Resources

1. What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will a Chicago Booth MBA help you reach them? (600 words) Nothing tricky here. We’ve written about this a dozen times. And we’ll do it again. Three pieces here: (1) Short Term, (2) Long Term, and (3) How will Booth help. Actually, there’s a FOURTH: the lure. The lure is an often overlooked and absolutely critical piece of the puzzle. It’s the opening chunk of an essay like this that …
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At Chicago Booth, we teach you HOW to think rather than what to think. With this in mind, we have provided you with “blank pages” in our application. Knowing that there is not a right or even a preferred answer allows you to demonstrate to the committee your ability to navigate ambiguity and provide information that you believe will support your candidacy for Chicago Booth. This famous powerpoint Booth question unnerves many folks… Imagine it’s the 18th hole, and Tiger …
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Chicago Booth is a place that challenges its students to stretch and take risks that they might not take elsewhere. Tell us about a time when you took a risk and what you learned from that experience (maximum of 750 words) Lovely. This one comes down to understanding one tiny little word: risk. Let’s play out a few scenarios shall we? Suppose you had a total of 1 million dollars in your savings account. Life savings, all in. We’re gonna …
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The flavor-du-jour is Booth’s essay questions released for 2010, specifically question #1. [Be sure to stay tuned as we roll out analysis for all of em, as well as other schools.] Now let’s dig. 1. The Admissions Committee is interested in learning more about you on both a personal and professional level. Please answer the following (maximum of 300 words for each section): a. Why are you pursuing a full-time MBA at this point in your life? b. Define your …
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What have you not already shared in your application that you would like your future classmates to know about you? So much to talk about here, it hurts my hair just thinking about it. Well, let’s at least take a bite out of the thing. Warning—today’s blurb is gonna be particularly… abstract. And is meant for those of you struggling a little with where to begin, how to think about it, etc. There will be future posts focusing on different …
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Describe a time when you wish you could have retracted something you said or did. When did you realize your mistake and how did you handle the situation? (500-750 words) We have all experienced this. The “OH NO” moment. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. There are tons of ways to skin this sucker. But let’s analyze the words in the question a bit. “A time when you WISH you COULD HAVE RETRACTED something you said or did.” This isn’t as simple and …
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How did you choose your most recent job/internship and how did this experience influence your future goals? What about the Chicago Booth MBA makes you feel it is the next best step in your career at this time? [750-1000] [First off, one more shoutout to HBS and Wharton R1-ers. Good luck, y'all.] K, first of all, 750-1000 is not the same as 1000. Shoot for 800-900. That’ll keep you out of trouble. Now, I’m gonna list ALL the elements embedded …
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Describe a time when you were surprised by feedback that you received. What was the feedback and why were you surprised? This sucker is all about “being in touch with the inner you.” Knowing thyself. Let’s figure out what “surprise” is all about. When do we experience surprise? If we found out that O.J. Simpson did in fact “do it” — no one is going to bat an eyelash. If, however, we were to learn that Mother Teresa was responsible …
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Why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? 750 words-ish. Don’t overthink it. And, for the moment, treat this as if it’s the first MBA application essay question you’ve EVER seen. The trick I love–and think is absurdly helpful–is first to hear this question spoken by an interviewer. Smart-looking guy/gal in glasses is sitting behind a desk, perusing what you fear is your resume, and looks up and cuts right to the chase and says “Why …
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