The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth) is known for its “Chicago Approach”—a multidisciplinary teaching framework that uses economics, psychology, sociology, and statistics in a collaborative setting to produce bold leaders with excellent problem-solving skills. With access to a huge global alumni network, a world-renowned faculty, and a pedagogy that combines theory, analytics, case study, and experiential learning, Boothies are prepared to pursue careers in diverse fields.
An M7 school, Chicago Booth is the birthplace of new classical economics, backed by an array of distinguished professors, Nobel Prize winners, and alumni. Chicago Booth offers a full-time MBA program at its Hyde Park campus, as well as part-time MBA programs (evening and weekend) and an executive MBA program at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. Outside the United States, Chicago Booth offers an executive MBA program at its Hong Kong and London campuses. Candidates can also pursue joint degrees at Chicago Booth in law, arts, medicine, computer science, social work, and public policy.
Applicants interested in Chicago Booth must combine their analytical aptitude and curiosity to craft a compelling application and to interview authentically, and mbaMission can help candidates accomplish this, thanks to our consultants’ deep creativity, knowledge, expertise, and rigor.
Chicago Booth Insider’s Guide
Although its reputation as a “finance school” is warranted, Chicago Booth is also known for its flexible curriculum and hands-on, experiential opportunities. The program has demonstrated immense strengths in the areas of consulting, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Through our Insider’s Guide to the Chicago Booth School of Business, you will learn more about the school’s unique LEAD program on leadership, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Business Exchange Program, New Venture and Small Enterprise Lab, multiple Nobel Prize–winning and distinguished faculty, and famous alumni, as well as opportunities to bond with classmates via the annual ski trip, Liquidity Preference Functions, Random Walks, and Thursday Night Drinking Club.
Chicago Booth Interview Guide
University of Chicago Booth School of Business interviews are typically “blind,” meaning the interviewers will have read your resume but not your essays or application. The interviews are usually conducted by students and alumni. Candidates have frequently reported to us that their interviews were “casual, friendly, conversational, laid back, and structured” but that sometimes they can also be “direct and very formal.” While the Chicago Booth admissions committee has evaluated your analytical and intellectual ability via your written application, the interviewer is trying to gauge your personality, style, curiosity, and communication skills through questions related to your resume and work, your behavioral attributes, why you want to pursue an MBA at Chicago Booth, and what you will bring to the Chicago Booth community. Applicants who interview with authenticity, poise, confidence, and humility tend to do well. For sample interview questions and other insights, read our Chicago Booth School of Business Interview Guide.
Chicago Booth Essay Analysis, 2023–2024
The two required application essay prompts for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business complement each other well, allowing candidates to offer insight into both their professional lives and their personal lives. The school also offers applicants significant leeway in how thoroughly they want (or feel they need) to respond to the questions by stipulating a minimum word count of 250 but no maximum. That said, the admissions committee does include a “response guideline,” in which it encourages applicants to “think strategically” about how long their essays ultimately are. No doubt Chicago Booth is interested in learning more about you and your story (that fits the given question, of course) but is simultaneously not interested in learning absolutely everything you can think of to share. Our full essay analysis follows:
- Essay 1: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)
- Essay 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.)
Click here to read our analysis
Chicago Booth MBA Class Profile (Class of 2024)
| Class Size |
621 |
| Average GMAT |
729 |
| GMAT Range |
600–780 |
| Applicants Who Reported a GRE Score |
26% |
| Average GRE Verbal |
163 |
| Average GRE Quant |
164 |
| GRE Verbal Range |
150–170 |
| GRE Quantitative Range |
153–170 |
| Average Work Experience |
5 years |
| Average GPA |
3.60 |
| GPA Range |
2.4–4.0 |
| Average Student Age |
28 |
| Countries Represented |
57 |
| Women |
40 |
U.S. Minority Students
(percentage of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx American, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander) |
47% |
| International Students |
37% |
| Veterans |
8% |
| LBGTQ+ |
7% |
Chicago Booth MBA Rankings
In recent years, Chicago Booth has typically been ranked among the top ten MBA programs in the United States in the most prestigious MBA rankings. In Bloomberg Businessweek’s MBA rankings—which many consider the preeminent such survey—the school was ranked second in the United States in 2023. In the Financial Times’ 2023 survey, Chicago Booth was ranked seventh in the United States and 11th internationally. The program was listed second in the 2023 Poets&Quants ranking of U.S. business schools. In the 2024 U.S. News & World Report survey, the school was ranked first. In addition, U.S. News ranked the school among the top ten in the country in the following specialty areas: part-time MBA (second), finance (second), executive MBA (third), accounting (sixth), marketing (sixth), nonprofit (eighth), and business analytics (ninth).
Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Deadlines (2023–2024 Application Season)
Round 1 Application Deadline
September 21, 2023
Round 1 Decision Notification
November 30, 2023
Round 2 Application Deadline
January 4, 2024
Round 2 Decision Notification
March 21, 2024
Round 3 Application Deadline
April 4, 2024
Round 3 Decision Notification
May 23, 2024
