Sample MBA Essays and School Specific Tips

• Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (up to 250 words)

Background Information: Through the changing economic and family dynamics of her father's mining business, the applicant finds her voice in a unique way, initially to find an audience for her underappreciated voice, and later as one of the youngest subject-matter experts in mining and commodities.  

Leadership Traits: Resilience, Authenticity  

• Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (up to 250 words)

Background Information: An applicant shares the burden of legacy as the son of an entrepreneur and how he has accumulated his father's leadership principles in his venture.

Leadership Traits: Customer-Centric, Authenticity  

• Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (up to 250 words)

Background Information: From the privileges of a cocooned life, the applicant is displaced from Syria and forced to restart her life in the US.

Leadership Traits: Resilience

• Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (up to 250 words)

Background Information: The applicant navigates the horrors of war and finds his humanity by guiding underprivileged children build life and leadership skills.

Leadership Traits: Mentoring, Authenticity

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)

Background Information: During a mission, an applicant is inspired by a doctor to find meaning outside combat.

Curiosity: Career Choice

Chicago Booth MBA Visual Essay Prompt: The photos below represent some of the values described above that we uphold at Chicago Booth. Select one and share how it resonates with one of your own values. (250-word minimum)

In this breakdown of the Chicago Booth MBA Visual Essay, I cover:

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)

Background Information: The applicant, an education major, recognizes that 70% of all students in Kenya don’t have a computer. The growth narrative is around the curiosity to overcome scarcity, which drives him to pivot from one solution to another. 

Curiosity: Behavior

• Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your choices have influenced your career path and aspirations. (up to 300 words)

Background Information:  An applicant who has grown in her PE career is facing a dilemma: whether to continue in her finance career or pivot into her creative career, where she has over 50,000 loyal YouTube subscribers, and her videos have captured over 10 million views. 

Theme: Passion, Talent

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)

Background Information: The applicant – a design and music talent, shares her journey through several setbacks. She attributes curiosity to her growth.

Curiosity: Philosophy