Chicago Booth overhauled its essays for 2026-27. Every candidate now submits four short-answer prompts of 300 characters (60 words including space or 80 words without counting space).
Short-answer prompts, 300 characters each:
1) What is your immediate post-MBA career goal?
2) What is your long-term post-MBA career goal?
3) Upload an image and explain its significance to you.
4) Share a fun fact or something unique about yourself.
Included in the essay guide
1) Context on what makes Chicago Booth MBA unique (Extensive Analysis) that you can quote in the goals essay
- LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Development)
- Labs
- Student Clubs
- Random Walks
- Class Profile
- Multiculturalism
- Curriculum
- New Venture Challenge
- Professors
- International Experience
- Chicago Booth Alumni
- Post-MBA Opportunities
- Chicago and Booth’s Intellectual openness
2) 6 Sample Goals Essays - Shows how to quote the curriculum and highlight motivation by tying pre-MBA experience to post-MBA goals
- Sample Booth Goals Essay #1: Oil & Gas to Consulting
- Sample Booth Goals Essay #2: Marketing in Non-Profit
- Sample Booth MBA Goals Essay #3: Boutique PE to Large PE Deals
- Sample Booth MBA Goals Essay #4– VC funds for Small Farms in Africa
- Sample Booth MBA Goals Essay #5: Technology (Marine Life Conservation and Restoration)
- Sample Booth Goals Essay #6: (Create a Sustainable community around Entrepreneurship)
3) 10 Themes with 25 Caption Examples for the Essay "Upload an image and explain its significance to you."
Theme 01 – Family and Tradition
Theme 02 - Absence as a Story
Theme 03 – Distance Travelled
Theme 04 - Sustainability and Universal Themes
Theme 05 - Inequality as a Theme
Theme 06 - Recovery and Return
Theme 07 - Habits and Discipline
Theme 08 - Passion and Mastery
Theme 09 - Technology, AI and the future of work
Theme 10 - Relationships
25 Caption Examples Included
Who Should Buy Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide?
If your essay looks too bland, Booth MBA Essay Guide will show you, with examples, on how to use the elements of Storytelling like Incorporating "The Struggle," Using Emotional connectors, narrating the Journey and the use of Chronology, Vividness and Active Verbs to transform your essays.
If you are stuck in the Writing process, Booth MBA Essay Guide will show you how to silence the Analytic Mind and overcome mental blocks.
If you feel that the essays are not persuasive, Booth MBA Essay Guide will teach you how to use the W-Pattern narrative, Contexts, Turning Points and "The Show Don't Tell Approach" to write a Winning MBA Essay.
If you don't have enough leadership experience, Booth MBA Essay Guide will show you how to highlight non-obvious qualities like Trust, Focus, Listening Skills, Personal Responsibility, Humility, Self-Knowledge, and other secondary traits to prove your leadership.
If you don't know how to review your essays, Booth MBA Essay Guide will demonstrate how to improve readability with the power of iteration and maintain your original voice by removing review biases.
If you want to see how experts write Essays, read our Sample Essays and kick-start your writing process
Pages: 416
Entering Class: 2027
" Atul masterfully maps the curriculum from Booth's vast collection of electives and function-oriented themes for the goals essay. I found inspiration from unlikely profiles cited in the essay guide, particularly the social impact to the marketing career transition, which was unlike any motivation I had read. " - Chicago Booth MBA
" It was quite a trip to write from my heart. Eventually, I toned it down, but the samples helped me explore a side of my story that I didn't want to share. Perhaps that helped me get an interview invite. " - Chicago Booth MBA
" As a technologist and male in a competitive application pool, I had to break from the stereotype. The example of an applicant - his journey from a passionate programmer to a product person to an ambitious goal of leveraging technology to conserve nature- had many parallels to my journey. I recommend this essay guide to any applicant struggling to write in their voice. " - Chicago Booth MBA
" Although I am still a step behind, the narrative and the specific way with which the MBA curriculum is quoted and connected with the goals helped me understand how to write a goals essay. " - Chicago Booth MBA
"Non-profit candidates like me are often met with a bit of ridicule for applying to a quant-heavy program like Booth. I decided to do an MBA to transition into IMPACT investing. Thankfully the essay guide had a sample that captured a similar story, although the person worked in South America. I also found the transformation matrix useful as my life had several such moments that offered a template to craft the goals." - Chicago Booth MBA