How To Get Into Chicago Booth

Update: This article was originally posted on August 3, 2022. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

Known for its highly academic community and with more Nobel Laureate professors than any other MBA program in the world, Booth is one of the best places to prepare for a successful career solving some of the biggest problems in business. Considering that Booth offers one of the best-ranked MBAs out there, earning a spot at this school requires you to really stand out among the competition. 

In this guide, we will go through how to get into Booth. While many applicants think that simply marketing themselves well is enough to gain admission, successful applicants are the ones who understand a) who Booth is looking for, b) how Booth’s MBA program, community, and opportunities fit their profile and goals, and c) how to prepare a Booth-specific essay and interview. Read on for our expert advice on how to master these three things.

 

1. Understand who Booth is 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 around 630 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 2026 was 730 and the average GRE score was 163 Quant, 161 Verbal). 

Booth also places an emphasis on diversity, admitting students from 66 countries (totaling 46% international students overall). The most recent class also contains 42% women and 9% LGBTQ+. 

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.

So, if this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll have to think of the ways in which you align with the main characteristics of Booth’s students. This means forming your business school brand and then focusing on the aspects of that brand that align with strong critical thinking skills, outstanding communication, and curiosity. 

 

2. Know Booth’s program and how you can use it

The second thing you must do to get into Booth is to know the MBA program and how it applies to your career goals. If you want to get into Booth, you really need to show the admissions committee why it’s a good fit for you (and why you’re a good fit for the community too)!

While you will have to do your own research to find the specifics of what aligns specifically with your goals and profile, below we are highlighting some of the main aspects of Booth’s MBA program so you can be informed about what makes it unique in comparison to other business schools.

Booth’s excellence in research and analytics 

Admitting students with excellent academic track records and demonstrated value for intellectualism, Booth produces graduates who excel in innovative thinking. This is demonstrated by the number of research opportunities, quant-heavy curriculum, and balance between theory and practice. 

As such, Booth has a large number of labs and research initiatives that allow students to pursue projects and real-world practice in their particular areas of interest during their MBA studies. Booth’s countless labs are available to students as both core and elective courses and extracurricular activities. Lab topics include Entrepreneurial Discovery and Healthcare Analytics.

There are also multiple research centers aimed at exploring and innovating on some of the most pressing developments in the business world and beyond. For example, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation empowers students to prepare for successful disruptive companies, and the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation focuses on solutions to some of the most significant social and environmental problems. Other centers include the Center for Decision Research and the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence.

Flexible curriculum

Booth’s MBA curriculum is multidisciplinary and famously flexible. While there are core categories that students must fulfill, students have choices within each category to personalize their courses to their interests. Booth’s core curriculum only has one required class; while students are required to fill out categories for graduation, they have a lot of choice in what those courses can be. This means that students have a lot of autonomy in how their degree is shaped and how the MBA prepares them for their particular futures. Students also take electives that fit their career path. 

Outstanding faculty

Chicago Booth is known for its faculty full of renowned business professionals and academics. For example, Austan Goolsbee, an award-winning professor at Booth, was a chief economist during Barack Obama’s presidency in the US. Or take Marianne Bertrand, a professor of economics and researcher at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and the Institute for the Study of Labor. Her research in labor economics, corporate finance, and development economics has been published in numerous prestigious journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the American Economic Review. She has received several awards and honors, including the 2004 Elaine Bennett Research Prize, awarded by the American Economic Association to recognize and honor outstanding research in any field of economics by a woman at the beginning of her career.

Looking for more than just a summary of the Chicago Booth MBA? 

Luckily, we’ve created a complete guide on Booth, including program specifics, MBA class profile, and Chicago Booth post-MBA salary and employment information. 

Additionally, we have dozens of sample Chicago Booth MBA essays that got our past clients into Booth, plus essays for numerous other top schools, all in one place. Click to join!

 

3. Prepare a winning application

Last, but certainly not least, is knowing how to write an outstanding essay and prepare for a successful interview. Below are our top tips on succeeding at both of these key aspects of your Booth application!

Write an outstanding essay

Your admissions essays are one of the most critical components of your Booth application. They’re your chance to share your unique perspective, demonstrate your values, and show how you align with the school’s mission to educate leaders for business and society. These essays aren’t just about recounting experiences. They’re about weaving a narrative that highlights who you are at your core and the impact you aim to create.

That’s why we’ve crafted a comprehensive guide to navigating Chicago Booth’s MBA essay questions, complete with actionable advice and examples. 

Remember that authenticity, reflection, and clarity are your most powerful tools as you approach this section of your application.

Prepare a winning interview

Once you’ve submitted your application, you will wait for your invitation to interview. Once you receive this, congratulations! Landing an interview with Booth is 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. The Chicago Booth interview is blind, meaning the interviewer will only have access to your CV, and should last between 45 and 60 minutes. 

In addition to the live interview, Booth expects candidates who are called to interview to complete a video essay. 

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 more on Booth’s interview and video essay, see our post!

 

Feeling Overwhelmed with the MBA Application Process?

Navigating the complexities of MBA applications can leave you feeling overwhelmed, especially when each program requires unique essays, resumes, and recommendation letters. Without a clear plan, it’s easy to fall into the trap of submitting a generic application that gets you dinged. 

That’s where we come in. With a 98.9% success rate, our team of expert MBA consultants at Ellin Lolis Consulting has a proven track record of transforming applications into success stories. Through our personalized consultation process, we dive deep into your profile, helping you tell your story in a way that resonates with admissions committees and gets you into top business schools. From interview preparation to essay edits, we’re here to guide you through every step of the process.

If you’re ready to stand out in the admissions pool, learn more about working with us today. Let’s make your MBA dreams a reality!