Meet The Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2017

Austin Ashmore

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business 

Hometown: Hartsville, SC

Undergraduate School and Major: University of South Carolina, International Business

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Sonoco, Financial Analyst

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Limit your studying to two or three months, but go all out during those few months. Pick a date and pay for the test to establish a disincentive for procrastination, then make studying a part of your daily routine. I spent every day after work for two months studying, and took a practice test each weekend. By the time the test rolled around, I had already taken seven practice tests and felt really prepared, but I hadn’t been studying long enough to feel burned out.

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? I think that it’s a very personal decision based on each individual’s priorities. For me, I wanted a powerhouse school with a great brand in an urban setting. However, there are many other motivations for pursuing an MBA, and I would advise others to tailor their school selection based on their respective goals.

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? Start as early as possible. You really don’t appreciate how much work is involved until you’re knee deep in the process. Also, seek as much advice as possible, but learn to be selective in the advice you take. Everyone has an opinion. However not all of those opinions are created equal. Learn to balance the advice with your own gut feelings.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Coming from a small rural town, my wife and I really wanted an urban experience. Chicago is a wonderful city that we loved visiting on numerous occasions in the past. We knew that it would be a fantastic place to live. Additionally, the flexibility and rigor of the Booth curriculum was a huge draw for me. I really wanted to push myself to learn as much as possible during my MBA experience, and I can’t think of a school with a better reputation for learning than Booth.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? I hope to learn as much as possible while establishing a great network of future business leaders. Ideally, I’ll be able to do some soul searching to fully evaluate all of my potential career opportunities and decide on what path is right for me.