Chicago Booth Application Essay Tips, 2025–2026
Chicago Booth, while well-known for its quantitative approach and highly flexible curriculum, continues to use the application process to identify strong qualitative thinkers who offer a broad diversity of experiences that will bring variety to class discussions and add complexity to the team dynamics the school emphasizes. While the prompt for Essay 1 remains unchanged, Booth has created a new Essay 2 question that asks candidates to discuss a value they hold that aligns with one of four provided photos.
Essays
Essay One: How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum)
We advise applicants to start any conventional personal statement with some simple context/backstory. Simply launching into why you want to go into product management at Facebook or “proptech” or whatever your interest might be could otherwise be confusing for the reviewer. They need to have some sense of why you have that interest. So, your first task is to establish that your goals are real without rehashing the entirety of your professional path.
Once you have provided that clear context, you can then share the immediate goals that are derived from it. You should not worry that there is a “right” position and that the admissions committee wants “types”; as noted, they want diversity and, once again, they want to know that your goal is ambitious and achievable for you. Thereafter, you can connect your short- and long-term goals, which don’t necessarily need to be linear but do need to be both logical and ambitious. So, if you said you want to be a hedge fund analyst in your short-term goal statement, and in the long run, you want to be a marketing consultant, we have a problem! You don’t need to say that you want to stay in hedge funds for your whole career (though there is nothing wrong with that if that is your goal), but you need to be sure that your long-term goal represents a natural progression from this hypothetical stint in the hedge fund world.
Of course, a strong response will show that you have identified specific areas of development and knowledge that you want to focus on at Chicago Booth. You should back this up using the research that you have done by demonstrating your knowledge of the program and how it relates to your growth and progression. So, this should not be a list of Chicago Booth resources but rather a well-developed “case” for how the school’s MBA program will facilitate your success.
We suggest that you answer this essay question in 550–750 words.
Essay Two: Chicago Booth appreciates the individual experiences and perspectives that all of our students bring to our community. This respect for different viewpoints creates an open-minded environment that supports curiosity, inspires us to think more broadly, and take risks. At Booth, community is about collaborative thinking and learning from one another to better ourselves, our ideas, and the world around us.
The photos below represent some of the values described above that we uphold at Chicago Booth. Select one and share how it resonates with one of your own values. (250-word minimum)
This represents a new twist on Booth’s effort to get to know each candidate as a whole person, beyond just their professional experiences.
First, pick a photo that honestly resonates with you, one that illustrates a value you have embraced throughout your life. You should not force a value, and do not fall into the trap of thinking that Booth is looking for a specific profile. Just be true to yourself, and your genuine voice will come through.
Then, rather than merely stating what you value, demonstrate how it is integral to your being by elaborating on why it is important to you and by giving clear examples of how it has manifested itself in your actions and choices over time. When you write this essay, share specifics to make the details of your story come to life.
As with Essay One, we suggest that this essay be between 550 and 750 words long.
Optional Question: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (Maximum 300 words.)
This question needs to be addressed only if there are gaps in your employment or some specific situation or which providing some background or context would be helpful. Some other examples would be if your recommender is not your direct supervisor or your transcript looks like Swiss cheese, with some holes or bad grades scattered here and there. If you use this essay to discuss an issue that you’ve now overcome, be sure to cement that idea by sharing a subsequent experience in which you succeeded. There is no need to make this any longer than it needs to be. Do not feel compelled to hit the 300-word maximum.
If you have any special extracurricular causes or work that you believe helps to further explain who you are, and that the admissions committee might not otherwise discover, this could be a good place to help them learn about this aspect of your profile.
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? (Maximum 300 words.)
This essay is your opportunity to explain how you have grown since you last applied. Ideally, you have improved on some aspect(s) of your profile, whether that is a higher test score, more work experience, a promotion, or something similar. Be sure to explain what it is about the school that motivates you to apply again. This can be a great way to show your specific and sincere reasons for valuing a Chicago Booth MBA in particular.
In Stratus Admissions’ Guide to Getting into the Chicago Booth School of Business, you will find information on a variety of the MBA program’s offerings, such as the LEAD program, the New Venture Challenge, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and student-led industry treks. Download our free guide to learn more about Chicago Booth!