The Chicago Booth Interview – What to Expect + Sample Questions

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on February 15, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With more Nobel Laureate professors than any other MBA program in the world and its unique flexible curriculum, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business offers those lucky enough to be admitted access to an unparalleled array of academic and extracurricular opportunities. 

However, as data becomes increasingly important in today’s business world, Booth’s data-driven approach to business has become even more sought after, making it more challenging than ever to secure a spot at this world-class business school. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Chicago Booth interview to stand out. We’ve rounded up not only our best tips but have also included sample interview questions to ensure you give your Chicago Booth application your best shot. 

 

How the Chicago Booth Interview Works 

As one of the most elite business schools in the world, landing an interview with Chicago Booth is no easy task. 

Thus, if you have passed to the interview phase of the Booth application process, congratulations! This is already an exceptional achievement. 

Booth interviews, since they are conducted by current students and alumni, tend to be slightly friendlier than interviews conducted by the admissions committee. Nonetheless, the interviewer is still trying to gauge how solid your motivations for wanting to pursue an MBA are, how interested you seem in the Booth program, and if you fit well with the program’s flexible format. 

Interviewers often ask many standard MBA interview questions, as well as questions designed to test your intellectual horsepower. You can also expect numerous follow-up questions. 

Our clients who have interviewed with Booth in the past say that the interviewer was very friendly and demonstrated a genuine interest in their answers. For some clients, questions were far more personal in nature, covering topics like their childhood and family upbringing. Other clients reported their interview was strictly professional, so make sure you’re ready for anything when you interview with Booth. 

 

Who will interview you?

Chicago Booth has a rich tradition of alumni and second-year students conducting admissions interviews. This year, you have the option of completing your interview in person on Chicago Booth’s campus, off-campus with a Booth alumnus in a city near you, or virtually. 

Completing your interview virtually will not disadvantage your application in any way. 

 

Will the interviewer have read my application?

No. The Chicago Booth interview is blind, meaning the interviewer will only have access to your CV. 

 

How long will the Booth interview last?

45-60 minutes.

 

The Interview Video Essay

Booth expects candidates who are called to interview to complete a video essay. 

*NOTE – these questions refer to the 2022-2023 questions and may change after the publication date. We will update this post with the most recent information as it becomes available. 

Though there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach, we suggest that you choose a single topic that allows the admissions committee to learn something new about your profile. Especially considering the open-ended nature (and word count!) of the Booth admissions essays, it’s important to try not to repeat content. 

For example, perhaps you’re a consultant who started a secondment after submitting your application and would like to use this space to talk about a new achievement of yours. Or perhaps you recently started an international project that’s allowed you to enhance your ability to work on diverse teams. 

TOP TIP: Since you’ve only got a minute, that means you’ve got space for about 170-175 words. As such, we suggest you focus on a single, powerful story, rather than listing accomplishments or trying to fit in several, weaker stories. 

 

Who is Chicago Booth looking for?

Photo courtesy of @chicagobooth on Instagram 

“Since 1898, we have produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Today, we empower bold thinkers and inquisitive minds to dig deeper, discover more, and shape the future.” Booth Admissions 

Every year, Booth’s admissions team selects just over 600 students for the honor of joining their prestigious MBA program. With a focus on academic and career excellence, Booth admits have an average of 5 years of work experience and tend to have outstanding test scores (the median GMAT score for the Class of 2024 was 730, down from 732 last year, and the average GRE score was 164 Quant, 163 Verbal). 

Booth also places an emphasis on diversity, admitting students from 57 countries (totaling 37% international students overall). The most recent class also contains 40% women, 7% LGBTQ+, and 11% first-generation students. 

Beyond impressive stats, however, Booth also looks for applicants who distinguish themselves in three specific areas: Curriculum, Community, and Career. 

For curriculum, “We look for applicants who have both the ability and desire to thrive within a challenging and stimulating environment. The qualities we seek include academic preparedness, intellectual curiosity, and communication skills.”

For community, “We look for applicants whose unique personal and professional experience will contribute to a strong, congenial community that supports its members and pushes them to be the best they can be. The qualities we seek include leadership, collaboration and teamwork, respect for others, philanthropic tendencies, strong interpersonal skills, fit with Chicago Booth and contribution to school community/culture, and a unique perspective.”

Finally, for career, Booth states, “The qualities that contribute to your future success may be evident early in your career. The qualities we seek include a track record of success, resourcefulness, sense of personal direction, time-management skills, realistic expectations for the MBA.”

In addition, Booth highly values interview performance, specifically focusing on a candidate’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively, as this skill is critical to succeeding in Booth’s culture of intellectual debate.

 

How can you prepare for your interview?

Though no interview is 100% predictable, Chicago Booth interviews do tend to center around a fairly standard list of MBA interview questions. As such, we have prepared some model questions below that previous candidates have received in their past Chicago Booth interviews. 

SAMPLE BOOTH INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The questions below are drawn from our clients’ interview reports, as well as from sites like clearadmit.com. Though these are not all the potential questions you could possibly receive during your Chicago Booth interview, preparing for these (and any follow-up questions you think you might be asked) should give you a very solid foundation for your interview. 

STARTING UP QUESTIONS

• Explain your career path. / Take me through your resume / Tell me about yourself
• What are your short-term and long-term career plans?
• Have you considered other career alternatives?
• Why are you seeking an MBA?
• What do you need to learn from an MBA program that you can’t learn working?
• Why now?
• Why Booth?
• What courses will you take at Booth?
• Where else did you apply?
• How will you decide which program to attend?
• What will you do if you do not pass in any business school this year?
• What is your impression of Chicago Booth’s culture?
• What would you contribute to Booth both academically and in the community?
• Tell me about your undergraduate experience.

• Looking back, would you do anything differently?
• Would you choose the same school and major?

• What are you currently reading?
• What do you do outside of work? 
  • What has this taught you about yourself?
  • Does this experience inform your professional life in any way?

GENERAL BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS

• Tell me about a time you dealt with a challenge.
• Discuss a time you solved a problem creatively. 
• What three adjectives would your co-workers use to describe you?
  • Tell me three adjectives your friends would use to describe you.
  • Why are the adjectives your co-workers and friends would use different?
• What are some of the most important moments in your life?
• What are some of your strengths? Weaknesses?
• What kind of value set do you look for in your peers?
• How would your potential Booth classmates describe you?
• How do you handle conflict?
• Tell me about a time when you had to convince people to follow a plan you created. 
• What is the thing that motivates you most in life/what inspires you?

LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK

• How would you describe your leadership style?
  • Can you describe a situation where your leadership style has been successful?
  • Can you describe a situation that highlighted a weakness in your leadership style?
• Please name someone whose leadership style you admire. 
• Tell me about a time when you led people.
  • Did you experience any challenges?
  • What did you learn from this experience?

• Describe a difficult teamwork experience you have encountered. What did you learn?
  • How has this shaped your views on teamwork?
• What role do you typically take within a team?
• What main strengths and weaknesses do you think you bring to teams?
• Tell us about an experience you have working with a diverse team. 

CONCLUSION

• Is there anything else that you haven’t mentioned in your application that you would like to add?
• Any questions for me?

We have found that answering real interview questions on the spot is a much better means of preparation than reading lists of interview questions for most candidates.

We highly suggest you take a look at mock interview questions and sample interview responses before your interview. 

Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of real interview mocks from Booth, as well as detailed guides to help you prepare for questions ranging from “Why our MBA program?” to “Tell us about a time you failed.”

The Ellin Lolis Consulting MBA Resource Center is your one-stop shop to interview success. Click to join!

If you’re still not quite confident with your interview skills, our interview experts can help you craft your answers or prepare you for the Chicago Booth interview through mock interviews tailored to your profile. 

 

What to do if you get a question you weren’t prepared for

Despite your most diligent preparation, you will almost always receive a question you had not prepared. 

First, stay calm and take a deep breath. You have already made it this far in the process, and one question will not trip you up!

Second, make sure you directly answer the question the interviewer asked you. For example, if the interviewer asks you about a time you had to deal with a difficult manager, make sure to tell a story about a difficult manager and how you handled the situation. 

If you’re having trouble thinking of an answer or an example to support your answer, however, take a drink of water to give yourself a few more minutes to think. If you really can’t think of an example from your personal or professional experience, you can use a hypothetical answer about how you would act in a certain situation. 

Finally, assume that the interviewer is testing how you think on your feet and respond to questions you didn’t prepare in advance. Though your answer might not be as polished as if you’d had weeks to rehearse it, smile and confidently give your answer to show you can respond to any question they throw at you. 

 

Effectively Tell your Story During your Chicago Booth Interview

One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA interviews is that candidates fail to tell compelling, well-constructed stories about their profiles while also nailing the basics. 

Striking this balance between sharing STAR-format examples that show off your background while also presenting strong answers to questions like “Why do you want an MBA?” is a challenging task that requires significant thought and preparation. 

Because of this, it’s no surprise that, on average, 50% of interviewed applicants walk away without an offer. 

This is why our interview preparation process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting is known as the best in the industry. We offer customized 1:1 support that ensures you’re able to turn your application’s strengths into compelling answers that show fit and sell your profile in any type of interview. That’s why 98.9% of our complete consulting clients get into at least one of their target schools. 

Our tailored approach was critical to helping our client Bruno secure a spot at Chicago Booth. 

“Anyone who wants to have a solid application should work with Ellin Lolis Consulting.  I really think it would be extremely difficult for me to have had such a strong application to Booth without Ellin’s support. So, I always recommend Ellin to my friends who are applying for an MBA, because I have seen in practice the difference that Ellin makes.”

Forget simulation platforms or long lists of tips – our 1:1 preparation focuses on playing to your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses to turn you into an interview expert. Hire our interview services here. VIP packages that allow you to work directly with Ellin sell out quickly, so make sure you sign up today!