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July 30, 2007

Business-School Applicants Must Submit PowerPoint-Like Slides to U. of Chicago

If top business-school applicants need a break from GMAT prep and essay writing, they should browse the Web for inspirational quotes and clip art.

The admissions office at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business is requiring for the first time this year a PowerPoint presentation — or something like it. “In four slides or less,” the online instructions say, “please provide readers with content that captures who you are.”

Those readers, it turns out, are sort of bored with essays. The new requirement will give admissions officers a better sense of their applicants, says Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean of admissions and financial aid. Plus, she says, “it will make my job of reading a million applications much more enjoyable.”

If applicants don’t have (or don’t like) Microsoft PowerPoint, they could use other publishing software, like Quark Xpress, or just make collages on four sheets of blank paper and send them to Chicago, Ms. Martinelli says.

She has been thrilled with what she’s seen already: lots of photos and poetry. One current student, in a test run, wrote a play featuring a Greek chorus questioning him about his application, according to the Associated Press. —Sara Lipka

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