Chicago Booth Essay Examples

How to Write an MBA Essay for Chicago Booth

MBA acceptance rates in the US are notoriously competitive, and this is true at the Booth School of Business. Your Chicago Booth MBA essays are a chance to distinguish yourself from a competitive crowd and personalize your application for the admissions committee, so they are a very important part of your overall application.

The mission of the Booth School of Business is to “create knowledge with enduring impact, and influence and educate current and future leaders.” The school also pioneered the “Chicago Approach”, an educational philosophy which uses a multidisciplinary approach to business education, challenging students to think about business from a scientific standpoint.

As we’ll see below, the Chicago Booth MBA essays are focused on the seemingly simple question of “why do you want to pursue an MBA?” or “why Chicago Booth?” When you’re brainstorming ideas for your essays, consider the values of the Booth School of Business and their unique approach to business education. What about the “Chicago Approach” or the school’s curriculum and unique opportunities appeal to you and why? How will this specific MBA program help you advance your career or achieve your goals?

To ace the Chicago Booth MBA essays, you’ll need to have a strong reason for choosing Booth over any other school.

It’s important to read the prompts carefully and keep your word count in mind. Your essay should be written for maximum impact, so revising your drafts a few times, and getting an expert eye to review your final draft, is a good idea.

Chicago Booth MBA Essay Requirements

The MBA requirements for Chicago Booth include two required MBA essay questions and one optional essay response. There is also an additional required essay for any reapplicants to the Booth MBA program. We’ve included the prompts for all the Chicago Booth MBA programs below:

Full-time MBA Program

The prompts for the full-time Booth MBA program are:

1. How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)
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. (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

The optional essay prompt is:

• Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (Maximum 300 words.)

Reapplicants must answer the following question:

• 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)

Part-time MBA Program

Chicago Booth boasts one of the best part-time MBA programs in the US. Applicants for this program will have slightly different essay prompts to respond to in their application. These are:

1. Required Essay: Why are you seeking an MBA from Chicago Booth, and why is Chicago Booth's Evening MBA or Weekend MBA your program of choice? (Maximum 400 words).
2. Optional Essay: If there is any important information relevant to your candidacy you were unable to address elsewhere in the application, please share that information here. (Maximum 500 words).

Executive MBA Program

Chicago Booth offers an Executive MBA stream for more experienced candidates. The essay prompts for this admission stream are:

1. Required Essay: Why are you seeking an MBA from Chicago Booth, and what unique knowledge and experiences do you hope to contribute to the program? (Maximum two pages, 12 pt. Times New Roman.)
2. Optional Essay: If there is anything else you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you, please share that information. (Maximum one page, 12 pt. Times New Roman.)
3. Reapplicants: Please give us an update on your professional, academic, and community activities since your previous application and highlight what you have done to strengthen your application. (Maximum one page, 12 pt. Times New Roman.)

The Booth MBA admissions essays must be entered into a text box in the online application. This means that while there is no maximum word count limit, you should carefully consider the length of your essay and revise it several times. Focus on eliminating any unnecessary details or filler words so your essay is lean and clean. If you want expert help with writing or revising your essays, you can hire an MBA essay writing service or ask for help from an MBA admission consulting service.

Chicago Booth MBA Essay Examples

Booth MBA Essay Example #1

Prompt: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

 An MBA from the Booth School of Business will allow me to step into a new role and achieve long-standing goals. A Booth MBA will enrich my leadership education, give me unparalleled experiential learning opportunities and immerse me in a higher level of international business. Currently, I work for a multinational telecommunications company, and my immediate goal is to accept an exciting promotion to vice president of operations as we expand our company into a new continent and diverse new business cultures. Earning my MBA from Booth will prepare me best for this new venture and new direction in my career, and it will provide me with the tools and education to bring opportunities for growth to untapped economies.

In this new role, I will be working in foreign business cultures and interacting with many diverse individuals. Booth MBA’s international business concentration and its understanding of global business practices is incomparable, and it is my wish to learn from the very best. Booth’s LEAD program would be instrumental in developing my leadership skills further, particularly in the context of working with international teams and within new cultural work environments. Booth’s focus on coursework such as macroeconomics and global finance will also enrich my understanding as I enter new markets and help launch this new division of my company. Lastly, I am intrigued by the chance to learn from incredible business experts around the world through Booth’s Masterclass series and networking opportunities for students.

The Booth MBA program electives, in particular the Global Social Impact Practicum, are of great interest and value to me in achieving my long-term goals. In this new position, my long-term goal is to instigate economic growth through building partnerships, creating jobs and investment opportunities, and of course bringing valuable resources to the communities I will be working in. The practicum would allow me to experience firsthand how remote and rural communities approach problems, offer solutions and work to build them. It will give me a unique window into their perspective and their side of the business equation. I think earning an MBA from Booth will show me how to lead effectively in a global market, how to think creatively about solutions, and will remind me always who is on the other side of our company’s business. 

Working on your MBA resume for Chicago Booth? Here are some items to include:

Booth MBA Essay Example #2

Prompt: 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. (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

 I used to think personal growth and professional development were inextricably linked, and my dedicated focus to my professional development naturally resulted in personal development, as well. I learned the need to separate and individually prioritize the two when a friend of mine broke his leg and asked me to take over coaching his minor league baseball team. I had little experience with sports or working with kids, but as my background was in management, I thought I would have no trouble translating my professional skills to a personal setting.

From the first time I stepped onto the field I knew I would have to make drastic changes in myself. In my professional life, I was well used to coaching teams of adults in high pressure environments. I could rely on my team by now to get the job done and do what was needed. My new team of 20 kids wasn’t interested in my pushing them to be their best, to reach the limits of their potential and find out what they could do. After a frustrating first week, my friend advised me to try a new approach. As someone who was professionally driven, I’d rarely taken time to enjoy simple things like a good baseball game. My professional persona was such a huge part of my identity, but it bled into my out-of-office time too much. If I wanted to be a successful coach for these kids, I needed to be more self-aware of my leadership style, allow myself to be flexible and adjust my expectations. I had to separate my professional side from my personal life.

I started with attending a baseball game with my friend and his son, who was one of the kids I was now coaching. This was a major league game, so the stakes and performance were at a peak. And still, I tried to see the game through the eyes of my friend’s son. He didn’t care that his team lost in the end—he was sure they’d done their best and would do better next time. When I practiced seeing baseball from his perspective, I realized how much I enjoyed the game, which I’d never had an interest in before. At the next minor game he played, when our team lost, I told him I knew he and his teammates had done their best. He smiled and gave every one of his teammates, and me, a high five. When I focused on providing structure and encouragement to my players, I saw an immediate response. They were more engaged, more positive, and more present in the game. Whether they were winning or losing, they were focused on playing more than anything. In doing so, they taught me to leave my professional persona at the office and come to each game with a clear mind.

I have now been coaching minor league teams for the past 8 years, all thanks to this group of kids who showed me how rewarding it can be to help young people grow and learn in a personal sphere. Coaching kids has taught me patience, flexibility, resourcefulness, and positivity. Most of all, I think they have taught me kindness and enjoyment. How to have fun. They’ve shown me my life did not have to center on my professional development and improvement, but also that my own personal development could add to and enrich my workplace skills. Coaching these kids has been incredibly personally rewarding, as it has allowed me a needed separation in my life, and shown me how to tap into personal passions like baseball for the sake of enjoyment, more than anything else.

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