Meet The Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2017

Lilach (Lily) Rapaport

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business 

Hometown: Kibbutz Mevo Hama (Israel)

Undergraduate School and Major: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Economics and Accounting

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Consultant, KPMG’s Advisory in Tel Aviv – Transaction Services (M&A)

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Use the information and help available online, in different websites and blogs. Take the test as soon as you can to get it over with, because the other application requirements are time-consuming.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? Have all the options open when you start researching and don’t follow blindly what people around you are doing. Talk to as many students and alums as possible to really understand the culture of the schools. Make your decision based on that, after understanding your individual preferences and considerations and how that aligns with what each school has to offer.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? Stay true to yourself! Don’t try to tell admissions what they want to hear, but focus on your qualities and what makes you a good fit to the school. If you chose the right schools to apply to, that should not be hard. Aim high and do everything in your power to get into those dream schools you have in mind. You only do MBA once so make sure you don’t look back with regrets. Have people who know you, or the school, give you advice, read your application and help you get ready to interviews. At the same time, be sure to not lose your identity. Pick a recommender who wants you to succeed and will happily write your recommendation, someone you trust with having so much impact on your potential acceptance.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? After getting into all the schools I applied to, I realized I must visit all the schools in order to decide. None of the other schools felt like a good fit and a place to call home. When I came to Booth, everything fell into place- it had the perfect balance of everything I was looking for: Super-smart people but yet down to earth and sociable; amazing faculty; career services that would do anything to make you a success story; and an incredible city with lots of things to explore. I honestly felt that if I were to come to Booth, the sky is the limit. Luckily, after realizing all of that, Booth has also made it easier for me financially too.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? I want to understand what is the best career for me, how to get there, and what is the best step in that direction. I want to get to know my classmates and be able to call them friends when we graduate, and 10 years later too. Also, as an international student, I want to feel like a fish in the water here, and being comfortable with stepping into other cultures as well.