Chicago Booth MBA
Rankings | Class Profile | Employment Report | Sample Essays | Interview Questions
Chicago Booth MBA- Introduction
The full-time MBA program consists of 20 classes plus Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD). The flagship of the program is its flexible curriculum. Unlike many other top schools with lockstep first-year MBA programs, Booth does not require its MBAs to go through every class together. One key exception is the LEAD course, which all MBAs must take. However, by and large, students design a program tailored to fit their own career goals.
In 2009, after a faculty review of the curriculum, the school added a new academic concentration in analytical management and also required all students to take a leadership development course similar to the one required of full-time students.In addition to analytic management, students can graduate with an academic focus in accounting, econometrics and statistics, economics, entrepreneurship, and finance. Graduation requirements for students in the full-time MBA program include nine required courses, 11 electives, and a leadership course; To meet the 11 elective requirements students can choose from several hundred courses at the business school and other departments of the university. For more details Click Here…
Chicago Booth MBA Rankings
| Class Profile Summary | |
| Class Size | 621 |
| Average GMAT Score | 724 |
| Average Work Experience (yrs.) | 5 years |
| Average Age (yrs.) | 28 years (24-35) |
| Employment Summary | |
| Average Salary | $150,000 |
| Average Bonus | $30,000 |
| % placed within 3 months | 95% |
| Tuition Fees Summary | |
| Total Tuition | $146,800 |
| Living Cost | $ 44,370 |
| Total Cost | $ 191,170 |
Booth MBA Class Profile 2022 (Click Here)
| Deadlines | Applications |
| Round 1 | 23 Sept 2021 |
| Round 2 | 06 Jan 2022 |
| Round 3 | 07 April 2022 |
Chicago Booth MBA Application Essay Tips
Essay 1: How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250-word minimum)
Quick essay Tips – To write career essays for Chicago Booth MBA program, a very simple structure to follow is
- Explain your current position and work experience → 2. State your short and long term goals → 3. Skillsets you have acquired throughout your career so far → 4. Explain what you currently lack to attain your short and long term goal → 5. Show how an MBA from school like Chicago Booth can help you bridge the gap in your skills to achieve your short term goal.
Detailed Essay writing Tips – The best and an easy approach to write this Chicago Booth application essay is to break it into two parts:
- First Half – explain “what are your goals and why you need an MBA”
- Second Half – establish ”Why or how the Chicago Booth MBA program is the perfect fit for you?”
First Half – Goals and why MBA?
Start with a strong introductory paragraph on who you are and what are your desired goals from an MBA.
Eg: “I am an engineer with four years of experience in the IT sector leading projects for clients across multiple countries. In the short term i want to transition from a software developer role to a product manager role”
For the main body, start on a strong note, show what skills you already have. B-schools in general prefer to see strong academic track record, progress in professional career, client management exposure, leadership and international experiences. Highlight some of your key achievements with numbers or awards that you may have received. Show your outstanding performance via the promotions or opportunities to lead or international deputation.
After establishing the strengths of your profile, move on to show how the limitation of your current role and skills are hindering your future career progress or desired transitions. Establish the need for upskilling yourself which can only be done via an MBA at this stage of your career. Talk about how an MBA can enhance your business acumen, leadership skills, soft skills for communication and presentation or provide you the network to grow your career or business.
This sets the context for your “Why MBA” argument. The first half of the essay explains what you already have and what you lack to grow in your career. Lastly how an MBA can unlock opportunities for you to grow.
Second Half – Why Chicago Booth MBA?
To answer the – “why Chicago Booth MBA” part of the essay, build your argument on 3-4 points which helps you fulfill the gaps in your skill set and achieve your goals. Reasons to choose the Chicago Booth MBA program should align with your reason to do an MBA as mentioned in the first half of the essay.
Ensure your reasons portray a holistic approach to how you intend to gain/upskill from the MBA program. An easy way to structure can be to break it down across three buckets –
- Inside the class – what excites you the most about the Chicago Booth MBA program in regards to the academic curriculum? Is it a particular specialization? Range of Electives? Quality of Professor? Feel free to name drop a few.
- Outside the class – outside of the academics, how do you plan to make the most of the opportunities available at Chicago Booth? Clubs? Networking event? International exchanges? Leadership seminar? Speak with Alum, current students and find specifics which perfectly aligns with your needs to achieve your goals in a particular industry or function.
- Outside of campus – show how the overall school brand, alumni network which you would carry and be a part of long after your campus stint can help you build a successful career in the long term.
Closing argument
Summarize your entire essay in 3-4 lines and confidently portray how you believe the Chicago Booth MBA program is the perfect next step or logical step for you to achieve your career goals and how you would be a great fit and valuable addition to the class if selected.
For Chicago Booth MBA essay samples, you can also read some of the great essays written by our clients here on the sample essays page.
Essay 2: An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (250-word minimum)
First of all start jotting down all the successful experiences you had in life – big or small – whatever you think are significant achievements of your life. Most people fall back to professional experiences but it is strongly advised to go beyond professional stories. It may be easier to bucket and think across three areas – social activities, extracurriculars and personal. Your first championship medal in sports, founding an NGO, breaking family convention value for love marriage or entrepreneurship, experience of surviving a terminal disease, leading a team towards a great vision, achievements in either sporting arena even if it is yoga and meditation – it could be anything you consider is a big part of YOUR life and you think it changed you or left you with a lifelong impact for the good.
Then pick two stories where and dedicate one paragraph for each of the two stories. Pick stories that are impactful, and the ones that let the reader know more about you than just the resume, and the ones that portray a wholesome balanced picture of who you are.
When illustrating examples, an easy method to follow is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result.
Start with describing the situation or problem at hand to give a background to the reader. Explain what was expected out of you to do and the consequence of the task. Explain what actions you took in response to the situation in hand. It is important to show what the outcome of the action was and what are the results that you obtained. Conclude by showing how WHY you consider this to be a big part of who you are and how this quality/ actions of yours will make you a great addition to the Chicago Booth MBA cohort.
Essay 3: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (300-word maximum)
Use the optional essays only for specific reasons. If you have a career gap or are currently unemployed or have a low GPA, only then consider explaining yourself in this essay.
Additionally, you can also use this essay to explain your choice of recommender. It may so happen that you do not want to tell your current employer of your MBA plans and hence seeked recommendation from others. You can explain this to the admission committee if this is the case.
One common pitfall candidates do is to elaborate on certain extracurriculars that they have already mentioned in other parts of the application. Please do not not use optional essays to repeat whatever is already described in your application or resume.