I’m continuing in my quest to answer the most frequently asked questions that prospective students have about Booth! In my last post two posts, I discussed life in Chicago and the career search. In this post, I will answer commonly asked questions about academic life at Booth.
Are Booth classes difficult?
The answer to this question depends on individual course requirements and your experiences prior to Booth. There is great variation in the amount of work required for each course and in the difficulty of the material. Students can get a sense of the work required for a course prior to enrolling by reading the syllabus and course evaluations, which provide estimates of the amount of time spent each week on the class. I think that the difficulty of the material likely depends on your familiarity with the topic. For me, I have had less difficulty with courses that have relied heavily on statistics because I was very comfortable with statistics prior to business school. In contrast, I have struggled with finance courses, partly due to my lack of pre-business school exposure. Also, some topics are just inherently more difficult than others. When selecting my schedule for the semester, I try to balance difficult classes with less difficult ones to prevent being overwhelmed. Overall, I would say that Booth classes are challenging, but they tend to change the way you think, making it worth the effort.
How can I find out more about the courses offered at Booth?
You can read about the curriculum and concentrations as well as about our lab courses on the Chicago Booth website.
Are Booth students more competitive or cooperative in the classroom?
Booth culture, in all domains, is cooperative. We help each other out. When I have struggled with course material, my friends have been there to explain it to me. I have done the same for them. When I’ve had a busy week full of interviewing and midterms, one of my group members will volunteer to finish our case write-up. I have taken on extra work in a group when I have been less busy. This cooperative spirit extends outside of the classroom as well.
Do I need to prep for classes prior to arriving at Booth?
No. There is no need to study prior to arriving at Booth. You will learn everything you need to be academically successful at Booth in class. Just enjoy the summer prior to business school!
That’s it for the FAQ series, but if you have any questions that you would like me to address in upcoming blogs, just let me know in the comment section!
