How to Write the Chicago Booth Scholars Essays
The Chicago Booth Scholars essays reward precision above everything else. Essay 1 is a three-part goals question — short-term in the deferral window, then long-term post-MBA — and it needs to be answered in order, specifically, without generic MBA language. Essay 2 is about intellectual identity and collaborative thinking, and it works when you bring a specific belief or perspective, not when you describe your enthusiasm for diversity.
Booth has the earliest M7 deadline (April 2). If you're applying to a full school list, Booth essays are first. Start writing them before you think you're ready.
The Essay Prompts
Essay 1: "How will the Chicago Booth Scholars Program contribute to your short-term goals during your deferment period? How will the Booth MBA then help you achieve your long-term post-MBA career goals?" (No strict word limit — treat as 350–500 words)
Essay 2: "Chicago Booth appreciates the individual experiences and perspectives that all of our students bring to our community. This respect for different viewpoints creates an open-minded environment 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." (No strict word limit — treat as 300–400 words; this functions as a community essay with a specific Booth framing)
Optional Essay: "Is there any unclear information in your application that you would like to address for the Admissions Committee?" (250 words)
What Booth Is Really Asking
Essay 1 — Goals and the Booth Scholars program's role:
Notice the structure of this prompt. It has three components, in sequence:
- What are your short-term goals during the deferral period?
- How does being a Booth Scholar (the program's community and resources during deferral) contribute to those short-term goals?
- How does the Booth MBA then help you achieve your long-term post-MBA goals?
Most applicants answer this as a two-part goals essay — short-term, long-term — and skip the middle question entirely. That's a mistake. The Booth Scholars Program includes access to community events, mentorship, and programming during the deferral window. They're asking whether you know that and whether you've thought about how it fits into your plan.
The short-term section should name a specific role type, industry, and what you're building or proving during the deferral window. The long-term section should trace the arc from that first experience to the career you're targeting post-MBA.
On specificity: "develop leadership skills and build a strong business foundation" is the answer Booth has seen from roughly 40% of applicants. It says nothing. "Join a growth equity fund focused on consumer brands, build deal sourcing and diligence skills during two years, and use the Booth MBA to move into a sector-focused PE role where I can operate at the intersection of finance and consumer strategy" is specific. One is a plan. The other is a wish.
Essay 2 — Intellectual identity and collaborative thinking:
This essay doesn't have a traditional prompt question — it's a statement about Booth's values and an implicit invitation to respond to them. The question underneath is: who are you intellectually, and how does having you in the room make the thinking better?
Booth is the most analytically rigorous M7. The culture here is genuinely intellectual — students argue about ideas with the same intensity they bring to recruiting. The community essay works when you bring a specific perspective, belief, or intellectual framework that you've actually wrestled with and that the room benefits from hearing.
It fails when you write about your love of diverse perspectives in the abstract. "I believe that diverse viewpoints lead to better outcomes" is the thesis statement of 30% of Booth community essays. It's a principle, not a perspective. Bring the thing you actually believe that other people push back on. Bring the intellectual moment when someone's frame changed how you thought about a problem you'd been stuck on. That's the Booth community essay.
What Works and What Doesn't
What works on Essay 1: Answering all three parts in order. Short-term goals (specific role and what you're building) → how the Scholars Program touches that (community, mentorship, events) → long-term goals (the full arc to your post-MBA career). The best essays are written like a tight business memo: clear thesis, clean structure, no filler.
What fails on Essay 1: The "develop skills and network" answer. Booth committees are analytically trained and they evaluate this essay the same way they evaluate a business case — is the argument specific? Is the logic sound? Does the evidence support the conclusion? Generic language fails this test in the first paragraph.
What works on Essay 2: A specific intellectual moment. You encountered an idea that challenged your existing framework. You changed your mind. You discovered a question that you keep returning to. The essay isn't about listing all your perspectives — it's about one perspective developed with enough depth that the committee understands how you actually think.
What fails on Essay 2: Performative intellectual humility. "I'm always open to new ideas and love learning from people different from me" is neither a perspective nor evidence of collaborative thinking. It's a posture. Booth students will call it out in the first week of orientation.
Common Mistakes
Ignoring the Scholars Program-specific element. Essay 1 explicitly asks how the Scholars Program (not just the Booth MBA) contributes to your short-term goals. Look up what the Scholars Program actually offers during the deferral period. That research shapes the middle section of your answer.
Writing a philosophy essay for Essay 2. The prompt is a statement of Booth's values, and it can invite abstract responses about what you believe about diversity and learning. Resist this. The committee wants evidence, not principles. What happened, specifically, that demonstrates your collaborative intellectual identity?
Being vague about the long-term arc. The long-term section of Essay 1 needs to land somewhere specific. "I hope to reach a senior leadership role in business" is not a long-term goal — it's a direction. The arc should have shape: first role → what you build → MBA → what you do with it → where you're headed.
For the full Chicago Booth Scholars program breakdown — acceptance rate, deadlines, and Oba's take — see the Chicago Booth school guide. To get direct feedback on your essay drafts, get an essay review.