Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second oldest business school currently having its presence in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong for its full-time MBA and Executive MBA programs. Chicago Booth flaunts Satya Nadella (CEO Microsoft), James O. Mckinsey (Founder McKinsey and Company), Susan Wagner (co-founder Blackrock), Eric Chriss (co-founder Bain Capital), and 54,000 transformative leaders as its alumni.
For this Booth Full-time MBA analysis, we cover:
- Chicago Booth MBA – Tuition Fee and Total Cost
- Chicago Booth MBA - Class Profile and Representation
- Chicago Booth MBA - GPA and GMAT/GRE
- Chicago Booth MBA – Age and Pre-MBA Industry
- Chicago Booth MBA – Undergraduate Degree (5-year Trends)
- Chicago Booth MBA - Application
- Booth MBA - Selection Criteria (3 Cs)
- Booth MBA Curriculum
- Chicago Booth – Post-MBA Function and Industry analysis (2020 vs. 2019)
- Booth Post-MBA 5-year Trend: Fall of Marketing and Rise of Consulting
- Booth Post-MBA Salary(By Function)(2020 vs 2019)
- Booth Post-MBA Salary(By Industry)(2020 vs 2019)
- Chicago Booth MBA – International Placements
Chicago Booth MBA – Tuition Fee and Total Cost
For the uniquely transformative experience, a single student must shelve out $223,710 in tuition and living costs, with the return on investment seeing green at the earliest in 3 years. Students can apply for scholarships, loans, or have an external funding option to kickstart the Booth career that in 2021 offered the 4th highest average salary and a record bonus of $180,000.
Chicago Booth MBA - Class Profile and Representation
The 21-month program at Chicago Booth admitted 621 students for the 2022 graduating class out of 4909 applications submitted - an increase from the class size of 593 for the 2021 class, highlighting an acceptance rate of 12.6%. 70% of the class is from the USA, with the second-highest from Asia (11%) and South and Central America (9%), completing the 30% international representation. In the past five years, women’s representation at Booth ranged from 42%-40% of the class, but in 2020, it fell even lower to 38% - a similar dip witnessed at Wharton and schools that deployed a correlative international-women acceptance strategy.
Chicago Booth MBA - GPA and GMAT/GRE
The class GPA ranged from 2.8-4, averaging at 3.6. 83% of the incoming students took the GMAT with the score ranging from 600-780, averaging at 724, and 17% of the students reported GRE, with the quantitative averaging at 163 and verbal at 161.
Chicago Booth MBA – Age and Pre-MBA Industry
The average age of students is 28 yrs. with average work experience of 5 yrs. Most students had experience in financial services (28%), consulting (25%), and technology (11%), followed by Non-profit/government (10%), healthcare (5%), energy (4%), consumer products (3%) and manufacturing (2%). This has been the trend of the past 5 years as well.
Chicago Booth MBA – Undergraduate Degree (5-year Trends)
Since Booth MBA is rooted in the fundamentals of business — accounting, economics, psychology, sociology, and statistics, most accepted candidates in 2022 had their undergraduate degree in business (28%) and economics (24%), followed closely by engineering (21%) while the number of candidates with arts and physical sciences background remained at 13% and 10% respectively. The 5-year analysis demonstrates a drop in Business graduates from 32% in 2017 to 29% in 2021, while Engineering and Physical Sciences is slowly gaining ground. Economics and Liberal arts backgrounds have remained the same.
| Undergraduate Degree | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | 29% | 24% | 29% | 28% | 32% |
| Economics | 22% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 23% |
| Engineering | 21% | 24% | 19% | 20% | 18% |
| Law | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Liberal Arts | 15% | 14% | 12% | 17% | 14% |
| Other | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 5% |
| Physical Sciences | 9% | 7% | 11% | 7% | 7% |
Chicago Booth MBA - Application
Chicago Booth MBA Application has three rounds - September, January, and April. International candidates are encouraged to apply for the first two rounds to avoid any visa delays. The applicant must provide GRE/GMAT scores, unofficial/official transcripts, TOEFL score, detailed resume and pay $250 as a non-refundable application fee.
Essays: The two mandatory essays for the applicant have a minimum word limit of 250 but no maximum word limit and a 300-word optional essay.
Recommendation Letters: The two individual recommenders, one a supervisor and the other preferably a non-professional contact, are asked to evaluate the candidate on certain required skill sets and answer two questions.
Booth MBA - Selection Criteria (3 Cs)
Chicago Booth MBA approaches the selection process by focusing on three Cs - Curriculum, Community, and Career.
Curriculum
Q) Does the applicant have the intellectual curiosity, academic preparedness, and communication skills to excel in a Booth MBA class?
Past scholarships, certification, and achievements in debate, and insightful perspectives on current affairs all have implicit advantages.
Community
Q) Does the applicant have a sense of community?
A history of consistent community engagement through volunteering, political causes, and social engagements is a clear differentiator for Booth. Just in Time volunteering has a low recall in the competition pool.
Career
Q) Is the applicant resourceful? What are the post-MBA expectations?
Applicants with a history of efficient resource utilization, strong time management, and persuasive communication skills balanced by realistic expectations from a Booth MBA shine through the selection process.
Booth MBA Curriculum
LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Development)
All first-year students are required to take the program. The incoming class joins at Abbey Resort in Lake Geneva for a 3-day LEAD Outdoor experience. The program divides the class into cohorts of 60, which is again divided into squads of 6. With the first instance of students getting to know each other, the teamwork sets the foundation for assessing each person’s leadership and communication style. The interactions are recorded, play backed, and presented for exhaustive feedback sessions on verbal and non-verbal cues. Each feedback session, physical challenges through rope exercises, and dynamic problem-solving help students project their strengths and work on their weaknesses, ultimately assisting them to adopt their best leadership style. The theme of the 3-day outdoor event is continued with meetings that continue for the first three months (twice weekly), giving students the opportunity to carry forward the process and refine their leadership style through personalized feedback sessions from peers.
Booth MBA – Foundation Courses
Year 1 MBA foundation course is divided into three main categories - Financial Accounting, Microeconomics, and Statistics, with the students, asked to pick one course from each of these categories. They also have the option to choose advanced alternatives if they already have a background in Finance. The course is then structured into Functions, Management, and Business Environment.
• Function - The students must pick from three main functions - Finance, Marketing, and Operations that align with their post-MBA goals. In addition to the basic introductory courses under each category, they can also pick advanced topics related to emerging markets.
• Management – The curriculum then familiarizes students with Decisions, People, and Strategy – three pillars for better management.
• Business Environment - The legal, political, economic, and business aspects impacting the ecosystem is learned through courses in this niche.
Booth MBA – Electives
To major into a function or industry of choice, Year 2 students are required to pick 11 elective courses from up to 3 concentrations from the 13 listed below:
- Accounting
- Analytic
- Finance
- Behavioural Science
- Business Analytics
- Econometrics and Statistics
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship Finance
- General Management
- International Business
- Marketing Management
- Operations Management
- Strategic Management
Note: Most MBA candidates choose 3-4 majors
Labs
Part of the elective courses, this hands-on experience, is divided based on job industry and functions that include: Algorithmic Marketing Lab, Application Development, Choice Architecture in Practice, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Social Impact Practicum, Digital Marketing Lab, Energy Policy Practicum, Entrepreneurial Discovery, Global Social Impact Practicum, Healthcare Analytics Lab, Integrated Strategic Management, Interpersonal Dynamics, Lab in Developing New Products and Services, Lab to Launch, Leadership Effectiveness & Development (LEAD) Lab I, Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) Lab II, Leadership Practicum, Leadership Studio, Marketing Research Lab, Private Equity/Venture Capital Lab, Real Estate Lab: Real Estate Challenge, Reputation, Regulation and Communications – How Media Influences, Business - Lab, Scaling Social Innovation Search Lab, Social Enterprise Lab, Special Topics in Entrepreneurship: Developing a New Venture (New Venture Challenge) and Strategy Lab.
Chicago Booth – Post-MBA Function and Industry analysis (2020 vs. 2019)
A majority of graduates are making a beeline for the Consulting (38.7%) and Finance (34.7%) functions - clearly favorites, given the high remuneration of $165,000 and $150,000, respectively.
Investment Banking is the most preferred profile in Finance. Investment Management and General Management functions have seen a steady decline. Private Equity, which rose to 8.1% in 2019, fell at 5.7 % in 2020 though the compensation of $150,000 remains the same.
Booth Post-MBA 5-year Trend: Fall of Marketing and Rise of Consulting
In 2016, the Marketing function attracted 7.9% of the class, but over the years, the number had steadily decreased, reaching 4.8% in 2020. The 5-year functional analysis shows Consulting as a clear winner, growing from 29.3% to 38.7%. Investment Banking and Private Equity too remained a favorite, although the trend is reversing towards Technology (Product Management) as the function slowly takes over Finance just as it did in retail.
The top 5 functions of 2020
1) Consulting (38.7%)
2) Investment Banking (13.4%)
3) Product management (6.2%)
4) Corporate Strategy/Strategic Planning (6.2%)
5) General Management (5.9%).
Booth Post-MBA Salary (By Function)(2020 vs 2019)
| Function | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics/Data Science | 1.5%, $1,35,000 | 1%, $1,27,500 |
| Business Development | 1.7%, $1,45,000 | |
| Consulting | 38.7%, $1,65,000 | 34.8%, $1,53,750 |
| Corporate Strategy/Strategic Planning | 6.2%, $1,42,000 | 5.6%, $1,27,500 |
| Finance | 34.7%, $1,50,000 | 36.2%, $1,50,000 |
| Company Finance (Analysis/Treasury) | 4.6%, $1,30,000 | 4.1%, $1,25,000 |
| Investment Banking | 13.4%, $1,50,000 | 14.5%, $1,50,000 |
| Investment Management/Research | 5.3%, $1,50,000 | 4.6%, $1,35,000 |
| Private Equity | 5.7%, $1,50,000 | 8.1%, $1,50,000 |
| Real Estate | 1.5%, $1,25,000 | 1.2%, $1,20,000 |
| Venture Capital | 4%, $1,30,000 | 2.9%, $1,31,250 |
| General Management | 5.9%, $1,30,000 | 7.5%, $1,27,000 |
| Marketing | 4.8%, $1,22,000 | 5.2%, $1,20,000 |
| Brand/Product Management | 4.2%, $1,20,000 | 4.3%, $1,20,000 |
| Operations - Production/Supply Chain Mgmt/Logistics | 1.3%, $1,20,000 | 1.7%, $1,30,000 |
| Product Management (Tech) | 6.6%, $1,44,000 | 6.4%, $1,35,000 |
The pandemic had a positive impact on the healthcare industry that saw accepted offers increasing to 3.5% in 2020 from 1% in 2019. The hiring remains highest in consulting (38.2%, $165,000). Both financial services (1%) and the technology industry (4.4%) saw a dip in accepted offers compared to 2019 but had no impact on the guaranteed salary and other compensations. The median salary offered to Boothies entering Technology (Software and Hardware) has been generous and equivalent to those offered for Finance candidates - a move that is set to attract functional experts to the Technology Product Management function.
Booth Post-MBA Salary (By Industry)(2020 vs 2019)
| Industry | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 38.2%, $1,65,000 | 33.7%, $1,58,000 |
| Consumer Products | 4.8%, $1,15,000 | 4.3%, $1,10,000 |
| Education/Government/Non-Profit | 0.7% | 1.0%, $1,05,000 |
| Financial Services | 30.3%, $1,50,000 | 31.3%, $1,50,000 |
| Diversified Financial Services | 5.3%, $1,50,000 | 7.2%, $1,50,000 |
| Investment Banking/Brokerage | 10.3%, $1,50,000 | 10.4%, $1,50,000 |
| Investment Management/Research | 5.3%, $1,50,000 | 5.6%, $1,35,000 |
| Private Equity | 6.4%, $1,60,000 | 6.0%, $1,50,000 |
| Venture Capital | 2.6%, $1,22,500 | 2.1%, $1,30,000 |
| Healthcare Products and Services | 3.5%, $1,30,000 | 1.0%, $1,25,000 |
| Real Estate | 2.0%, $1,27,500 | 2.7%, $1,27,500 |
| Technology | 16.3%, $1,40,000 | 20.7%, $1,30,000 |
| eCommerce and Internet | 8.8%, $1,35,000 | 12.0%, $1,30,000 |
| Hardware | 1.8%, $1,50,000 | 1.7%, $1,40,000 |
| Software | 4.8%, $1,48,750 | 5.0%, $1,35,000 |
Chicago Booth MBA – International Placements
While 8.6% students chose international locations post MBA that offered a median salary of $1,16,747, largest hiring is maintained by the US especially Chicago (29.5%, $160,000), New York (18.9%, $150,000) and the Bay Area (14.5%, $150,000).
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