The Application Process

Dear Rosemaria and other members of the Admissions Committee,

Daniel Morgan - Waitlist candidate for the MBA Program at the Chicago Booth School of Business ("Chicago Booth")

As a waitlist candidate, I would like to take this opportunity to give you an update of my career progression since applying in Round 1, together with a much clearer understanding of how I will contribute to Chicago Booth and fit with Chicago Booth's MBA Program. I would also like to outline in even more specific details the activities that I plan to become involved in at Chicago Booth. I hope that through my words, I can convey my deep passion to become a part of your amazing community.

Career progression since applying in Round 1

Since I applied for Chicago Booth' s MBA Program in October, I have continued my rapid growth as a lawyer at Clifford Chance. Recently, I successfully led and coached a team of four junior lawyers in negotiating with over one hundred creditors to restructure $16bn of debt for a worldwide commodities company within an extremely tight deadline-this transaction was named Clifford Chance's "Deal of 2009"! After completing three major restructuring projects I have developed an expertise in the area. In parallel, I have established an insolvency training program for my department and greatly expanded the firm's knowledge bank on restructuring, for which I am the referent.

How I will contribute to Chicago Booth

I plan to be an extremely active member of the Chicago Booth community to make the most of my MBA experience. I am sure that I will balance a range of fun social activities on top of my classes and coursework. I already have plans to revitalise the Chicago Booth Soccer Club. I want to leverage my experience playing (for 23 years!), coaching, running the Clifford Chance Soccer Club and organising charity soccer tournaments to encourage my classmates- both men and women from novice to professional- to try their hand at soccer. I even plan introduce my classmates to indoor 5-a-side soccer, which would be perfect social event on a cold Chicago's winter night!

My social life is very important to me and I plan to give everything I have to make sure that the social scene at Chicago Booth is at its highest level of intensity! I hope to initiate events such as Australian barbeque, a regional wine tasting of Australian and New Zealand wines through the Wine Club, and trips to the incredible places in my country, all of which will be lots of fun. I look forward to putting these projects together members of the Chicago Asia Pacific Group so that the Chicago Booth community can enjoy the diversity of our region.

Finally, I plan to share my insights, views and experiences working as a lawyer, living in five countries and travelling to over thirty countries with my classmates every chance I get. This will of course include my active participation in putting together the European Business Conference.

How I fit with Chicago Booth's MBA Program

I am convinced that the MBA experience at Chicago Booth is the perfect fit for me. There are three main reasons why I think and feel this way, which were confirmed to me during my second visit to campus on 6 November 2009 where I had an excellent opportunity to attend a Corporate Finance class, see how the community flourishes in the amazing Harper Center, and socialise at a TNDC event.

Firstly, Chicago Booth has a strong sense of community and peer-to-peer commitment, which I have found nowhere else! This includes the Mentor Program for accepted students, the student run Random Walks, the CORE activities, WINTERVIEW, the LEAD Program, chats in the Harper Center about career advice, long-night talks in the Regents Park apartments, and much more. My insights into these programs come from extensive interactions with current students and alumni, the list of which has grown extensively since the date of my application!

Secondly, Chicago Booth's MBA Program offers a rigorous flexible curriculum which has a exciting experimental learning courses such as Management Lab. Taking these courses will give me an edge when it comes to applying for a job in management consulting!

Thirdly, an no less importantly, the Chicago Booth people. Current student Andrew Clark said it best: "the real differentiating factor about Chicago Booth is not the courses, but the people- the students, the faculty, the people who stop and ask if you need help". I experienced this on my visits and it is exactly the type of environment in which I want to spend the next wo years of my life!

Epilogue

Overall, I hope that this note highlights in more lucid terms many critical points: my further leadership experience and career growth; what I will bring to the Chicago Booth community; and the key reasons why I feel that I fit with the Chicago Booth culture. My commitment to being a motivate player in the Chicago Booth community will continue long after my graduation- I will be an active alumnus and promote Chicago Booth across the globe, especially in Australia.

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Morgan