Guide to University of Chicago Booth, School of Business

The Booth School of Business at University of Chicago offers one of the world’s most flexible full-time MBA programs. An MBA student at Booth will spend majority of their time building upon their existing academic and professional backgrounds in order to bring them closer to their goals. The university is dedicated to ensuring that the return on their student’s time and investment is unrivaled, with the MBA program.

The Booth experience provides a student  academic freedom, freedom to take risks, and freedom to create their own mark on the world. The MBA program’s multidisciplinary approach to problem solving embeds into students, frameworks for freethinking and sound decision making. An MBA student at Booth will also be welcomed into a community of faculty, alumni, and peers who will open doors for them and proudly support their success

Booth offers these departments and concentrations: accounting, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, international business, marketing, management information systems, production/operations management, organizational behavior, public policy, and quantitative analysis/statistics and operations research.

Full time MBA tuition costs US$72,000 per year, with  financial aid options available for qualifying students. Of the 2019 graduating MBA class, 98.4 % of them had received job offers upon graduating, with a base salary of US$150,000.

 Round 1: September 22, 2022 | Round 2: January 5, 2023 | Round 3 (includes Chicago Booth Scholars): April 11, 2023
Application Fee: $250

Program length: 21 months
Acceptance rate (full-time): 22%
Average age of new entrants: 28
Required standardised test: GMAT/GRE
Average GMAT score: 724 | Average GRE score: 163 | Average GPA score: 3.6
Require work experience: Yes | Average work experience: 5 years

• Season: 2021
• Number of Essays: 2 for first-timers, 3 for reapplicants
• Submission Deadline: Same as application deadline

Essay Topic 1: How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (min. 250 words)
Essay Topic 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. (min. 250 words, no max.)
Additional Essay for Reapplicants: Upon reflection, how has your perspective regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (Maximum 300 words)
Optional Essay: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (300 word max.)

Presentation/Essay Guidelines:

• Choose the format that works for you. Want to illustrate your response visually? Submit a slide presentation. Like to express yourself with words? Write a traditional essay. Use the format that you feel best captures your response, the Admissions Committee has no preference.
• Determine your own length. There is no prescribed minimum or maximum length. Use your best judgment in determining how long your submission should be, but it is recommended that you think strategically about how to best allocate the space.
• File Size: Maximum file size is 16 MB.
• Accepted Upload Formats: Acceptable formats are PDF, Word, and PowerPoint. It is strongly recommended that your piece is converted to a PDF file prior to submitting.
• Multimedia Restrictions: Your submissions will be viewed electronically and in full color, but all submissions will be converted to PDF files, so animation, video, music, etc. will not translate over.

Season: 2021
Number of Recommendations: 2
Submission Deadline: Same as application deadline
Recommendation Questions: The recommender is required to answer three questions.

All applicants must submit two letters of recommendation.

1. The first letter of recommendation should come from a supervisor. If possible, it is preferred for you to use a current supervisor for this recommendation. If you are unable to use your current supervisor, please explain the circumstances in the optional essay. Overall, Booth’s admissions team is seeking objectivity in the letter, and would want to hear from someone who can assess both your strengths and your weaknesses. If you work for a family business or own your own company, please try to secure a letter from a client or outside party who does business with you and can provide an objective assessment of you.
2. The second letter can be professional in nature or come from an individual who has worked with you in an organization, club, or on a volunteer project. These letters can give us a different perspective of your skill sets outside of your professional environment. There is no preference on who supplies your second letter of recommendation; our only guideline is that it should add new and valuable insight to your candidacy.

Whomever you choose to write your recommendation, make sure he or she knows you well and can offer specific examples of your performance and contributions to the organization. Avoid choosing people simply based on their title or status. The admissions team are more concerned with content and substance rather than reputation.

Recommender Requirements

Booth’s admissions team ask that recommenders complete a skills assessment for each applicant, as well as submit a letter answering the following questions:

1. How does the applicant’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.
2. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

Competitive