The two required application essays for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business complement each other well, allowing candidates to offer insight into both their professional goals and their personal values. Booth 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 offer “response guidelines,” encouraging 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 (as 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.
Chicago Booth 2025–2026 Essay Tips
Response Guidelines: We trust that you will use your best judgment in determining how long your submission should be, but we recommend that you think strategically about how to best allocate the space.
Essay 1: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum)
If this essay prompt seems rather simplistic and straightforward, that is because it is. Chicago Booth is requesting very fundamental—yet incredibly important—information and really just wants you to provide it so the admissions committee can understand your motivation for pursuing an MBA from Booth and where you expect to go in your career afterward. Be as thorough as possible in your description of where you see yourself after graduation and several years down the line, from the industry and role to any additional details about which you currently feel confident (perhaps specific companies or responsibilities that appeal to you). Explain what has brought you to this point in your professional life, not only your career progression to date but also what has inspired you to earn an advanced degree as a vital tool in moving forward. And ideally, take the extra step of noting which of the program’s resources you believe will be most helpful to you in your pursuits. To be effective, this needs to be more than a passing mention, so do your research on the school and draw a clear picture for the admissions reader as to how and why the particular offerings you have identified relate directly to your needs and how you intend to engage with them.
This essay includes some of the most elemental components of a traditional personal statement essay. We therefore encourage you to download your free copy of the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, in which we provide much more in-depth guidance on how to consider and respond to these sorts of questions, along with numerous illustrative examples.
Essay 2: 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)
Chicago Booth’s first essay question focuses on candidates’ professional paths and aspirations, and with this new prompt, the admissions committee is asking applicants to discuss who they are on a more personal level and what they will bring to the Booth community.
By presenting four different pictures and asking which one resonates with you, the school is hoping to gain a sense of your values and how they align with those of the school. You will need to thoroughly research the Booth program and community to understand the type of applicant the program seeks. Dig deep into what life at the school is really like by reading student blogs, perusing discussion boards, catching up on press releases from the school, watching videos on Chicago Booth’s YouTube channel, and downloading a free copy of the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Booth School of Business. We always suggest speaking to students and alumni as well, which should provide you with valuable firsthand insight. Gaining a deeper understanding of Booth’s values will help you more easily comprehend the values that each of the school’s photos represent.
The wording of the question clearly conveys what the admissions committee is hoping to see in its applicants. For example, the school wants individuals who have a “respect for different viewpoints” and who will engage in “collaborative thinking.” You might therefore want to identify which of your personal values align with those ideas. If you are then immediately drawn to one of the pictures, you are off to a good start. If not, you might need to work backward: first, pinpoint one of your values that corresponds with Booth’s, and then decide which of the pictures best represents that value. Fortunately, the prompt’s photos are rather general, which should allow you some freedom in choosing the most fitting one.
To compose a truly compelling essay, you will need to go beyond simply noting the value you wish to highlight. You will need to illustrate it by sharing one or more examples and anecdotes of times you have truly lived it. This way, even if the value you have chosen might seem commonplace, your experiences that show how you have embodied it will be unique to you and will lend merit to your claim(s). In addition, when considering how to best illustrate your value, consider all the areas of your life (professional, community service, personal). As you illustrate how you have lived this value, be sure to also make clear why this value is so important to you. This will further help the admissions committee envision how you will make your mark on the Booth community.
Optional Question: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (Maximum 300 words)
Chicago Booth’s optional essay prompt is a little quirky in that the admissions committee uses the word “unclear,” which to us says, “Don’t share additional information just to ‘sell’ your candidacy. Use this space only to address a problem area.” So let us be explicit: however tempted you might be, do not simply submit a strong essay you wrote for another school or offer a few anecdotes you were unable to include in your required essays. This is your opportunity to address—if you need to—any lingering questions that an admissions officer might have about your candidacy, such as a low GMAT or GRE score, a poor grade or overall GPA, or a gap in your work experience. For more guidance, we encourage you to download your free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay, along with multiple examples, to help you mitigate any problem areas in your application.
Reapplicant 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)
With this essay question, Chicago Booth is testing your resolve and your reasoning. We surmise that the admissions committee wants to be certain you are not just stubbornly following a path and trying to “finish what you started,” so to speak, but that you have truly reassessed your needs in the aftermath of your unfortunate rejection. We recommend that you discuss your subsequent growth and development as they pertain to additional personal and professional discovery, thereby validating your need for an MBA. In the interim, some of your interests or goals might have changed; that is not a bad thing, and the admissions committee will not automatically assume that you are “wishy-washy,” unless you give them good reason to do so. Just be sure that any of your updated goals still logically connect to your overall story and desire for an MBA. Your aspirations—new or original—need to represent a compelling progression of the growth you have achieved in the past year.
The Next Step: Mastering Your Chicago Booth Interview
Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possible—the key is informed preparation. And, on your way to this high level of preparation, we offer our free Interview Guides to spur you along! Download your free copy of the Chicago Booth School of Business Interview Guide today.
To learn more about the essays for other top business schools, visit our MBA Essay Tips and Examples page.
