A recent study by the Financial Times shows that Booth stands at #4 in the world when it comes to the most Alumni as CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, behind Stanford(8), Insead(9) and Harvard (28). If you look at the Alumni who have climbed the CEO position in small and mid-sized Business, the number of Booth MBA CEOs is at 5,400, with their contribution distributed in companies as diverse as JPMorgan, Pfizer, Gillette, and Suzuki.
If you have an Entrepreneurial streak, it would be reassuring to know that Booth MBA Alumni have started some of the coolest brands: ZipCar (the car sharing company), GrubHub(Food Delivery Service), Bobtail Ice Cream(Homemade ice cream in classic & specialty flavors), Harpoon Brewery(best known for Harpoon IPA) and PrepMe (Online Educational platform for standardized tests -PSAT, SAT and ACT).
In top Business Schools, Entrepreneurship as a career is mostly chosen by less than 5% of the total class. Booth is no different in that regard. For the latest class, 3.3% or 19 Boothies continued in new venture creation or persisting with their Business.
The Admission team is not repeating itself with New Venture Challenge and Entrepreneurship in the essay. Booth’s way of thinking and a plethora of experiential learning experiences is what gave Entrepreneurs the confidence to venture out on their own or address problems in a unique way.
Experiential learning at Chicago Booth is realized through Lab Courses. The word ‘lab’ might be a little misleading, but the focus of the course is to offer experiential learning to the 500+ odd MBA students.
The hands-on experience is divided based on job industry and functions: Management Lab, New Venture and Small Enterprise Lab, D4 Foundations, Private Equity/Venture Capital, Social Enterprise Lab, Clean Tech Lab, Marketing Lab Courses, and Healthcare Management Analytics Lab.
With New Venture and Small Enterprise Lab, you will work on start-up projects performing competitive analysis, market research, and figuring out consumer buying patterns. Based on how various stakeholders in the market behave, you will be able to develop a strategy that balances the pricing models with the right marketing mix. The lab mainly focuses on technology, biotech, and retail industries.
D4 Foundations is a design program that looks at complex problems in Healthcare and Education through the prism of design and comes up with user-centric solutions. MBA candidates will also learn to incorporate testing and feedback as an integral part of solving problems.
Private Equity/Venture Capital Lab offers 15-20 hours/week as internship opportunity, of which responsibilities include shortlisting investment opportunities in diverse international markets. Guest lecturers from prestigious private equity and venture capital firms will teach students about identifying opportunities. Previous collaborators include Sterling Partners, Dunrath, Duchossois, OCA Ventures, Lake Capital, Essex Woodlands, Roundtable, WHI, Seneca Partners, Arch Development, and Prism Capital. 
Learn about the Story of Matt Maloney, ’10, CEO, GrubHub Inc. with F1GMAT's Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide
Download F1GMAT's Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide to learn about Matt's key takeaway from the Chicago Booth Experience and the Labs that enabled him to test his ideas.
Also Included in the Essay Guide
- How to write about the 10 Chicago Booth Moments for your 2016-17 MBA Application Essay
- How to write a persuasive MBA Application Essay
- How to highlight your leadership skills
- How to review your essays without losing your original voice and more.
that supports curiosity, inspires us to think more broadly, and take risks. At Booth, community is about collaborative thinking and learning from one another to better ourselves, our ideas, and the world around us.