Established at the turn of the 20th century, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the United States.
The school boasts ten faculty Nobel laureates in its economic sciences department, more than any of its business school contemporaries worldwide!
Booth stands out through The Chicago Approach™, its signature approach to teaching business education. Interdisciplinary in nature, the process favors strong leadership, strategy, and analytical skills across various contexts.
According to recent alumni feedback, over 90% of graduates report knowing how to think critically, tackle unprecedented business conflicts, and develop robust strategies.
The full-time MBA program at Booth is 21 months in duration, and 96.4% of graduates accepted job offers within only three months of graduation. In addition to the full-time MBA, the Booth School of Business offers additional programs.
The part-time MBA program allows students to take evening and/or weekend classes to attain a degree within three years. Up to a quarter of courses can be completed remotely!
Alternatively, the Executive MBA business degree is excellent for proven business professionals looking to grow their skills. In this 22-month course sequence, executive MBA students apply to a primary campus in Chicago, London, or Hong Kong, then take classes at each location for several weeks.
What an incredible opportunity to learn from and with some of the world’s most outstanding future business leaders!
Regardless of the type of program you’re looking for, the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago is one of the best places in the country and the world to get your start.
Ahead, we’ll discuss the acceptance rate, notable alumni, and requirements for admission to Booth. Finally, we’ll end with some of the best assets attracting exceptional scholars to Booth.
University of Chicago Booth School of Business Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate for the Booth School of Business is 23%, which is considered competitive.
Students admitted to Booth do indeed bring much to the table. 621 students enrolled in the class of 2024 out of 4,352 applicants, and 13 scholars were accepted to Booth’s JD/MBA accelerated program.
This high-achieving cohort of MBA students averaged a 3.6 undergraduate GPA, a 729 GMAT score, and a 327 GRE score. Hailing from more than 250 undergraduate institutions, the newest Booth graduate students also bring an average of five years of work experience.
While it’s true that many Booth students pursued business-related degrees in their undergraduate careers, others specialized in economics, engineering, and even the physical sciences. There is no unacceptable major when it comes to the full-time MBA program.
Other than the admission requirements themselves, the only eligibility stipulation is that applicants must have obtained an undergraduate degree from an accredited United States college/university or its international equivalent.
The Booth School of Business enrolls a consistently diverse student body. 39% of the class of 2023, for example, hailed from countries outside of the United States. Women and members of underrepresented groups make up a sizable presence at Booth.
What kind of student is Booth seeking to enroll? The admissions committee is attracted to applicants who demonstrate the ability to thrive in complex, challenging environments, show a strong community investment record, and show promise regarding leadership potential.
Candidates should endeavor to convey their strengths in these areas through Booth’s more open-ended application requirements (like essay responses).
Booth School of Business Ranking
The Booth School of Business claims several high positions across various popular rankings platforms.
For example, the U.S. News & World Report designated them in a tie for the #1 best business school and first place for part-time MBA programs.
The first-place tie for best overall business school was between Booth and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution.
Other popular rankings publications place Booth at the top of their lists. Poets & Quants ranked Booth #2 in their 2021-2022 annual MBA rankings.
Booth’s acclaim across various lists is partly due to its promising post-graduate salary figures and the league of exceptional faculty working with business students.
While tuition for attending the Booth School of Business tops out at nearly $75,000 per year,
and the total cost of attending the program is closer to $112,000 annually, MBA graduates may make up these expenses within two years of graduating from the University of Chicago.
After all, the median starting salary for Booth MBA graduates is $150,000!
Booth also receives top rankings for its team of 177 talented professors, which includes Nobel laureates Eugene Fama and Richard Thaler.
Fama is known as the “father of modern finance,” and he won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on efficient markets. Thaler won the Nobel Prize in 2017 for his contributions to behavioral economics in the same category.
Booth School of Business Requirements
Before applying to the Booth School of Business, all candidates will need to take either the GMAT or GRE, and international applicants will need to demonstrate English language proficiency, which can be accomplished through tests like TOEFL or the Duolingo English Test.
Booth admissions officers evaluate all candidates in three areas: curriculum, community, and career.
Booth seeks applicants who demonstrate their ability to thrive within a complex yet enthralling environment, as shown by their curiosity and communication skills.
The admissions team uses test scores, academic recognitions, scholarship awards, professional certifications, and other factors to determine the applicant’s score in the “curriculum” realm.
In the category of “community,” admissions officers look for evidence of collaboration, strong interpersonal skills, and community contributions, which are typically gleaned from the interview, letters of recommendation, and resume.
These materials are also used in the “career” portion of the screening, where admissions officers hope to understand the candidate’s sense of direction, resourcefulness, and time management skills.
The University of Chicago admits full-time MBA applicants in three rounds, with fall, winter, and spring deadlines.
There are no minimum scores for the GRE or GMAT; last year, 73% of candidates submitted GMAT scores, while 26% submitted GRE scores.
We mentioned earlier that accepted candidates usually bring in several years of work experience, but candidates need not have significant formal work experience to apply.
Notable Alumni of Booth School of Business
The Booth School of Business alumni network is nearly 50,000 members strong and bolstered by more than 60 alumni clubs worldwide!
Current and former alums have served as the CEOs of various Fortune 500 companies, like Allstate Insurance, Chevron, Dominos, Goldman Sachs, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
The founder of McKinsey & Company, James O. McKinsey, lectured at the University of Chicago as an accounting faculty member before going on to establish his own consulting firm.
Today, McKinsey is considered the oldest and largest of the “Big Three” global management consulting firms (the other two are the Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company).
Susan Wagner is another successful financial executive and Booth graduate who helped to co-found the international investment management company BlackRock. She has previously been named one of the most powerful women in New York and one of the 50 most powerful women in business.
At BlackRock, Wagner was responsible for several key mergers and acquisitions, including Merrill Lynch Investment Management and Barclays Global Investors.
Microsoft’s former executive chairman and CEO also got his start at Booth School of Business – Satya Nadella.
At Microsoft, Nadella made his mark by improving client relations and cloud infrastructure. Many credit him for adding Microsoft’s database to the Azure cloud, which grew Microsoft’s revenue by several billion dollars.
Based on the successes of the alumni described above, it’s clear that Booth prepares its graduates to make groundbreaking impacts in a diverse range of industries.
Should You Attend the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business?
Booth is a titan in the American business school league. They are responsible for launching the world’s first executive MBA and Ph.D. program in business.
The school’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, founded in 1998, has given over 330 startups a significant boost – these businesses have today earned over $7.5 billion in mergers and exits!
There are countless opportunities for Booth scholars to participate in experiential learning, supported partly by donations from alums, like the recent $75 million donation from Amy and Richard Wallman in 2017.
A typical day in a Booth classroom is defined by fascinating dialogue and exploration. Students work on projects in small teams with their peers, which helps them gain skills in various roles.
Booth faculty members present Booth students with authentic case studies, and Booth scholars use principles they’re currently studying to resolve complicated issues.
There are also new laboratory courses introduced yearly. Here, students can devise business plans for unique endeavors. Previous laboratory course titles include “New Social Ventures,” “Application Development,” and the “Algorithmic Marketing Lab.”
In the Entrepreneurial Discovery lab, teams choose a problem domain, conduct a research study, employ user-centered analytics, and report findings from interactions with customers.
Still not convinced that Booth is the best school for you to develop as a business leader? Consider checking out some of the MBA masterclasses in subjects like decision-making and operations management.
These recordings on topics like corporate behavior and performance, the macroeconomic effects of COVID-19, and others may give you the best insight into the caliber of a Booth MBA program.
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