DEADLINES
Round 1: 27 September 2018
Round 2: 3 January 2019
Round 3: 4 April 2019
ESSAYS
The University of Chicago has long stood out as one of the most serious and innovative MBAs globally. It’s also increased its competitiveness in the rankings over the years by offering liberal scholarship options to help lure the best students away from its top competitors.
In terms of its application, Booth has decided to take a slightly more traditional route this year, adopting the essay format. While this might outwardly seem easier to deal with, you should note that there is no maximum word limit on these essays. However, the questions Booth is asking hint that a reasonable word count per essay should be in the range of 500 to 1,000 words.
How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250 word minimum)
The first portion of this essay requires you to state your immediate and long-term post-MBA goals. Booth wants to see goals that are ambitious and actionable. In order for your goals to meet both standards, they need to be somehow related to or, at least, taking advantage of your previous professional endeavors. This might also provide you with the opportunity to sparingly mention what sorts of previous experiences or accomplishments you’ve had that make your short and long-term goals more realizable.
The second part of the essay should concentrate on how Booth will contribute to the success of your objectives. In this section, you need to point out the specific attributes of the MBA. This is the time to dig into the knowledge you’ve gained from events and meetings with alumni, as well as the research you’ve done on courses, professors, student organizations, etc. While it’s important to avoid generality, you also want to make sure that any Booth advantages that you mention are directly linked to your goals.
Chicago Booth immerses you in a choice-rich environment. How have your interests, leadership experiences, and other passions influenced the choices in your life? (250 word minimum)
Our lives are filled with an immense amount of choices. Chicago Booth is looking to understand who you truly are through the motivations and experiences that have driven your life. Moreover, they’re trying to understand how you’ve been motivated as a leader.
This essay is an excellent place to recount your history from a personal lens and to highlight the impact your successes have had on you. When working on the stories you’d like to include, it’s often easier to work backward. What big moments occurred in your professional and personal life? What choices were at the root of those moments? What attracted you to one choice in particular?
When approaching this essay, it’s important to make the admissions committee feel engaged with your narrative. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use diverse examples, however finding something that connects those various instances, at least to some extent, will help strengthen your writing.
Optional Question: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (300 word maximum)
In this essay, Chicago Booth is only interested in information concerning problems in your profile. If you don’t have any issues (gaps in your job history, poor academic performance, strange job progression, lack of a supervisor recommendation, etc.), leave this essay blank.
If you do have an issue, make sure to deal with it in this section. If possible, explain why that particular situation was an anomaly and how you have since been able to prove that it will remain firmly in the past. For example, if you had poor academic performance in your university, how you’ve since taken courses that show you’re capable of outperforming on university-level subjects.
Re-applicant 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? (300 word maximum)
It’s important to approach this essay carefully. You might feel the need to rush into an answer that simply focuses on showing changes in exam metrics or your professional responsibilities, however, you’ll most likely need to dig deeper to develop a convincing essay. Booth is asking about how your perspective has changed, meaning how has your view of the process and your future evolved. Try to convince Booth that, more than ever, you fit into their MBA and vice versa.
