatives executing on a critical mission: planning the best weekend of your life. Ok, maybe I exaggerate, but Admit Weekend is a truly fun, incredible and memorable time. While hundreds of students come together to make Admit Weekend happen, a select group of 22 first year students, known as the A-Team, work behind the scenes for months to plan every detail of the weekend, from neighborhood tours throughout Chicago down to the music that will play during the weekend. Today, three A-Team members share how they’ve been involved.

Beth
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Kate Hui, Friday Night Dinner Co-Captain

After attending my own Admit Weekend, I knew that this was an event that I wanted to be a part of, and I found the perfect role as a Friday Night Dinner Co-Captain. Being a foodie from Chicago, I was really excited about the opportunity to showcase Chicago’s food scene, and using that as the backdrop for Admits to get to know both the Booth community and the city. Chicago is usually known for its hot dogs and deep dish pizza on one end and once-in-a-lifetime experiences like Alinea at the other, so I loved the challenge of finding interesting restaurants “in the middle” that are just as worthy of Chicago’s food fame and great for a relaxing evening out with a group of 20 friends!

Enjoying Korean BBQ in Chicago!

Chris Lewis, Trivia Event Captain

Working on the Admit Weekend Planning Team gives you the chance to impact how literally hundreds of admitted students and their partners perceive the Booth community. While our team of students works closely with Admissions, we are given a tremendous amount of leeway to inject our own creativity. In my case I’ve spent the last few months designing an interactive trivia game about life at Booth, from concept to execution. The game is meant to be lighthearted, and to that end I’ve scoured the ends of the internet to include some funny (but tasteful) pictures of faculty members and classmates.

Parvathi Suresh, Photography and Social Media Captain

It's been a wonderful experience being a part of the A-Team for Admit Weekend. Being the Photography and Social Media chair was a great way to draw upon some of my past experience in social media, and to have fun with the process! It's also a brilliant exercise in time management - juggling academics, recruiting, socializing and Admit Weekend responsibilities can leave one's calendar pretty full! The best part of the experience though? Definitely the fun conversations I've had with people roaming around Harper Center with my camera, trying to capture Booth in all its myriad hues.

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!