Booth School of Business Guide

mbaMission’s Insider’s Guide
Booth School of Business

University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
2020–2021
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We have therefore invested hundreds of hours into researching and examining the leading business schools—including
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applicants like you make informed decisions about this important step in your education and career.
We hope you enjoy this guide and encourage you to visit us at www.mbamission.com for complete and detailed analysis
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 4

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Free Resources from mbaMission
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Complete Start-to-Finish MBA Admissions Guide Insider’s Guide to Columbia Business School
Brainstorming Guide Insider’s Guide to Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson
Essay Writing Guide Graduate School of Management
Fundamentals of an MBA Candidacy Guide Insider’s Guide to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
Interview Guide Insider’s Guide to the Haas School of Business at the University
Letters of Recommendation Guide of California-Berkeley
Long-Term Planning Guide Insider’s Guide to Harvard Business School
Optional Essays Guide Insider’s Guide to INSEAD
Personal Statement Guide Insider’s Guide to the Kellogg School of Management at
Resume Guide Northwestern University
Selecting Your Target MBA Program E-Book Insider’s Guide to the MIT Sloan School of Management
Social Media Guide Insider’s Guide to New York University’s Leonard N. Stern
Waitlist Guide School of Business
MBA Student Loan Reduction Guide Insider’s Guide to the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Insider’s Guide to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at
the University of Michigan
International Program Guides Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Insider’s Guide to the UCLA Anderson School of Management
Cambridge Judge Business School Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the University of Chicago Booth School of
ESADE Program Guide Business
HEC Paris Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of
HKUST Program Guide Business Administration
IE Business School Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the Wharton School of the University of
IESE Business School Program Guide Pennsylvania
IMD Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the Yale School of Management
Ivey Business School Program Guide
London Business School Program Guide
Rotman School of Management Program Guide
Saïd Business School Program Guide

Interview Guides Career Guides
Chicago Booth School of Business Interview Guide Asset Management Career Guide
Columbia Business School Interview Guide Consulting Career Guide
Dartmouth Tuck Interview Guide Hedge Fund Career Guide
Duke Fuqua Interview Guide Investment Banking Career Guide
Haas School of Business Interview Guide Marketing Career Guide
Harvard Business School Interview Guide Private Equity Career Guide
INSEAD Interview Guide Real Estate Investment & Development Career Guide
London Business School Interview Guide Tech Career Guide
Michigan Ross Interview Guide Venture Capital Career Guide
MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Guide
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Stanford GSB Interview Guide
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UCLA Anderson Interview Guide
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Yale School of Management Interview Guide
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Table of Contents
9 The MBA Program in Context: Choosing Chicago Booth

10 Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
13 Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
17 Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
19 Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
21 Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
26 Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
27 Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
28 Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
32 Booth School of Business

32 Summary
33 The Dean
35 Professional Specializations
35 Consulting
37 Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
41 Finance
43 International Business
46 Marketing
49 Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship
51 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
53 Social/Community Life
56 Academic Summary
57 Admissions Basics
61 University of Chicago (Booth) Essay Analysis, 2020–2021
64 mbaMission’s Exclusive Interview with University of Chicago Booth School of Business Associate Dean of
Student Recruitment and Admissions (Currently Chief Marketing and Communications Officer) Kurt Ahlm
66 B-School Insider Interview: Alumnus, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Class of 2018
73 B-School Insider Interview: Alumna, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Class of 2012
79 Appendix: Chicago Booth Facts and Figures

79 Basics
79 Class Profile (Class of 2021)
79 Employment Statistics (Class of 2019)
82 Bibliography
The MBA Program in Context:
Choosing Chicago Booth
Over the years, we have met many aspiring MBA students who have tried to identify their target
schools and quickly become overwhelmed, wondering, “How are the top MBA programs really differ-
ent?” and “How do I choose the one that is right for me?”
You may not find a
Frustrated, some applicants ultimately choose schools based simply on rankings or the opinions of
single program that
friends or alumni. Although these inputs have a place in your evaluative process, you should also do meets all your needs
the necessary research to find the program that is truly best for your personality and professional and preferences, but
needs. In doing so, you will find significant differences between, for example, programs that have you should be able to
a class size in the low 200s and those that have classes of more than 900 students. As you are un- identify ones that fulfill
doubtedly already aware, an MBA is a significant investment in the short term and a lifetime connec- the factors that are
tion to an institution in the long term. We therefore strongly encourage you to take time now to think
most important to you.
long and hard about this decision and thoroughly consider your options. We hope this guide will prove
helpful to you in doing just that.
At mbaMission, we advise candidates evaluating their potential target schools to consider the following eight specific
characteristics (in no particular order) that shape MBA programs:
1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
You will not likely find a single MBA program that meets all your needs and preferences across these eight criteria, but
you should be able to identify schools that fulfill the factors that are most important to you. Although this guide is in-
tended to familiarize you on a deeper level with this particular school, nothing will prove more valuable in your decision
making than visiting the programs that appeal to you and experiencing them firsthand. Inevitably, no matter what your
research may reveal, some schools will simply “click” with you, and others will not.
Note: The authors and editors at mbaMission have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the informa-
tion included in this guide. However, some discrepancies may exist or develop over time between what is presented here and
what appears in the school’s official materials, as well as what may be offered by other content providers in print or online.
For the most up-to-date information, always check with your target school directly. The opinions expressed by the people

interviewed are those of the attributed individuals only and may not necessarily represent the opinion of mbaMission or any
of its affiliates.
We also wish to thank the students, alumni, faculty members, and administrators who gave generously of their time to pro-
vide valuable input for this guide.
1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
Pursuing an MBA can be quite intense, and the environment and community surrounding the campus
can profoundly affect and even shape your MBA experience. For example, imagine stepping out of a
class at New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business and into the energetic bustle of New The environment
York City’s West Village. Now imagine walking outside after a course at the Tuck School of Business and community
at Dartmouth and being surrounded by the tranquility and natural beauty of New Hampshire’s Upper
surrounding your
Valley. Neither scenario is necessarily “better” than the other, but one might appeal to you more.
chosen school can
An urban campus can undoubtedly offer social and cultural opportunities that a college town simply
profoundly affect
cannot match. This is not to suggest, however, that college towns are devoid of culture—indeed, in- and shape your MBA
tense intellectual and cultural programs exist in college towns precisely because the academic insti- experience.
tution is at the core of the community.
While schools in college towns tout their close-knit atmosphere and the tight bonds classmates form in such a setting,
this environment can be welcoming for some students and overwhelming for others. In contrast, urban campuses are
more decentralized, with students often living in various parts of a city and even in the surrounding suburbs. Someone
who has a greater need for privacy or personal space might therefore prefer an urban environment. In addition, in major
urban centers, some students—particularly those who lived in the city before enrolling in business school—may already
have well-developed social groups, and this scenario may again be better for those who find an academically and socially
all-encompassing environment less attractive.
One aspect of the MBA experience that candidates often fail to consider when evaluating their school options is weather.
Although factoring climate into your school choice may initially seem superficial, if you know you cannot comfortably
manage frigid conditions or soaring temperatures, certain programs should be stricken from your list. We encounter
many applicants each year who wisely stave off a potentially miserable experience by choosing to not apply to certain
schools in locations they just do not feel are “livable” for them.
In addition, housing costs are one expense that Urban Campus Schools Urban/College Hybrid Schools College Town Schools
many applicants do not stop to consider before Chicago Booth Northwestern Kellogg Cornell Johnson
choosing a school to target. By researching real Columbia Business School Stanford GSB Dartmouth Tuck
estate prices at the top programs, we found that Harvard Business School UC Berkeley Haas Duke Fuqua
the cost differential between renting a one-bed- MIT Sloan UCLA Anderson Michigan Ross
NYU Stern Yale SOM UVA Darden
room apartment in a Midwestern college town
UPenn Wharton
and renting one in New York City, for example,

can be quite significant—adding up to tens Median Monthly Rent for a One-Bedroom Apartment
of thousands of dollars on a cumulative ba-
MIT Sloan Cambridge, MA $3,336 within .50 mile radius of campus
sis across two years. This is an important
factor to include as you weigh your options NYU Stern New York, NY $3,125 within .33 mile radius of campus
and calculate your projected budget. Stanford GSB Stanford, CA $2,600 within 1.50 mile radius of campus
Harvard Business School Cambridge, MA $2,560 within .75 mile radius of campus
In summary, a college town can be appeal-
ing for some candidates because its small- UCLA Anderson Los Angeles, CA $2,500 within .50 mile radius of campus
er size tends to create strong bonds within Columbia Business School New York, NY $2,250 within .50 mile radius of campus
the business school’s community, though
UC Berkeley Haas Berkeley, CA $2,145 within .50 mile radius of campus
for others, the lack of privacy could be un-
Yale SOM New Haven, CT $1,410 within .50 mile radius of campus
desired or overwhelming. Furthermore,
some find a slower pace of life calming and Duke Fuqua Durham, NC $1,300 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
comfortable, whereas others crave the
UPenn Wharton Philadelphia, PA $1,295 within .75 mile radius of campus
energy and bustle of a city. If you strongly
Chicago Booth Chicago, IL $1,250 within 1.0 mile radius of campus
prefer one or the other, you should be able
to quickly eliminate certain schools from Northwestern Kellogg Evanston, IL $1,250 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
your list.
Michigan Ross Ann Arbor, MI $1,195 within .75 mile radius of campus
Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH $1,150 within 5.0 mile radius of campus

Chicago, Illinois, known as the
“Second City” (a nickname es- Cornell Johnson Ithaca, NY $1,000 within .75 mile radius of campus
tablished when the city was the UVA Darden Charlottesville, VA $980 within 1.5 mile radius of campus
second most populous one in
the country after New York City), According to Rentometer.com , accessed June 2020.
boasts a population of just over 9.5

million in its greater metropolitan area. So, rather than discussing everything that a city the size of Chicago
has to offer—and it indeed offers plenty in terms of arts and entertainment (several major sports teams, the
world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago, and a stunning array of architectural styles amid rows of towering
skyscrapers, just to scratch the surface)—we will focus on the neighborhoods in which students at the Univer-
sity of Chicago Booth School of Business primarily study and live, starting with Hyde Park, where the business
school is located.
For years, Hyde Park was maligned as a dangerous part of Chicago, but the neighborhood has gentrified sig-
nificantly and appears to have even earned some cachet. Hyde Park is now perhaps best known for being the
Chicago home of a certain former Illinois senator who became President of the United States. Some Chicago
Booth students are not concerned about Hyde Park’s safety but told mbaMission that the area is fairly quiet at
night and that students who do not live downtown might miss out on all that Chicago has to offer. Still, Hyde
Park has its charms, being a neighborhood where both professors and student families live, and it is relatively
economical, with one-bedroom apartments costing approximately $1,200 per month (according to real es-
tate website Trulia.com), compared with approximately $1,900 per month downtown. Students who live in the
neighborhood told mbaMission about eating at Medici on 57th, a pizzeria with a rooftop balcony, and hanging
out toward the end of the week at The Pub at the University of Chicago’s Ida Noyes Hall.

Within Hyde Park, a notable number of students reside in the Regents Park high-rise com-
plex, where monthly rents for studio apartments start at $995, and two-bedroom apart-
ments start at $1,785. Booth Partners, the school’s club for the significant others and When I was looking at
families of Chicago Booth students, has reported that 60% of students live downtown in schools, I was blown
the Loop/Lakeshore East area and approximately 12% live in South Loop. The Gold Coast/
away by Booth's main
Streeterville and River North areas attract approximately 10% of students each, and
building (the Harper
roughly 5% of students live both in the Hyde Park and the Lincoln Park/Wicker Park/Logan
Square areas.
Center) and the
community it fosters
A popular housing option for Chicago Booth students, according to the club, is a building with the central atrium.
called Aqua at Lakeshore East, a spectacular 87-story high-rise, built to comply with LEED Hyde Park, where I
green building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Students who want to re- lived for three years, is
lax after a tough day can swim in one of the facility’s pools, watch a movie in the media a vibrant community
room, work out in the fitness center, or just enjoy the view from the observation deck. At
with easy access to
Aqua at Lakeshore East, which is located approximately 35 minutes from campus via the
the lakeshore and
“L” (Chicago’s largely elevated rapid transit system), students pay between approximately
$1,800 and $2,200 per month for a studio and between $3,600 and $4,700 per month for a
all the happenings in
two-bedroom apartment. downtown Chicago.
Commenting on the preference many students have for downtown living, one first year  Kate Richardson, mbaMission
Senior Consultant and Booth
wrote in an April 2013 post on her personal blog, “MBAs have been out of school for at least
Alumna
three years (some of us even 10+ years) and have become used to living a certain way. If we
have the opportunity to maintain that lifestyle (lack of income and debt be damned), we’re
going to do it. Hyde Park is lovely, but most of us just aren’t about that 2.5 kids, Sunday
at the park life quite yet. Chicago’s public transportation makes it easy to commute to school and we have
lockers so that we can keep the stuff we need on campus to avoid extra trips. Given these conveniences, we
choose to live where Chicago’s night life does.”
A first year who had enrolled in the program with their partner wrote in a November 2016 guest post on the
Booth Experience blog: “Residing in the Loop neighborhood has proved to be the perfect urban adventure,
offering us quick access to restaurants, shops, museums, and Chicago hallmarks. Exploring the city is our
favorite pastime activity.”
Regardless of where students choose to live—and according to much of the information shared in the Chicago
Booth admissions chats we consulted, more and more seem to choose downtown—taking advantage of every-
thing Chicago has to offer is reportedly quite easy. Said one first year in a January 2012 admissions chat, “Most
Booth students live downtown in the Loop, due to more access to activities, restaurants, and shopping, and
make use of the Metra [the northeast Illinois commuter rail system] to get to campus on a daily basis.” And in
January 2015, a student contributor to The Booth Experience blog discussed the advantages and disadvan-
tages of living in Hyde Park, referring to the area simply as “the perfect place to live.”

In recent years, Booth Partners has claimed that approximately 20% of students with families live in university
housing. Graduate student housing is offered in 12 buildings on a first-come, first-served basis and is available
in the Hyde Park area, with units from efficiencies to three-bedroom apartments. In addition, international
students have the option of residing at International House. This residence hall is open to all students at the
University of Chicago, although the residence population is largely made of graduate students. Annual rents
at International House range from approximately $8,880 for a double or triple to $10,203 for a single or a suite.
International House was temporarily closed for construction during the summers of 2018 and 2019.
One international student with whom mbaMission spoke cautioned that some prospective students may not
realize how expensive Chicago can be: his rent in the typically pricey Gold Coast area, in the north side of the
city, was $1,700 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. He added that he also had to stop taking public
transportation to campus because the trip was taking him a full hour; instead, he bought a car, which reduced
his commute to 35 minutes.
Chicago Booth represents an urban campus within a large city, thereby offering its students both neighbor-
hood and downtown living. Candidates should consider how they feel about a decentralized community (and
possibly a significant commute) when deciding whether to apply to the school. Further, applicants might con-
sider whether the general ambience of a major metropolis is ideal for their personal lifestyle as well as their
study style
2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
Another element that affects the character of a school’s MBA experience is class size. You might
want to reflect on your high school, college, and work environments to help you determine whether
you would be more comfortable in a larger class or a smaller one—or whether this is even a consider- Reflect on your past
ation for you at all. academic and work
environments to
Students at smaller schools (which we define as having approximately 350 students or fewer per
determine whether
class) tend to interact with most of their peers and professors at some point during the typical two-
year MBA period. Thus, the smaller schools are generally considered more “knowable,” and their com-
you would be more
munities tend to be quite closely knit. Also, consider that assuming a leadership position is easier in comfortable in a larger
a smaller environment, because, for example, the Finance Club may have only one president at both or smaller class—or
a small school and a large school, but competition for such a position would obviously be greater in whether this is a
the larger program. consideration for you
at all.
Some individuals might prefer to be at a larger school where they can better maintain their anonymity
if they so choose. A student at a school with close to 900 people or more in each class will not likely
get to know each and every one of their classmates by the end of the program, and some people might
prefer this. Further, advocates of larger classes tout the advantage of being able to interact with more people during
one’s MBA experience—and to thereby develop a broader and more robust network of peers. Note that many schools
divide students into smaller groups—called “sections,” “clusters,” “cohorts,” or even “oceans”—in which approximately

60–90 students take certain classes together, and this School (Class of 2021) Women International Minorities
approach can help foster a stronger sense of community Chicago Booth 40% 31% 27%2
within the larger programs.
Columbia Business School 38% 47% 33%1
With a class of approximately 590 (593 in the Cornell Johnson 35% 32% 14%4
Class of 2021), Chicago Booth is one of the coun- Dartmouth Tuck 42% 38%2,3 24%1
try’s larger MBA programs. Although a class of
Duke Fuqua 43% 37% 37%
this size is too big to allow every student to truly
get to know one another, Chicago Booth is con- Harvard Business School 43% 37%2 27%1,2
tained within a single building—the Harper Cen- Michigan Ross 45% 32% 22%1,2
ter—which has a massive public meeting space
MIT Sloan 41% 42% NA
at its core, and this helps facilitate and encour-
age student interaction. Northwestern Kellogg 43% 32% 26%
NYU Stern 37% 33%3 9%4

Chicago Booth does not divide its incoming stu-
Stanford GSB 47% 43%2,3 27%1
dents into dedicated sections for the first full
UC Berkeley Haas 37% 35% 29%1,2
year of its MBA program, but all students must
participate in the LEAD (Leadership Effective- UCLA Anderson 34% 33% 29%
ness and Development) Program and are divided
UPenn Wharton 46% 30% 36%1
into sections (often referred to as “cohorts”)
UVA Darden 40% 33% 21%1
of approximately 60 for that purpose. A sec-
ond-year student wrote in a Booth Experience Yale SOM 42% 44%2,3 29%1,2
blog post in April 2018: “The unique thing about
Booth’s cohorts is that after our single required 1
Specified as U.S. minorities.
[LEAD] class is completed in the fall, any addi- 2

Includes permanent U.S. residents.
tional time we spend with our cohorts is com- 3

Includes dual citizens.
pletely optional. Because of this, each cohort 4

Specified as underrepresented minorities.
really gets a chance to form its own personality

outside of just studying foundational classes.”
LEAD begins two to three weeks before the start of the first semester and ends just before the semester ends.
In the LEAD class, students are further divided into small squads (of six to eight members) and participate in
a variety of team-building experiences on- and off-site. A second year wrote in a 2016 Booth Experience blog
post that the LEAD program “is a dynamic course where first-year students focus on developing the most criti-
cal aspects of leadership—cultivating support and influencing others, understanding different working styles
and motivating diverse teams, presenting ideas, and managing under crisis. At Booth, we believe these skills
simply can’t be learned in a traditional academic setting, so LEAD is a fully experiential program where first-
year students are constantly challenging themselves to practice these skills and incorporate feedback from
each other to improve.”
Some students reported to mbaMission that they appreciate the LEAD course as an opportunity for socializa-
tion, and some of the program’s student sections—or the “squads” within them—arrange reunions to stay in

Most Common Undergraduate Major for Incoming Students (Class of 2021) Class Size (Class of 2021)
Chicago Booth Business 29% 900 to 1,000 Harvard Business School
Columbia Business School Business 32% 800 to 900 UPenn Wharton
Cornell Johnson NA NA 700 to 800 Columbia Business School1
Dartmouth Tuck Arts / Humanities / Social Sciences 43% 500 to 600 Chicago Booth
Duke Fuqua NA NA 400 to 500 Northwestern Kellogg

Michigan Ross
Harvard Business School Economics / Business 43%
Stanford GSB
Michigan Ross Economics / Business 38% MIT Sloan
MIT Sloan Engineering 33% 300 to 400 Duke Fuqua

UCLA Anderson
Northwestern Kellogg Economics / Business 49%
NYU Stern
NYU Stern Business 30% Yale SOM
UVA Darden
Stanford GSB Humanities / Social Sciences 50%
200 to 300 Dartmouth Tuck
UC Berkeley Haas Engineering 19%
UC Berkeley Haas
UCLA Anderson Business 23% Cornell Johnson
UPenn Wharton Humanities 43%

Schools are listed in order from largest class to smallest within
UVA Darden NA NA
each category.
Yale SOM STEM 30% 1

Includes J-Term students.
touch with one another after the program is over. An alumnus we interviewed who had been
a LEAD Facilitator (as well as student club co-chair and an Admissions Fellow) pinpointed
the course as one of the most impressive elements of his business school experience. “I
thought that all three activities were great,” he said, “but being a LEAD Facilitator was where Given the program
I got to practice my public speaking and build great bonds with my squad.” size and that students
are not divided into
Another Facilitator wrote in a 2016 blog post: “LEAD facilitators serve a role as ‘bridge’
clusters in their first
between first-year students and second-year students. In true Booth give-back fashion,
LEAD facilitators become one of the very handy access points for those first-year students
year, I particularly like
to connect to other second-year students who just finished their summer internships and Booth's program for
are excited to meet first-year students.” A third facilitator expressed similar thoughts in an clients who are focused
April 2018 blog post: “Between the relationships I formed with my first-year students and and comfortable
the bonds I deepened with the second-year LEAD [facilitators] I worked closely with, I feel proactively targeting
that my connection to the Booth community was greatly benefited by being a LEAD [facili- their experiences and
tator].” Yet another facilitator wrote in an October 2018 blog post: “For me, LEAD felt like
building relationships.
the pinnacle of Booth’s pay-it-forward culture. As a LEAD [facilitator], I am one of the first
people in the Booth community to welcome the first-year class. Furthermore, I get to pass
 Susan Kaplan, mbaMission Senior
on and improve upon the lessons from my own LEAD [facilitators]. In this way, I feel like I’m Consultant
tangibly impacting the culture of leadership at Booth.”

Year-Over-Year Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class
Profile Data: Chicago of of of of of of of of of of of
Booth 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Number of Applicants NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 4,021 4,169 NA NA
Number of Full-Time 593 591 582 585 585 581 581 580 579 575 550
Students
Average GMAT 730 731 730 726.3 726 724 723 720 715 719 714
GMAT Range 610– 610– 620– NA NA NA NA 680– 660– 660– 660–

790 790 790 7601 7601 7601 7601
Average GPA 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.59 3.57 3.52 NA NA NA
GPA Range 2.7–4.0 2.7–4.0 2.72– 2.6– 3.2– 3.2– 3.1–3.91 3.1–3.91 NA NA NA
4.0 4.0 3.91 3.91
Average Years of Work 5 5 5 5 4.6 4.6 5 5 5 5 5

Experience
Average Student Age 28 28 28 27.9 27.8 27.7 28 28 28 28 NA
Minority Representation 27%2 31% 27% 29% 23% 22% 24% 22% 9% 10% 9%
Female Representation 40% 42% 40% 42% 36% 36% 35% 35% 35% 35% 35%
International 31% 30% 36% 39% 34% 36% 37% 32% 36% 34% 36%
Representation
1 Median 80%.
2 Includes U.S. citizens and permanent residents who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or
multi-ethnic as a percent of the total class.
LEAD is Chicago Booth’s only mandatory class; thereafter, students take courses of varying sizes with both
first- and second-year students. Oftentimes, Chicago Booth’s full-time students will take classes with stu-
dents in the school’s Executive MBA and Evening and Weekend MBA programs at the downtown Gleacher Cen-
ter. These elements serve to broaden the community beyond the approximately 580 students with whom one
will graduate.
Meanwhile, another graduate we interviewed explained, “It is easy to build strong relationships with class-
mates, so long as you get involved. Whether it be through joining student groups, attending TNDC [Thursday
Night Drinking Club, a weekly social activity for the entire MBA student body], or just hanging out in the Winter
Garden, there are many ways to not just meet, but actually socialize with classmates.” A first-year student with
whom we spoke attested that the culture among Chicago Booth’s students is largely supportive, saying, “Most
of the students are very willing to help each other despite the competitive nature of the classes.”
A first-year student observed in a 2013 post on her personal blog that the school’s breadth of social opportuni-
ties requires students to take on a more active role in engaging the community. “I will readily admit that although
Booth has a very vibrant community, it is built differently than at other schools,” she wrote, adding, “Booth is

set up so that students aren’t interacting with the same people day in and day out. Booth fosters breadth of
socializing, but it’s up to the individual to determine where to seek depth. One of the best consequences of this
breadth is a greater sense of cohesion between the first- and second-year classes. This is the very opposite of
the structure at most schools, where the depth of socializing is built into the program and it’s up to students to
seek out a wider breadth.”
3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
Many business schools have a “core” curriculum—a standard series of courses that all students must take. However,
these core requirements can vary tremendously from one program to the next. For example, one school may teach its
required curriculum for the entire first year, meaning that students will not take any elective courses until their second
year, whereas another MBA program may stipulate only one or two required courses.
The rigidity or flexibility of a school’s required curriculum affects students’ education and socializa-
tion. Regardless of their professional experience, students at a school with a rigid core curriculum
must all take the same classes. At some schools, for example, even CPAs must take the required The rigidity or flexibility
foundational accounting course, whereas at others, students can waive selected classes if they can of a school’s first-year
prove a certain level of proficiency. Again, both approaches have pros and cons, and what those are
curriculum affects
depends on your perspective.
students’ education
Proponents of a rigid core curriculum would argue that academics understand what skills students
and socialization.
need to become true managers and that when students “overspecialize” in one area, their overall busi-
ness education can ultimately suffer. A significant body of academic writing has been devoted to cri-
tiquing programs that give students a narrow view of business, notably Henry Mintzberg’s Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look
at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development (Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and Rakesh Khurana’s From Higher
Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as
a Profession (Princeton University Press, 2007).
Advocates of the core curriculum approach would also argue that Can Waive/ Cannot Waive/
having all students take the same classes creates a common lan- Test Out of Classes Test Out of Classes
guage and discussion among the classmates because of the shared Chicago Booth Harvard Business School
experience. In addition, proponents contend that a rigid core curric- Columbia Business School MIT Sloan
ulum facilitates learning, because students who have applicable di- Cornell Johnson Stanford GSB
Dartmouth Tuck UVA Darden
rect experience bring that knowledge and insight into the classroom
Duke Fuqua Yale SOM
and can thereby help teach others. Finally, schools with mandatory
Michigan Ross
cores generally keep students together in their sections for several
Northwestern Kellogg
months, if not an entire academic year, and students who interact ev- NYU Stern
ery day in this way ultimately forge strong bonds. This sustained con- UC Berkeley Haas
tact and connection can create a deep sense of community among UCLA Anderson
the students. UPenn Wharton

In contrast, those who would argue in favor of a more flexible curriculum feel that students benefit from Average GMAT of Incoming
Students (Class of 2021)
the opportunity to specialize immediately—that time is short, and students need power and choice in
preparing for their desired careers. So if, for example, a student intended to enter the world of finance, Chicago Booth 730
an advocate of flexibility would argue that the student should be able to study finance in depth through-
Columbia Business School 727
out the MBA program, possibly even from day one, so as to gain as much experience as possible in this
Cornell Johnson 696
area—especially before interviewing for a summer internship. Furthermore, proponents for flexible
curricula caution that experienced students could end up “wasting” hours taking courses in subjects Dartmouth Tuck 723
in which they already have expertise. Finally, they would assert that a flexible schedule allows students Duke Fuqua NA
the opportunity to meet a greater number and wider variety of their classmates.
Harvard Business School1 730
The academic calendar at Chicago Booth is divided into three ten-week quarters (fall, win- Michigan Ross 719
ter, and spring), and students take three to four courses per quarter, for a total of 21 class- MIT Sloan 727
es (including LEAD) over 21 months. Although a great deal of flexibility does indeed exist
Northwestern Kellogg 730
within the Chicago Booth curriculum, students do not enjoy a truly “open buffet.” Beyond
LEAD, the school breaks its first-year course selection down into different categories, and NYU Stern 721
students must choose from among the options within each category to fulfill certain re- Stanford GSB 734
quirements. Although these course categories are required for all students, approved sub-
UC Berkeley Haas 725
stitutes may be taken in areas where students may have prior experience.
UCLA Anderson 719
First, students must take three Foundation courses, one from each of the following three UPenn Wharton 732
divisions: financial accounting, microeconomics, and statistics. Each of these divisions in-
UVA Darden 713
cludes between four and six course options from which students may choose.
Yale SOM1 720
Foundation (one course from each of the three categories): 1

Represents median rather than average.
• Financial Accounting
• Microeconomics
• Statistics
Second, students must complete six Functions, Management, and Business Environment courses, which are
divided into seven subsections. The Functions subcategories include finance, marketing, and operations;
Management includes decisions, people, and strategy; and Business Environment includes just one business
environment subcategory. Each subsection offers between three and nine courses from which students may
choose. Thereafter, 11 elective options remain for students among the 21 total courses (including LEAD) they
need to graduate. With faculty permission, students may waive the prerequisites for some courses.
Functions, Management, and Business Environment (six courses chosen from seven categories):
• Functions
Finance
Marketing
Operations

• Management
Decisions
People Booth's approach
Strategy is “choose your own
• Business Environment
adventure”—students
who thrive at Booth
Although this flexibility has its advantages, it also requires students to make certain aca-
demic choices early on. One Chicago Booth second year told us, “I was lucky. I knew what I
have the maturity
wanted to do after school and had a clear academic path in mind to meet my needs from day and independence to
one, which is when I had to make my academic choices. I felt that some who were unsure determine their own
of their paths were at a disadvantage with such limited structure.” Another second-year course of study, yet
student with whom we spoke said that she, too, felt fortunate to have a defined path. Still, also have the curiosity
she seized the opportunity to discuss her academic and career plans with second-year stu- and confidence to take
dents via the Career Advisor program—a peer advisor program in which experienced and
on challenging courses.
trained second years talk through career options and approaches with first years—and felt
that it was of such benefit that she became one herself in her second year.
 Kate Richardson, mbaMission
Senior Consultant and Booth
In a 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek online chat, a second-year student noted, “Booth’s flex- Alumna
ible curriculum enables each individual to tailor his or her individual experience. I think
being able to customize your MBA is a differentiating feature of the program.” One recent
graduate with whom we spoke credited the program’s flexibility with his ability to obtain
a banking internship in a difficult economy. He told mbaMission that he overloaded on quantitative and finan-
cial courses in his first semester to allay recruiter concerns about his rather qualitative background and then
planned to take marketing, operations, and strategy courses thereafter.
Further, the Graduate Business Council (student government) offers what is called The Mentor Program—a
kind of first year/second year buddy system—to help incoming students acclimate to life at Chicago Booth. So,
candidates who are attracted to the school but have concerns about whether they can manage the flexibility
should know that they will have resources available to help them effectively navigate and shape their Chicago
Booth experience.
4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
Students will likely encounter multiple styles of learning while in business school—including participating in simulations,
listening to guest speakers, and partaking in hands-on projects—but the two most common MBA learning styles are case
method and lecture.
Pioneered by HBS, the case method, or case-based learning, requires students to read the story (called a “case”) of either
a hypothetical or a real protagonist who is facing a managerial dilemma. As the student reads, the student explores the
protagonist’s dilemma and has access to various quantitative and qualitative data points meant to facilitate further anal-
ysis. (Cases can vary in length but are typically 10–20 pages long.) After reading and studying the entire case, the student

generally understands the profundity of the problem and is typically asked a simple question: “What
would you do?” In other words, how would the student act or react if they were in the protagonist’s
place? What decision(s) would the student make? Students will encounter
many different styles
After completing their independent analysis of the case, the student typically meets with the mem-
of learning during
bers of their study group or learning team (if the school in question assigns such teams) for further
their time at business
evaluation. Together, the group/team members explore and critique one another’s ideas and help
those students who may have had difficulty understanding particular aspects of the issue or pro-
school, but the two
gressing as far on their own. Often, though not always, the team will establish a consensus regarding most common are case
the actions they would take in the protagonist’s place. Then, in class, the professor acts as facilita- method and lecture.
tor and manages a discussion of the case. Class discussions can often become quite lively, and the
professor will guide students toward resolving the dilemma. Sometimes, the professor will ultimately
reveal the protagonist’s decision and the subsequent results—or even bring the actual protagonist
into the classroom to share and discuss the case’s progression and outcomes in person. Average GPA of Incoming Students
(Class of 2021)
In short, the case method focuses primarily on the analytical process and illustrates that the prob- Chicago Booth 3.60
lems presented have no clear-cut right or wrong responses. For a student to disagree with the pro-
Columbia Business School 3.60
tagonist’s chosen path—even after it has proved to be successful—is not unusual. After all, another
Cornell Johnson 3.41
approach (or even inaction) may have produced an even better result.
Dartmouth Tuck 3.52
Note that case-based learning is not specific to one academic discipline. Cases are available in fi-
Duke Fuqua NA
nance, strategy, operations, accounting, marketing, and still other areas. Further, many cases are
Harvard Business School 3.70
interdisciplinary, meaning that they address more than one area at a time, such as requiring students
to think about how a financial decision might affect the operations of a manufacturing company or Michigan Ross 3.50
the ways in which a marketing decision might involve significant financial considerations. Impor-
MIT Sloan 3.60
tantly, students in case environments are often graded on their “contribution” to the class discus-
Northwestern Kellogg 3.60
sion (measured by the level of one’s participation in discussions and analysis, not on the frequency
with which one offers “correct” answers), so the case method is not for those who are uncomfortable NYU Stern 3.54
speaking in class. However, it can be incredibly helpful for those who want or need to practice and
Stanford GSB1 3.70
build confidence speaking publicly.
UC Berkeley Haas 3.67
Lecture is the method of learning that is familiar to most people—the professor stands in front of UCLA Anderson NA
the class and explores a theory or event, facilitating discussion and emphasizing and explaining UPenn Wharton 3.60
key learning points. Often, students have read chapters of a textbook beforehand and have come to
UVA Darden 3.50
class with a foundation in the specific area to be examined that day. Although the case method gives
students a context for a problem, those who favor lecture tend to believe that the case method is Yale SOM2 3.66
too situation specific and therefore prefer a methodical exploration of theory that they feel can be 1
U.S. schools, 4.0 scale only.
broadly applied across situations. In lecture classes, the professor and their research or theory are 2
Represents median rather than average.
technically paramount, though students still participate, challenge ideas, and debate issues.
Note that at some schools, professors may alternate between cases and lectures within a single semester of classes.

True to Chicago Booth’s reputation for flexibil-
ity, the school allows its professors to decide
which method of instruction they prefer on a Most people know Booth as a school with academic
class-by-class basis. Some professors use rigor and an intense multidisciplinary approach
cases, others use lectures, and still others use
to tackling business problems, which stems
both, switching back and forth from course to
from its tradition of teaching the theoretical
course. Assessing the ratio of lectures to case
method classes is difficult, because the choice
underpinnings of business. But Booth is so
of approach varies from professor to professor much more than that. The school’s offerings in
and courses are constantly being revamped. experiential learning and entrepreneurship offer
a very contrasting approach, helping students
One recent graduate with whom we spoke noted connect theory to practice in an earthy, common
the advantages of flexibility as it pertains to sense, nuts-and-bolts style. The highlight of
pedagogy. He felt that he was able to specifi-
my own time at Booth was Waverly Deutsch’s
cally target classes in which case-based learn-
“Building the New Venture”—a no-nonsense, funny,
ing would be more effective and then engage
in lecture courses when he wanted more of a
thought-provoking, actionable, and relatable class
theoretical grounding. And a recent alumna we where she takes students through the stages of
interviewed reported that she felt the variety a simulated business in the most brutal, comical,
of teaching methods used allowed for better and enlightening way. Jim Schrager’s “New Venture
accessibility of some the subjects covered. “I Strategy” is another gem—I still have notes from his
would say that it was a really good mix of class- class and regularly use them to advise my friends
room teaching and case studies,” she said. “I
outside the business school world on their start-up
thought it was really helpful to get lectures on
and small business problems.
certain topics and then to use a case study as
an application of them. I just thought, for me, it
 Harshad Mali, mbaMission Senior Consultant and Booth Alumnus
made a ton of sense to learn some of the theo-
ries first and then to do more applications of
them, do real-world scenarios.”
A first year with whom we spoke emphasized that no matter which teaching method is used from one course
to the next, the school’s curriculum overall is generally heavy on quantitative analysis, saying, “Be ready to
be challenged. Even the intro foundation classes at Booth are not easy by any means. Booth is analytical and
proud of it.”
5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
Schools’ brands and reputations develop over time and tend to endure, even when the programs make efforts to change
them. For example, many applicants still feel that Kellogg is only a marketing school and that Chicago Booth is only for
people interested in finance, even though both programs boast strengths in many other areas. Indeed, this is the exact
reason mbaMission started producing these guides in 2008—we wanted applicants to see beyond these superficial “mar-

ket” perceptions. Make sure you are not merely accepting stereotypes but are truly considering the
breadth and depth of resources available at each school.
Do not merely accept

We have dedicated the majority of this guide to exploring the principal professional specializations stereotypes but truly
for which resources are available at this particular school, and we encourage you to fully consider
consider the breadth
whether the MBA program meets your personal academic needs by supplementing the information
and depth of resources
here with additional context from the school’s career services office, by connecting with the heads of
relevant clubs on campus, and perhaps even by reaching out to alumni in your target industry.
available at each
school.
Although Chicago Booth’s reputation as a “finance school” may be warranted—given that
many of its standout theorists have made names for themselves in this area and a large
portion of the program’s students aspire to enter this field—the school certainly offers more than a finance
education and has been making a concerted effort to broaden its reputation beyond this industry.
In fact, in an exclusive interview with mbaMission, then-Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admis-
sions (and current Chief Marketing and Communications Officer) Kurt Ahlm noted, “Our graduates are analyti-
cal problem solvers who can apply what they learn here to successful careers in any number of fields. Booth
Most Common Pre-MBA Industry (Class of 2021) School Top Industry for % Entering
2019 Graduates the Industry
Chicago Booth Consulting 25%
Chicago Booth Consulting 33.7%
Columbia Business School Financial Services 29%
Columbia Business School Financial Services 34.3%
Cornell Johnson NA NA
Cornell Johnson Financial Services 37.0%
Dartmouth Tuck Financial Services 25%
Dartmouth Tuck Consulting 38.0%
Duke Fuqua Financial Services 18%
Duke Fuqua Consulting 32.0%
Harvard Business School Venture Capital / Private 16%
Equity Harvard Business School Financial Services 29.0%
Michigan Ross Consulting 26% Michigan Ross Consulting 32.0%
MIT Sloan Consulting 26% MIT Sloan Consulting 30.7%
Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 27% Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 31.0%
NYU Stern Financial Services 29% NYU Stern Consulting 37.1%
Stanford GSB Consulting 20% Stanford GSB Finance 33.0%
UC Berkeley Haas Tie: Consulting; Finance 20% UC Berkeley Haas Technology 32.9%
UCLA Anderson Finance 26% UCLA Anderson Technology 29.5%
UPenn Wharton Consulting 25% UPenn Wharton Financial Services 35.8%
UVA Darden NA NA UVA Darden Consulting 35.5%
Yale SOM Financial Services 20% Yale SOM Consulting 37.2%

Top Industries: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Chicago Booth
Consulting 33.7% 31.0% 32.6% 27.5% 32.1% 27.9% 30.7% 30.3% 27.8% 24.0% 23.2% 23.1%
Financial Services 31.3% 31.6% 29.9% 36.0% 35.2% 36.4% 35.0% 43.2% 41.1% 45.0% 42.5% 52.1%
Technology 20.7% 20.3% 18.7% 16.7% 15.2% 13.5% 12.3% 9.0% 9.9% 7.5% 5.7% 6.4%
Consumer Products 4.3% 4.3% 5.3% 6.9% 5.0% 6.1% 2.1% 2.2% 5.7% 5.8% 6.9% NA
Retail 1.4% 0.9% 1.8% 1.2% 1.0% 1.6% 1.3% 1.7% 2.3% NA NA NA
has strength in many areas beyond finance, including entrepreneurship and marketing.” And in a January 2013
post on the Booth Insider blog, an associate director of admissions addressed the myth that the school prefers
applicants from finance and consulting backgrounds, saying, “We value diversity in all its forms, including ca-
reer industry. Many of our applicants come from finance or consulting backgrounds; but many more have work
experience in other industries, including military service, marketing, education, retail, and nonprofit work,
just to name a few.”
In a January 2012 Chicago Booth admissions chat geared specifically to applicants interested in entrepre-
neurship, a coach in career services noted, “There is so much support here for students who are interested
in starting their own entrepreneurial venture. Between courses, the Polsky Center [for Entrepreneurship and
Innovation], student clubs, conferences and meet-up groups, an active alumni network, and support from ca-
reer coaches and peer advisors, the possibilities are strong. If you bring your passion, we provide the ways
to channel it!” And in a November 2014 chat, a member of the admissions committee reassured an applicant,
“As a student at Booth, you begin interacting with our Career Services team right away. At Orientation you will
participate in Industry Immersion*, an event that will help you to target your recruiting strategy. From there it
largely depends upon the industry you are recruiting for, but trust that you will find abundant support from our
coaches and career advisors along the way.” (*The most recent Industry Immersion event that we could find
record of took place in 2015.)
Indeed, Chicago Booth has received praise for being a better-rounded school than its noted reputation for
quantitative analysis may imply, and a recent alumnus with whom we spoke reiterated this point, commenting,
“It is not just a quant school! Some of the best classes that I took were in the strategy and marketing realm.”
Similarly, when asked why she chose Chicago Booth, a first year we interviewed said she was attracted to the
school’s “balance of quant and non-quant classes.” The Economist ranked Chicago Booth number one in 2015,
2014, and 2013 for “student assessment of career service” (Booth was ranked tenth in this category in 2019)
and “diversity of recruiters” and number one in 2014 for “open new career opportunities,” suggesting that the
school’s graduates find employment in a wide range of industries.
Members of Chicago Booth’s Class of 2019 largely entered the consulting industry (33.7%), followed by finan-
cial services (31.3%). Finance was the largest standalone job function (36.2%) for which graduates were hired
last year, and consulting followed with 34.8%.

The following table lists the top employers of Chicago Booth MBAs in 2019 and presents these firms’ hiring
numbers for the past several classes as well.
Class of 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
McKinsey & Company, Inc. 48 39 48 35 44 40 41 28 39 24
The Boston Consulting Group 35 19 26 23 29 25 18 24 19 19
Bain & Company, Inc. 26 25 22 15 18 16 21 21 17 15
Amazon.com, Inc. 23 23 26 19 14 9 10 NL NL NL
Google LLC 14 9 6 12 5 7 7 4 4 NL
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 11 12 9 8 8 9 9 7 8 7
PwC Strategy& 9 6 5 10 12 9 NL NL NL NL
Credit Suisse 8 5 5 5 11 12 13 14 11 12
Citigroup Inc. 7 6 6 6 7 9 9 7 7 13
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 7 7 9 8 11 7 7 6 6 9
A.T. Kearney, Inc. 6 5 7 5 4 5 12 6 6 7
Bank of America Merrill Lynch 6 NL 9 11 12 8 NL 8 8 NL
Evercore Partners Inc. 6 6 6 NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
Microsoft Corporation 6 7 6 NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL
Morgan Stanley 6 7 11 9 NL NL NL NL NL NL
Apple Inc. 5 NL 4 5 8 6 7 NL NL 4
Accenture 4 13 13 13 5 13 7 10 7 4
Ernst & Young LLP 4 NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
Moelis & Company LLC 4 NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
The Kraft Heinz Company 4 NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
The Vanguard Group, Inc. 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
William Blair 4 4 NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL
Adobe Systems Incorporated NL NL 8 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
AlixPartners NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Barclays Capital NL NL 5 4 5 NL NL NL NL NL
Cargill, Inc. NL NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Chevron Corporation NL NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
Cisco Systems, Inc. NL NL NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL

Class of 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Cornerstone Research, Inc. NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL
Deloitte Consulting NL 5 6 9 7 11 7 10 4 6
Deutsche Bank AG NL NL NL 7 4 NL NL NL NL NL
DISH NL NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL
Ecolab, Inc. NL NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Fidelity NL NL NL 6 NL NL NL NL NL NL
International Business Ma-

NL NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
chines Corp.
L.E.K. Consulting NL 6 7 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC NL NL NL 7 4 NL NL NL NL NL
Nestle USA, Inc. NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
PepsiCo, Inc. NL 5 4 6 NL NL NL NL NL NL
PIMCO NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL
Salesforce.com, Inc. NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
Samsung Group NL NL NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL
Tesla Motors, Inc. NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
The Cambridge Group, Inc. NL NL NL NL 4 6 NL NL NL NL
Tyson Foods Inc. NL NL 5 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
ZS Associates Inc. NL 4 NL NL NL NL NL NL NL NL
“NL” indicates that the company was not included in the school’s list of employers hiring four or more graduates that year.
Chicago Booth offers 13 concentrations that allow students to “develop frameworks that enhance or comple-
ment [their] experience and fit [their] career goals,” asserts the school’s website. Concentrations are not re-
quired, but students typically fulfill one to three of the following options:
• Accounting
• Analytic Finance
• Behavioral Science
• Business Analytics
• Econometrics and Statistics
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• General Management
• International Business

• Marketing Management
• Operations Management
• Strategic Management
6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
The size and depth of a school’s alumni base may be important to you as you seek to break into a
specific field or region/country. Some MBA programs have had large classes for many years and can
therefore boast sizeable alumni networks, whereas other schools may have pockets of strength in Some schools boast
particular parts of the world or in certain industries—or can claim a smaller but tighter-knit and more sizeable alumni
dedicated alumni network overall. For example, Dartmouth Tuck has a smaller absolute number of
networks, while others
alumni than most top U.S. schools but has repeatedly been touted as having the highest rate of an-
have pockets of
nual alumni giving, thanks to its very dedicated graduates.
strength in particular
Although acquiring detailed breakdowns of a school’s alumni base is sometimes difficult, you may regions or industries.
want to consider whether the school you are targeting has alumni clubs in your chosen professional
area (i.e., some schools have industry-specific alumni groups) or preferred post-MBA location. Fur-
thermore, if you are determined to live in a particular city/country/region after graduating, then earning your MBA in or
Alumni Base
Schools are listed in order from largest alumni base to smallest within each category.
NYU Stern, UPenn Wharton, Harvard Business School 75,000 to 110,000
Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross 50,000 to 75,000
Columbia, UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas, Stanford GSB 25,000 to 50,000
MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua

Cornell Johnson, UVA Darden 10,000 to 25,000
Dartmouth Tuck
Yale SOM 10,000 or fewer
0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000
Note: Some schools include MBA program graduates only in their alumni total; other schools may also include alumni from their part-time, executive, doctoral, and/or other programs,
so totals may not be directly comparable.

near that area, if possible, may be a good idea, so that you can more easily connect with local alumni while you are in
school—particularly if you want to pursue a niche professional area and do not expect to participate in on-grounds re-
cruiting. Of course, technological developments have greatly facilitated outreach, meaning that alumni are no longer a
flight or long drive away, but are now just a phone call, email, text, or even Skype session away.
Chicago Booth has more than 52,000 alumni who stay connected to the school via approximately 90 alumni
clubs (31 in the United States, 42 international, and seven special interest). The school’s special interest alum-
ni clubs include the Chicago Booth Black Alumni Association, the Chicago Booth Energy Network, the Chicago
Private Equity Network, the Chicago Booth Real Estate Alumni Group, the Chicago Booth Women’s Network,
the Chicago Booth Angels Network, and the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group. Graduates have
reportedly even started corporate networks at such companies as Kraft, Motorola, William Blair, GE, Goldman
Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and Northern Trust.
Chicago Booth also has a mix of roundtable programs, in which groups of alumni meet for events and speak-
ers—predominantly in Chicago, but also around the world—so they can stay connected. These are the following:
• Big Data and Analytics Roundtable

• Business Book Roundtable
• Consulting Roundtable
• Entrepreneurial Roundtable
• European Private Equity Roundtable
• European Wealth Management Roundtable
• Finance Roundtable
• Healthcare and BioPharma Roundtable
• Innovation Roundtable
• International Roundtable
• Marketing Roundtable
• Sales Leaders’ Roundtable
Indeed, the school offers a wide array of events and functions for alumni, both nationally and internationally—
in fact, too many to list here. To learn more, view the alumni events calendar online at www.chicagobooth.edu/
alumni/events. Potential students should be encouraged to learn that, after they graduate, they will have a
variety of ways in which to stay connected with the school and to network with their fellow alumni around the
world. For an up-to-date and interactive map of alumni locations, go to www.chicagobooth.edu/alumni/clubs.
7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
When contemplating an MBA program, do not overlook the school’s facilities. Renovations, upgrades, and new construc-
tion are all regular occurrences on school campuses these days, as some programs increase their square footage while
others unify disparate areas or refresh existing spaces. Some schools boast on-campus housing or elite athletic facili-

ties, others have established new green spaces and meeting rooms, and still others have refurbished
or added classrooms, theaters, libraries, and other such resources.
If a school has not

Keep in mind, though, that just because a school has not updated or added to its facilities in recent updated its facilities in
years, this does not mean that its offerings are outdated or subpar; the lack of updates may simply be
recent years, perhaps
because none have been needed or the school has invested in other aspects of its program instead. A
none were needed or
campus visit is always the best way to evaluate firsthand what a school has to offer, but we nonethe-
less dedicate this space to a discussion of the facilities available at this particular program.
the school has invested
in other aspects of its
Designed by world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly and completed in 2004 at a cost of program instead.
$125M, the Charles M. Harper Center houses Chicago Booth’s full-time MBA program. The
business school’s location boasts a number of architectural points of interest, standing near
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and the University of Chicago’s imposing Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. The
Harper Center’s Rothman Winter Garden—a towering atrium with six-story, glass Gothic arches—is at the heart of
the building and serves as a central place where students can study, socialize, and hold club meetings. With over
400,000 square feet of space, 12 classrooms (on the downstairs “classroom level”), offices for the entire admin-
istration and faculty (on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, known as the “faculty floors”), 31 group study rooms,
a 3,500-square-foot student lounge, and 150-person dining facilities, the Harper Center helps shape Chicago
Booth’s community and is part of the school’s identity.
MBA students have access to the University of Chicago’s extensive library system. Students may also take ad-
vantage of the 150,000-square-foot Gerald Ratner Athletics Center, which includes fitness centers, gymnasia,
and a swimming pool and is home base for the university’s basketball, volleyball, and wrestling teams.
Finding a parking space can reportedly be difficult at the Harper Center; indeed, the Chicago Booth website rec-
ommends that students driving to campus allow 30–45 minutes for parking alone. Parking permits for spaces on
the University of Chicago campus start at approximately $125 per month.
8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
MBA rankings should always be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that they can fluctu-
ate dramatically from year to year and from publication to publication. For example, if you had relied
on the U.S. News & World Report rankings to choose the NYU Stern School of Business as your busi- The various surveys
ness school in 2016 because of the program’s position at number 11, you probably would have been should and will provide
disappointed to see the school then slide down to 20th place just one year later. Similarly, if you had
some context for your
selected UC Berkeley Haas in 2014, when it was number 19 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking, you
decision, but resist the
would have been delighted to see the program rise to number six in 2018.
temptation to choose
Can an MBA program—which is made up of so many moving parts—really change so much in just one a school based on
or two years? Furthermore, how can one reconcile that MIT Sloan is ranked in the top five on the most rankings alone.
recent Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report rankings but is listed at 16th by The Economist?

Or that Stanford GSB holds the seventh position in The Economist survey but is ranked first by Bloomberg Businessweek,
the Financial Times, Poets&Quants, and U.S. News & World Report?
An MBA ranking that appears to be gaining in popularity, according to feedback we have received from candidates in
recent years, is from Poets&Quants, which aggregates what it considers the top five MBA surveys—Bloomberg Business-
week, The Economist, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, and Forbes—to create a composite ranking.
Of course, the various surveys should and likely will provide some context for your decision, but resist the temptation to
choose a school based on rankings alone, because rankings may ultimately betray you—possibly even before you graduate.
One thing to keep in mind, particularly for international students, is that a school’s reputation domestically can be quite
different from its reputation abroad. Years ago, mbaMission worked with an international candidate who was accepted
into the MBA programs at Cornell Johnson and Dartmouth Tuck. When this individual shared the good news with his man-
ager, his manager said, “I thought you would have gone to an Ivy League school like Princeton!” Of course, Dartmouth and
Cornell are in fact Ivy League institutions, and Princeton does not even have an MBA program—the manager’s reaction
illustrates how possible misconceptions can arise. So, after considering an MBA program’s strengths, you might factor
in that some schools have greater brand power in certain parts of the world, especially if you plan to live and work abroad
after you complete your studies.
We advise you to consider your MBA a long-term investment that will pay dividends throughout your life, and such an in-
vestment should be based on more than a one-time ranking. In fact, most MBAs who are five to ten years out of school are
not even aware of what their school is now ranked. Perhaps more importantly, if you were to ask one whether the school’s
position in the rankings has any effect on their career, the response would certainly be an impassioned “No!”
U.S. Ranking: 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Chicago Booth
Poets&Quants NA NA 2 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 NA NA
U.S. News & World Report 3 3 1 3 2 4 4 6 4 5 5 6 NA NA
Bloomberg Businessweek1 NA NA 4 5 4 4 2 3 [1] 1 [1] 1 [1] 1
Financial Times NA 6 4 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 NA
The Economist NA NA 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 NA
1
Until 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek released rankings every two years (in November), so numbers in brackets represent carryover from the previous year’s ranking.
In recent years, Chicago Booth typically places among the top five domestically in all of the five most presti-
gious MBA rankings. In Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2019 MBA rankings—considered by many to be the preemi-
nent such survey—the school was ranked in fourth place domestically, up one spot from 2018. In the Financial
Times’ 2020 survey, Chicago Booth fell two spots to sixth place in the United States, and fell three spots to
tenth internationally. The program held onto the first place both domestically and internationally in The Econo-
mist’s rankings for 2019, unchanged from the previous year. The school fell momentarily to second place in

their 2017 rankings, following five consecutive years at number one. The program was listed second in the 2019
Poets&Quants ranking of U.S.-based business schools, up two spots from the previous year.
In the 2021 U.S. News & World Report survey, the school remained steadily in third place (tied with Northwest-
ern Kellogg, after tying with Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan the previous year). In addition, U.S. News
ranked the school among the top 20 in the country in the following specialty areas: executive MBA (1), part-
time MBA (1), finance (2), accounting (5), marketing (6), business analytics (7), and management (16, tied with
Indiana Kelley). The Princeton Review’s 2020 ranking of 248 MBA programs named Chicago Booth number two
for Top 25 Entrepreneurship: Grad and number nine for Toughest to Get Into.
Despite Chicago Booth’s impressive standing in the various rankings, it cannot claim to be the number one
school in terms of global prestige. Quite subjectively, mbaMission would state that HBS, the Stanford GSB, and
UPenn Wharton have stronger global profiles, though one will have no trouble opening doors with the Chicago
Booth name on their resume.
Several students with whom we spoke expressed general satisfaction with the school’s placement in the vari-
ous rankings. “We are solid,” said a first-year student we interviewed, while another remarked, “I think the
rankings are certainly justified,” adding that “Booth offers a world-class education and gives you access to
the best professors and most talented students and alumni.” And another first year declared, “Booth is ranked
in the top consistently, so I am satisfied.”

Poets&Quants (2019) U.S. News & World Report (2021) Bloomberg Businessweek (2019) Financial Times (2020) 1,2 The Economist (2019) 1,3
1 Stanford GSB 1 Stanford GSB 1 Stanford GSB 1 Harvard Business School 1 Chicago Booth
2 Chicago Booth 1 UPenn Wharton 2 Dartmouth Tuck 2 UPenn Wharton 2 Harvard Business School
3 Harvard Business School 3 Chicago Booth 3 Harvard Business School 3 Stanford GSB 3 Northwestern Kellogg
4 UPenn Wharton 3 Northwestern Kellogg 4 Chicago Booth 4 MIT Sloan 4 UPenn Wharton
5 Northwestern Kellogg 5 MIT Sloan 5 UVA Darden 5 Columbia Business School 5 UCLA Anderson
6 MIT Sloan 6 Harvard Business School 6 UPenn Wharton 6 Chicago Booth 6 UC Berkeley Haas
7 Columbia Business School 7 UC Berkeley Haas 7 MIT Sloan 7 Northwestern Kellogg 7 Stanford GSB
8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Columbia Business School 8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Michigan Ross
9 Dartmouth Tuck 9 Yale SOM 9 Columbia Business School 9 Yale SOM 9 Duke Fuqua
10 Yale SOM 10 NYU Stern 10 Northwestern Kellogg 10 Dartmouth Tuck 10 Dartmouth Tuck
11 UVA Darden 11 UVA Darden 11 Cornell Johnson 11 Duke Fuqua 11 Cornell Johnson
12 Michigan Ross 12 Dartmouth Tuck 12 UCLA Anderson 12 UVA Darden 12 Columbia Business School
13 Cornell Johnson 12 Duke Fuqua 13 NYU Stern 13 NYU Stern 13 UVA Darden
14 Duke Fuqua 12 Michigan Ross 14 Yale SOM 14 Cornell Johnson 14 NYU Stern
15 UCLA Anderson 15 Cornell Johnson 15 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 15 UCLA Anderson 15 USC Marshall
16 NYU Stern 16 UCLA Anderson 16 Washington Foster 16 Michigan Ross 16 MIT Sloan
17 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 17 USC Marshall 17 Michigan Ross 17 Georgetown McDonough 17 UW Foster
18 UT Austin McCombs 18 UT Austin McCombs 18 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 18 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 18 Yale SOM
Flagler
19 USC Marshall 19 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 19 UF Warrington 19 GIT Scheller
19 Georgetown McDonough
19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 20 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 20 USC Marshall 20 UTA McCombs
Flagler Flagler 20 Duke Fuqua
1
This list reranks U.S. schools from international ranking.
2
Financial Times ranks Chicago Booth 10 internationally.
3
The Economist ranks Chicago Booth 1 internationally.

The University of Chicago
Booth School of Business
Summary
In November 2008, as stock markets were falling in North America and academic institutions were growing increasingly
concerned about shrinking endowments, the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business made a stunning an-
nouncement: alumnus David G. Booth (MBA ’71), co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, had made a $300M donation
to the school—the largest donation ever to a business school and one of the largest donations to any academic institu-
tion ever. The school did not receive the full $300M in cash, however, but, in addition to an undisclosed upfront payment,
became a partner in Dimensional Fund Advisors, from which it was to receive dividends. Not too surprisingly, the school
subsequently announced that it had been renamed the Booth School of Business in honor of its patron.
The Booth gift is yet another link in a chain of success that the school has experienced over the past decade or so, start-
ing with the hiring (in 2001) of Edward “Ted” Snyder as dean, though he has since left Chicago Booth (in 2010). Then, in
2004, the school opened a new, cutting-edge, $125M facility—the 400,000-square-foot Charles M. Harper Center—which
galvanized a community that had previously been housed in disparate, and some say dreary, quarters.
With all this momentum, Chicago Booth experienced a swift uptick in its rankings, consistently appearing at or near the
top of all of the “prestige” lists. The school has a reputation for superior academic research, particularly in finance and
economics, with several of its academics having won Nobel Prizes in these fields. Indeed, many prospective candidates
consider Chicago Booth a “finance school,” which is understandable, particularly given that 36.2% of the program’s 2019
graduates (35.3% in 2018, 35.6% in 2017, 37.5% in 2016, 37.1% in 2015, and 41.2% in 2014) accepted positions with a finance
function (including company finance [analysis/treasury], investment banking, venture capital, private equity, invest-
ment management/research, and “other” finance).
However, even though the aggregate percentage of all the finance-related functions was consistently higher than for
any other function since at least 2007 (the earliest year for which we have employment data) to 2017 (when consulting
claimed the most popular function overall, although finance-related functions were once again first in 2018 and 2019),
consulting has steadily been the most popular standalone job function among Chicago Booth graduates, with investment
banking claiming the second-highest percentage as a standalone function. To illustrate, in 2019, 34.8% entered posi-
tions with a consulting function, compared with 14.5% investment banking; in 2018, these figures were 32.3% and 13.2%,
respectively (36.3% and 13.2% in 2017, 29.3% and 15.1% in 2016, 33.5% and 16.7% in 2015, and 30.1% and 15.2% in 2014). We
believe this helps attest to the diversity of the school’s MBA program.
Indeed, Chicago Booth is more than “just” a finance school and offers a wide range of experiential opportunities—espe-
cially for those interested in consulting and entrepreneurship. And although Chicago Booth will never be mistaken for
Kellogg in terms of its offerings in marketing, we have learned that Chicago Booth does in fact have a surprisingly strong
program in this field—as well as in the nonprofit sector.

If “finance” is one buzzword for Chicago Booth, “flexibility” is another. The school is known to have a very flexible curricu-
lum—its LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Development) Program is actually the only specific course that is manda-
tory in the Chicago Booth program. Although students must meet certain requirements by taking courses chosen from
among several foundations, functions, management, and business environment options, the school has no strictly de-
fined mandatory core curriculum. Students told mbaMission that because the program is not rigid, they are able to focus
on their professional ambitions as soon as they start the academic program and can avoid redundant or even potentially
irrelevant classes.
We believe that today, Chicago Booth can certainly be said to be stronger than ever. Given the improvements at the school
in recent years and the infusion of new energy from the change in command, we are confident that Chicago Booth will
remain an applicant favorite because of its remarkable faculty, well-regarded admissions office, and strong facilities.
The Dean
In July 2016, Sunil Kumar, who had served as the dean of Chicago Booth since 2011, announced his departure from the
school in order to join Johns Hopkins University as the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. Kumar’s
decision came as a surprise to many as he had been appointed to serve a second five-year term as dean in 2015. The an-
nouncement set off a national search for the school’s new leader. The University of Chicago announced in August 2016
that Douglas J. Skinner, who at the time was serving at Booth as the deputy dean of faculty and as an accounting profes-
sor, would step in as the interim dean later that month. Skinner originally joined the school in 2005 after a 16-year stint
at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Doug’s appointment will help sustain the momentum that has
been built to further establish Chicago Booth as one of the world’s preeminent business schools while the search for the
next dean is conducted,” University President Robert J. Zimmer commented in the press release announcing Skinner’s
appointment as interim dean.
The search for a new long-term dean came to an end in March 2017, when the university announced the appointment of
Madhav Rajan, who served as the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
(GSB) from 2010 to 2016. “We sought the most outstanding candidate whose values, ambition, and abilities fully comport
with the distinctiveness of Chicago Booth as one of methodological rigor in its research and education, and through that
commitment one of high impact on the world,” President Zimmer and then-university Provost Daniel Diermeier said in the
announcement, continuing: “We are confident that Madhav will be an outstanding leader for Chicago Booth in the coming
years.” Rajav holds three academic degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and one from the University of Madras in
India. He joined the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and worked as an associate professor and
later as a professor at the school before stepping in as an area coordinator for accounting at the Stanford GSB in 2002.
Rajan’s role as dean does not constitute his first professional involvement with Booth—he served as a visiting professor
at the school during the 2007–2008 academic year. In addition to his contributions in the classroom, Rajan has sat on the
editorial board of numerous accounting journals, including The Accounting Review and the Review of Accounting Studies.
In the announcement for the appointment, Rajan expressed enthusiasm for his new role, which he stepped into in July
2017: “The values I have in research and education are deeply valued at Chicago Booth. People come here to do rigor-
ous, empirically based research and analysis, which provides the basis for a transformative student experience and an

extremely effective MBA curriculum. We have an exciting opportunity to take Booth’s deep strengths and leverage them
here and around the world. I am thrilled to have the chance to be dean at what is unquestionably the greatest academic
business school.”
In a May 2017 interview with Chicago Business, the official Chicago Booth newspaper, Rajan discussed his shift from one
role to another within the school: “I think the big difference being the dean instead of a deputy dean is that the focus
shifts from internal to external. I expect to spend perhaps 50% of my time being the face and voice of the school towards
external audiences, primarily the alumni. That’s the big change and it’s particularly important now when the university
is running an ongoing fundraising campaign, which has been a slightly disrupted by the transition [of deans]. Therefore,
getting into this role will be a big priority from the beginning.” In the same interview, Rajan listed a number of goals for his
new role, including increasing the percentage of joint-degree students within Booth to 25% of the student body. Rajan
also expressed interest in featuring University of Chicago undergraduate students more in the Booth community. “Per-
haps, we could offer [undergrads] the opportunity to take some Booth courses now, go away to work for two years and
come back to finish their MBA,” Rajan said.
In his first years as dean, Rajan has helped raise more than $1B for the school’s fundraising campaign, exceeding the
originally stated goal of $950M. Speaking to Poets&Quants in October 2018, when the fundraising campaign had not yet
reached its goal, Rajan joked that luck helped him excel at his new job early on: “Having dumb luck is a great thing. … So,
you take a job, and you raise money, and you win a Nobel Prize [Booth Professor Richard H. Thaler received the Nobel Me-
morial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2017] and U.S. News says you are number one. It’s all been good. I’ll take dumb luck
anytime. It’s been wonderful, super fun, and it probably has gone way better than I had any right to expect,” Rajan said.
He emphasized the significance of the Chicago Booth alumni pool to Forbes in September 2019, stating: “Our alumni are
deeply committed to the success of the school. … Our alumni’s contributions of their time, philanthropy, and mentoring,
referrals of students and recruitment of our graduates are all critical to the school’s success.”
Still, he acknowledged that, in some areas, he had his work cut out for him. “This school has always had the best faculty
and that is part of its reputation. But if you go back over the past four or five years, we’ve done well but not super well at
recruiting. It was below the standards the school had set for itself so that is one of the issues I wanted to fix when I came
in. In fields like finance and economics, which are the lifeblood of the school at many levels, we weren’t doing that well. So
turning that around was one of my big priorities coming in [in 2017],” Rajan said. Indeed, at the time of the article’s publi-
cation, Rajan had hired nearly 20 new faculty members, including Sendhil Mullainathan, whose previous work at Harvard
University has turned him into a renowned figure in behavioral economics. In terms of the future, Rajan expressed inter-
est in concentrating on such aspects as a new fundraising campaign for scholarships, increasing the marketing efforts
of the Booth undergraduate program, and examining the importance of online MBA programs in coming years.
Rajan’s predecessor, Sunil Kumar, took over as dean of Chicago Booth in 2011, replacing Edward “Ted” Snyder, who had
served as the school’s dean since 2001. Before his appointment as dean and professor of operations management at Chi-
cago Booth, Kumar served on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business for 14 years, where he
was also senior associate dean for academic affairs. Kumar received a PhD in electrical engineering from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Engineering in computer science and automation from the Indian Institute
of Science, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Mangalore University. He has been the recipient of numerous honors
for his teaching and research in the area of operations management and communications networks, including the 1998

Finmeccanica Faculty Scholarship from Stanford University and the 2001–2002 Professor of the Year award at the Indian
School of Business.
Kumar stated in a 2010 Wall Street Journal article on his hiring that his primary goal was “to strengthen and enhance what
is already great,” while learning more “about the students, faculty and the programs.” In a 2014 interview with the Wall
Street Journal, Kumar emphasized his desire to broaden prospective students’ perception of the school. “The most com-
mon one [thing people get wrong] is that it’s a finance and banking school,” he said. “We support a broad array of careers.
Entrepreneurship and finance are tied for the school’s most popular concentration. About 10% of our class will go into
marketing, and a significant fraction will go into tech.”
Professional Specializations
Consulting
Although Chicago Booth has a reputation as a finance school, it still places at least one-quarter of each graduating class
in consulting positions. In 2019, 33.7% of Chicago Booth graduates took positions in the consulting industry. Despite a
slight dip from 2015 to 2016, this percentage has been increasing fairly steadily overall throughout recent years: from
27.8% in 2011 to 30.3% in 2012, 30.7% in 2013, 27.9% in 2014, 32.1% in 2015, 27.5% in 2016, 32.6% in 2017, and 31.0% in 2018.
For more than a decade, McKinsey & Company has been the top employer of Chicago Booth graduates—48 in 2019, 39 in
2018, 48 in 2017, 35 in 2016, 44 in 2015, 40 in 2014, 41 in 2013, 28 in 2012, 39 in 2011, 24 in 2010, 23 in 2009, 29 in 2008, and 33
in 2007. Other firms that hired a significant number of 2019 Chicago Booth graduates for consulting positions include the
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (35); Bain & Company (26); Amazon.com, Inc. (23); Google LLC (14); and JP Morgan Chase &
Co. (11). As a December 2012 Poets&Quants article states, the school has “become the preferred business school for the
elite consulting firms.”
Chicago Booth offers no specific consulting track, but the school provides considerable hands-on opportunities in this
area to its MBA candidates, particularly through its “lab” courses. Via the “Lab in Developing New Products and Services,”
for example, teams of MBA students take on consulting assignments and work with executives from major companies
to target a problem that the client firm is encountering or to conduct research on a strategic opportunity. The “Lab to
Launch” and the “Social Enterprise Lab” may seem to cater to niche groups, but in fact, they both represent opportunities
for aspiring consultants to engage directly with senior management and make hands-on decisions with the assistance
of teammates and mentors.
In addition, a variety of student clubs at Chicago Booth serve aspiring consultants, including the Management Consult-
ing Group, the Corporate Strategy and Management Group, and the Business Solutions Group. While the Management
Consulting Group and the Corporate Strategy and Management Group educate students on the ins and outs of obtaining a
job in this field—through resume preparation and reviews, case workshops, and Lunch and Learn sessions—the Business
Solutions Group is unique in that it actively engages first-year students in high-quality consulting projects.

In short, the Business Solutions Group (BSG) is not so much about preparing for a consulting job as it is about gaining actual
consulting experience. Each fall, teams of five first-year students, along with a second-year mentor, work for a ten-week
period at a broad range of both for-profit and nonprofit firms in order to help them solve various marketing, operational,
and/or strategic problems. Organizations have ranged from the well-known international restaurant chain McDonald’s
and the internationally renowned Art Institute of Chicago, to a small nonprofit such as Little Miss Giving’s (a bakery) and a
start-up such as Advanced Diamond Technologies (which applies diamond film to products to make them durable).
Although the BSG managed 11 projects in 2007 and 14 in 2008, the group has reportedly maintained just eight to ten
projects annually in recent years. In an interview with mbaMission, a BSG co-chair explained, “The decision to limit the
number of projects at ten was a strategic choice. We have always had ample potential client interest in participating, but
we’ve recently capped the number of projects in order to create a more competitive project selection process. This is
also beneficial for the students, as it ensures that only the best projects are used for the group.” Recent projects have
included conducting industry analysis for ArrowStream, developing a marketing strategy for Excelerate Labs, perform-
ing internal research and analysis for Baxter Healthcare, and evaluating membership revenue strategy for Ezza Nails.
Finally, Chicago Booth’s one mandatory course, the LEAD Program, involves a series of events and activities that help
MBA students better understand their personal communication and leadership styles. Throughout this 125-hour pro-
gram, first-year students take on team challenges (e.g., the outdoor experience, which involves ropes courses, climbing
walls, and other physical challenges that incorporate a mental component), learn about their personality type (via the
Myers-Briggs test), and receive one-on-one coaching (e.g., on communication styles and negotiation strategies) from
faculty and second-year student mentors. This course is not designed exclusively for consultants, but its teachings are
broadly applicable to the team-based, leadership-oriented positions that consulting typically entails.
Similarly, Chicago Booth’s annual Management Conference is not solely for aspiring consultants but serves also as a venue
through which interested students can access cutting-edge research in the field of general management and can net-
work with more than 1,000 students, business community members, and alumni. The 2020 conference was cancelled due
to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The conference celebrated its 67th year in May 2019 with a keynote speech by the co-
chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, while panelists represented such companies as Moelis & Company, AMSYSCO,
BlackRock, and Arbor Investments. Discussion panels explored such themes as “Artificial Intelligence: A Tutorial,” “Bit-
coin,” “Bringing Down Barriers: How to Build Relationships Despite Differences,” and “The Modern Productivity Paradox:
A Clash of Expectations and Statistics.” The event also featured numerous alumni panels, covering such topics as “CEO
Perspectives,” “Investment Banking,” “Trade War,” and “Private Equity: Navigating the Tricky Environment of 2019.”
In 2018, the conference was held in April with the theme “Shaping the Theory and Practice of Business.” Keynote ad-
dresses were delivered by the executive chairman of the Chicago Cubs and the chairman and co-founder of InCapital;
other firms represented at the event included Linden Capital Partners, Cargill, and Strategic Value Partners. Two sets of
breakout panel sessions covered such topics as “The Amazon Effect: Strategies for Managing the Changing Retail Land-
scape,” “Entrepreneurial Selling,” “Technological Change and the Decline in Work,” and “Accounting Inconsistencies.” The
event concluded with a networking reception.
The May 2017 event featured two sets of breakout sessions with panels on such topics as “Designing a Good Life,” “Scal-
able Price Targeting,” “Building Your Leadership Capital,” and “Renegotiating NAFTA: Prospects and Scenarios from a

Mexican Perspective.” Firms represented at the event included The Prizker Group and Patria Investimentos Amgen, C.H.
Robinson, Citadel, and Oak Hill Capital Partners—in fact, two co-managing partners of The Pritzker Group and a manag-
ing partner of OceanM19 the CEO and founder of Citadel delivered the event’s keynote addresses. A networking reception
concluded the day’s events.
The 2016 Management Conference was held in May and also featured two sets of breakout sessions. Topics covered
included “What Does the Rise of Populism Mean for American Business?,” “Sluggishness in the US Labor Market,” “CEO
Perspectives,” and “Big Value from Big Data with Marketing Analytics.” Amgen, C.H. Robinson, Citadel, and Oak Hill Capital
Partners were among the firms represented at the event. The keynote address was delivered by the CEO and founder of
Citadel. A networking reception concluded the event.
At the 2015 event, breakout sessions covered such issues as “Global Convergence in Corporate Governance Practices,”
“Innovation Inside the Corporation,” “Asset Management,” and “Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy.” Among the confer-
ence’s participants were representatives from Textura Corporation, Google, Newport Capital Group, and McKinsey &
Company. Richard H. Thaler, Chicago Booth’s Charles A. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Sci-
ence and Economics delivered the keynote address, and attendees were invited take part in a networking reception.
Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
Chicago Booth and its Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation provide a wealth
of formal academic opportunities in the areas of entrepreneurship, private equity, and venture capi-
tal. In late 2012, the center received a $8M donation from Polsky—in addition to his 2002 $7M gift— I've had two clients
which has allowed the school to hire new staff, add facility space, and expand opportunities to help whose [Chicago Booth]
meet the growing demand for entrepreneurial programming.
professors were so
impressed with their
Students may choose from among nearly 20 entrepreneurship and related courses, such as “Build-
ing the New Venture,” “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition,” and “Entrepreneurial Selling.” The
entrepreneurial ideas
school’s experiential “lab” programs, however, appear to constitute the real heart of its offerings in that they reached out
this area. For example, via the “Lab to Launch,” students work hands-on in small groups with the se- to the student and got
nior management of a new venture to identify and realize strategic and operational goals. For up to involved in funding/
ten hours a week for an entire quarter, students in this lab work in a variety of functions within a firm developing their
or take on a dedicated project in a class designed to train those who intend to ultimately join start- business!
ups or consult to them. Participating enterprises in the Chicago area have in the past included InCon-
text Solutions, MightyNest, Protein Bar, and Solixir.  Jessica Shklar, mbaMission
Senior Consultant
The “Building the New Venture” course “covers the nuts and bolts of starting a company with a lesser
emphasis on investing in entrepreneurial ventures,” according to the course description. The class
mimics the YourCo game, which was created by a University of Chicago student and allows students
to work in teams of four or five to simulate the first 18 months of a real start-up’s beginning. Teams gain points by deliver-
ing weekly assignments on the progress of their “start-up.”

Continuing the school’s experiential offerings, the Polsky Center sponsors the annual Edward L. Kaplan New Venture
Challenge (NVC), which bills itself as one of the top accelerator programs in the country on its website. During the fall,
students form teams—each of which must include at least one University of Chicago graduate student but can also in-
clude part-time and executive MBA students—and these groups pitch their business ideas and submit their feasibility
summaries by the following February. Then, approximately 30 teams advance to the second phase of the challenge, and
the Chicago Booth students who have made it this far join the “Special Topics in Entrepreneurship” class, where they de-
velop their ideas and have them critiqued by venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, with eight to ten ultimately advanc-
ing to the finals in May. A second-year student described the NVC in a 2011 Chicago Booth admissions chat as “one of the
most thrilling experiences here at Chicago Booth.”
Finally, these fully developed ideas are presented to and judged by entrepreneurs and business leaders. Since 1996, the
center has helped launch more than 330 companies that, in turn, have raised upwards of $1B in capital in spaces as di-
verse as payment solutions, flexible solar panels, food preparation, and children’s toys. The 2019 NVC was held in May.
Twelve finalist teams competed for a prize pool of $850,000, the largest in the history of the competition—several judges
increased their donations to the prize pool during the competition after being so impressed with the finalist team lineup.
My Art Cache, an online platform for matching fine art dealers with buyers and other professionals, was chosen as the
$150,000 first-place winner and took home $215,000 in additional prizes. GGLeagues, an online gaming platform that
aims to increase a sense of community in the gaming world, came in second and took home $220,000 in various prizes.
Security camera software Aegis AI came in third and received $155,000.
The 2018 NVC took place in May. Eleven finalist teams competed for a prize pool of $700,000, at the time the largest in
the history of the competition. Manifest, which aims to standardize 401(k) transfers, was chosen as the $150,000 first-
place winner and took home $165,000 in additional prizes. Walk-in psychiatric care clinic provider Mindful Urgent Care
received the $125,000 second-place prize, in addition to $130,000 in other prizes. Coeus.ai, which utilizes video game
algorithms to advance players in their games, came in third and received $90,000.
The 2017 NVC, hosted in May, featured 11 finalists teams—for the first time in the competition’s history, more than ten
teams were chosen for the final. AMOpportunities, a marketplace for medical trainees, won the $100,000 first-place
prize. The second-place winner, electricity delivery developer Switched Source, received $80,000. Ezza, a modern man-
icure provider, came in third and won $75,000.
In May 2016, the NVC awarded more than one million dollars—more than double compared to the previous year—to stu-
dents in the form of cash prizes and business services for their winning business plans. At first place in 2016, winning
$90,000, was compensation transparency platform TransparentC. Second place was claimed by Coronado Conserva-
tion, which produces innovative toilets and took home $70,000. Search relevance solution Riviter came in third and re-
ceived $45,000.
In 2015, healthy meal appliance Maestro won the first-place prize of $70,000. Second place was tied with surgical team
management tool ExplORer Surgical, which claimed $50,000, and NETenergy, which provides storage for thermal energy
and received a $40,000 prize. In 2014, RoomVa, a reservation system for small South American hotels, and Simple Mills,
which provides nutrient-rich baking mixes, tied for first place and each took home $30,000.

Competing NVC teams have in the past (we have not encountered recent instances) also been able to take advantage of
the ARCH Venture Partners New Business Incubator for one year (or until they receive funding to launch their business-
es), benefitting from access to phones, computers, office supplies, a conference room, and office and faculty support.
Successful ventures that have been launched through the competition include GrubHub, Braintree, Bump Technologies,
BenchPrep, Base, Rise Interactive, Swingbyte, and ZipFit.
In addition to the traditional NVC and three other iterations of the competition, designated for undergraduates, alumni,
and students pursuing executive MBAs at one of the school’s international campuses, Chicago Booth students with an
entrepreneurial bent who also have an interest in social entrepreneurship may compete in the John Edwardson ’72 Social
New Venture Challenge (SNVC). The SNVC is co-organized by the Polsky Center and the Rustandy Center for Social Sec-
tor Innovation and invites participants to pitch both for-profit and nonprofit business plans that focus on sustainability
and social impact. If accepted into the competition, one student from each team must enroll in the course “New Social
Ventures” and the team is given mentorship, resources, and the opportunity to present their venture plans to experts and
business leaders in the field.
At the 2019 SNVC finals, there were seven teams represented. The first-place prize of $60,000 went to Debate It Forward,
which uses debate curriculum to teach students with special needs. The second-place prize of $30,000 went to Business
Services Collective, a shared back office for small construction companies. Veera Health, a health platform for women in
India, received the third-place prize of $20,000.
Seven teams competed in the 2018 SNVC finals. The first-place prize of $45,000 went to AIM Clinics, which provides au-
tism therapy for children in rural areas. The second place was tied between VouchCircle, a networking platform for under-
served communities, and Shakti, an app intended for empowering illiterate women in India. Both teams received $15,000.
The 2017 SNVC finals featured seven teams. Provide, which offers an administrative back-office software for child care
providers in low-income areas, received the first-place prize of $60,000. Flipside, a social media viewpoint platform,
and JuryCheck, an application to prevent underrepresentation in jury pools, tied for the second-place prize and each
received $20,000.
Seven teams competed in the 2016 SNVC finals, and two teams tied for the first place. AccessArc, a technology company
that aids incarcerated individuals, and JoinGiving, which pairs businesses with nonprofits, both received $20,000. No
second-place prize was distributed, although two teams were chosen as third-place winners. Kitchenet, which provides
people living in food deserts with healthy meals, and Solar Bus 4 Schools, which aims to reduce school bus emissions,
each went home with $5,000.
Of the seven teams selected to compete in the 2015 SNVC finals, BallotReady, an online voters’ manual, placed first, win-
ning $30,000. The second-place winner, local goods provider Arev Armenia, received $20,000. In 2014, six teams com-
peted. Hello Tractor, a tractor rental program in Nigeria, placed first, winning $30,000. The second-place winner, Moxie
Leadership Academy, a middle school–level summer program for low-income communities, received $20,000.
Meanwhile, in the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), students play the role of venture capitalists, evaluat-
ing business ideas and making investment recommendations to a panel of experienced, real-world investors and entre-

preneurs. The winning team at the school level goes on to compete in the regional competition and then—ideally—the
international one, vying for the ultimate grand prize of $5,000 in funds, but more so for the prestige of the win and the
opportunity to catch the attention of the venture capital judges.
A Chicago Booth team won first place in the regional competition during the inaugural VCIC in 2005. Since then, seven
regional competitions have been won by Chicago Booth teams, and in both 2013 and 2012, a Chicago Booth team claimed
the Entrepreneurs’ Choice Award at the regional level. In 2010, the Chicago Booth team took first place at the interna-
tional finals for the first time in history, and in 2015, the school’s team claimed third place at the international finals. Two
teams from Booth won their respective regional competitions in 2016. One team came in second in the global finals, while
the other received the Entrepreneurs’ Choice Award. In 2017, the Booth team came in second in the regional finals. The
2019 Booth team advanced to the global finals and received the Entrepreneurs’ Choice Award. In 2020, the Booth team
also won the regional finals, but the global finals event was cancelled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
We should note that entrepreneurially minded students can also apply for funding from the Hyde Park Angels (HPA), a
group of former Chicago Booth Executive MBA students who make investments in start-ups—the group invested more
than $17M in 2019 alone. Although the HPA is an arms-length organization and does not source investments exclusively
from Chicago Booth, it maintains a connection to the Polsky Center, which supports the HPA’s mission. So, students hop-
ing to get in front of the HPA’s investment committee will have a built-in networking advantage. Further, the HPA offers
students the opportunity to intern as associates and gain venture capital experience while pursuing their MBA at Chicago
Booth. Tom Ancona, who was at the time the associate director of the HPA, told mbaMission that eight to ten students
generally serve as HPA associates during the school year, while two serve over the summer.
At Chicago Booth, entrepreneurship involves more than just facilitating seed-stage companies—it also encompasses
small business. Via the Hamer Small Business Initiative—which was established through a $2.5M gift from alumnus Don-
ald W. Hamer (’58)—the Polsky Center can “reach deep” into the small business sector, both theoretically and practically
(in the greater geographic region around the school), claims its website. An associate director at the Polsky Center ex-
plained to mbaMission that the Hamer Initiative supports such programs as the Digital Marketing Strategies Workshop,
which is held on a Saturday each February and invites expert speakers to share effective web conversion strategies.
Past speakers have included a partner at OCA Ventures, the co-founder/CEO of Excelerate Labs, and the chief marketing
officer for Power2Switch.
The Hamer Initiative also created the Entrepreneurial Internship Program, which allows students to intern, between their
first and second years, with small businesses that may otherwise be unable to pay the interning students a salary. Through
the program, students who work at eligible companies (i.e., those with less than $50M in revenue and no more than 100
employees) receive financial support during the course of their internship. This support, which is made possible via spon-
sor donations, gives the students the opportunity to gain real-world experience in an entrepreneurial environment.
A resource specifically for female students with an interest in entrepreneurship is the Herman Family Fellowship, of-
fered through the Polsky Center. This fellowship, formed in 1995, was established to alleviate the burden of the expense
of business school and thus help the student recipient pursue an entrepreneurial dream. Each year, one or two female
students receive funding that covers her two-year MBA experience.

A total of 8.1% of the Class of 2019 entered the private equity (6.0%) and venture capital (2.1%) industries—compared
with 8.4% (5.6% and 2.8%, respectively) in 2018 and 6.5% (4.7% and 1.8%, respectively) in 2017. Firms in this space that
have recruited at Chicago Booth in recent years include Baird Capital Partners; Altamar Private Equity; Cartesian Capital
Group, LLC; Partners Group; Emerging Capital Partners; and Scale Venture Partners. Rather than accept a full-time po-
sition with a recruiting company, 19 of Booth’s 2019 graduates—3.3% of the class—chose to start their own business after
graduation, a typical result in recent years (compared with 19 and 3.3% in 2018, 19 and 3.2% in 2017, 17 and 2.9% in 2016, 19
and 3.3% in 2015, and 20 and 3.3% in 2014).
Finance
With names like Eugene Fama, (the late) Gary Becker, and (the late) Robert Fogel associated with the school, the word
“finance” readily—and not surprisingly—comes to mind whenever Chicago Booth is mentioned. We should note that Pro-
fessor Fama, generally regarded as “the father of modern finance,” served as inspiration for David Booth, who learned
about Fama’s philosophy on indexing (purchasing a broad number of stocks that are representative of the market at
large, rather than picking a small number of potential winners) and formed Dimensional Fund Advisors as a manifestation
of Fama’s theories. Now, years later, Chicago Booth is a $300M partner in the company.
Indeed, the school has a long history of economic and financial scholarship, thanks to its multiple Nobel Prize–winning
and distinguished faculty in these fields. Chicago Booth has 35 professors dedicated to teaching more than 30 finance
classes and had been consistently sending approximately one-third of its graduates into careers in this industry each
year (31.3% in 2019, 31.6% in 2018, 29.9% in 2017, 36.0% in 2016, 35.2% in 2015, 36.4% in 2014, and 35.0% in 2013), even
during the most recent economic downturn. To put this into perspective, Chicago Booth requires the completion of only
21 courses total to graduate. So, a student could not possibly exhaust their options within finance while at the school—
something committed finance types may consider a shame. Courses in the finance concentration include “Financial
Markets and Institutions,” “Cases in Financial Management,” “Financial Statement Analysis,” and “Corporation Finance.”
As further testament to the interest in finance on campus, Chicago Booth has several student groups that focus either
fully or partially on the industry: the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group, the Private Equity Group, the Corpo-
rate Finance Group, the Credit Restructuring Distressed Investing and Turnaround Group, the Investment Management
Group, and the Investment Banking Group (IBG).
The IBG, purportedly one of the largest student groups on campus, offers its members an extensive array of events and
resources each year, including resume reviews and mock interview sessions, Lunch and Learn events to prepare stu-
dents for recruiting, Bank Week (when students descend on New York City en masse to job shadow and network), and the
IBG Conference.
“Bank Week is very much about getting to know potential colleagues and bonding with current classmates,” wrote a first-
year student in a January 2014 The Booth Experience blog post. “We got to see New York City from a unique perspective
and had engaging conversations with really bright people.” Another first year shared his experience in a January 2013
post, commenting, “The success of my time in New York confirmed that Booth was the best choice for me for business
school. Bank Week was the perfect mix of structure and flexibility. Booth provides access to top firms in finance through

formal programming, but gives us enough room to customize the recruiting process to our own needs and goals. On top
of that, I’m building a great network of colleagues and friends for the future.”
The IBG Conference takes place each fall and offers career panels and networking opportunities with industry leaders
in banking, sales, and trading. A second-year co-chair of the IBG described the conference to mbaMission as “one of the
capstone events provided to full-time students to continue learning about careers in investment banking, network with
bankers, and attend functional workshops.” The event has attracted as many as 250 attendees in recent years, includ-
ing students and banking professionals, and is, as a student who helped organize a past conference explained to us,
“focused on providing students with first-hand perspectives of the investment banking industry as well as opportunities
to directly interact with investment banking professionals of all levels, ranging from associates to vice presidents to
managing directors.”
Panels at past conferences have explored such topics as “Successfully Navigating the Recruiting Process,” “Day in the
Life of a VP or Associate,” and “Unique Perspectives from Industry Senior Experts.” Workshops have covered interview
tips and an analysis of industry trends, and the conference’s sponsors have included Bank of America Merrill Lynch,
Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citi, and Wells Fargo.
The Investment Management Group (IMG), another large campus organization, offers a stock pitch boot camp, mentor-
ship, and pitch competitions, though its largest annual event is the Investment Management Conference—the most re-
cent of which took place in November 2019. The event website states that the conference aims to “supplement tradi-
tional on-campus recruiting processes by facilitating coffee chats among sponsoring firms, [investment] competition
participants, and Booth students.”
We were unable to locate information about a 2018 event. The 2017 conference, however, welcomed representatives
from such companies as Onyx Equity Management, T. Rowe Price, Omega Healthcare Investors, and Ariel Investments as
speakers. The daylong event featured two discussion panels (“Emerging Markets” and “Asset Allocation”) in addition to
two fireside chats and a concluding cocktail reception.
We were unable to locate information about a 2016 event. The November 2015 event, however, attracted more than 200 par-
ticipants and welcomed representatives from such companies as Dimensional Fund Advisors, PIMCO, First Eagle Invest-
ment Management, and The Grosvenor Group as speakers. The daylong event featured two discussion panels (“Developing
a Sound Research Process” and “Identifying Market Opportunities”) and concluded with a cocktail reception. Speakers at
the 2014 conference included the global credit chief investment officer of PIMCO and the head of marketing at Dimensional
Fund Advisors. In addition to panel discussions focusing on such themes as “Value Investing” and “Women in Investment
Management,” the daylong conference offered a speed networking session and a separate networking reception.
The Corporate Finance Group’s (CFG) mission, according to its website, is to provide members with “information on ca-
reers in finance, assistance and advice in pursuit of such careers, and opportunities to meet professionals in the field.”
Members of this organization benefit from such offerings as interview preparation and resume review sessions. The
group also hosts guest speakers, Lunch and Learns with company representatives, and social happy hours. Among the
corporate finance–related courses the club has recommended on its site are “Corporation Finance,” “Financial Markets
and Institutions,” and “Cases in Financial Management.”

The Corporate Finance Symposium is one of the CFG’s signature events, attracting dozens of students and representa-
tives from such companies as Procter & Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Target, Prudential, Microsoft, and Citigroup. The 2018
symposium featured representatives from such companies as Ecolab, Procter & Gamble, Citi, and ExxonMobil, in ad-
dition to events including a panel discussion on corporate finance, networking sessions, and a formal dinner. The 2017
event carried the theme “Disruption” and featured keynote addresses by representatives from Ecolab, Marsh & McLen-
nan Companies, and Discover. Attendees were able to take part in two networking events.
Although we were unable to locate details on the 2015 event, the 2016 symposium was themed “Challenges and Trends in
Corporate Finance for Global Firms” and in 2014, participants could dine with representatives from firms such as Kraft
Foods and M&T Bank, participate in networking sessions, and attend company presentations. “One of the key themes
that came up was that the role of finance at these companies is not a reporting role but a strategic role,” said a second-
year student of the 2012 symposium in a Chicago Business article, adding, “Attendees really enjoyed learning about the
various opportunities within finance at each of the companies. They also enjoyed hearing about some of the current
projects the guest speakers are working on.”
Perhaps most important to some students interested in finance is the opportunity to participate in the Student Managed
Investment Fund (SMIF), a portfolio controlled by second-year students and originally established in 2006 with a $1M al-
location of the school’s endowment to provide “a real-world portfolio management environment which allows students
to improve their equity research and stock-picking abilities,” explains the fund’s website. First-year students can apply
to become SMIF portfolio managers through the IMG. In the spring quarter, current SMIF portfolio managers choose the
portfolio managers for the upcoming year based on the first years’ involvement with the IMG throughout the year as well
as the quality of their stock pitches.
What is unique about the SMIF is that a portion of its profits are placed into a scholarship fund each year and distributed
among rising students. For example, in 2014–2015, the SMIF’s contributions of over $110,000 were a notable part of the
$700,000 in student scholarships awarded for that academic year. The SMIF reports its year-to-year performance from
time to time (available at www.chicagoboothsmif.com/holdings.htm), and as of April 2020, the fund was valued at just
under $1.6M.
The 31.3% of Chicago Booth’s 2019 graduates who entered the financial services industry (31.6% in 2018) did so at firms
such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Credit Suisse; Moelis & Company; Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; Citigroup, Inc.; JPM-
organ Chase & Co.; and Morgan Stanley.
International Business
Chicago Booth’s international credentials seem quite strong: international students make up 31% of the Class of 2021
(30% of the Class of 2020, 36% of the Class of 2019, and 34% of both the Class of 2018 and the Class of 2017), approximate-
ly 25% of the faculty is international, and alumni can be found in more than 120 different countries. Further, the school
offers an annual Worldwide Booth Night, wherein prospective students, current students, and alumni gather in more
than 100 cities around the world to network and socialize—no doubt an advantageous program for prospective MBAs, to
say the least. In 2019, the event attracted more than 2,500 participants worldwide. Chicago Booth students also benefit
from more than a dozen different national/regional clubs at the school:

Australia and New Zealand Business Group
Belgian Business Students
Canadian Business Group
Chicago Africa Business Group
Chicago Asia Pacific Group
European Business Group
Greater China Club
Hispanic American Business Students Association
Japan Club
Korean Business Group
Latin American Business Group
Middle East and North Africa Group
South Asian Business Group
Chicago Booth offers students the opportunity to earn what is formally known as the International MBA Degree by taking
at least five courses in international business, pursuing an international exchange program for one semester at one of
the school’s 30 partner institutions in 20 countries, and achieving proficiency in a second language. Students can com-
plete the course requirement by taking any five of classes offered in international business/macroeconomics. Sample
courses in this area include “International Financial Policy,” “The Wealth of Nations,” and “Managing the Firm in the Global
Economy.” Students may also complete international coursework offered by schools and departments within the broad-
er university, including the Harris School of Public Policy, the Law School, and the political science department.
The school offers exchange programs with the following partner institutions:
Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney, Australia

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
ESADE Business School (Escuela Superior Administración y Dirección de Empresas), Barcelona, Spain
ESSEC Business School Paris, Cergy, France
Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), Escola de Administracão de Empresas de Sao Paulo, Brazil
Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Beijing, China
HEC (Hautes Études Commerciales) School of Management, Jouy-en-Josas, France
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
IE Business School, Madrid, Spain
IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India
ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México), Mexico City, Mexico
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Keio Business School, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany
London Business School, United Kingdom

London School of Economics and Political Science: Interdisciplinary Institute of Management, United Kingdom
Louvain School of Management, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Manchester Business School, United Kingdom
Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Australia
Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
Recanati Graduate School of Business, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands
SDA Bocconi School of Management/Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy
St. Gallen University, Switzerland
Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
Vienna University of Economics and Business/Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna, Austria
Warwick Business School, Coventry, United Kingdom
Waseda Business School, The Graduate School of Commerce, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
The Initiative on Global Markets research institute is prominent on campus, offering the Myron Scholes Global Markets
Forum, through which it has hosted former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo and the CEO and president of the Federal
Reserve Bank of Chicago—not to mention Nobel Laureate Myron Scholes himself. The 2018 forum welcomed the manag-
ing director of Duquesne Capital Management, and the 2017 forum featured the U.S. managing editor of Financial Times.
In 2016, the forum welcomed a former chairman of the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority for a presentation,
in addition to professors from Booth, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago.
The spring 2015 forum featured the former governor of the Bank of England for a presentation titled “Money and Nations,”
as well as a senior fellow of foreign policy and global economy and development at the Brookings Institute for a presenta-
tion on “China’s Economic Reform: Implications for China and for the World.” In 2014, presentations included “The Only
Game in Town? A New Constitution for Monetary (and Credit) Policy” and “Mindwise, How We Understand What Others
Think, Believe, Feel and Want.”
In addition, the multidisciplinary George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State (engaging the uni-
versity’s law school and the Harris School of Public Policy) is devoted to interaction between private and public econo-
mies. The center’s predominant focus is research, and its publications could fill niches or perhaps be a bit esoteric for
the casual student of international affairs.
Finally, candidates should note that Chicago Booth offers a program called Random Walks, through which students can
take any one of more than 30 available trips to an international location (e.g., Chile, Iceland, Vietnam) as a preliminary
orientation to the school—indeed, the school’s website describes the experience as “an opportunity to meet and bond
with future classmates before the rigors of the MBA program begin.” Although this program is not part of the school’s
official curriculum, it represents an opportunity for students to gain enhanced global exposure. One first year with whom
we spoke described the Random Walks as “basically a kick starter to school social life.”

In 2019, 13.3% of graduates accepted positions outside the United States (12.8% in 2018, 10.6% in 2017, 12.8% in 2016, and
17.3% in 2015). International recruiters of Chicago Booth MBAs in 2018–2019 include Credit Suisse, Grupo Patio, Grupo
Enesa, Deutsche Bank AG, Kubo Financiero, PT Traveloka Indonesia, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and Companhia de Bebidas
das Américas (AMBEV).
Marketing
Arthur Middlebrooks, executive director of the James M. Kilts Center for Marketing, told us at mbaMission that Chicago
Booth offers students “a full-service marketing curriculum” with roughly a dozen marketing electives and, true to its
quant-heavy reputation, its 26-professor marketing department integrates marketing, economics, and statistics in its
courses. Second-year students we interviewed informed us that “Data-Driven Marketing” is a “quant-marketing” class
popular among aspiring marketers and consultants. Other sample courses in this study area are “Lab in Developing New
Products and Services” and “Pricing Strategies.”
Although Chicago Booth is not primarily known for marketing, by establishing the Kilts Center for Marketing—named for
the 1974 alumnus who was formerly CEO of Gillette and Nabisco—in 1999, the school has attempted to bolster its reputa-
tion for excellence in the field (possibly in hopes of gaining an edge over its crosstown rival, Kellogg). More recently, Kilts
donated $1M, via a challenge grant, to the school to attract and fund top students interested in marketing. As a result,
Chicago Booth provides approximately six students from each class with financial support, as well as mentorship from a
senior marketing executive. A first-year student expressed to mbaMission that the school offers robust networking and
recruiting resources to students interested in marketing, adding, “Chicago Booth is known as a sort of rigorous, analytic
school, but the amount of support provided for ‘softer’ kinds of learning really surprised me.”
Early in the academic year, the Kilts Center sponsors the Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME) Conference, which
helps facilitate and encourage interaction among researchers in the field. The conference’s goal is “to provide a forum
for interaction among researchers in this growing and important area,” states the center’s website. The October 2019
conference, as in the three previous years, featured ten sessions over the course of two days, with topics including
"Learning to Set Prices,” “More Than a Penny’s Worth: Left-Digit Bias and Firm Pricing,” and “Targeted Advertising and
Consumer Inference.” The 2019 Dick Wittink prize for the best QME paper, which is announced each year at the con-
ference, was awarded to a paper titled “Cross Channel Effects of Search Engine Advertising on Brick and Mortal Retail
Sales: Meta Analysis of Large Scale Field Experiments on Google.com.”
The August 2018 conference featured such session topics as “Mass Advertising as a Natural Experiment,” “Incremental-
ity Bidding and Attribution,” and “Large-Scale Demand Estimation with Search Data.” The 2018 Dick Wittink prize for the
best QME paper, which is announced each year at the conference, was awarded to a paper titled “Super Returns to Super
Bowl Ads?”
The October 2017 conference sessions included topics such as “Higher Minimum Quality Standards and Redistributive
Effects on Consumer Welfare,” “Consumer Mistakes and Advertising: The Case of Mortgage Refinancing,” and “Dynamic
Effects of Prize Promotions: Field Evidence, Consumer Search, and Supply-Side Implications.” The 2017 Dick Wittink
prize for the best QME paper was awarded in a tie to papers titled “Costly Search and Consideration Sets in Storable

Goods Markets” and “Identification and Semiparametric Estimation of a Finite Horizon Dynamic Discrete Choice Model
with a Terminating Action.”
The October 2016 event sessions covered such topics as “The Value of Usage-Based Insurance Beyond Better Target-
ing: Better Driving,” “You Get What You Give: Theory and Evidence of Reciprocity in the Sharing Economy,” and “Strategic
Ability and Productive Efficiency in Electricity Markets.” The 2016 winner of the Dick Wittink prize for the best QME paper
was “Effect of Temporal Spacing Between Advertising Exposures: Evidence from Online Field Experiments” by Navdeep
S. Sahni, an associate professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
In October 2015, the QME Conference offered sessions on topics ranging from “Signaling in Online Credit Markets” and
“Estimating the Heterogeneous Welfare Effects of Choice Architecture: An Application to the Medicare Prescription
Drug Insurance Market” to “Income and Wealth Effects on Private Label Demand: Evidence From the Great Recession”
and “Competition and Crowd-Out for Brand Keywords in Sponsored Search.” The 2015 Dick Wittink prize went to a paper
titled “Online Ads and Offline Sales: Measuring the Effect of Retail Advertising via a Controlled Experiment on Yahoo!” by
economic research scientist Randall A. Lewis and scientist David H. Reiley. A memorial event was also held for Associate
Professor of Operations Management Che-Lin Su, who passed away in July 2015.
The October 2014 QME Conference included session topics on “Optimal Selling Strategies When Buyers Name Their Own
Prices,” “Signaling Value Through Assortment,” and “Dynamic Models with Unobserved State Variables and Heteroge-
neity: Time Inconsistency in Drug Compliance,” as well as a breakfast and a dinner reception. The 2014 Dick Wittink
prizewinner was Stanford Graduate School of Business Assistant Professor Stephan Seiler for his paper, “The Impact of
Search Costs on Consumer Behavior: A Dynamic Approach.”
The Chicago Booth Marketing Group typically hosts an annual, half-day Marketing Conference covering topics that are
less esoteric than those examined in the QME Conference and providing the requisite networking opportunities with
corporations. The 2018 event was hosted in November and featured networking opportunities and a dinner. The 2015
event—the most recent past event about which we could locate details—carried the theme “A Changing World: What’s
Now, What’s Next?” and featured executives from the William Wrigley Jr. Company and Workiva Inc. as keynote speakers.
The day’s two panel discussions concentrated on the topics of “Pushing Boundaries Through Innovation” and “Staying
Connected to a Changing Consumer.”
Various informal Marketing Group–sponsored opportunities exist for students to interact with company representatives
on campus, including corporate presentations and interviewing practice sessions. Kraft, Microsoft, Wrigley, General
Mills, Deloitte, Campbell’s Soup, and BCG have all presented for club members in the past. A first-year student with whom
we spoke reported, “Every single week, there’s a different company on campus, especially in the fall. The [presentations]
are great because you get a more informal interaction; you’re not wearing your suit and name tag.” The student also
mentioned an event at which approximately 30 first-year club members held a “product tasting,” buying various food and
beverage brands for the sake of comparison.
Further, the school offers “day at” opportunities, wherein students visit various marketing firms in the greater Chicago
area to learn firsthand about those companies’ career offerings and corporate culture. Participating “day at” companies

in recent years have included Abbot, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Wrigley, and Kraft. Of these off-site opportunities, a
first year told us, “You get a lot better sense of what the companies are like, even more than when they visit campus.”
As soon as December exams are done, interested students partake in Brand Week Trek, a networking blitz during which
they visit firms in New York and on the West Coast. Firms visited in recent years include American Express, Kantar,
Pfizer, Johnnie Walker, and Campbell’s Soup. According to a first year with whom we spoke, a West Coast Marketing Trek
was offered for the first time in 2013, targeting firms in the areas of retail, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals,
and technology. And a first-year club member told mbaMission, “There are fewer Marketing Group treks because the
company presentations tend to be a lot longer and more in-depth.” In addition, according to another first-year member,
the group sponsors a Retail Trek (coordinated with the Retail, Apparel, and Luxury Group), which runs concurrent to the
Brand Week Trek. On the Retail Trek, students have visited such companies as Coach, Cynthia Rowley, Rue La La, and
Urban Outfitters.
The school’s website lists two management labs dedicated to the marketing function, with firms such as Abbott, Bar-
clays, Campbell’s Soup, and Honeywell International, Inc. sponsoring these lab classes, for which students take on
semester-long consulting projects. Arthur Middlebrooks, executive director of the James M. Kilts Center, explained to
mbaMission that each management lab consists of eight to ten students with one or two coaches per team who meet
three days a week. The class involves no curricular component: the class is the consulting project. Said Middlebrooks of
the lab course, “You learn a ton about the subject and a lot about your own work style.”
In addition, professors in Chicago Booth’s marketing department realized opportunities for increased practical involve-
ment and created such “hybrid” classes as “Lab in Developing New Products and Services” that involve a lecture compo-
nent but that also allow students to work on shorter-term projects with a more narrow scope for firms large and small.
More than 200 students participate in these courses each year and work in teams of five with such companies as GE
Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, and Chicago Public Radio. Plus, in 2009, Chicago Booth started the Kilts Marketing Fel-
lowship, in which students interested in marketing receive financial support and are paired with one of approximately
40 Chicago Booth alumni mentors from leading marketing firms (e.g., General Mills, PepsiCo) who provide their assigned
students with career guidance and support.
Chicago Booth continues to expand its experiential learning opportunities through its partnership with The Nielsen Com-
pany, a global market researcher. Chicago Booth houses Consumer Panel, Ad Intel, Panel Views, and Retail Scanner store
data for Nielsen. Middlebrooks told mbaMission that through classes such as “Data Driven Marketing,” faculty teach stu-
dents how to use this kind of data in their decision making. For example, the Consumer Panel data provide a record of what
people buy in 60,000 homes, and through these records, students are able to “infer shopping behavior and track spending,”
explained Middlebrooks. Students can access the data only through Chicago Booth courses and with faculty supervision.
According to Middlebrooks, this partnership is meant to create “a clearinghouse for data for the academic community.”
Of Chicago Booth’s 2019 graduates, 5.2% accepted positions with a marketing function (6.8% in 2018, 6.9% in 2017, and
7.9% in both 2016 and 2015) at such companies as Amazon.com, Inc.; Anheuser-Busch InBev; Pepsico, Inc.; Samsung
Group; Apple Inc.; and the Kraft Heinz Company.

Nonprofit/Social Entrepreneurship
No major is dedicated specifically to nonprofit work or social entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. However, because of
the MBA program’s flexible curriculum, students can define their own major in the area and might thus consider a variety
of courses in corporate governance, public policy, and social enterprise. Because students may take up to six classes in
other departments within the University of Chicago, they can take advantage of the extensive academic offerings avail-
able via the Harris School for Public Policy.
In 2013, Chicago Booth received a $5M gift from alumnus John Edwardson (’72), the former chairman and CEO of CDW, to
support the school’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation (formerly the Social Enterprise Initiative). This initia-
tive “[equips the] community with the knowledge and tools to positively impact humanity,” states the school’s website.
The center sponsored several distinguished speakers in 2019–2020 related to social entrepreneurship, including the vice
president of business strategy and regional operations at Slipstream and a managing partner at Impact Engine. Speak-
ers in 2018–2019 included a former governor of Delaware, the chief investment officer and managing partner at Impact
Engine, and the director of portfolio at Acumen.
Speakers in 2017–2018 included the CEO of Operation ASHA and the CEO of Allen Edmonds Corporation. Among the
speakers in 2016–2017 were a consultant at the Bridgespan Group, the president and CEO of Honest Tea, and the authors
of The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty (Princeton University Press, 2017). Speak-
ers in 2015–2016 included the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, the director of education and community engagement
at Chicago’s Goodman Theater, and an executive chair of TeacherMatch. In 2014–2015, the initiative welcomed such pre-
senters as the vice president of green innovation at NASCAR, the CEO of OneGoal, and the deputy commissioner of youth
services for the City of Chicago. The previous year, the initiative brought to the school the executive director of the Office
of Strategy Management and Chicago Public Schools and the senior director of sustainability for Keurig Green Mountain.
In addition, the Booth Net Impact chapter offers students a significant experiential/leadership opportunity—its Board
Fellows program, in which students join the boards of nonprofits as nonvoting members and complete a strategic project
with the guidance of a board member who acts as a mentor. Students make a significant commitment to the nonprofit
with which they align—projects often demand eight to ten hours per week for six months.
Although the Giving Something Back Group (known as the GSB) is less managerial than the Board Fellows program, stu-
dents interested in the nonprofit world may be interested to learn that it facilitates a wide variety of community volun-
teer opportunities. Currently, the GSB offers more than 20 project options. For example, students may commit to tutor-
ing disadvantaged children, assisting families with tax preparation, or preparing food for families staying at the Ronald
McDonald House. mbaMission learned that this program, which has more than 200 members, is quite popular among
Chicago Booth students, and participants enjoy not only “giving back” but also bonding with their classmates through
these volunteer opportunities. A first-year GSB member told mbaMission that a goal of the group is “to reinforce the im-
portance of volunteerism among business school students in an enjoyable and rewarding fashion,” adding, ”We hope that
our efforts will promote long-term commitments and sensitivity to the importance of good citizenship.”
In addition, students can make an impact in the developing world through the International Development Group (for-
merly the Chicago Global Citizens Group), which harnesses MBA students’ skills to benefit those in need internationally.

In recent years, Chicago Booth students have worked on consulting projects for the Inter-American Development Bank,
the New York University/Gates Foundation Microfinance Project, and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Access Initiative,
among other high-profile, international developmental projects. Further, the group sponsors a Spring Trek to a develop-
ing country—past trips have been to Kenya Tanzania, Botswana, the Philippines, Colombia, Vietnam, Nepal, the Domini-
can Republic, and Peru—where students spend one week volunteering, meeting with local nonprofits and nongovern-
mental organizations, and sightseeing.
On the 2013 Spring Trek, for example, 16 students traveled to Nepal and volunteered to work with the Kevin Rohan Memo-
rial Eco Foundation, which was created in 2008 to “bring sustainable practices to the local communities by establishing
programs that are deeply rooted and are serving the needs of the community,” explains the group’s site. The students
witnessed firsthand how the organization’s programs have introduced basic social services to Nepalese villages and
even visited a leprosy treatment center. During the 2012 Spring Trek, 12 students worked on two projects in Vietnam:
teaching English to the White Thai (one of more than 80 minority groups in the country) and assisting a local entrepreneur
who employs disabled women in her handcraft business. A second year who participated in the 2012 trip told mbaMis-
sion, “We talked to some of the people that are investing in the country, among private equity funds and institutions like
World Bank. In one week, we covered the more developed south with super lively Saigon, and the more traditional north,
where we visited the capital Hanoi and surroundings.”
Students concerned with environmental issues will likely be interested in EPIC (the Energy Policy Institute at the Univer-
sity of Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Energy Initiative), a research center devoted to studying the economic,
environmental, and geopolitical impacts of energy use. Although students do not typically deal with climate change
“hands on” through the initiative, they have many opportunities to address energy use in academic forums through the
speakers and workshops the initiative regularly hosts. For example, in 2019, a U.S. Senator took part in a discussion with
the director of EPIC, and in 2018, the board chair of California Air Resources took part in a discussion titled “U.S. Climate
Policy at a Crossroads,” while the chief economist at ISO New England presented a seminar on the topic “Market Design
for Greening Grid.”
In 2017, a former assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Com-
pliance Assurance discussed “The Future of Regulatory Enforcement: Action from Data” and a senior scientist at the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory gave a presentation titled “Expert Judgments on Future Wind Energy Costs:
How Low Can Costs Go?” In 2016, the chief economist and manager of business and market analysis for ConocoPhillips
discussed “U.S. Shale Renaissance: Implications and Challenges” and the director of the program on Sustainable Mobility
at the Earth Institute presented the topic “Transforming Mobility and Logistics.”
The previous year (2015), the technology manager for natural gas technology programs at the U.S. Department of En-
ergy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory spoke on the theme “Energy and Environmental Implications of Gas Hy-
drates,” while a Harvard Kennedy School professor presented on the topic of “Solar Geoengineering: Technology and
Implications for Public Policy.” And in 2014, the CEO of Alliant Energy presented on the topic of “Generating Results in
an Environmentally Conscious World,” and a senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists addressed the topic
“Renaissance Lost? The Future of Nuclear Power.”

Organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Environmental Defense Fund recruited Chicago
Booth students in 2018–2019. According to the school’s most recent employment report, five members of the Class of
2019 (1.0%; three and 0.3%, respectively, in 2018; seven and 1.4% in 2017; eight and 1.6% in 2016; and 19 and 3.3% in 2015)
entered full-time positions in education/government/nonprofit.
Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
Sanjay Dhar (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/d/sanjay-k-dhar): If one were to say that a

star marketing professor could be found in the city of Chicago, one would likely guess that that per-
son would be found at Northwestern Kellogg. However, Chicago Booth has worked hard to develop its It is hard to top the
marketing program, and the school can claim the professor who wrote what the Journal of Marketing collective wisdom
Research deemed its best article of 2008 and who has received several other awards and citations, in-
of the Booth faculty.
cluding being recognized as an outstanding faculty member in three Bloomberg Businessweek guides
Nobel Prize winners
to the best business schools. In 2017, Dhar received the Faculty Excellence Teaching Award, which
is voted on by evening and weekend MBA students, and in 2012, Dhar was honored by his executive
abound, and they are
education students with the Hillel J. Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Award. In addition, students told incredibly down-to-
mbaMission that they are pleased that Dhar is teaching more and researching less. He keeps the en- earth and passionate
ergy high in his classroom by constantly walking up and down the aisles during discussions and then about teaching and
literally running to the board to write down salient points. advancing their fields.
Nicholas Epley (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/e/nicholas-epley): As a result of bringing  Kate Richardson, mbaMission

social science to bear on management practices, Nicholas Epley has received such noteworthy rec- Senior Consultant and Booth
ognitions as the 2011 American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Ca- Alumna
reer Contribution to Psychology. In 2014, Poets&Quants named Epley one of “The 40 Most Outstanding
B-School Profs Under 40 in the World.” “Most people are intuitive psychologists in their daily lives,” he
explains on the school’s website, “wondering why people think or behave as they do. I just happened to find a profession
that enables me to answer these questions for a living.” Epley’s work has been featured in top media outlets and published
in leading social and behavioral sciences journals, and in 2014, he published the book Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand
What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want (Deckle Edge, 2014).
An alumna we interviewed called Epley one of her favorite professors and praised him for his approach to teaching behav-
ioral analysis, saying it familiarizes students with “the psychology behind making decisions and also what people’s biases
are, how that works.” She added, “He’s done a ton of research behind that, and it was great to get that soft learning behind
decision making and work with other teams and other people, just because it’s obviously something that you’re going to
be doing in the real world.”
Eugene F. Fama (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/f/eugene-f-fama): Among the most distinguished members

of Chicago Booth’s faculty is Eugene Fama, widely recognized as the “father of modern finance.” For his research on as-
set pricing and market efficiency, he received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economic Science jointly with Lars Peter Hansen
(University of Chicago) and Robert Shiller (Yale University). Fama is reportedly one of the most cited researchers in the
country, having published more than 100 articles and claimed a number of other prestigious awards in the field, including

the 2007 Fred Arditti Innovation Award from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Center for Innovation, the 2007 Award
for Excellence in Finance from the Morgan Stanley American Finance Association, and the 2005 Deutsche Bank Prize in
Financial Economics.
The Nobel Laureate has also served as chair of Chicago Booth’s Center for Research in Security Prices. In recent years,
Fama has taught the “Research Projects: Finance” course, which is open to MBA and PhD students and focuses on con-
structing an extensive research paper.
Scott Meadow (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/m/scott-f-meadow): In both 2003 and 2005, Scott Meadow

was featured as one of the most outstanding professors of entrepreneurship in the United States in BusinessWeek’s (now
Bloomberg Businessweek) “Guide to the Best Business Schools.” He is widely recognized as an expert in private equity
investment and has served since 2000 as clinical professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth. As a testament to his
decades of experience, Meadow was honored with the 2011 Richard J. Daley Award by the Illinois Venture Capital Associa-
tion for his contributions to the industry.
Meadow has taught more than 8,000 students, claims the school’s site, and received several recognitions for his teach-
ing, including the 2010 Faculty Excellence Award. An alumna we interviewed identified Meadow as one of her favorite
professors. “I thought that was a really great class,” she said of his “Commercializing Innovation: Tools to Research and
Analyze Private Enterprises” course, adding, “Basically, the class is like a week-long due diligence session for different
companies. … Professor Meadow’s worked in venture, worked in PE, has all of that real-world experience. So I was really
able to apply what his methodology is to a lot of different companies in a lot of different areas.” Meadow also teaches the
“Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital” elective course.
Arthur Middlebrooks (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/m/arthur-middlebrooks): A 1988 Chicago Booth alum-

nus, Arthur Middlebrooks is also executive director of the Kilts Center for Marketing and a management consultant who
has helped notable companies—including the Bank of America, IBM Consulting, and BP/Amoco—introduce novel services
and products. With these experiences in hand, Middlebrooks is prepared to take students in his “Lab in Developing New
Products and Services” class through the entire product development process, starting from scratch. In his class, rather
than being instructed to dream up a product, students are given raw data and hold focus groups as they strive to iden-
tify a consumer need. Recently, students in this course conceptualized new bag products for Ziploc and presented their
findings to a panel of entrepreneurs. Students with whom mbaMission spoke described Middlebrooks as innovative and
gushed about his passion and energy. Plus, several were impressed that he knew each student’s name on day one of class.
Kevin Murphy (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/m/kevin-m-murphy): In 2005, Kevin Murphy, who has a joint ap-
pointment in the department of economics at the University of Chicago, where he teaches PhD-level courses, became the
first business school professor to win the MacArthur Genius Grant, which he received for his groundbreaking economic
research. Murphy’s course “Advanced Microeconomic Analysis” is affectionately called “Turbo Micro” because of its enor-
mous workload. One recent graduate told mbaMission that a typical Chicago Booth class is supposed to be complemented
by five hours of homework per week but that Murphy’s course demands roughly 20 hours of work per week outside class.
So why would students clamber to take the course? The alumnus with whom we spoke raved that it was taught at the PhD
level and that Murphy is deserving of his “genius” title, pushing students to think about their opinions in profoundly differ-

ent ways. A first year we interviewed identified Murphy’s course as the most impressive he had taken thus far, saying it
offered “a very complicated but logical way to view the world.”
Lubos Pastor (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/p/lubos-pastor): Still relatively young, Lubos Pastor has already
received considerable recognition for his research on the stock market and asset management and was featured among
“The Best 40 B-School Profs Under the Age of 40” by Poets&Quants in 2011. Pastor’s work has been influential, earning him
such high-profile accolades as the NASDAQ Award, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Prize, and the Barclay’s Global
Investors Prize, as well as Chicago Booth’s own Faculty Excellence Award for MBA Teaching in both 2009 and 2010. One
student quoted in the Poets&Quants article said, “his witty style elevates classroom conversations and facilitates reten-
tion of core concepts.” Pastor’s “Portfolio Management” is an advanced course, especially suited for students considering
working in the asset management industry.
James E. Schrager (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/s/james-e-schrager): Although he has a PhD from the

University of Chicago in organizational behavior and policy, James E. Schrager is not just an academic but also a practi-
tioner, able to claim that he helped take the first private American company public on the Tokyo stock exchange and as-
sisted in turning around aspects of the Pritzker family holdings, which were ultimately sold to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire
Hathaway. Students we interviewed noted that Schrager brings his high-level experiences to class but remains entirely
in touch with students’ more modest perspectives, adapting his anecdotes accordingly and creating practical learning
points that pertain to what students will face early in their post-MBA careers. Schrager is also a three-time recipient
of the university’s Emory Williams Award for Excellence in Teaching (in 2007, 2001, and 1996), and received the Faculty
Excellence Teaching Award in 2017. One second-year student told mbaMission, “He is not up in the sky, but very practical,
and by the way, his class is always full.” Students’ grades in Schrager’s “New Venture Strategy” class are based in part on
the success of a business idea the students present to their peers—the other students act as venture capitalists and give
feedback on the idea.
Luigi Zingales (www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/z/luigi-zingales): Luigi Zingales is known on the Chicago Booth

campus for his charm, sense of humor, and humility, but students with whom mbaMission spoke also call him an innovator,
citing as evidence his perspective on the discount rates used to evaluate the future cash flows of new and risky ventures
(i.e., his ability to mathematically explain why some firms deserve a 30%–50% discount rate). Zingales’s novel approach
to solving the mortgage crisis was profiled in The Economist, and Bruce Bartlett of the National Review Online called his
book Saving Capitalism from Capitalists: Unleashing the Power of Financial Markets to Create Wealth and Spread Opportu-
nity (coauthored with Raghuram G. Rajan; Crown Business, 2003) “one of the most powerful defenses of the free market
ever written.” More recently, he published the book, A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American
Prosperity (Basic Books, 2012). In 2015, he became director of the school’s Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and
the State. His students call him an “emerging finance superstar”—significant praise, considering the company he keeps
at Chicago Booth.
Social/Community Life
Booth Partners: Booth Partners is an official school club that supports the significant others and families of Chicago
Booth students by hosting social events, offering advice about moving to and living in Chicago, and providing a network-

ing resource for members who hope to work and volunteer while in Chicago. During admit weekend, sessions are run by
current partners to inform admitted Chicago Booth students and their significant others about life at the school, show-
ing, said a partner with whom we spoke, “that the partner is recognized as an important part of the decision-making
process.” She added, “Upon acceptance to Booth, not only does the student receive a letter, the partner does as well!”
Partners, with or without children, who move with their students to Chicago Booth can take advantage of what the group
has to offer by paying a $150 one-year membership fee or a $230 two-year membership fee. Membership benefits in-
clude invitations to partner parties, such activities as a Japanese cooking class or a beer-tasting event, and inclusion in
sub-clubs, such as a Book Club, a Wine Club, etc. Events take place on average one to four times a week. The Booth Part-
ners website offers information on moving to Chicago, with links to descriptions of area neighborhoods and apartment
buildings as well as specific resources for international students and their significant others.
Within the Booth Partners club is Partners of Little Ones (POLO), a resource specifically for students/partners with chil-
dren. Said the partner with whom we spoke, “There are lots of resources available to make everyone that is special to a
Booth student feel welcomed and cared for! As a Chicago Booth Partner, I have found the Booth Partners club to be an
excellent organization in which to meet new people and participate in fun, interesting activities.”
Chicago Booth Ski Trip and Tuck Winter Carnival: Candidates who decide to attend Chicago Booth can look forward—
with hundreds of their closest friends in the community (partners are invited as well)—to the school’s two annual ski trips,
which take place in December and February in varying locations. The December 2019 trip destination was Breckenridge
Ski Resort in Colorado. The December 2018 trip took place at Steamboat Springs in Colorado. In December 2017, the
destination was Aspen, Colorado, for the second year in a row. In February 2016, Chicago Booth students and partners
headed for Park City, Utah, for the event. Approximately 400 traveled to Aspen in December 2015, with previous years’
destinations including Vail and Telluride. After skiing and snowboarding all day, trip attendees spend their evenings en-
joying back-to-back parties.
“There was no shortage of board shorts, bathing suits, Hawaiian shirts, blow-up pool toys, beach balls, and glow sticks
on the dance floor,” recalled a second year of a “Summertime Fun” themed party in 2014 on The Booth Experience blog in
January 2015, noting, “Half of my suitcase was snowboarding gear, and the rest was costumes.” Other party themes that
year included Choose Your Decade, Ugly Holiday, Boots N’ Brews, and Broomball. The previous year, the participating stu-
dents donned their “most radical attire,” said a first year in a January 2014 post on The Booth Experience blog, for an ’80s-
themed happy hour before partying late into the night at a “Heaven and Hell” rave. Other ski trip activities have included
a flip cup tournament, a pub crawl, a grilled cheese bake-off, and a visit to a local hot spring. Students and partners who
are not interested in skiing or snowboarding can typically take advantage of the selected location’s other offerings, such
as spa treatments, bumper cars on ice, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing.
Members of the Chicago Booth Ski and Snowboard Club also participate in the annual Tuck Winter Carnival (at Dart-
mouth), for which many of the country’s top business schools send teams to compete in a ski race—though we learned
the event tends to be more about beer than competition.
Liquidity Preference Function (LPF): LPF gets its name from a financial term coined by John Maynard Keynes, and these
gatherings are held weekly at Hyde Park. Students and their partners/families get together after classes in a communal

area in the Harper Center called Winter Garden for free food and drinks. LPF is a school-sponsored event organized by
the Graduate Business Council (a group of students elected by the student body to organize activities). LPFs are often
theme based, such as a Chinese New Year LPF, hosted by the school’s Greater China Club; a Mentor-Mentee LPF; and an
LPF at which the Studio Booth club (formerly the Booth Creative Cultures Club) displayed the finalists in a photography
contest it sponsored, and at which music and dance performances were featured.
Random Walks: Each year, Chicago Booth students can choose to take part in one of more than 30 trips abroad, called
Random Walks, as an orientation to the school and a way to kick-start their MBA social lives. Three to four second-year
students organize each of the weeklong excursions, which take place toward the end of August each year. Because stu-
dents organize these trips, they can become quite specialized—for example, two trips have typically been offered to Be-
lize, one for singles and one for couples. As trips fill up, they become “suspended” to allow admits from Round 2 time to sign
up. Still, students who have their hearts set on a particular destination would be wise to claim a space as early as possible.
Students interested in participating in a Random Walk but have not set their sights on any particular destination can
elect to join the “mystery trip,” for which participants do not find out where they are going until they arrive at the airport to
depart. (In recent years students on the “mystery trip” have traveled to the Galapagos Islands; Japan; Finland and Esto-
nia; Barcelona, Spain, and Dublin, Ireland; Jordan; and Portugal.) One first-year student wrote in a 2016 post on the Booth
Experience blog: “I couldn’t imagine my Booth Experience without Random Walk, and it seems like this year’s first years
feel the same way,” while another expressed similar sentiments: “Taking part in Random Walk Panama was a fantastic
way to kick off my Booth experience. It provided a brilliant opportunity to unwind before diving fully into MBA life, as well
as some solid friendships to make the whole thing a bit less daunting.” A third student said simply: “The best part about
Random Walk are the relationships you form.”
Thursday Night Drinking Club (TNDC): According to a first year with whom we spoke, Thursday Night Drinking Club, or
TNDC, is “a Booth tradition that everyone goes to and a weekly staple.” This event is organized by six second-year stu-
dents (“chairs”) who are handpicked by the previous year’s chairs and who select a new location each week where stu-
dents and their partners/families can gather in downtown Chicago. A member of the Dean’s Student Admissions Com-
mittee told mbaMission that TNDC is “just one part of the vibrant city-based social environment of Booth,” and a recent
alumnus remarked, “I think that our Thursday night events were really great because they provided an avenue for all
students to come together and hang out outside of school.” Noting that attendance regularly numbers 200–400, a first-
year student we interviewed remarked, “Booth frequently takes over the venue.”
Winter Formal and Spring Fling: Later in the academic year, both first and second years don their tuxedoes and cocktail
dresses to enjoy the Winter Formal, which draws approximately 700 attendees. Students told mbaMission that they enjoy
these opportunities to get their energy pumping and break up the long winter with a party. The Field Museum of Natural
History, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Shedd Aquarium have served as the event’s venues in recent years.
In a January 2020 post on the Booth Experience student blog, a second-year student called the formal “Booth’s biggest
event of the year,” adding: “With how hectic life is at Booth, it seems impossible to get all of your friends in one place at
one time. Until now. Winter Formal is the ultimate opportunity to get your crew (Random Walk squad, Ski Trip house-
mates, interview family, you name it!) back together for a swanky night of partying in style.” The 2020 formal took place
at The Field Museum.

The 2019 event, which was held at the Museum of Science and Industry and attracted more than 1,000 attendees, fea-
tured a black-tie dress code, a dinner, dancing, and a charity auction. The 2019 auction raised $24,000 and featured such
items as a dinner hosted by a professor at their house. The Spring Fling follows, which students we interviewed likened
to an American prom. This party has typically been held at Venue SIX10 in downtown Chicago and has even involved a
semiformal cruise on Lake Michigan.
Academic Summary
Curriculum: Chicago Booth is renowned for its flexibility—its LEAD Program is the school’s only mandatory course.
Nonetheless, this claim to flexibility can be a bit misleading. Chicago Booth breaks its course selection down into dif-
ferent categories; students must take three foundation courses from among 15 financial accounting, microeconomics,
and statistics options. Then, students must take six courses from the selections offered in the Functions, Management,
and Business Environment categories. Each of these three categories is broken down into subsets: the Functions sub-
set includes finance, marketing, and operations; the Management subset includes decisions, people, and strategy; and
the Business Environment subset is eponymously named. Students must ultimately take six courses from among these
seven subsets, for which they have more than 40 options. Thereafter, 11 elective options remain for students among the
21 total courses (including LEAD) they need to complete to graduate. Students can take up to six courses outside the
business school at the University of Chicago.
Grade Disclosure Policy: Chicago Booth students voted in 2001 to adopt a grade nondisclosure policy, preventing re-
cruiters from asking students for information about their grades. This policy is believed to still be in place, given that stu-
dents have not voted to reverse the decision. However, Chicago Booth’s website notes that this is not an official school
policy and is therefore not enforced by faculty or staff.
Majors: Rather than official majors, Chicago Booth offers students 13 available concentrations, which each require the
completion of three to six courses within the study area. Concentrations are not required, but students typically fulfill
one to three of the following options:
Accounting
Analytic Finance
Behavioral Science
Business Analytics
Econometrics and Statistics
Economics
Entrepreneurship
Finance
General Management
International Business
Marketing Management
Operations Management
Strategic Management

Teaching Method: Chicago Booth does not adhere strictly to one method (case method or lecture). Professors are free to
select the format that best fits the subject matter being conveyed.
Research Centers and Initiatives:

Accounting Research Center
Applied Theory Initiative
Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics
Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence
Center for Decision Research
Center for Research in Security Prices
Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago
Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance
George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State
Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership
Initiative on Global Markets
James M. Kilts Center for Marketing
Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
Admissions Basics
Note: Any specifics discussed in this section related to application requirements were valid for the 2019–2020 admissions
season (unless otherwise noted). Be aware that requirements for any subsequent admissions cycles may differ. Always
check with the school directly to confirm all application details.
The Chicago Booth admissions committee regularly hosts hour-long online chats and gives very candid responses to all
sorts of applicant questions. If you have a query or concern about the school’s MBA program or applying to it, these chats
provide a forum in which to connect and get “straight talk” on the issue.
Application Process: Once a complete application has been received, it is given to an admissions fellow (a trained sec-
ond-year student or an admissions staff member), who reads the application and makes a decision as to whether to in-
terview the candidate. The application is then passed on to an admissions director, who reads the application and makes
a similar decision. If these two decisions differ, another director breaks the tie with a third decision. When a candidate
is interviewed, a subsequent interview report is made, processed, and given to another director, along with the rest of
the applicant’s file, for a third, or possibly fourth, read. That director then votes to either admit the candidate, deny the
candidate, or bring the decision to committee for further discussion.
In a 2011 admissions blog post, then-Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions (now Chief Marketing and
Communications Officer) Kurt Ahlm described the application process as such: “There is no formula that we use to de-
termine who is admitted. We strive to select the people we feel most thoroughly embody the values that we live every
day, which is why each admitted student is reviewed by at minimum five members of our committee (student fellow, first

admissions director, interviewer, second admissions director, me). As we have tried hard to express to thousands of
prospective students who read our materials, attend our events, or visit our campus, our applicant pool is full of interest-
ing and successful people, but not all of them leverage the application in a way that truly conveys strong fit with those
values. At the end of the day, it is fit that proves to be our final litmus test.”
Admissions Rounds: Although applying in Round 1 rather than Round 2 may confer a slight statistical advantage—be-
cause Round 1 involves fewer applications, and no decisions have yet been made (thus, no limit exists at this point on
the number of spaces available)—admissions staff at Chicago Booth have emphasized in various communications that
quality is more important than speed when one is applying to the school and that candidates should wait until Round 2 to
submit their application, if necessary, rather than rushing through their application to submit it in Round 1. By Round 3,
fewer spaces and scholarships are available. The admissions committee does recommend, however, that international
students consider applying in Rounds 1 or 2 so that they may have sufficient time to acquire their visas. The director of
student recruitment noted in a 2020 online chat, “Students who apply earlier do have the advantage of knowing their
decision earlier which allows them time to plan earlier for their transition...”
The director of student recruitment also stated in a 2019 online chat: “Round 1 and Round 2 are our
largest rounds of receiving applications. It is typically by Round 3 that most of the classes are filled.
However, each application receives a full review and consideration no matter which round.” A senior I often work with
associate director of admissions commented in a 2020 online chat, “We say apply when you are ready. applicants who want to
If you feel your application isn't quite ready send it when all systems are go!” In an August 2018 online
go to Booth to develop
admissions chat, an admissions officer stated plainly: “All application rounds are considered equally.”
their quantitative
GMAT/GRE/GPA Cutoffs: Chicago Booth has no GMAT, GRE, or GPA cutoffs and stipulates no ideal
abilities. At the same
score or average. Applicants are evaluated on a holistic basis, and all their attributes are considered time, Booth needs to
(work experience, community/leadership activities, etc.). see some quantitative
ability so they can be
Word Limits: Chicago Booth’s admissions committee members expect candidates to adhere to the confident that the
guidelines provided when asked to submit a written essay. See the essay analysis below for detailed applicant can handle
information about the most recent application essay guidelines.
the program. So, an
applicant with no or
PowerPoint Presentation/PDF/Essay: For past application seasons, Chicago Booth offered appli-
cants a virtual blank slate as one of the school’s essay questions: four PowerPoint slides with which
weak quantitative
candidates could do anything they pleased. For the 2016–2017 and 2015–2016 cycles, however, candi- background should
dates were given just one presentation/essay topic and could choose their desired submission for- build up some data
mat (e.g., PowerPoint, PDF, Word document). For the 2017–2018 application season (this prompt was points to prove this to
not used during the 2019–2020 and 2018–2019 seasons) the available submissions formats were un- Booth.
changed, but applicants were asked to choose from a collection of “Booth moments” (pictures from
the school’s Instagram account) and base their response on one photo. “Either [format] is fine, and  Susan Kaplan, mbaMission Senior
we’re hoping to get a better ‘snapshot’ of who you are and your interests,” a member of the admissions Consultant
committee explained in a 2014 admissions chat. “At the end of the day, we are looking for you to bring
a new element about yourself into the essay, something that you haven’t already shared in other sec-
tions of the application,” Kurt Ahlm wrote in a 2015 post on the MBA admissions blog.

Community Leadership: Chicago Booth seeks well-rounded candidates but understands that some careers may limit
the amount of activities in which certain applicants can participate. Sometimes, an individual who is “too busy” now can
make up for a lack of current involvement once they arrive at the school. In a 2011 admissions chat, an associate director
of admissions noted, “We value leadership and community involvement in whatever form it comes from each individual
applicant. Some are really involved in traditional activities, while others choose to get involved in community organiza-
tions—churches, nonprofits, etc.” There is no right number of community engagements an applicant should have; the ad-
missions committee is simply trying to understand the candidate’s interests—quality trumps quantity. Applicants should
not be hesitant about discussing faith-based community engagements.
Unemployment/Layoffs: The school does not necessarily view a layoff or period of unemployment unfavorably.
International Quotas: Chicago Booth does not have any specific quotas by country or industry. Student numbers by
country fluctuate a great deal each year.
Recommendations: The school requires that applicants submit two letters of recommendation and specifies that one
of the two should be provided by a supervisor. If a candidate’s recommenders miss a deadline, the candidate can email
the admissions committee to ask for additional time and may be granted a one-week extension. Third recommendations
are not recommended, but the school cannot guarantee that it will be reviewed. “Your second letter of recommenda-
tion can be professional in nature or come from an individual who has worked with you in an organization, club, or on a
volunteer project. There is no preference on who supplies your second letter of recommendation, our only guideline is
that it should add new and valuable insight to your candidacy,” an associate director of student recruitment said in a 2019
admissions online chat.
Similarly, an associate director of admissions noted in a 2013 admissions blog post that candidates ought not lose sight
of a recommendation’s quality, saying, “Letters of recommendation are a crucial part of the admissions process, and
while you may be tempted to impress the Admissions Committee with the connections you’ve made, you’ll want to work
with someone who knows you and your accomplishments, talents, and skills well. Your current or former supervisor and
a colleague or client who can speak at length about your value to your company or organization is a much better choice
than someone who may have an impressive title, but little insight into you as a person or future Chicago Booth student.
Choose your recommenders carefully.” An assistant director of admissions made a similar point in a 2012 online chat,
saying, “It is important to choose someone who knows you well, has observed your work, and can comment on the areas
listed on the reference form.”
Interviews: Interviews are mandatory for admission for all candidates, including reapplicants. The percentage of ap-
plicants who are invited to interview is based solely on the quality of the applicant pool, and no set number exists. Tra-
ditionally, approximately 40%–60% of applicants are interviewed, although the school notes that the percentage varies
year to year. Interviews are conducted by admissions committee staff, students, or alumni and are held on campus or in
a location convenient for the prospective student. All interviews, regardless of who conducts them, receive equal weight
in the evaluation process. Interview invitations are randomly distributed. The timing of a candidate’s interview invitation
has no bearing on their chances of admission.

A 2012 admissions blog post by Ahlm (www.chicagobooth.edu/blog/ftadmissions/2012/preparing-for-your-booth-in-
terview) reminded candidates to dress in business attire and bring a resume to their interview. Ahlm also suggests that
candidates ask themselves the following questions in preparation for their interview:
What do I really want from my MBA experience?

What can I bring to the Chicago Booth community?
Why is Booth the right place for me?
How do I plan to use my MBA in my career?
Although interviews are important, they are not “make or break.” Interviewers are primarily attempting to assess the
candidate’s fit with the program (i.e., whether the applicant has done their due diligence on the school and understands
how it connects with their MBA needs and career goals). “We are just trying to understand your goals and your familiarity
with our program. We have no set "style" of interviewing,” a senior associate director of admissions said in a 2020 admis-
sions online chat. An associate director of admissions said in a 2010 online admissions chat, “Be prepared to tell your
story, even if you feel like you’ve already done so. That includes your interest in Booth, your goals, and your motivation for
the MBA. Finally, come armed with some great questions to ask your interviewer.”
Similarly, an assistant director of admissions explained in a 2013 post on the Booth Insider Full-Time MBA Admissions
blog, “We have a long-standing philosophy that the interview is to be a two way exchange—an organic conversation—so
our advice still rings quite true. But we’ll never miss an opportunity to remind you that a bit of self-reflection is key to
good preparation. Don’t neglect to become confident with the answers to these types of questions: Why do I want an
MBA? Why now? How will an MBA help me achieve my goals?”
Said a second year in the same chat about his own experience interviewing at Chicago Booth as a candidate, “My inter-
view was really conversational, and it was really about my interviewer getting to know me and having a feeling whether
I would have a good fit with the community here.” In a 2013 admissions blog post, Admissions Fellows shared tips with
interviewees, echoing this sentiment and saying, “Relax! It is a conversation, not a job interview!” and “Be prepared. Be
able to anticipate the interviewer’s questions but, more importantly, be mentally ready. … Don’t stress out. If you’re here,
it means you have talent and have the potential to succeed.”
The Waitlist: Chicago Booth’s waitlist is “used to gauge the pool of candidates in a subsequent round before offering a
final decision to those candidates placed on the waitlist,” states the school’s website. If a candidate is waitlisted, they
will remain on the list until at least the next round. While the school is unable to provide specific feedback to waitlisted
applicants, it does not rank the candidates on the list, and applicants are welcome to submit supplemental materials. In
2010–2011, Chicago Booth began evaluating applicants who were waitlisted for Round 1 as part of Round 2 admissions
decisions. This means that while some applicants may remain on the waitlist, others may receive their decision earlier in
the process. Some applicants will not receive a decision until Round 3, however.
Financial Aid: Chicago Booth applicants are offered a merit-based fellowship at the time of their admissions decision,
if they have been granted one. These awards are based on the quality of the candidate’s application and on any specific
criteria identified by the donor. An applicant cannot do anything to enhance their chances of gaining an award, aside
from simply being a meritorious candidate.

Reapplicants: Reapplicants to Chicago Booth should understand that in the eyes of the admissions committee, they are
not starting from a “penalty” situation. However, they are expected to have a more profound perspective on their deci-
sion to pursue an MBA and a stronger sense of fit with the school than someone who is applying for the first time. The
admissions committee will look to the reapplicant’s current application to provide all the information needed and will
only infrequently go back to and review the candidate’s previous file. Applicants are only considered reapplicants if they
have applied to the school within the last two years.
In response to a question about reapplicants in a 2010 online admissions chat, an associate director of admissions stat-
ed, “We evaluate reapplicants much in the same way we evaluate first-time applicants. Your current application is re-
viewed within the larger pool, and we have your previous application on file in the event that we need to reference it. One
of the major differences is the additional question for reapplicants, where we hope to get a sense of what has changed
since you last applied.” Reapplicants are directed to a specific page on the Chicago Booth website: www.chicagobooth.
edu/programs/full-time/admissions/apply/reapplicants.
University of Chicago (Booth) Essay Analysis, 2020–2021
For the 2020–2021 MBA application season, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Booth's essays always
has introduced a new prompt that shines a spotlight on candidates’ lives outside the workplace and make me think—I like
serves as a nice complement to its strictly professionally focused first essay. In addition, the admis-
how they try to go deep
sions committee has made an interesting tweak to its note about the word count for both required es-
into understanding who
says. The stipulated minimums are still 250, but “no maximum” has now been added to this directive.
Last year, the admissions committee said its prompts had produced essays that “disclosed amazing
the applicant really is.
insights into our applicants’ professional aspirations as well as personal interests.” Our assumption,
 Jessica Shklar, mbaMission
then, is that more than a few recent candidates might have misinterpreted the guidance on word lim-
Senior Consultant
its—or did not trust that the admissions committee was truly open to longer submissions—and kept
their essays on the briefer side, thereby potentially withholding some of these “amazing insights” the
school had been so excited about learning. The new, if subtle, reassurance that longer essays are
indeed acceptable indicates that Chicago Booth wants to hear as much of your story (that fits the question, of course) as
you feel compelled to share. Our more in-depth essay advice follows.
Essay 1: How will the 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 school can understand
your motivation for pursuing an MBA from its program and where you expect to go in your career afterward. Be as spe-
cific 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 in particular). 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 your admissions reader as to how and why the particular offerings you have identified relate
directly to your needs and how you intend to apply them.
This essay includes many 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. Please feel free to download your complimentary copy today at https://shop.mbamission.com/products/
personal-statement-guide.
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.)
As we have seen, Chicago Booth’s first essay question focuses specifically on candidates’ professional paths and aspira-
tions, and the school’s previous second essay question left the door open for applicants to again discuss some aspect of
their career. With this new prompt, however, the admissions committee is very explicitly directing candidates to discuss
their personas and lives, separate from the workplace. Booth is essentially asking for whatever information or insight
you believe it needs to understand you more fully as an individual and to be able to evaluate you thoroughly and fairly.
The admissions committee will already have a lot of information about you that it can and will use to get to know you bet-
ter, including your resume, extracurricular activities, recommendations, short-answer question responses, academic
transcripts, and GMAT/GRE score. You should therefore approach this essay by first thinking about what these portions
of your application convey about who you are. Whatever you discuss should complement that information and help pro-
vide the school with a more well-rounded impression of you. Do not use this essay to pander to the school or make a
general pitch for your candidacy or why you need an MBA. The focus needs to be on you and on giving the admissions
committee a new window into your profile. Consider elements of your personality that you feel are particularly revelatory
of who you are as an individual (e.g., values, hobbies, skills) as well as significant instances from your past that illustrate
something about you or influenced the person you are today (e.g., accomplishments, excursions, milestones). The ideas
about which you feel most enthusiastic are likely your best options and should also be the easiest to write about.
You might also consider giving some thought to which elements of your persona or background mesh best with the Chi-
cago Booth experience. (In addition to what you find in this guide, dig deeper into what life at the school is like by read-
ing student blogs, perusing discussion boards, catching up on press releases from the school, and watching videos on
Booth’s YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/user/ChicagoBoothMBA].) If you are struggling to decide among several
topic options, selecting one that aligns with Chicago Booth’s character or with specific offerings could help to illustrate
your fit with the program.
In the end, as with all application essays, no matter the school, what you want to convey most is authenticity. Do not
get caught up in trying to say what you think the admissions committee wants to hear or writing in a way that hides your
natural communication style. And avoid just indiscriminately relating as much information as possible about yourself in

hopes of stumbling on the “right” answers. Writing with sincerity and letting your true self shine through will make your
essay its most compelling and memorable.
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 sounds like a more direct way of saying, “Don’t share additional information just to ‘sell’ your candidacy, but use
this space only to address a problem area.” So let us be especially clear: however tempted you may be, do not use this
space to simply share a strong essay you wrote for another school or offer a few anecdotes you were unable to share 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 (https://shop.mbamission.com/products/mbamission-optional-essays-guide), in which we offer detailed advice
on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay, 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 get-
ting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (Maximum 300 words)
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.
With this essay question, Chicago Booth is testing your resolve and your reasoning. We surmise that the school 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, which validates
your need for an MBA. In the interim, some of your interests or goals may 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 goals that have changed 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 stress-
ful 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 at https://shop.
mbamission.com/products/chicago-booth-school-of-business-interview-guide.

mbaMission’s Exclusive Interview with University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions (Currently Chief Marketing and
Communications Officer) Kurt Ahlm
April 2011
mbaMission: Chicago Booth is known for finance. What is it not known for that you believe it should be known for?
Kurt Ahlm: Chicago Booth is a breeding ground for critical thinkers. Our graduates are analytical problem solvers who
can apply what they learn here to successful careers in any number of fields. Booth has strength in many areas beyond
finance, including entrepreneurship and marketing. Our Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship provides unparalleled pro-
gramming for our students, through labs in PE [Private Equity], VC [Venture Capitalism], Cleantech and Social Entre-
preneurship, to lecture series and networking support, to helping students launch businesses through the New Ven-
ture Challenge. The Kilts Center for Marketing provides similar support to marketing students and recently entered into
an exclusive agreement with AC Nielsen to share three major databases which put Booth at the forefront of thinking
about marketing and consumer behavior. Partnerships like this show that Chicago Booth provides analytics and critical
thought across a variety of disciplines beyond just finance.
mbaMission: Chicago Booth is probably equally well known for its flexibility—where students do not have a prescribed
first-year curriculum, but choose classes from core offerings. Could you discuss some of the support that students
receive to help them ensure they choose wisely?
KA: Chicago Booth offers the most flexible curriculum of any of the top business schools and has done so since its found-
ing over 100 years ago. We have decades of experience behind us in creating a culture that supports a multitude of choic-
es a student is faced with while they’re here. We have one of the largest administrative staffs of any of the top business
schools, despite enrolling a class that is smaller than [that of] many of our closest peers. These staff members are expe-
rienced professionals who offer one-on-one support for our students and who create the best academic experience for
them. When you couple this guidance with second-year students who serve as a valuable resource for first years, you’ll
see that Booth is unmatched in the amount of resources and support it provides its students to help them make the best
decisions in planning their curriculum and careers.
mbaMission: Sticking with the theme of what the school is known for … clearly, Chicago Booth has a variety of distin-
guished professors. Does the school have any professors who may be less well known for their research but are instead
known for their teaching styles? Can you tell us about one or two “true” teachers at Chicago Booth and how they bring
creative or innovative methods to the classroom?
KA: There are far too many names to choose from. Being in a Chicago Booth classroom is a very special experience, no
matter who is teaching. The commitment to teaching is embedded deep in our culture, and it is something we not only
take pride in but we it is something we are recognized for. Among the top ten business schools ranked by Bloomberg Busi-
nessweek in 2010, Booth was the only school to receive an outstanding rating for teaching. Students here can explore any
class and experience thought-provoking and innovative ideas every day.

mbaMission: Does the admissions office have any directives at all to increase a “type” of applicant—to accept younger
applicants, for example, or to increase the proportion of international students or women? Does the school strive to have
each class reflect something specific?
KA: No. At Booth, we do not employ any quotas in our review process. We simply look to enroll a diverse, smart group of
students, who fit well with the values and culture of Booth. Innovation and world-changing ideas are born in an environ-
ment made up of people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, professions, gender etc. We want to maintain that same
commitment to welcoming a diverse mix that has propelled us for generations.
mbaMission: Do you consult with the career services office before making admissions offers?
KA: We work with many offices at Booth to help us to understand how we can refine our selection process. Together
we explore what attributes correlate well with success here and after graduation. Understanding how Booth students
navigate their academic and career objectives during their two years is tremendously important to how we think about
the application evaluation process. So although we leverage our community to help us understand and recognize fit, it is
solely the role of the admissions office to select those students who are eventually admitted to the program.
mbaMission: When you read an applicant’s file, where do you start? With the candidate’s resume? With the PowerPoint
submission? [The PowerPoint submission was not a part of the admissions process in 2019–2020. —Ed.]
KA: At Booth our process is iterative, with many committee members reviewing an applicant’s file before a final decision
is made. We calibrate our review process to make sure we all are looking for similar elements of fit, but we all investigate
the application a little differently. I tend to follow the order of the application: personal information, professional infor-
mation, academics, essays (including the slide presentation), letters of recommendation.
mbaMission: No business school is for everyone—who would you say Chicago Booth is not for?
KA: I would say Chicago Booth is not for people who are simply looking for a credential to add to their resume. At Booth,
the MBA is the culmination of two years of exploring your interests, engaging your mind and learning how to think criti-
cally about markets and organizations. There is no cookie-cutter approach here, no single way to get a degree, so unless
a student is prepared to step in, create a path and leverage the full range of opportunities in front of them, this will not
be a good fit.
mbaMission: For joint degree applicants, is there any “pull”? Meaning, if you want to accept a certain joint degree ap-
plicant, will you advocate on their behalf to help the applicant also gain admission to, say, the Harris School? Similarly,
when a married couple applies together, do you make admissions decisions with the couple in mind—trying to bring in
both spouses?
KA: All applicants to Booth have to be able to get into the program on their own merits. Although we want to be mindful
of applicants applying with a spouse, partner, or significant other, that will not tip the scale for someone who is not pre-
pared to handle the challenges of an MBA program. My answer to this question is the same as the answer I would provide
to a question on joint degrees.

mbaMission: How would you describe the tenor of the typical admissions interview at Chicago Booth?
KA: The interview process is not meant to be an intense experience, it is meant to be a conversation between two in-
terested parties. It is an opportunity for us to meet a candidate and hear why they believe they are a good fit for Booth,
while at the same time allowing the interviewer to convey what makes our program distinctive. Our goal at the end of the
interview is to have both parties walk away feeling that they learned something meaningful from the conversation.
mbaMission: What advice would you give candidates to help them prepare to apply to Chicago Booth?
KA: Take time to thoroughly think through your objectives for business school. Why do you want an MBA? What skills or
experiences do you hope to gain? How do you prefer to learn? How do all of these things put you in a better position to ac-
complish your short- and long-term goals? These are just some of the questions I push people to consider as they begin
their application preparation. The more focused and on point an applicant is, the more compelling their application will
be and the more prepared they will be to successfully start an MBA program. A two-year MBA program moves quickly
regardless where you go, and if you have not fully vetted your reasons for being at that school, you can fall behind pretty
quickly. The more thinking and planning you do on the front end, the greater overall success you will have throughout the
entire MBA experience.
mbaMission: What percentage of Chicago Booth candidates are typically interviewed?
KA: This percentage can vary from year to year, depending on the strength of the pool, but in general we interview be-
tween 40% and 50% of those who apply.
mbaMission: How informed do you think candidates are in general? Do you think the average Chicago Booth applicant
knows what they would be in for?
KA: Yes, because at Chicago Booth we strive to be as transparent as possible. Our staff and students work hard to be
accessible; we push a lot of content out to prospective students through email, our website and a variety of social media
platforms. We have a comprehensive campus visit program and we conduct receptions in cities around the world. Be-
cause fit with program is so important to our selection process, we try to eliminate any ambiguity about who we are and
how to prepare to be successful here. So my guess is Chicago applicants are well aware of what to expect from this place
by the time they enroll.
B-School Insider Interview: Alumnus, University of Chicago Booth School of Business,

Class of 2018
February 2019
Entering business school with a background in accounting, finance, and mergers and acquisitions consulting, this Chicago
Booth alumnus from Asia embraced the school’s flexible curriculum with an open mind about what the next phase of his
career would hold. He now works at one of the world’s top consulting firms.

mbaMission: Thank you so much for talking with me today. To start, what inspired you to choose Chicago Booth for your
degree? And has it met your expectations?
Chicago Booth Alumnus: Oh, absolutely. I think that part of what made me choose Chicago was that I didn’t have a 100%
clear idea of exactly what I wanted to get into. So I was kind of toying with “Do I maybe want to go into finance? Do I maybe
want to go into consulting? Do I not want to do any of those things, and maybe do something like tech strategy? Or corpo-
rate strategy?” I was a little unsure, to be honest. When I looked at my initial set of schools, I looked at schools that gave
me a very good chance to get into any one of these spots, should I change my mind later on. I was a little wary about going
to a school where only specific employers recruited on campus, so the sort of opportunities that I thought about getting
into was very important.
It was less about stereotypes the schools had, to be honest, because what I saw, based on the data on the ground, was
very different from what was actually being talked about. For example, Booth is supposedly a “finance school,” but the
last three or four years, we’ve consistently sent the largest percentage of students to consulting and tech, with finance
being a distant third. So I could follow any of these three paths, if I wanted to. The second thing that was important for me,
as someone with a business background, was tailoring my experience to what I wanted to learn. There were experiences
I wanted to get, classes I wanted to take. Learning was important, but I didn’t want to spend time doing the same classes
repetitively. I really valued curricula where there was a little bit of flexibility. I would be lying if I said prestige and brand
name didn’t factor into the decision, too, so I primarily looked at M7 schools.
mbaMission: You mentioned the core curriculum. How did you feel about Booth’s and how the school executes it?
CBA: I really liked it. One thing that really stood out for me when I was deciding was, given that I was a CFA [chartered
financial analyst] and had worked in M&A [mergers and acquisitions] consulting, I knew I had a fair amount of training in
introductory accounting, finance, etc. I wanted to take some very specialized finance classes or classes with rock star
professors. One example was Raghuram Rajan’s “International Corporate Finance” class, just because he was fresh off
a stint as governor of the Central Bank in India and a bit of a celebrity back in Asia. But I also wanted to take some econ
classes and classes in data analytics, because that was something I did not have a strong background in, and also be-
cause of the school’s reputation as a mecca for these subjects. On the other end of the spectrum, I wanted to take a ton
of “soft classes,” like “Managing in Organizations,” “Negotiations,” etc., and every Boothie I spoke to spoke very highly of
these classes. So having the flexibility to choose exactly what I wanted was very attractive to me, and Booth definitely
lived up to its reputation in my two years.
mbaMission: That’s great. How did you like living in Chicago, especially coming from the Middle East?
CBA: I was definitely afraid. It’s funny you’re talking to me today, the day after a polar vortex in the Midwest. I was terri-
fied of a day like this when I was accepted. But as much as people told me to factor the location into my equation, I think,
outside of New York, it never factored in. One of the reasons I was never really attracted to the New York schools was how
expensive New York was, but also the fact that everyone already has a base in New York when they come into business
school. That was in the back of my mind when I was thinking about New York as a location. I think what I appreciated about
Booth versus [Northwestern] Kellogg was that Booth was a little more in the city, versus in Evanston. So I got the benefits

of being in a big city. I had heard good things about Chicago, and while I was a little worried about the winters, it never
factored into my decision.
mbaMission: Was it as bad as you thought it might be, once you were there?
CBA: Not the two years I was there. Actually, we had pretty good winters those two years. It’s funny, after I decide to fi-
nally hitch my wagon to Chicago, we now have this polar vortex going on! My wife moved with me; she got a transfer with
her workplace. We came in thinking, unless we hated the city, most likely we would stay because she was excited by her
work. And it turned out my wife and I loved Chicago, so it was a very easy decision to want to stay. I didn’t even think about
moving anywhere else.
mbaMission: That’s great to hear! How was her experience as a partner? And how was having a partner for you?
CBA: My wife was very much involved in all the partner activities, especially my first year. My second year, she was a lot
more selective about the types of things she did as a partner. By the second, third quarter, most of my friends were my
wife’s close friends, so she would pretty much do all the things that I did, versus doing partner-only activities in the sec-
ond year. But she was one of the co-chairs of the partner’s club [Booth Partners], planning events in Chicago, so she was
pretty involved.
She liked it, but given that she was working as well, she probably had a little less time for the partner activities. She told
me she never felt excluded with my core group, and all of my close friends at school were her close friends as well. She
really appreciated the fact that she never felt like she was just a partner, at the end of the day.
mbaMission: That says a lot about the community. How would you describe your classmates and the Booth community
as a whole?
CBA: The easiest way to say it, the cliché—and I always used to roll my eyes at this—is “We have a great community. Every-
one watches out for each other.” Fortunately, it’s actually true and why the cliché exists. It was one of my favorite things
about the school. People take a lot of pride in it. You can see that in the way second years help out first years. Probably the
only reason I got a job was because of the amount of help I got from other students and the school. I would say the other
thing I heard a lot was “Oh, it’s a commuter school.” But really, it’s not, because everyone lives within a two-block radius
in downtown Chicago, and we all commute together! My closest friends would bond in that 20- to 30-minute commute,
where we’re either in an Uber or on the Metra together.
Take this with a grain of salt because I’m an international student. Maybe there are other colleges in the U.S. where cam-
puses and communities are different—I had never lived on campus before this—but I never once felt like I didn’t have a
community around me. If anything, it was the other way around; there were a lot of Boothies around me. It was almost like
you could not not bump into someone you knew when you were walking in downtown Chicago.
mbaMission: I wouldn’t expect that in a city as big as Chicago. What would you say is the most surprising thing you en-
countered as a Booth student?

CBA: I feel like this is more of an MBA thing, or a business school–specific thing, but I felt there was a huge emphasis on
“Okay. We’re here. We want to get a job.” I was surprised, given that I’ve heard so much about Booth being one of the most
rigorous academic MBA programs, I personally felt that the focus was more on building a network, building friendships,
getting a job, etc., and less on academics. I came in wanting to spend my time learning, but I would say I was definitely in
the minority. The more I speak to people, the more I feel like it’s an MBA-wide thing, where people are more interested in
what job they get and internships and recruiting and the social aspects. I would say learning is a distant third, which was
a little surprising.
mbaMission: Interesting. Did you do any traveling as a student, either socially or for a course?
CBA: I did! I did a Random Walk in Belize, right before business school. Then I did one of the spring break trips to Colombia
with about 150 of us. It was a massive trip. I also did the Booth Ski Trip during my winter break. Those were the three big
ones. And then a little bit of traveling around the U.S. with close friends from school, but those three were the big MBA
trips.
mbaMission: Did you feel like they were organized well?
CBA: Yeah. Absolutely fantastic. The Random Walk almost single-handedly changed my mind about organized trips, only
because you wake up and everything is ready and waiting for you, and I always scoffed at those kind of trips. I always
thought the fun of going somewhere was in the planning and figuring things out. And I almost got a little spoiled by the
experience of having someone else figure everything out, and you just show up. It was great. I formed some of my closest
friendships on these trips.
mbaMission: That’s really cool. Which professors or courses did you take that were particularly impressive or really
stood out to you?
CBA: We call it Turbo Micro [“Advanced Microeconomic Analysis”]. It was with Kevin Murphy, who was fantastic. I did a
class called “Data Science for Marketing Decision Making,” with Professor Günter Hitsch. It was probably the class that
taught me the best set of skills that I use at my job on a daily basis. I took “Managing in Organizations” with Ann McGill. It
is considered a soft class, but she is amazing, and the way she thinks makes you think about how to behave in the work-
place, and she puts research in front of you that actually changes your mind about a lot of things. It was one of my favorite
classes.
“International Corporate Finance” with Raghuram Rajan was an amazing class, just because he had a world of experience
to speak to, and his knowledge of finance is probably better than that of anyone I’ve ever met. There’s a class called “Plat-
form Competition” with Professor Austan Goolsbee, who used to be on the Council of Economic Advisers for President
Obama. That class was all about platforms and marketplaces like Facebook, Amazon, etc., and strategies for them. It was
very grounded in economics, just like you’d expect from someone who sat on the Council of Economic Advisers to be.
He’s hilarious as a professor. Most Booth students would reflect fondly on that class. I took a bunch of other classes that
were also really good, but those were my top four or five.
mbaMission: Interesting! Did you have any access to the dean?

CBA: A lot of access, I would say. We have a dean of student life, [Deputy Dean for MBA Programs] Stacey Kole, who was
very accessible. I was also on what we called the GBC, the Graduate Business Council, which was the student govern-
ment. We met with her a couple of times in that capacity, but outside of that, she used to host coffee hours, where at
least once a month, she would have coffee and snacks out in the garden and stand around and talk to people. And you
could always walk into her office, if you needed. Dean [Madhav V.] Rajan’s transition was between my first and second
year. For the first three or four months, he did a lot of traveling, so he was more external facing, and then after that, he
started participating in the dean coffee hours. He became a very visible presence on campus; we had a lot of access to
him. I’m sure he’s even more settled in right now.
mbaMission: You mentioned the GBC. Can you tell me more about that?
CBA: The GBC was one of the most impactful groups I was a part of, and I specifically led what was called the Faculty
Liaison Committee. It dealt with engaging faculty and students outside the classroom setting. We sponsored “Take a
Professor Out for Coffee” events. Those were always oversubscribed. And if we had any concerns, like “We want to see
more of this topic or of these type of classes” from the student body surveys, we would take them to the dean’s office or
the faculty office and say, “When you’re planning, please add these things.” We also hosted a bunch of professor presen-
tations on research topics, which always pleasantly surprised me on how well attended they were by students. This is not
curriculum; this is not class time. There was just a lunch, and they’d grab food and learn about topics the professors had
been working on and ask questions. That was always really fun to see. In fact, one of our last talks went on the Chicago
Booth Review web series called The Big Question, which is hosted by Howard Weissman. We ran series on income and
inequality, big data, etc. It became a pretty big thing towards the end of my time there.
mbaMission: That sounds great. Any other groups you were part of?
CBA: Yeah, I was one of those people who probably oversubscribed to clubs, so I was definitely part of more than I should
have been. One was the 1Y/2Y committee. So, we ran two big programs. One was a mentorship program in which we
paired each first year with a second-year mentor when they started out at Booth, so if they wanted someone to talk to,
not a professional mentor, but anything about school in general. The second thing was doing small Mix-It-Up dinners be-
tween first years and second years. Second years would cook food and host three or four first years at their home. Or if
they didn’t want to cook, we’d just all make dinner and bring it to the second year’s house, and they would have a few first
years over and talk about their experiences and what’s going on.
mbaMission: Nice! What would you say were the best parts of Booth’s facilities or any areas where the school should
maybe work on upping its game?
CBA: Best parts: definitely the study facilities. Booking group study rooms was very easy; they were available in plenty
and handy. The fact that most of us live downtown and could use the downtown campus to do that was really helpful. It’s
a fairly new building on campus, and it’s really nice. To be honest, the classrooms were fantastic. From a facilities stand-
point, it’s really hard to complain. You could throw in some first-world problems and say, “Oh, our school doesn’t have a
gym,” because I know [Northwestern] Kellogg’s new building has a gym, and that was a big thing on campus at one point.
Honestly, everywhere people lived had a gym in the building. It’s one of those things where if you have it, you use it. If you
don’t have it, you don’t really miss it. I would say that was the one thing to improve. But I’ve always heard employers talk

about how many interview rooms were on our campus and how easy it was for them, so they never had to conduct inter-
views off campus, which people have to do at some other schools.
mbaMission: If you’re biggest complaint is no gym, that’s probably pretty good. How’s your interaction been with Booth
alumni?
CBA: I spoke to a few alumni while I was applying, and when I got my offer as well. I met a ton of alumni through the recruit-
ing process, and they were always super receptive, I believe, mostly in their capacity as Boothies, versus as BCGers [Bos-
ton Consulting Group] or people from other firms. I’ve never had an issue, in terms of alumni engagement. Then again, our
alumni base is super strong in the U.S. We’re still expanding our base internationally. In my year and the year before and
now, we’re seeing a lot more people from Booth go international, which is really good. It’s a weird side-effect of the whole
immigration policy, but a positive one. We’re building a much stronger alumni base outside the U.S. I think that’s going to
pay a lot of dividends in the years to come.
mbaMission: That makes sense. Did you work through Booth Career Services to get your current job?
CBA: Yes. The other club I was a co-chair of was the Management Consulting Group [MCG]. One of the reasons I wanted to
do it was just how much the Career Services Office and the second years in MCG had helped me out personally. Honestly,
I only have the most positive things to say about them. Since I was looking for consulting, so much of my help was from
second-year students versus the Career Services Office. But I got to know them a lot more after I got my job, to be honest.
After I became the MCG co-chair, I started dealing with them, and I saw that a lot of their work is done in the background,
making sure employers come to campus and are happy. As someone on the other side of the table at BCG now, I see a
lot of people at our firm speak eloquently about Booth and the support we get from Career Services. Most BCGers love
Booth’s facilities and how Booth treats us. So, from that standpoint, I have nothing really to complain about.
mbaMission: Can you talk about the entrepreneurship scene at Booth?
CBA: Definitely. It is a major focus. I did the New Venture Challenge [NVC] in my first year, and I got to see firsthand how
much Booth actually invests in entrepreneurship, which is an almost absurd amount of resources. I know recently Booth
opened up the New Venture Challenge to alumni as well, which is a huge unlock, in my opinion. What used to happen was
alumni would try to get a Booth student to participate in the New Venture Challenge and typically, alumni teams did really
well. Now, making it a more formal program, I think they’re going to really boost it.
Chicago as a whole has a ways to go to ever come to the level of a Silicon Valley, but I think what I saw, being a part of it,
was a very energized entrepreneur base both at Booth and in the Chicago tech community, which works very closely with
the NVC and the professors at Booth. If I ever reached out to anyone when I was doing the NVC, I would get instant re-
sponses. And I think the prize money for the NVC has increased every single year, and that’s telling in terms of how much
funding goes into it. It’s not just talk.
mbaMission: That’s cool. I think you’ve touched on this already, but what resources would you say helped you the most
when preparing for the job you have now?

CBA: Second years! The Management Consulting Group, which is almost entirely run by second years. The individual case
work that all the second years did for me. I have a job only because of second years.
mbaMission: I’m sure it’s not only because of them!
CBA: No, I genuinely knew nothing about recruiting when I landed on campus. Honestly, I cannot stress this enough, how
much they do. Second years give so much of their time to first years. I would say in the first quarter of my second year, I
probably did more case interviews—meaning, giving cases to first years—than I did when I was actually prepping for my
own interviews.
mbaMission: It sound like a very pay-it-forward kind of mind-set.
CBA: Yeah, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use that phrase, given how much it gets used as part of the whole business
school concept, but it really is true! It is definitely amazing.
mbaMission: What were some of your favorite social or extracurricular activities?
CBA: I never did this, but the one I had the most FOMO about was not being a part of the Wine Club. They have a fantastic
slate of events. They’re always busy and always doing something interesting. I kick myself for not being a part of it.
mbaMission: Did you say the Wine Club?
CBA: Yes, it was massive. It’s hard to pick one. Another that I wasn’t part of, but everyone who did it absolutely loved it,
was Booth Insights. It was basically a small group of four or five people, a bottle of wine, and one moderator. And every
week, they’d meet in someone’s home, and they’d have a topic which was pretty deep. It was a closed-door setting where
people just spoke about how they felt about the topic, their own personal experiences, and the conversation went much
deeper than you’d normally expect. Anyone I heard from who’d done it, some of their best friends came from Booth In-
sights. It wasn’t like people all agreed—people would disagree a lot. It was a pretty big part of Booth life.
I did a different version of it called Booth Stories, where every month or so, people would gather in one of the classrooms.
There would be a theme, and people would talk about it to a classroom full of Boothies. We would always dim the lights,
and we’d have a virtual fireplace running in the background. It was a thing the GBC saw as very important. Health and
wellness was very big when I was at Booth. There were so many events around making sure you were in a safe space to be
vulnerable. When I reflect back, those events are what really stood out to me.
Other than that, you name it: Winter Formal was fantastic. Spring Fling was really nice. We have a cruise every year,
which is always fun. Everyone dresses up, gets on a boat on Lake Michigan. There’s music and food. It’s really fun. There
were so many social events, but I think the lesser, more intimate stuff was what really stood out to me.
mbaMission: Is it hard to balance so much social stuff with the work you have to do?
CBA: I think in the first six months or so, people are still finding the ropes and the balance between saying no and picking

the things they want to be invested in. The latter half of the first year and most of the second, people are more clear about
what they want to do and what they want to get out of it.
mbaMission: What do you think more people should know about Booth that they might not?
CBA: I would say, intellectual curiosity is definitely valued at Booth. And I don’t mean intellectual curiosity from an ac-
ademic standpoint. It could be from a professional development standpoint, a personal development standpoint. You
could be intellectually curious about how to grow as a person over two years. Those kinds of things are very valued. I
remember at one of the town halls, our dean said, “I would rather give up on a stellar-resume, gold-plated student, if that
student is not here to be intellectually curious and learn, because that is the purpose of this school.” And that is very
reflective of the kind of people I saw around me. It was like a bell curve, and you could find people at each extreme. There
were people who were all about learning new things and people who weren’t. But I would say the average Boothie is some-
one who is curious to learn, curious to find new things, to disagree. That’s a big part of it.
The other thing is the flexible curriculum. That’s a huge benefit at Booth, but I fear people misunderstand it. If you’re an
engineer who has never had any business education, and the biggest draw for you to Booth is the flexible curriculum—
that doesn’t make sense to me. Booth gives you a lot of guidance on what you should do if you’re coming from a nontradi-
tional background. Academic services will help advise you on what to take if you land here without any clue about what’s
right. You can leverage the flexible curriculum in different ways, especially after you’ve got your foundation set in the
first one or two quarters, but think a little about what those things mean to you versus just using the same generic spiel
in your interviews.
mbaMission: This has been really interesting! Thank you so much for your time.
B-School Insider Interview: Alumna, University of Chicago Booth School of Business,

Class of 2012
Having grown up in New York, the recent Chicago Booth alumna we interviewed attended an undergraduate institution in the
city, majoring in finance and accounting. Multiple internships during her college years led her ultimately to a summer posi-
tion in the health care investment banking group of a large firm—an opportunity that turned into a full-time analyst position
that lasted two years. She then became interested in switching to a career in private equity, and this inspired her to pursue
her MBA.
mbaMission: Thank you so much for speaking with us about your experience at Chicago Booth. How did you ultimately
choose the school for your MBA?
Chicago Booth Alumna: Sure. Well, I wanted to go into private equity, but I didn’t want to do health care services. When
I was choosing colleges, I had gotten into the four-year business program at [a New York–based college] and I also had
gotten into a seven-year med program. So I was trying to choose between medicine and business, and I’d always loved
science. So when I went into the four-year business program, I knew I wanted to be in health care in some form, I just
didn’t know what. And that’s why I chose health care investment banking. So when I got out of my two years as an analyst,

I didn’t want to go to a large traditional shop, just because I’d be doing something very similar to what I’d been doing as an
analyst. So I wanted to go to a smaller PE [private equity] shop that focused more on pharma/biotech. I was at [a New York
firm] for about two and a half years, and then applied to business school in the middle of my third year.
So I was specifically looking at just health care programs, so Penn [Wharton] and Duke [Fuqua] were at the top of my list.
I actually hadn’t even thought about Booth. It wasn’t on my radar at all, but I had a really good friend from undergrad that
went there, and so I went to go visit her when I was in Chicago and visiting Northwestern [Kellogg]. So when I went to
visit her, I loved the school. I loved everybody that I met. It was a great personality fit, and I didn’t feel that personality fit
anywhere else. And so I applied to Booth, was actually on the waitlist and then got accepted off the waitlist. I was actually
going to go to Duke [Fuqua]. I had gotten into Duke. They had given me some money as well, and then I got into Booth off
the waitlist and lost my deposit and stuff, which is fine.
I kind of had go to business school because I felt like I didn’t have enough of a finance background, especially after being
in banking PE, and what I wanted to do was very specific. I wanted to be in corporate development at a large pharma/
biotech company, and I wanted to work in M&A [mergers and acquisitions]. I wanted to work in industry for a while in
terms of my long-term plans and going back to being on the investing side, because I knew how important having industry
expertise is before I go back. And so I wanted to get that experience, and I wanted to kind of get my life back, because I’d
been working 100-hour weeks for years. I just wanted some semblance of work/life balance before I went back to it later.
So my goal was very specific. I actually tried to do it without going to business school, but every company that I spoke to
was like, “We want an MBA.” And so I thought, “All right, I guess I’m going back to get an MBA.” So it wasn’t in my mind an
ideal choice, but I wouldn’t have changed the experience at all.
mbaMission: So did Chicago Booth’s career development office help you with finding the job that you wanted?
CBA: They were actually really helpful. Because I was so focused, it was a lot easier for them to go out and be like, “Okay,
this is your list of companies. Let’s start finding alums,” and they helped me compile a list of alumni at a lot of these com-
panies that I could just start talking to. Some were active alums with the school, and so they were pretty easy, but even
alums that weren’t as active, once I emailed them, they were very helpful. There weren’t a lot of people on the finance end
at a lot of the pharma companies, there were a lot more on the marketing end, but they knew a lot of the finance folks.
I actually started talking to career services right as I got in at the end of May, the middle of June. I didn’t go to any admit
weekends. I just contacted them and was like, “Hey, I’m a newly admitted student, and this is what I am looking for.” I
wanted to start conversations over the summer, because the advice that I had gotten was that things just get really crazy
when you’re a first year. So I wanted to get a head start during the summer. I was working at a nonprofit in New York part-
time, but I thought that this would be a good way to segue into school and talking to people. A lot of the alums were really
great in terms of connecting me. It just took two or three connections to get to the right person to speak to, which was
expected.
mbaMission: Sure. What resources at Chicago Booth do you think were most helpful in preparing you for the job that you
have now?
CBA: I think two areas. I think the first one is the Polsky Center, which is our center for entrepreneurship. We have some-

thing called a PEVC [private equity venture capital] Lab, which is basically where you get to go in and work at a private
equity or venture capital shop in Chicago while you’re going to school, and then you take a class in the evening to kind of
augment that experience. And so I had done that when I was a first year, and I thought that that was really great in terms
of introducing me to VC. I did a health care VC shop at that point. And I thought it was a really great segue from doing later-
season investing to earlier-season investing, and it also connected me with the Chicago investing community. Because
I was coming from New York, my entire network was in New York, so I didn’t know a ton of people in Chicago in the PEVC
community. And I got to know the start-ups really well, I got to know the incubators really well, and I got to know a lot of
the professionals.
mbaMission: That sounds exciting. How would you describe your classmates and the Chicago Booth community?
CBA: I’m trying to think of like a good way to describe it. Whenever somebody came onto campus—and I did a ton of tours,
I was a LEAD facilitator—and I would talk to prospective students, the one thing that I would say to them was that you
need to make sure it’s a personality fit for whatever school you go to. Any top ten school you’re going to go to, you’re go-
ing to get a great education, you’re going to have a great alumni network, but you just have to make sure that you feel like
you can fit into the community and can have friends that are going to be with you going forward. So that’s the thing for
me—it was a great personality fit. It was a mix of people that are obviously, you know, really nerdy and love talking about
weird topics but at the same time could just have fun. And I think that everybody came into school with a great mentality
of “Let’s make a network and let’s keep it strong.” I’ve seen that a ton in terms of everybody in my class keeping in touch,
everybody still being engaged with the community and with our smaller network. And I think that if everybody goes in
with that mentality, you’ve got a much stronger bond coming out of it.
mbaMission: Definitely. A lot of the top business schools separate incoming students into sections or cohorts, but Chi-
cago Booth doesn’t do that to my understanding. Did that affect your ability to bond with your classmates or make good
friends in any way?
CBA: You actually do get cohorts when you first start, but it’s only for the first class [LEAD, the Leadership Effectiveness
and Development program]. So you get a cohort for that, but it’s literally for the first 12 weeks of your business school
experience, which I think is great, because when you’re first coming in and you’re meeting new people, it’s great to have
a way to do it. But I think that once you’re a couple months in, you kind of know what you’re doing. And so at that point,
you can tailor your experience to whatever you want it to be in terms of what your groups are, what classes you’re taking,
what you’re recruiting for, all that sort of stuff. So I think it’s a great starting point and then it allows you to do what you
want with it going forward. So you still do have kind of a cohort experience, but it’s not forced upon you for the entire two
years that you’re there.
mbaMission: Sure. So what was your impression of Dean [Sunil] Kumar?
CBA: I started in 2010. So Dean Kumar was kind of six months in, and I think it was a pretty easy transition. Dean [Stacey]
Kole is our dean of students, and she heads up a lot of the work that we do and interactions that we have. And Dean Ku-
mar’s been a great kind of proponent, but we didn’t actually have a ton of interaction with him. I think he was still trying, in
the first year that I was there, to get himself up to speed and meet all of our alums, all that sort of stuff. He was a lot more
involved my second year in terms of student events and that sort of thing. And I think he actually fits the personality of

Chicago pretty well, because, in a sense, he’s kind of nerdy and quantitative, but at the same time, he’s pretty funny. He’s
just a very approachable person, I’d say. I think that you want your dean to somehow fit the personality that a lot of people
at the school have. I guess “approachable” is a good word for it, or “real” is a good word to describe it.
mbaMission: That’s great. Where did you live when you were a student?
CBA: I lived in downtown Chicago. So the majority of students actually live in Lakeshore East. It’s right downtown. You
can take the metro down, which is like a 15-minute ride, 20-minute ride in the morning, and a lot of the buildings actually
connect to the metro. So in the wintertime, you can actually just walk inside and get to the metro to go down to school.
A lot of the students really wanted to have places to go have dinner and have social events and all that sort of stuff, and
so they tend to live downtown. A lot of first years tend to live in Lakeshore East, and then a lot of people migrate north to
Wicker Park, to Gold Coast, a lot more of the residential-type areas when they’re second year, so you can get more of a
flavor for Chicago rather than just being super close to Michigan Avenue.
mbaMission: How would you characterize social life at the school? How much do students tend to stay on campus versus
branching out into the city?
CBA: I think the majority of our stuff, our social events or evening social events, were all in the city. There were a couple
of things in Hyde Park when we were second years, like graduation-type ceremonies and that sort of thing, but the major-
ity of our events were all in downtown or in the Chicago area in a sense. All of our TNDCs [Thursday Night Drinking Club
events] were downtown. When you think about our student population, I don’t know the exact stats, but I would say that
80% of our students lived downtown, and that the 20% that did live in Hyde Park had families. They wanted a house, that
sort of thing. They tended to live closer to the campus, but everybody else lived downtown or a little bit north. So that’s
why a lot of our events tended to be over there.
mbaMission: I see. Are there any particular social events that are not to be missed?
CBA: I think the one that I always pointed out was Random Walk. So I guess it’s not really a weekly social event, but for me,
Random Walk was great. I went to Ecuador my first year and then to South Africa my second year. And I think it’s really
just a good experience. Before you even start school, you’re meeting like 18 other people that you know when you’re going
in and you’ve had a shared experience with them, traveling in a random country somewhere. It’s kind of like [MTV’s] The
Real World, where you’re putting 18 strangers together and seeing how it all works out. And it ends up being just a great
bonding experience in terms of the experiences that you have, the places you see. Then when you start school, all of you
are not going to be in the same cohort. So you not only have friends that are in your cohort, but you have friends outside
your cohort that you know because you went on Random Walk with them. It’s just a great social experience in terms of
meeting new people that you wouldn’t have necessarily met otherwise.
mbaMission: Definitely. Did you go on any treks while you were a student?
CBA: So those are like the fun kind of treks, but I went on our VC trek when I was a first year. We spent a week in San Fran-
cisco just visiting a lot of different VC funds and start-ups in San Francisco. We were meeting with a ton of Booth alumni

and all that sort of stuff when we were there, networking and seeing the industry, seeing what they’re doing, seeing if this
something that you’re interested in, that sort of thing.
mbaMission: Right. That sounds great. As far as the facilities at Chicago Booth, what would you say are the best parts and
some areas that the school could maybe work on?
CBA: I think all of our facilities are actually pretty new, and so everything’s pretty great. All of our classrooms are super
high tech. So I think facilities-wise, our new building is pretty amazing. There’s a ton of places to read, do your homework.
There’s places to have meetings. There’s Wifi everywhere. It’s pretty amazing in terms of the architecture. And we all, I
think, took advantage of being on the University of Chicago campus, too. Some of the other buildings are older and more
historic, and it was actually just a very pretty campus, too.
mbaMission: Right. Did you go to Booth with a partner or a significant other?
CBA: No, I didn’t, but there’s a partners club that’s pretty active. And all of our social events were pretty open, so all of
the partners came to a ton of our social events. I think that any partner in that situation is going to be a little bit put off by
all of the business school talk, you know? But I think that all of them were really great sports in terms of meeting us, and
we were all very inclusive of them, too, just trying to make sure that they felt at home and involved. And they’re invited to
everything as well.
mbaMission: Did you have any professors that really impressed you?
CBA: One of the things I wanted to do coming into Booth was that I had such a super heavy finance background that I was
financed out to a certain degree. So when I came to school, I took a lot of strategy classes, operations classes. I took a lot
of classes that were kind of outside that realm. I took marketing classes that were outside of what I had done before. And
so I took a couple of entrepreneurship classes, just things that were different that I hadn’t learned about before. That’s
the way I tailored my experience. I’d taken one or two finance classes, just initially, and they were more of the higher-level
ones just because it was something that I wanted to make sure I brushed up on, but I that’s the way that I tailored my
experience.
The one class that I do want to mention was I took Professor [Scott] Meadow for “Commercializing Innovation,” and I
thought that was a really great class. Basically, the class is like a week-long due diligence session for different compa-
nies. So it’s over ten weeks. You have ten different companies, and you work in a group of four or five people, and you do
due diligence and you present at the end of it what your recommendation is—should you invest, should you not invest. If
you do invest, then what’s your plan, that sort of thing, and if you don’t invest, then what’s your rationale and how would
you move forward?
So it’s just a great way to practice and look at another way to evaluate a company. I think that when I was [working in New
York], my partners evaluated a company one way, but this is another way of evaluating a company according to Professor
Meadow, and Professor Meadow’s worked in venture, worked in PE, has all of that real-world experience. So I was really
able to apply what his methodology is to a lot of different companies in a lot of different areas. It was great to learn a dif-

ferent way to do it, and you can obviously take it and apply it in whatever firm you go to or take snippets of it and use it in
other places.
mbaMission: Definitely. How would you characterize the faculty overall?
CBA: I would say that it was a really good mix of classroom teaching and case studies. I thought it was really helpful to get
lectures on certain topics and then to use a case study as an application of them. I just thought, for me, it made a ton of
sense to learn some of the theories first and then to do more applications of them, do real-world scenarios and that sort
of thing.
Oh, one of my other favorite professors is Professor [Nicholas] Epley. He did more of a behavioral kind of analysis class,
where you got to know some of the psychology behind making decisions and also what people’s biases are, how that
works. He’s done a ton of research behind that, and it was great to get that soft learning behind decision making and work
with other teams and other people, just because it’s obviously something that you’re going to be doing in the real world.
So it was definitely great to have that as kind of the background in terms of a lecture-type class, too.
mbaMission: What do you think people should know about Chicago Booth that probably most people don’t know, particu-
larly candidates who might be considering the school—or who are not considering it and should?
CBA: I think that candidates need to go and visit the campus and see how they see themselves fitting in personality-wise.
So I would just say to every candidate to go and visit, because I think that that will change your view and will give you more
perspective on the school. I feel like there’s a lot of misconceptions about different schools, and different schools are
known for different things, obviously. But I don’t think any school wants to be branded as “the marketing school,” “the
finance school,” that sort of thing. I feel like there’s a lot of different components to it, and Chicago’s also been branded
a certain way—“they’re quant heavy and that’s their thing.” That’s obviously part of it, but I feel like there’s so many other
elements that you just need to go and meet the students. Because I think that will really be the selling point for the school.

Appendix:
Chicago Booth Facts and Figures
Note: Facts and figures in this section are prone to change. Occasionally, conflicts may exist between the school’s
publications and its web pages. Applicants are urged to recheck facts and figures for the most up-to-date infor-
mation.
Basics Applicants Who Reported a GRE Score: 13%

Average GRE Verbal: 163.3
Year Established: 1898 Average GRE Quant: 164.1
Location: Chicago, Illinois; London, England; Hong Kong, China (Lon- Average Work Experience: 5 years
don and Hong Kong are executive campuses) Average GPA: 3.6
Dean: Madhav Rajan (August 2017) GPA Range: 2.7–4.0
Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions: Donna Average Student Age: 28
Swinford (November 2019) Countries Represented: 49
Programs: Female Representation: 40%
Full-Time MBA U.S. Minority Students (includes U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Evening MBA who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/Afri-
Executive Education can American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander,
Weekend MBA or multi-ethnic as a percent of the total class): 27%
Executive MBA International Students: 31%
PhD
Summer Business Scholars
Joint Degrees: Employment Statistics (Class of 2019)
MBA/MA in international relations or area studies (South Asia,
Eastern Europe/Russia, and the Middle East) Median Base Salary: $145,000
MBA/MPP with the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Median Signing Bonus: $30,000
MBA/JD with the University of Chicago Law School
MBA/MD with the Pritzker School of Medicine Graduates accepted positions in the following industries:
MBA/MA with the School of Social Service Administration Consulting: 33.7%
MBA/MPCS with the Department of Computer Science Financial Services: 31.3%
MBA/Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy • Investment Banking/Brokerage: 10.4%
• Diversified Financial Services: 7.2%
• Private Equity: 6.0%
Class Profile (Class of 2021) • Investment Management/Research: 5.6%
• Venture Capital: 2.1%
Class Size: 593 Technology: 20.7%
Average GMAT: 730 • E-Commerce and Internet: 12.0%
GMAT Range: 610–790 • Software: 5.0%

• Hardware: 1.7% Seattle: 6.2%
• Financial Technology: 1.0% Los Angeles: 1.9%
• Other: 1.0% • Northeast: 20.7%
Consumer Products: 4.3% New York: 17.6%
Real Estate: 2.7% Boston: 2.7%
Retail: 1.4% • Southwest: 6.2%
Education/Government/Nonprofit: 1.0% Denver: 2.3%
Health Care Products and Services: 1.0% Houston: 1.7%
Media/Entertainment/Sports: 1.0% Dallas: 1.4%
Transportation Services/Equipment: 1.0% • Mid-Atlantic: 5.0%
Energy: 0.8% Washington, DC: 3.1%
Manufacturing/Chemicals/Plastics: 0.6% Philadelphia: 1.2%
Other: 0.2% • South: 3.9%
Miami: 1.4%
Graduates accepted positions in the following functions: Atlanta: 1.2%
Finance: 36.2% International: 13.3%
• Investment Banking: 14.5% • Latin America and the Caribbean: 5.4%
• Private Equity: 8.1% Mexico City: 2.5%
• Investment Management/Research: 4.6% São Paolo: 1.9%
• Company Finance (Analysis/Treasury): 4.1% • Asia: 5.0%
• Venture Capital: 2.9% Shanghai: 1.0%
• Real Estate: 1.2% • Europe: 1.7%
• Private Client Services: 0.8% London: 1.0%
Consulting: 34.8% • Canada: 0.6%
General Management: 7.5% • United Arab Emirates: 0.6%
Marketing: 5.2%
• Brand/Product Management: 4.3% Major Employers (companies that hired four or more graduates in
• Other: 0.8% 2019):
Project Management (Tech): 6.4% McKinsey & Company, Inc.: 48
Corporate Strategy/Strategic Planning: 5.6% The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.: 35
Business Development: 1.7% Bain & Company, Inc.: 26
Operations – Production/Supply Chain Management/Logistics: Amazon.com, Inc.: 23
1.7% Google LLC: 14
Analytics/Data Science: 1.0% JPMorgan Chase & Co.: 11
PwC Strategy&: 9
Graduates accepted positions in the following locations: Credit Suisse: 8
United States: 86.7% Citigroup, Inc.: 7
• Midwest: 28.6% Goldman Sachs Group Inc.: 7
Chicago: 25.9% A.T. Kearney, Inc.: 6
Minneapolis: 1.4% Bank of America Merrill Lynch: 6
• West: 22.4% Evercore Partners Inc.: 6
Bay Area: 14.1% Microsoft Corporation: 6

Morgan Stanley: 6Apple Inc.: 5
Ernst & Young LLP: 4
Moelis & Company LLC: 4
The Kraft Heinz Company: 4
The Vanguard Group, Inc.: 4
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: 4
William Blair: 4

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“Sunil Kumar Appointed to Second Term as Dean of the University of University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
Chicago Booth School of Business.” Chicago Booth Press Release. Booth Admissions Team. January 13, 2011. www.chicagobooth.
August 20, 2015. www.chicagobooth.edu/about/newsroom/press- edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2011-01-13.aspx
releases/2015/2015-08-20 University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
“Sunil Kumar Named Dean of Chicago Booth.” Chicago Booth News. Booth Admissions Team. February 15, 2011. www.chicagobooth.
July 28, 2010. www.chicagobooth.edu/news/kumar/ edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2011-02-15.aspx
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2010.” Poets&Quants. December 14, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
2010. http://poetsandquants.com/2010/12/14/poetsquants-top- Booth Admissions Team. February 23, 2011. www.chicagobooth.
100-mba-programs-in-the-u-s edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2011-02-23.aspx
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2011.” Poets&Quants. December 8, 2011. University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
http://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/08/the-top-100-u-s-mba- Booth Admissions Team. August 10, 2011. www.chicagobooth.edu/
programs-of-2011 fulltime/chat/transcript/2011-08-10.aspx
2012. http://poetsandquants.com/2012/12/07/the-top-100-u-s- Booth Admissions Team. October 20, 2011. www.chicagobooth.
mba-programs-of-2012 edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2011-10-20.aspx
2013. http://poetsandquants.com/2013/12/02/poetsquants-top- Booth Admissions Team. January 12, 2012. www.chicagobooth.
100-u-s-mba-programs-of-2013 edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2012-01-12.aspx
“Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2014.” Poets&Quants. November 26, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
2014. http://poetsandquants.com/2014/11/26/poetsquants-2014- Booth Admissions Team. January 31, 2012. www.chicagobooth.
best-business-school-ranking edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2012-01-31.aspx
2015. http://poetsandquants.com/2015/11/18/harvard-business- Booth Admissions Team. April 25, 2012. www.chicagobooth.edu/
school-tops-new-2015-poetsquants-mba-ranking fulltime/chat/transcript/2012-04-25.aspx
2016 http://poetsandquants.com/2016/11/21/2016-poetsquants- Booth Admissions Team. November 19, 2014. www.chicagobooth.
mba-ranking/ edu/programs/full-time/admissions/events/online-
This is Chicago GSB. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Graduate chats/2014-11-19
School of Business, 2007. University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat. Booth Admissions Team. August 22, 2018. www.chicagobooth.
Booth Admissions Team. July 22, 2010. www.chicagobooth.edu/ edu/programs/full-time/admissions/events/onlinechats/2018-
fulltime/chat/transcript/2010-07-22.aspx 08-22-admiss-post-travel-chat-transcript
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat. University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
Booth Admissions Team. August 17, 2010. www.chicagobooth.edu/ Booth Admissions Team. November 25, 2019. www.chicagobooth.
fulltime/chat/transcript/2010-08-17.aspx edu/programs/full-time/admissions/events/onlinechats/2019-11-
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat. 25-admin-application-transcript
Booth Admissions Team. September 7, 2010. www.chicagobooth. University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat.
edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2010-09-07.aspx Booth Admissions Team. December 16, 2019. www.chicagobooth.
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat. edu/programs/full-time/admissions/events/onlinechats/2019-12-
Booth Admissions Team. October 12, 2010. www.chicagobooth. 16-ft-admin-team-transcript
edu/fulltime/chat/transcript/2010-10-12.aspx

University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions Chat. “Which MBA? 2016 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
Booth Admissions Team. January 23, 2020. www.chicagobooth. 13, 2016. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
edu/programs/full-time/admissions/events/onlinechats/2020- ranking?year=2016
01-23-admissions-transcript “Which MBA? 2017 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
“Which MBA? 2011 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 13, 27, 2017. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
2011. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking ranking?year=2017
“Which MBA? 2012 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 4, “Which MBA? 2018 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 27,
2012. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking 2018. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking
“Which MBA? 2013 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October “Which MBA? 2019 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October
12, 2013. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- 31, 2019. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-
ranking?term_node_tid_depth=All ranking?year=2019
“Which MBA? 2014 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October “Which MBA? Global Full-Time MBA Ranking 2010.” The Economist.
11, 2014. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- September 30, 2010. www.economist.com/whichmba/2010/
ranking?year=2014&term_node_tid_depth=All schools-ranking
“Which MBA? 2015 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October Williams, Chloe. “LEAD at Booth.” The Booth Experience student blog.
15, 2015. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- November 2, 2011. http://boothstudents.blogspot.com/2011/11/
ranking?year=2015 lead-at-booth.html
Websites
2011 University of Chicago Booth School of Business Management Regents Park High Rise Apartment Pricing: http://
Conference: www.chicagobooth.edu/mc/2011/ regentsparkchicago.com/apartments-and-pricing.php
2012 University of Chicago Booth School of Business Management The Rose Report: Rose Martinelli on Full-Time MBA Admissions
Conference: www.chicagobooth.edu/mc/2012/ (University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions
The Booth Experience, student blog: http://theboothexp.com Committee blog): http://blogs.chicagobooth.edu/rosereport
Booth Insider: Full-Time MBA Admissions Blog (University of Chicago Trulia: Real Estate Overview, Chicago, Illinois: www.trulia.com/real_
Booth School of Business Admissions Committee blog): http:// estate/Chicago-Illinois/
blogs.chicagobooth.edu/boothinsider/ University of Chicago Booth School of Business: www.chicagobooth.
Booth Partners: http://student.chicagobooth.edu/group/chipart/ edu
moving.php University of Chicago Booth School of Business Admissions
Chicago Booth International House: http://ihouse.uchicago.edu/ Committee chat transcripts:www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/
admissions_fellowships/rates_terms/ chat/
Chicago Booth Partners: www.chicagoboothpartners.com/home. University of Chicago Booth School of Business Entrepreneurship
html Conferences: www.chicagobooth.edu/entrepreneurship/
Corporate Finance Group: http://cfgbooth.com conferences/other.aspx
Corporate Management and Strategy Group: http://cmsg.weebly.com University of Chicago Booth School of Business Chicago Booth
Hyde Park Angels: www.hydeparkangels.com Corporate Finance Group: http://cfgbooth.com/
London Banking Summit: www.londonbankingsummit.com University of Chicago Booth International Business Group: http://
Myron Scholes Global Markets Forum: http://research.chicagobooth. student.chicagobooth.edu/group/ibg/
edu/igm/events/speaker-series/

University of Chicago Booth Marketing Conference: http://student.
chicagobooth.edu/group/mktg/conference.htm
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Partners Group:
http://student.chicagobooth.edu/group/chipart/index.php
University of Chicago Graduate Student Housing:
http://rs.uchicago.edu/graduate_housing/index.shtml
University of Chicago International House: http://ihouse.uchicago.
edu
Venture Capital Investment Competition: www.vcic.org
Interviews and Other
Administration Member, Chicago Booth. Personal Interview. May 17, Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 31,
2011. 2009.
Administration Member, Chicago Booth. Personal Interview. May 25, Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 9,
2011. 2010.
Ahlm, Kurt, Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 11,
Personal Interview. March 23, 2011. 2010.
Ancona, Tom. Assistant Director, Hyde Park Angels. Personal Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 11,
Interview. March 18, 2011. 2010.
Associate Director of Marketing, Communications and External Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 15, 2010.
Relations, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. June 1, 2010.
Email Communication. April 19, 2013. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 11,
Association of Graduate Admissions Consultants. Tour of Chicago 2011.
Booth/Meeting with Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 19,
Admissions Rose Martinelli. June 18, 2008. 2011.
Chicago Booth Alumna. Personal Interview. April 29, 2013. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 16, 2011.
Chicago Booth Alumnus. Personal Interview. June 16, 2008. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. January 3,
Chicago Booth Alumnus. Personal Interview. February 21, 2019. 2012.
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Email Communication. May 1, 2013. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 1,
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. June 3, 2008. 2012.
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 15, 2010. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 7,
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 17, 2011. 2012.
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 24, 2011. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. April 2, 2012.
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 31, 2012. Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. November
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. April 16, 2012. 13, 2013.
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 22, 2013. Co-Chair, Chicago Booth Business Solutions Group. Personal
Chicago Booth First-Year Student. Personal Interview. May 17, 2014. Interview. May 16, 2011.
Chicago Booth Partner. Personal Interview. May 26, 2011. Co-chair, Chicago Booth Ski and Snowboard Trip. Email
Chicago Booth Second-Year Student. Personal Interview. March 29, Communication. April 24, 2013.
2009. Darragh, Linda L. Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, Polsky

Center for Entrepreneurship. Personal Interview. June 3, 2010.
Darragh, Linda L. Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, Polsky
Center for Entrepreneurship. Personal Interview. March 18, 2011.
Darragh, Linda L. Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, Polsky
Center for Entrepreneurship. Personal Interview. April 1, 2012.
Farrar, Janice. Associate Director of Relationship Management,
Career Services. University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Personal Interview. March 17, 2011.
Kreft, Linda. Senior Account Manager, Accent and Travel MBA.
Personal Interview. March 11, 2011.
Martinelli, Rose. Chicago Booth Associate Dean for Student
Recruitment and Admissions. Personal Interview. May 8, 2009.
mbaMission Student Survey. Online via SurveyMonkey.com. December
5, 2012.
Member, Chicago Booth Dean’s Student Admissions Committee.
Personal Interview. May 25, 2011.
Middlebrooks, Arthur, Executive Director, Kilts Center for Marketing.
Personal Interview. April 5, 2011.

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mbaMission’s Insider’s Guide

Booth School of Business

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Introduction from mbaMission

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 4

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 5

Admissions Guides Insider’s Guides

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 6

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 7

9 The MBA Program in Context: Choosing Chicago Booth

32 Booth School of Business

79 Appendix: Chicago Booth Facts and Figures

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 9

1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 10

Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH $1,150 within 5.0 mile radius of campus

boasts a population of just over 9.5

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 11

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 12

2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 13

NYU Stern 37% 33%3 9%4

[LEAD] class is completed in the fall, any addi- 2

tional time we spend with our cohorts is com- 3

pletely optional. Because of this, each cohort 4

really gets a chance to form its own personality

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 14

Chicago Booth Business 29% 900 to 1,000 Harvard Business School

Columbia Business School Business 32% 800 to 900 UPenn Wharton

Cornell Johnson NA NA 700 to 800 Columbia Business School1

Duke Fuqua NA NA 400 to 500 Northwestern Kellogg

MIT Sloan Engineering 33% 300 to 400 Duke Fuqua

UPenn Wharton Humanities 43%

Yale SOM STEM 30% 1

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 15

Number of Applicants NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 4,021 4,169 NA NA

GMAT Range 610– 610– 620– NA NA NA NA 680– 660– 660– 660–

Average Years of Work 5 5 5 5 4.6 4.6 5 5 5 5 5

Average Student Age 28 28 28 27.9 27.8 27.7 28 28 28 28 NA

multi-ethnic as a percent of the total class.

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 16

3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 17

Foundation (one course from each of the three categories): 1

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 18

4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 19

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 20

5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers

mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Booth School of Business · 2020–2021 21

Do not merely accept

Michigan Ross Consulting 26% Michigan Ross Consulting 32.0%

MIT Sloan Consulting 26% MIT Sloan Consulting 30.7%

Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 27% Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 31.0%

NYU Stern Financial Services 29% NYU Stern Consulting 37.1%

Stanford GSB Consulting 20% Stanford GSB Finance 33.0%

UCLA Anderson Finance 26% UCLA Anderson Technology 29.5%

UPenn Wharton Consulting 25% UPenn Wharton Financial Services 35.8%

Australian Graduate School of Management, Sydney, Australia