The Gatekeeper To Chicago Booth

Alright then. There is so much process and bureaucracy involved in admissions, I wonder if it’s possible to be an entrepreneurial admissions director. Do you feel you’re an entrepreneur at Booth or a bureaucrat?

It depends on the day. Chicago Booth is a very entrepreneurial place. Everything here is about the choices you make and the substance by which you back those choices up. I’m fortunate that my boss, Stacey Kole, and Dean Kumar really push us to think differently and not accept things as they are but to ask why are we doing this and does it make sense and could we do this differently. There are obviously certain aspects of this job that are fixed and you’re going to have some bureaucracy to it.

Kurt, what’s the biggest mistake candidates make when applying to Booth?

The most common mistake applicants make is to look at an application as a series of tick marks. They don’t really take the time to step back and ask the deeper question: ‘What is it that I am fundamentally trying to communicate and how have I utilized all the components of the application to convey my story or message in the most holistic way?’

The applicants who are most successful are those who think about the question in a strategic way. They see all aspects of the application as chapters in a story, each element revealing a different aspect of who they are.

The simple beauty of this process, more often than not, is that if you are authentic and honest and you think, you’ll be okay. At Booth, we want to teach you how to think, not what to think. So part of this process is helping people think about this. We want to hear why Booth is the best place for an application, not why an MBA program in general is the best place. That is really important to us.

How do you feel about admission consultants and the increasing role they are playing?

I would say I am neutral. The fact is I know a lot of them and many perform a great service. We are living in a world where there is tons of information and a lot of noise. So if you can get people to help you cut through the noise that can be helpful. Consultants who try to get applicants to use them because they have some secret ingredient to get you in, that’s a problem.

I do feel that people need to trust us a little more. I’m not here telling you something that is disingenuous. I’m not trying to confuse people in the marketplace. All too often, people say, ‘the admissions representative said X so that means Y. They are hiding something.’ Look, I’m telling you what you need to know. There is no magic bullet. You have to think for yourself. That’s part of what an MBA program is all about.

If you’re not willing to think in an application process and you want someone to do it for you, that’s going to be problematic.

I’m told that the University of Chicago’s Medical School accepted someone who was only 9 years old and apparently is the youngest university student here ever. Would you have ever accepted a 9-year-old into the MBA program?

I’d have to see the application. If it ‘fits,’ I don’t know. Let’s go back to the core tenets of what we’re trying to do: diversity of perspective, intellectual curiosity. Who knows? It’s hard to say. I never say never. You never know what happens.

Kurt, you remember what it was like to be 9, right? Would you have been prepared to come to Booth and succeed?

Absolutely not, but there may be someone out there who is.

So Kurt, what do you dislike about your job?

It’s funny because I don’t want to sound trite or not honest but I really do like my job. The things I dislike are what everyone has to deal with. It’s like being stuck in an airport in Brazil for nine hours because my flight got cancelled. I wouldn’t have been here for as long as I have been if I didn’t truly love this place. And I wouldn’t have gone back and did the MBA if I didn’t love and believe in this place.

We have been on such a great ride, I’m curious to see where we’re headed. It’s been great.

And with a wife and three young children you probably don’t travel as much as some other admissions directors.

Actually, I do travel enough. I’m a big believer that as a manager, I wouldn’t ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do.

THE GATEKEEPER SERIES:

THE GATEKEEPER TO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 

THE GATEKEEPER TO STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

THE GATE KEEPER TO CHICAGO’S BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO MICHIGAN’S ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

 

 

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