The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

FAQ

What is the tuition for Booth's MBA program?

The tuition for Booth’s MBA program is $77,841 per year. The total cost of the Booth MBA program is $115,062 per year; this includes budgeted living expenses.

How hard is it to get into Booth’s MBA program?

The acceptance rate for Booth is 23.5%. It is important to consider the acceptance rate in the context of the student profile of those who are admitted. For example, the average GMAT score is 729.

What is the average GMAT score for admission to Booth’s MBA program?

The average GMAT score for the incoming class at Booth is 729. The GMAT range is 600 to 780.

Does the Booth MBA program accept the GRE?

Yes. The Booth MBA program has accepted the GRE for a few years now.

What is the average GRE score for admission to Booth’s MBA program?

The average GRE scores for the Booth MBA Class of 2024 were: 163 Verbal and 164 Quant.

What is the minimum number of years of work experience required for admission to Booth’s MBA program?

Booth does not state a minimum requirement for years of work experience. However, it is important for candidates to be aware that they are being considered against other candidates with an average of 5 years of experience.

What is the average number of years of work experience for admission to Booth’s MBA program? (or, What is the average age of a Booth student?)

The average number of years of work experience among students in Booth’s MBA program is 5.

What is the median starting salary for graduates of the Booth MBA program?

The median starting salary for Booth MBA graduates is $175,000. The salary will vary by industry, with consulting and finance jobs generally commanding the higher salaries.

How long is Booth’s full-time MBA program?

Booth offers a traditional 2 year MBA program.

What are the application deadlines for Booth's MBA program?

The Round 1 MBA application deadline is September 22, 2022. The Round 2 application deadline is January 5, 2023. The Round 3 deadline is April 11, 2023. The Chicago Booth Scholars deadline is April 11, 2023.

What percent of Booth MBA students are women?

The percentage of the class at Booth that are women is 40%.

What type of interview does Booth use for MBA admissions?

Booth offers interviews by invitation. The interviews are resume-based. This means the interviewer has not had access to the application materials.

Admissions

The Class Profile

Chicago Booth’s Class of 2024 is comprised of 621 students. In total, 37 percent of students in the Class of 2024 are international and 40 percent are women. Based on Federal guidelines, 30 percent identify as Asian American, 10 percent as Hispanic/Latinx, four percent as Black/African American and another four percent as multi-race.

A quarter of Chicago Booth’s Class of 2024 pursued degrees in business during their undergraduate studies. Another quarter had studied economics while 24% majored in engineering. Thirteen percent had majored in liberal arts.

Upon matriculation at Chicago Booth, students averaged five years of full-time work experience. Twenty-five percent of the class came from the consulting industry. Financial services was the next most popular pre-MBA career choice, at 19 percent of students’ experience. Thirteen percent had worked in the tech industry before matriculating and 11 percent in the non-profit and government sectors. Healthcare rounds out the top five industry choices at six percent.

Incoming Booth MBA students who took the GMAT landed an average score of 729. Twenty-six percent had taken the GRE, and those test takers averaged 164 Quant and 163 Verbal scores.

Application Procedures

Chicago Booth gives its applicants the choice of applying in one of three admissions rounds, which usually take place in late September, early January and early April. The application requirements for Chicago Booth include completing the school’s application forms and submitting essays, a résumé, two letters of recommendation, and unofficial college and graduate transcripts. Applicants must also report their GMAT and, when applicable, TOEFL/IELTS scores. Interviews are required for admission, and Chicago Booth holds interviews by invitation only. Interview invitations are extended approximately a month after the round’s initial deadline.

Application Checklist

• Completed application with required personal background 
• Completed essay questions  
• Professional resume 
• Two letters of recommendation  
• Unofficial (scanned) transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions attended. Note: Official transcripts are requested from admitted students only. 
• GMAT or GRE score 
• TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores (international applicants only)
  Note: TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores are valid for two years. 
• $250 application fee

Interview Reports

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Second-Year Student / Zoom

Just had my interview for R2 with a second year. He was really conversational and easy to talk to. Started off with walk me through your resume. Then several questions about team interaction – both as a leader and as a member of a team. Leadership style? Why an MBA and why Booth? For these […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / AdCom / Zoom

Description/location of visit and/or interview atmosphere: Zoom Resume-based with AdCom. From the beginning, she was very friendly and laid out the ground really well. List of interview questions: a) Tell me about yourself. b) Why Booth? c) Why do you believe you have a fit with the school? d) Why MBA at this point of […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-Campus

45 min interview in a coffee shop in Seattle by a Booth Alumni who worked at Amazon as a Finance Manager. A bit strict vibe, but mostly conversational. Music in coffee shop was a bit too loud and there few many people there so got a bit distracted. Questions – 1) Introduce Yourself 2) Walk […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-Campus

Overall the alum wasn’t responsive in the email. It took them two days to respond to my initial email to set up a meeting arrangement. So once that was finally set, I didn’t hear from him. He showed up a little late to the meeting, and he did apologize; however, the good thing is that […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / On-Campus

It was just me and a second-year student in a small room. The questions were heavily focused on my experience and what I wanted to get out of Booth. The big surprise was them asking me about what I can bring to the institution and the student body, something Booth cares about. Overall, very good […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom

Interview atmosphere was relaxed, and definitely very conversational! Nothing radically surprising that popped up during the interview. See below for questions: 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. How do you prioritize your time? (Follow up: how will you prioritise your time between academics, networking and social life at Booth?) 3. What are you most proud of? […]

Interview Report Round-Up: Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross, MIT Sloan, UNC Kenan-Flagler

Welcome to another edition of Interview Report Roundup in which we highlight the MBA admissions interview reports that applicants have shared recently to the Clear Admit Interview Archive. Over Zoom, a Round 1 applicant to UNC Kenan-Flagler reported the following questions from their adcom interviewer: A candidate for MIT Sloan shared their interview experience, which […]

Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Virtual

Interviewer started by introducing herself and giving a long-winded explanation of her why MBA / why now / why Booth. 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Proudest accomplishment? 3. Failure? 4. Strengths and weaknesses? 5. 3 words you’d use to describe your leadership style. 6. 3 words your colleagues would use to describe your leadership […]

MBA Interview Report Round-Up: Chicago Booth, Cornell Johnson, MIT Sloan

Welcome to a new series, Interview Report Roundup, in which we highlight the MBA admissions interview reports that applicants have shared recently to the Clear Admit Interview Archive. We start with a look at a couple of Chicago Booth interview reports. A Round 1 applicant chose to visit campus for their interview with a second-year […]

Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year / On-Campus

Option to do virtual, off-campus, or on-campus interview: Chose on-campus and did a tour that included lunch with more current students. When I was called in, the interviewer already had a copy of my resume that had markups/notes (you are told to bring a copy regardless). o Walk me through your resume. o How did […]

Chicago-booth Q&As

Admissions Director Q&A: Donna Swinford of Chicago Booth

This Admissions Director Q&A is all about Chicago Booth admissions, as Donna Swinford discusses the review process, essays, interviews and much more about the MBA program. Swinford has been at Booth since 1997 and joined the office of Admissions in 2005. She’s seen the admissions process at Booth from pretty much every angle over the […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Donna Swinford of Chicago Booth

We are excited to discuss MBA admissions at Chicago Booth with the Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions, Donna Swinford, in this Admissions Director Q&A. Swinford has been at Booth since 1997 and joined the office of Admissions in 2005. It’s safe to say she’s seen the admissions process at Booth from pretty much […]

Admissions Director Q&A: Donna Swinford of Chicago Booth School of Business

In addition to being one of the Best Business Schools for Finance, the Chicago Booth School of Business also stands out for its culture of curiosity and a teaching style called The Chicago Approach.  The educational philosophy of The Chicago Approach is about critical thinking—by understanding fundamental scientific disciplines, the resulting theoretical frameworks help define […]

U. Chicago Booth LiveWire and DecisionWire

Academics

Faculty

Chicago Booth employs nearly 260 faculty members, 130 of whom are in tenure-track positions. These faculty members teach across 11 academic areas and contribute to Chicago Booth’s 13 research centers and initiatives, whose missions range from fostering entrepreneurship to interpreting Chicago Price Theory.

Curriculum

Professors utilize a mix of teaching styles at Chicago Booth, from case studies to lectures. Regardless of approach, the school prides itself on creating classroom environments that promote discussion and debate. The academic year is broken into seasonal quarters, which last an average of 12 weeks. Fall Quarter classes generally begin in late September and end by early December. Classes resume for the Winter Quarter in early January and conclude in mid-March. After a short break, Spring Quarter begins in late March and finishes by the first or second week of June. In the summer after their first year, students are encouraged to prepare for their post-MBA careers by completing summer internships in their desired fields.

Chicago Booth’s curriculum gives its students the flexibility to create their own tailored educational path from the start. While students must take one “foundation course” in each of three disciplines—Financial Accounting, Microeconomics and Statistics—students already well versed in the basics of these fields can choose more advanced alternatives to fulfill this requirement. Students must also take one course in each of seven out of eight categories: finance, marketing, operations, decisions, people, strategy, economy, and society. The sole required course that all students must take is the Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) course, which teaches students about successful leadership techniques and how to motivate others. LEAD starts with ropes courses and social events during first-year orientation; additional LEAD-associated classroom sessions and other activities are held throughout the rest of the year.

Once foundational requirements are met, students are then given the opportunity to take 10 elective courses to round out and deepen their education. Through their choice of electives, students may pursue one or more of the 13 offered concentrations, which vary in focus from entrepreneurship to strategic management. In addition, students are given experiential learning opportunities through the school’s lab courses, in which teams of students help companies resolve issues across industries such as social enterprise and clean technology. Booth also allows students to gain international exposure by studying abroad for a semester at one of the school’s 30 exchange partner schools.

Other MBA Degree Options

Along with its 21-month full-time MBA program, Chicago Booth offers Evening and Weekend MBA programs, which allow students to earn an MBA in about 2.5 to 3 years. The school also has an Executive MBA program hosted in Chicago, London or Hong Kong for individuals at a more advanced stage in their careers. In addition to these part-time options, Chicago Booth partners with the larger University of Chicago to offer joint degrees in eight different disciplines, including a JD/MBA with the Chicago Law School, an MPP/MBA with the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, an MA/MBA with the School of Social Service Administration, an MPCS with the Department of Computer Science, an MBA/MA in International Relations, an MBA/MA in Eastern European & Russian Eurasian Studies, an MBA/MA in Middle Eastern Studies, and an MD/MBA with the Pritzker School of Medicine.

Concentrations at Booth

• Accounting
• Analytic Finance
• Behavioral Science
• Business Analytics
• Econometrics and Statistics
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• General Management
• International Business

Degree Offerings at Booth

Full-time MBA Program
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/full-time

Evening MBA Program
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/part-time/evening

Weekend MBA Program
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/part-time/weekend

Executive MBA Program
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/executive

Joint Degree Programs
MBA/MPP, MBA/JD, MBA/MD, MBA/AM, MBA/MA, MBA/MPCS, Certificate in Health Administration & Policy
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/mba/joint-degree

Campus Life

Clubs, Conferences & Competitions

Chicago Booth students have a variety of opportunities to get involved with the school community. The first such opportunity are the optional Random Walk trips, which are led by second-year students and take place in August before the first-year orientation commences. Past trips have taken place in Argentina, Jordan, Turkey, Nicaragua and South Africa, among many other locations.

Once on campus, there are over 70 student groups that students can consider joining, which cover everything from cultural affinity groups, such as the Hispanic American Busi­ness Students Association, to professionally oriented clubs like the Management Consulting and Investment Banking groups.  Students can also explore their more personal hobbies or passions through groups focused on a variety of sports, the culinary arts, photography or volunteering.

Many of Chicago Booth’s student groups also contribute to the school’s events throughout the year. For example, each year the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group puts on the annual SeedCon, which includes one day of fast-pitch competitions and keynote speeches for aspiring entrepreneurs. In addition, the Marketing Group hosts a one-day conference that gives participants the opportunity to learn from current marketing practitioners at companies such as Wrigley and Proctor & Gamble.

Campus Spaces

Located just east of the University of Chicago’s central quadrangles, the Charles M. Harper Center houses the full-time MBA program’s 11 classrooms, 31 group study rooms, student lounge, workstations and other resources, such as two Bloomberg terminals and a café. The Harper Center was designed by Rafael Viñoly and opened to the Chicago Booth community in 2004. Meanwhile, the Gleacher Center, located in “the Loop,” serves as the headquarters for the educational pursuits of part-time and EMBA students.

The University of Chicago does provide graduate students with the opportunity to apply for housing on or near campus. Students can apply to live in one of 500 units owned by the University, many of which accept students with families or pets. Students are also welcome to live off-campus; a majority of Booth students live in the Loop, and other popular neighborhoods include Lincoln Park and Wicker Park.

MBA Careers

Career Services

The Chicago Booth Career Services office provides many ways for students to develop professionally during their time at the school. These services include computer resources and tests to determine an individual’s potential fit with different industries, one-on-one job coaching with members of the office staff, résumé and cover letter workshops, and an on-campus recruiting schedule that regularly brings over 200 companies to campus. First-year students looking to find summer internships start their recruiting process in October with Meet-and-Greets and corporate networking nights, which give potential employers the opportunity to present their organization to students. In early January, first-year students participate in on-campus interviewing in order to secure internship offers. The recruiting schedule for second-year students starts with corporate networking nights in September. Second-year interviews are then conducted on campus in October.

Career Statistics

Of the nearly 500 students of the Class of 2022 seeking employment, approximately 93% had received job offers by graduation and that jumped to 97% within three months of graduation. The median starting salary for Chicago Booth graduates was $175,000.

35.5% of the Class of 2022 pursued roles in the consulting industry and 35.1% joined financial services. Breaking down financial services further, nearly 11 percent entered investment banking/brokerage, and about seven percent each entered private equity or diversified financial services. Just shy of 15% pursued work in the technology industry while approximately 4% of the class entered the healthcare field.

Chicago Booth keeps with the general business school trend of placing a considerable percentage of its graduates in the region where the school is located. In this case, just shy of 31% of the Class of 2022 found work in the Midwestern U.S., and 27% of that group remained in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Northeast was the second most popular location for Chicago Booth graduates, with nearly 29% of the class starting their careers there. Twenty percent headed to the U.S. West. About 6% of students pursued positions internationally, with the largest percentage of that group heading to Asia.

Financing

Chicago Booth’s 2022-2023 tuition is $77,841. With additional fees such as living expenses, health insurance and books, however, the estimated cost of attendance for nine months is $115,062. Though the school does not provide need-based aid to incoming students, it does offer a number of merit-based scholarships and fellowships. All applicants are considered for these awards upon admission to the program; applicants do not need to fill out any additional forms or applications to become eligible for consideration. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can also avail themselves of four different loan programs, including the Federal Perkins Loan and Federal Stafford Student Loan programs. In addition, Chicago Booth provides loan programs for students that do not require U.S. co-signers, regardless of citizenship.

Estimated Cost of Attendance (per academic year)

• Tuition, 10 courses $77,841
• Student Services Fee $1,347
• Admin. Fee (1st year only) $2,600
• Lifetime Cred. Fee (one time) $75
• Books $684
• Rent & Utilities $22,185
• Personal (includes health insurance) $7,086
• Transportation $1,944
• Computer (1st year only) $1,300
• Total $115,062

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