Here at Ellin Lolis Consulting, our goal is to ensure that our clients choose MBA programs they love for life — after all, you can only do one MBA!
One of the most popular programs our clients ask us about is Chicago Booth. With a flexible curriculum, Booth allows its students to take advantage of an unprecedented range of options to pursue their unique short-term and long-term goals. For many of our clients, those goals involve transitioning to a career in consulting, especially at top firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG.
That’s why we got in touch with current Booth student Bruno Porto Tupinambá to get an insider’s view of what life is really like at Booth and how the program helped him land a summer internship at McKinsey.
(Bruno Porto Tupinambá, Student at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business)
Ellin Lolis: First things first, how did you end up choosing to attend Booth?
Bruno Porto: In my case, Booth was a very natural choice. One person that I admired very much in my former company was a Booth student, so when I decided to apply for my MBA, he was the first person I talked with.
As soon as he showed his view about the school, how Booth’s academic rigor helped him to become a better professional and how the “pay it forward” culture is strong in the community, I was sure that Booth was my place.
EL: What was your experience like immediately after arriving on campus?
BP: I assume that all MBAs must be very overwhelmed in the beginning. In my case, it was no different. There are so many new things such as city, classes, recruiting, mobility, friends, time zone, housing, routine, clubs, events and many other things that it is hard to manage time.
Booth’s Class of 2021 attends orientation in The Harper Center, courtesy of @chicagobooth on Instagram
So, for me, I would say that my experience was “intense.” However, as the weeks passed by, I learned how to prioritize things and to understand what was more important to reach my goals, which was a game-changer in terms of time management.
EL: How did you manage to balance classes, extracurricular activities, and recruiting during the MBA? What have you prioritized?
BP: In my opinion, there are two main resources to understand what is “useful” to reach your goals and what is “less useful.” First and most important are 2Ys. Most of them had already passed through the same experience and can be very helpful explaining the details of each activity.
Second, go find it yourself. As soon as you start attending different events, you definitely will understand which ones are more important and prioritization ends up being a more natural process.
In my case, I prioritized events that were related to my professional goal (consulting/PE) and that would give me a one-time opportunity to meet people I admire (I will never have the opportunity to meet brilliant people such as Howard Marks and Satya Nadella again).
EL: How did you decide you wanted to do an internship in Consulting? When did you make this decision (in terms of timeline)?
BP: I had so many interactions with consultants in my professional life that I became curious about their profession. Later, at Booth, I was able to better understand what exactly a consulting firm does, which excited me a lot because it is a job that would challenge me constantly. Moreover, the culture of consulting firms, which values diversity, an obligation to dissent, and knowledge sharing, is extremely aligned with my values.
However, I was in doubt between private equity and consulting, so, I decided to apply for both. In terms of timeline, because consulting recruiting starts earlier than PE, I focused on the consulting recruiting (which starts around 3 weeks after classes start), then when I received the consulting offer I started recruiting for PE.
EL: What was the process to obtain your summer internship like? How did Booth’s career center help you as an international student?
BP: Booth offers a lot of resources for recruiting. Two were really important for me. First, there are professional groups that are in charge of connecting students with firms in many different ways such as coffee chats, happy hours, corporate presentations, breakfasts and others. These events are super helpful for students to know companies better and start networking. In addition, the career services team also helps students with CVs, discussing career goals and giving mock interviews. As an international student, I also had the international affairs team that also helps with visa and documentation.
The Polsky Center offers an abundance of resources for Booth students seeking entrepreneurial careers. Photo courtesy of polsky.uchicago.edu
The recruiting process is very structured for careers such as investment banking and consulting, but not so much for others, such as venture capital and PE. Regardless, Booth can still help connect with companies in careers that require more networking.
EL: What has been the best experience you’ve had thus far in your summer internship?
BP: I think the best experience in an internship is to test a new career.
It is a unique opportunity to try something different with low risk because one can recruit again in the second year. In my personal experience, I really enjoyed the experience of working in consulting then in PE, because I could compare two industries that I was curious about and decide which one fits more with me.
EL: What surprised you the most about working in a consulting firm?
BP: The structure the firm has. It is amazing the number of resources such as reports, experts, papers and training that consulting firms have. With all these resources, it is easy to understand that consulting is indeed a place in which people are constantly learning and developing their skills. Finally, the collaboration culture also surprised me a lot. People are always busy, however, all of them will stop whatever they are doing to help others.
EL: How has your summer internship prepared you to reach your future career goals?
BP: The summer internship, in my view, is more a “sample” of what you will do during full-time than a “preparation” to reach any goals. This being said, I think the summer helps people to decide their future and understand if they fit in the company’s culture.
EL: Do you have any final advice for MBA applicants hoping to break into consulting?
BP: My advice is very simple: Don’t worry too much.
I believe that the consulting recruiting process is very well structured and people will get it very quickly. It is true that it requires some effort to prepare (casing and personal fit interview), but not a big deal at all.
So, the important path to success is in consulting recruiting is: (1) prepare, (2) understand which company aligns most with your values (3) be relaxed. Following these three steps, the outcome will be fine.
EL: Thank you so much for your time, Bruno!
Back in 2017, I met Bruno for the first time. From that point forward, it was an honor to play a role in helping him navigate the admissions process and was incredible to see such a talented professional secure his spot at one of the world’s best business schools.
In Bruno’s words,
“I am completely satisfied with all the support provided by Ellin Lolis MBA Consulting. I made the right decision to have the complete support package. Ellin’s best support was that I felt she treated my application as if it were her own, and it was really important to keep me calm and confident in the outcome. Each step, she was always prepared and supportive, giving me confidence that my dream could be true. That’s why anyone who wants to have a solid application should work with her. I really think it would be extremely difficult for me to have had such a strong application without support for Ellin. So, I always recommend Ellin to my friends who are applying for any MBA, because I have seen in practice the difference that Ellin makes. Most importantly, Ellin helped me discover the perfect school for me, Chicago Booth, today I’m completely happy to be a part of this community. I am excited to be part of a school that is completely concerned with academic excellence and to form leaders who think wrongly. So I hope Booth can help me become a better professional to help my country in the future.”
Like we were with Bruno, my team and I pride ourselves on being with you at every stage of the process as you apply to an elite program.
We dedicate all of our energy and expertise to give you the confidence that you are taking the right steps toward your future with the information you need to make the best decisions. That’s why I truly enjoyed talking with Bruno and bringing this information about life after the admissions process ends to you.
If you need help putting the final touches on your Booth essay, get a jump start on preparing for your Booth interview, or even if you’re just starting the application process and aren’t sure exactly what to do next, my team and I can help!
Schedule your free consultation with us today.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
