Full-Time MBA How to Apply

To submit the online application, you’ll need to register and create a username and password. The online system includes step-by-step instructions for completing the application and submitting all required materials. You don’t have to complete the application in one sitting, and you may edit your application as often as necessary prior to submission.

Your application must be submitted prior to 11:59 p.m. CST on the day of the deadline in order to be considered for a particular application round. Applications must include all required online and mailed-in materials.

All candidates are required to submit responses to the following two questions:

1. How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)
2. An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

The following question is optional:

• Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (Maximum 300 words.)

Reapplicants must answer the following question:

• Upon reflection, how has your perspective regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (Maximum 300 words.)

Response Guidelines: We trust that you will use your best judgment in determining how long your submission should be, but we recommend that you think strategically about how to best allocate the space.

Format: Submissions must be entered into the text box provided in the application.

Your resume should highlight the professional and volunteer activities that make you a good candidate for the Full-Time MBA Program.

Please submit letters of recommendation from two individuals who know you well and can offer specific examples of your performance at and contributions to an organization. Avoid choosing recommenders based on their title or status. We are more concerned with content and substance rather than reputation.

One letter of recommendation should come from a supervisor. We are looking for objectivity in the letter, and we want to hear from someone who can assess both your strengths and your weaknesses.

• We prefer to hear from a current supervisor, although we understand that this may not be possible. If you are unable to ask your current supervisor, please explain the circumstances in the optional essay.
• If you work for a family business or own your own company, please submit a letter from a client or outside party who does business with you and can provide an objective assessment.

The other letter can come from another professional contact or from someone who has worked with you in an organization or club, or on a volunteer project. This letter can offer a different perspective on your skill sets outside of your professional environment.

• We have no preference regarding who supplies your second letter of recommendation.
• Our only guideline is that it should add new and valuable insight to your candidacy.

How to Submit Letters of Recommendation

The recommendation form is part of the online application. You will be prompted to provide the names and email addresses of your recommenders, and we’ll send them an email directing them to the online form. Chicago Booth does not accept letters of recommendation via mail or fax.

What We Ask

We ask recommenders to complete a skills assessment for each applicant and to submit a letter answering the following questions:

• How do the applicant's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare with those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.
• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.

Your educational record is an important part of your application for admission. You’ll need to submit transcripts from all postsecondary educational institutions that you have attended.

Unofficial Transcripts

As part of your application, please submit unofficial scans of your transcripts, taking care to submit both sides of each one. Don’t send official transcripts until you receive an offer of admission, because they will not be added to your file.

Official Transcripts

Upon admission, you must submit an official transcript from every university, college, or graduate institution that you have attended.

Official records are defined as original documents issued by the institution and bearing the actual (not photocopied) signature of the registrar and the institutional seal.

• Any records issued only once by institutions should be photocopied and certified as official copies, either by school officials or legal authorities such as embassies or a notary public.
• Please do not send the original of an academic record that cannot be replaced.

All records must show:

• The dates of enrollment, courses taken, units of credit, your grades, marks or ratings in each subject, and, if available, your rank in the total class or group.
• The institutional grading scale or other standards of evaluation, including minimum passing and failing marks, and definition of grades between them (should also be included on or with official records).

If academic records and diplomas are not issued in English by the institution, you must submit both the official record and an authorized English translation.

Chicago Booth reserves the right to review the academic records of all applicants and determine whether the academic credentials presented from a non-US institution qualify for consideration. All degrees must be from an institution recognized by the country’s department or ministry of education.

You can self-report your GMAT or GRE scores at the time you apply. We will allow applicants to submit the GMAT Focus Edition and shortened GRE, as well as the interim at-home or online proctored test scores as made available by GMAC and ETS. We trust the integrity of these testing organizations and should you opt to participate in the at-home testing option, your scores will be reviewed in the same manner as those taken in a traditional testing center, and will continue to be valid for five years.

We will not need your official test scores until you have been admitted and have accepted our offer of admission. To make your official test scores available to us, please send your GMAT scores using code H9X-9F-34 or your GRE scores using code 0685. Scores are valid for five years.

If you are a University of Chicago current student or graduate you may be eligible for a GMAT/GRE test waiver. Please visit our FAQs for more information.

If English is not your native language, you will need to submit proof of English proficiency by taking and submitting results from one of the following tests:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT), including tests taken online at-home, or in a testing center
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic
• Pearson Test of English (PTE)
• Duolingo English Test

Exam score reports are valid for two years and scores will be considered expired if the test was taken more than two years prior to the time of application submission. If you have taken an English language test more than once, report only the scores from one examination testing session that you wish us to consider while reviewing your application. We do not average test scores and we do not accept TOEFL iBT MyBest Scores. For additional details, see International Applicants.

The $250 application fee is due when you submit your application.

• Reapplicants are required to fully complete a new application for enrollment.
• Your prior application is kept on file for two years. The Admissions Committee will review your prior application alongside your newest application in order to assess your growth and/or any changes that have taken place since the time of your last application.
• While the Admissions Committee will review your prior application, your new application should include all information relevant to your candidacy and be able to stand on its own as complete, independent of your prior application.

• You will need to submit two new letters of recommendation.
• You may use the same recommenders as with your previous application.
• If you use a prior recommender, we strongly suggest that you ask the recommender to write a new letter. A new letter will help us better understand any progress or growth you have demonstrated since the time of the recommender's last letter.

You will not have to resubmit official transcripts and test scores unless there is updated information.

If your TOEFL or IELTS score dates from more than two years prior to the submission date of your application, you must retake the examination.