I will teach you how to bring your life stories to essays faster with F1GMAT's essay guides. Download below or subscribe to F1GMAT's Service and work with me - Atul Jose, Author/Editor/Founding Consultant, F1GMAT(16 Years of helping applicants gain admissions to M7 and Top 30 schools) 
Jan 27th 2015: It seems February 4th have become a crucial date for Interview Invitations. Chicago Booth Admission team have shared that they have started sending interview invitations this week (last week of Jan 2015) on a rolling basis with all the decisions scheduled to be released by Feb 4th 2015. Booth team has set two options for interviews:
On-Campus Interviews will be held from Feb 10 to Mar 6 at the Harper Center in Hyde Park. On Feb 21, Interviews will take place on Booth 455, across the downtown campus at the Gleacher Center. 2nd year admission fellows will conduct the on-campus interviews. Candidates are recommended to visit the campus, interact with current students, talk to an admission director and sit through a class as part of the interview process.
Off-Campus Interviews are scheduled locally and internationally across five cities: New York City (February 21), Washington, D.C. (February 28), San Francisco (March 7), London (March 7) and Hong Kong (Mar 7 and Mar 8). Alumni, and Admission team will lead the interviews here. Details about location and scheduling will be communicated through email.
Download F1GMAT's MBA Admission Interview Guide (Booth Interview Tips Included)
Candidates, who cannot make it to the hub cities or on-campus, can schedule an interview with an Alumnus in your City on a mutually agreed time and location. The admission team will notify details about the Alumnus. The off-campus interviews should be completed by March 1st.
Oct 24th 2014: Last Day for Interview Invites (Round 1)
The Process: First, the Booth Admissions team checks your application for completeness and those applications that don’t have the required documents or sections are evaluated in Round 2. After that, the applications are reviewed, and interview decisions made.
Chicago Booth MBA Admissions team started giving out interview invites from mid-October. Today will be the last day for releasing interview invites for Round 1 applications. The invitations are sent via email.
Interview Location: Most interviews are conducted in Booth campus. For those who can’t make it to the campus – hub cities are considered.
2nd year students conduct interviews on-campus, and interviews in hub cities are done by alumni. Once the interviews are complete, the interviewer submits interview evaluation which is considered by the admission committee, and your application is again evaluated thoroughly with the new data.
Download F1GMAT's MBA Admission Interview Guide (Include Booth Interview Tips)
Dec 18th 2014: Final decisions are released on Dec 18th ,2014. You will be waitlisted, denied or admitted. Check your application status page on 18th.
Oct 22nd: Chicago Booth AdCom has revealed that starting October 28th until November 1st 2013, the team will release the MBA Admission Interview invites for Round 1 applicants. The notification will be sent to your email id, and the applicant should login to the online application system to check the latest status.
Choose Interview Option: The Interview attendees will have the option to choose interview format from the following options:
• On-Campus with 2nd Year Student
• Off-Campus with Alumnus or AdCom member
• Local Alumnus in your city
Related: Chicago Booth MBA Admission Interview Guide
Chicago Booth MBA Application Essay Guide
Feb 13th 2013: Booth MBA AdCom has sent interview invites to Round 2 MBA Applicants. The Admission Fellow or second year MBA Students are part of the Admission Committee who would be interviewing MBA Applicants. There are some useful tips that the AdCom has given about the Interview. Here is the summary:
Booth MBA Admission Interview Tips 2013
1) Be prepared with your stories – challenging ones, the ones that motivated you and examples that give the AdCom a clear picture of who you are.
2) Be prepared with Personal stories
3) Take plenty of rest the day before the interview, so that you can concentrate during the interview.
4) Relax – Don’t take this as a job interview
5) Make your stories short and relevant - Focus on the actions that you have taken and the results
6) Get an overview of what the interviewer knows about your industry and job, and then explain accordingly. Don’t use industry jargons if the interviewer does not know much about your job.
7) Booth Interviews are not job interviews but it is still a professional meeting so don’t get carried away and take the interview too casually. Strike the right balance between personable and professional.
Download Chicago Booth MBA Admission Interview Guide to learn more
Booth has invited Round 3 applicants for the Class of 2014. Unlike popular beliefs that Round 3 applicants has nearly 1% chance of getting into the class, Kelley from Booth AdCom has demystified this myth.
This is what Kelley had to say about Round 3 Chances:
"It’s true that Round Three can sometimes be more competitive because we have fewer spaces available after admitting candidates in Rounds 1 and 2. However, we do have room for those who exhibit a strong fit with Booth and who we believe will be active members within our community"
International students are encouraged to apply during Round 1 and Round 2 but here is what Kelley has to say about applying on Round 3:
“You should also know that we accept international students during this round. While we encourage international students to apply in Rounds 1 or 2, it’s primarily just a suggestion to help give you plenty of time to plan for such a significant life change. However, because we release our Round Three decisions in mid-May and Orientation doesn’t begin until the first week of September, our international students will still have sufficient time to apply for international loans, process their visas and plan the move to Chicago”
Improve your Chance of getting into R3 Booth MBA with Expert Help.
Round 2 Decisions for Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2014 has been announced on March 21 2012.
If you are wondering how the MBA Admissions Committee evaluates each file, here is what Kurt (Booth MBA AdCom member) has to say:
“After each interview has been conducted, we receive an evaluation report which is added to the application file. The file is then reviewed by a member of our Admissions staff. I’m now in the process of finalizing our class – evaluating each applicant and trying to assess their potential fit within our community. As I review each application file, I also take into consideration all of the feedback provided by each of our Committee members to try to identify those students who embody the values of our school”
Click Here for expert help with Booth MBA Admissions
Round 1 Notification
Date: December 20, 2011
The result for the Booth MBA R1 has been announced on Dec 14th 2011.
Waitlisted Candidates: From 2011, Booth Waitlisted candidates have to fill up a waitlist enrolment form to show your true interest in the program. The form is not legally binding and can be withdrawn at any time by sending a mail to admissions@chicagobooth.edu
On submitting the form, the waitlisted candidate will be considered for R2 admission cycle and the results will be announced on Mar 21 2011.
Waitlist Updates: Admission committee also invites updates (add insight to your qualification and strength) regarding your candidacy. Use the Application Status Page -> Upload Materials for the updates
Last Date of Waitlist Updates: March 1, 2012
Optional Feature: From 2011, MBA candidates can upload a 90 second video for the admission committee. Use Application Status Page -> Portfolio section to upload the video. The content of the video is upto the candidate.
Get Expert Help and improve your chance to come out of waitlist
Recommended Read: Booth Insider
Business School
Winning MBA Essay Guide - A Complete Guide for M7 and Top 15 MBA Application Essays
F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay guide will teach you how to transform your essay into a life journey with trials and tribulations that will move the admission team.
+ Over 245 Sample Essays (Read Previews of F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay Guide Sample Essays here)
+ Top 15 MBA Programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, MIT, Kellogg, Yale, Haas, Darden, INSEAD, LBS, NYU Stern, Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Ross)
+ The Art of Storytelling
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
Want to try the individual school Essay Guides before upgrading to the Winning MBA Essay Guide? Try below.
F1GMAT's Essay Guides
Harvard MBA Essay Guide (20 Sample Essays)
Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)Example #1: Persistence Narrative
Background Information: The applicant – a design and music talent, shares her journey through several setbacks. She attributes curiosity to her growth.
Curiosity: Philosophy
Curiosity (Explained): Curiosity as a philosophy is tough to translate into a narrative unless you are from the creative industry or your contributions had an influence on a solution or an initiative.
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to capture the humanity of the applicant and her influence in music instead of just highlighting how she overcame multiple roadblocks to gain attention as a designer.
Theme: Persistence
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Life Starts at NO (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #2: International Community Building
Background Information: The applicant, a Machine Learning (ML) entrepreneur specializing in healthcare diagnostics, shares how his curiosity to learn other ML algorithms’ evolution in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease transformed his platform into a global community.
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to show the applicant’s contributions in diagnostic from 2020 to 2024 by citing two events. Such examples build credibility instead of engagements that were recent. The evolution of the platform from an AI development community to a community for discussing the application of AI in diagnostics is captured through a ‘curiosity’ angle.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Growth through Collaboration (AI in Healthcare) (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #3: Culture
Background Information: The applicant, an Entrepreneur from India narrates his first entrepreneurial experience – facilitating exchange of stamps in the late 1990s.
Theme: Culture
MBA Essay Strategy: Instead of addressing the biases in the investor community that could turn preachy, I wanted to focus on the applicant and his entrepreneurial journey by citing two entrepreneurial experiences – a platform(club) for stamp collection and his Grocery delivery App.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – The American Dream (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #4: Addiction
Background Information: The applicant – a beneficiary of the foster home system, captures the sacrifice his adopted grandparents made to save him from a path of addiction. Paying it back through early intervention among teenagers and community engagement is the curiosity narrative.
Theme: Addiction
MBA Essay Strategy: My strategy is to capture a gratitude narrative in the first one-third of the essay to demonstrate motivation for starting the venture and dedicate the latter part of the essay to the unique solution
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Drug Addiction and Gaming (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #5: Scarcity
Background Information: The applicant, an education major, recognizes that 70% of all students in Kenya don’t have a computer. The curiosity that drives him to pivot from one solution to another is the growth narrative.
Theme: Innovation
MBA Essay Strategy: Often, innovation is captured with a ‘hero’ narrative where the applicant is the sole originator of an idea. I wanted to break that cliché and include a person from whom the applicant learned to use a concept called ‘scaffolding.’
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Scarcity (Growth-Oriented HBS Essay Example)Example #6: FinTech
Background Information: The applicant captures a vulnerable moment of a beneficiary to compare his journey of side hustle before a technology giant noticed his talent. Although cryptocurrency is not a flavor for the year, capture niches where innovation is still happening.
Theme: Education, Child Welfare
MBA Essay Strategy: Empathizing with a techno solution is tough without a strong backstory around the beneficiary. For the essay, I wanted to clearly establish the beneficiary – Rami, before the applicant narrates the similarities to his journey and finally shares the solution that emerged from his curiosity.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – FinTech as a Tool for Good (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #7: Learning from the best
Background Information: The applicant – a Remote Engineer in the Oil and Gas industry, reflects on a value that has helped her learn from the best regardless of her geographical limitations.
Theme: Learning
MBA Essay Strategy: The effectiveness of the case-study method depends on the assumption that peers in a Harvard MBA class will help elevate your learning experience. For the essay, I have highlighted the applicant’s recognition of this value proposition with three examples.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Learning from the Best (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #8: Military & Search for IMPACT
Background Information: The most common narrative for US military applicants is to quote 9/11 and the reaction your immediate family had while watching the events unfold. The horrifying moment is captured as a motivation to join the Military. On digging deeper, most applicants would share that their motivations were diverse.
Theme: Career Choice
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to quickly highlight that the applicant had the choice of entering any industry. One achievement to demonstrate his curiosity that I shared in the first half is the invention of a game. Since the game is mentioned in the resume and verifiable through search, I didn’t quote the name. By clearly highlighting the person’s curiosity and career options, the family legacy is used as a factor in joining the military.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Career Choice after a Military Career (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)
Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)Example #9: Small Business Values
Background Information: The applicant - a second-generation Asian American, is familiar with the values of fiscal conservatism, building relationships, and understanding the daily struggles of the community through his family’s department store.
Theme: Customer-Centric
MBA Essay Strategy: The applicant’s role in developing an App for the store is highlighted in the essay at a crucial part of the narrative so that the essay is not all about his father. I have also humanized the journey – by sharing how upset the father was when the revenues fell by 40%. The essay is about the transformation in the applicant’s value from a person chasing productivity and optimization technique to someone who is truly thinking about the customers.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Small Business Values (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #10: Breaking Away from Family Business
Background Information: A unique challenge that applicants whose parents are public figures or CXOs of businesses or entrepreneurs are the pressure to live up to the parent’s standards or milestones. For the leadership narrative, the burden of legacy is established before the narrative addresses his leadership principles.
Theme: Authenticity
MBA Essay Strategy: For the essay, I want to capture an entrepreneur’s journey to rise above his entrepreneur father’s image. But I didn’t want to make the entire essay about this complex dynamics. The narrative is around the applicant’s focus on customers and surrounding with teams who keeps him grounded.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business(Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #11: Creativity and Communication
Background Information: When the overall percentage of users with internet access is 62% in South Africa and the inequality accentuated by the rural and urban divide, the applicant endured the lack of digital infrastructure, and spending close to 22% of the family income on gaining relevant information on schools, global exams, and financial assistance.
Theme: Creativity, Communication
MBA Essay Strategy: The strategy is to share why the applicant values no distraction in a child’s home for optimum education experience. Then I highlight the many roadblocks the applicant’s non-profit faced in receiving fee waiver for their cooperative run ISP.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Non-Profit (Telecom) (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #12: Mental Health
Background Information: The applicant like most didn’t pay much attention to the mental health epidemic until tragedy hit home.
Theme: Communication, Innovation
MBA Essay Strategy: A question we frequently get from applicants is whether they should cite tragedy in the family as a motivation for a venture or a non-profit initiative. As long as you don’t linger too much on the tragedy and offer a balanced narrative, there are no restrictions on leveraging unique stories from your life.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Mental Health (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #13: Trauma, Healing & Finding Authentic Self
Background Information: The applicant narrates the absurdity of war in the narrative about the duties in Kabul, and the trauma. Instead of wallowing in on the horror, the applicant takes what makes military applicants strong and guides unprivileged children build life and leadership skills.
Theme: Resilience
MBA Essay Strategy: Capturing PTSD in an essay, the healing process, and the cues that helped the applicant are too sacred to be shared in a Harvard MBA application essay. However, with the right motivation and narrative arcs, you can capture the essence of your journey without sharing the darkest secrets. That is what I did by merging two stories – the horrors of the war with a non-profit engagement.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Military & PTSD (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #14: Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra
Background Information: In this narrative, the applicant captures Peru’s Silver mining boom of 2006. The growth experienced in her father’s business shifted the family’s economic status to a new stratosphere. Through the changing economic and family dynamics, the applicant finds her voice in a unique way, initially to record her unheard voice but later as one of the youngest subject matter experts in mining and commodities.
Theme: Failure
MBA Essay Strategy: For the essay, the strategy is to show how life’s unpredictability is a blessing. By narrating two setback events, the essay demonstrates the applicant’s resilience and her acknowledgment of people who made a comeback possible.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #15: War, Immigration and Starting Over Again
Background Information: Despite a raging war in Syria, the family of the applicant was unblemished by the chaos. The strategic government assets near the applicant’s house would have made the region an easy target, but it was not. The calmness of her journey is shattered in one event. From the privileges of a cocooned life, the applicant is forced to think about survival, her sister’s future, and her future in the US. The second half of the narrative captures the change that was forced on her.
Theme: Gratitude, Resilience
MBA Essay Strategy: I consciously chose not to start the essay with a dialogue or trauma. Two lines are allocated to set up the narrative before the trauma event.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – War, Immigration and Starting Over Again (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
Example #16: Creative or Finance
Background Information: The applicant starts the narrative with the origin of her talents. The unbridled enthusiasm receives a reality check when in high school, the applicant’s father has a conversation with her about academics. While the applicant picked up her quant skills, she was reaching over 50,000 loyal fans, and her videos captured 1 million views.
Theme: Passion, Talent
MBA Essay Strategy: Capturing vulnerability is the toughest part for Harvard MBA applicants. For this essay example, I have captured the applicant’s uncertainty about career choice throughout the essay. Here the goal is to show vulnerability in the career choice essay while for leadership and growth essay, I could capture one example each from creative and PE industry respectively to balance the narrative. So don’t follow this example without a strategy.
Read: Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay – Creative or Finance (Business-Minded HBS MBA Essay Example)- Stanford MBA Essay Guide (24 Sample Essays)
- Columbia MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
- Wharton MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (19 Sample Essays)
- Darden MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
- Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- Tuck MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- Haas MBA Essay Guide (18 Sample Essays)
- NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays + 6 Examples - Visual Essay)
- LBS MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Essays)
- MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Cover Letters + 3 Sample Video Statement Scripts + 3 Sample Optional Essays)
- Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays)
- Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
- Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays)
- Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (10 Sample Essays + Two 25 Random Things Samples)
- Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
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