Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Olivier and I am an Attorney. I have a degree in law from the Universite Toulouse 1 Capitole and the Universite de Montpellier. I worked as an attorney for Norton Rose for over 2years before deciding to get an MBA.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
I did my studies in law and joined a top law firm in Paris but after having completed a lot of transactions, taking part in mergers and acquisitions, I knew that I wanted to be on the other side of the and work as an investment banker.
Another reason for an MBA in the US was that my wife is American and I knew that it would be a good experience for my children to move to the US and also know the country their mother belonged to.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
As a corporate lawyer, I work almost 120 hours a week and it was very difficult for me to find the time to rest for my GMAT and for my application. As someone pretty good with the written word, writing my application was not that difficult but the GMAT was definitely very difficult in that it requires you to review the things that you’ve done way back in school some fifteen years ago, like developing aptitude which requires a lot of practice and I had very little time for that. On top of that, I met Dr. Hubert Silly a bit late and I did not get enough time to practice for my GMAT. Even so, the training I received from the MBA Center was very helpful and I scored a 750 in my GMAT.
What is life like at Chicago Booth?
First of all, the Chicago Booth’s Hyde Park campus deserves a mention as it is one of the most sophisticated business schools ever built in terms of architecture, the entire school under one glass roof! The campus is located in an area filled with tree-lined streets, cozy restaurants, bookstores, and eclectic shops. There are a lot of recreational activities available on campus including an athletics facility, archaeology museum, film societies, skating rink, etc. Life at the campus is always exciting. Moreover, Chicago hosts more than 30 Fortune 500 companies and 100 corporate headquarters. This makes it a dream school to be in for many students looking to work in these companies.
What would be your advice to someone applying for an MBA program?
The biggest mistake I made was starting the application process too late. I definitely recommend people to start their preparations at least one year before applying. Given that we are all professionals we all face the lack of time. Work far ahead before the admission deadline.
Another thing I’d recommend is that people work with Dr. Hubert Silly and MBA Center. They are a great organization with great expertise and knowledge of the MBA world and can help you prepare for your GMAT in the way you need to.