Chicago 2011 EMBA Application Essay Questions

This 2011 Chicago Booth Executive MBA Admissions tip post is one of a series of posts providing Executive MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top EMBA programs around the world. You can access the entire series at http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/tag/2011-executive-mba-admissions-tips. My tips for answering Chicago’s EMBA essay questions are in blue below.

The Chicago Booth EMBA questions are challenging because they break up a concept that for many people is holistic: the need for the MBA and interest in the program – the first question asks, among other things, “Why are you seeking an MBA from Chicago Booth” and the second question asks “what you hope to gain from the MBA.”  While the first question is wide ranging and includes what you’ll contribute to the program, the second question focuses on your goals. I suggest doing the second question first, because the goals discussion will provide context for what you hope to gain specifically from Chicago Booth.  Taken together, these two questions allow you to create a well-rounded picture, with sharp focus on career in essay 2, and an opportunity to present selected highlights of your career (and non-work activities as well) in essay 1.  In both essays, beware of the tendency to present a career summary.  That’s the job of your resume.

Question 1

Why are you seeking an MBA from Chicago Booth and what do you hope to experience and contribute while in the program? (maximum two pages, single spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman)

Let’s break this question into three parts.  Part 1: why you’re seeking the MBA from Chicago Booth.  This section should address the specific education you hope to acquire, presumably dictated to large extent by your goals.  It can also address other benefits you desire, such as the chance to interact with peers from diverse industries and sectors.  In answering this part of the question, be specific about Booth’s offerings and add some insight or reflection, don’t just reiterate points from the website.  If you can cite conversations with students or alumni, that’s fantastic; give examples of insights you’ve gained from them.

Part 2: what you hope to experience.  This part can be seen in two ways, what you want to experience externally, e.g., intellectual rigor or collaborative environment; and internally, e.g., a broadening of perspective.

Part 3: what you hope to contribute.  This is your chance to showcase aspects of your career and your personal experience that distinguish and differentiate you.  You can discuss work points exclusively or work and non-work. Select a few things that complement each other and provide some depth and detail about each, rather than a “laundry list” of points.  Also, think strategically on this last part.  Think about what Chicago Booth values and what the rest of your application doesn’t reveal.

You may also be interested in “The Art of a Gripping MBA Goals Essay, an on-demand webinar.”

Question 2

Chicago Booth Career Services delivers innovative educational programming, offers one-on-one coaching, provides numerous networking opportunities, and provides access to job search tools in order to support your own career management. We would like to learn more about your career strategy and objectives. Please outline your career objectives, how you hope to achieve them, and what you hope to gain from the MBA to help you achieve them. (maximum 1 page, single spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman)

By starting off this question with a listing of its career resources, the Chicago adcom is showing that the program is invested in your career success.  You should demonstrate your worthiness of this investment by delivering a thoughtful and detailed portrayal of your career objectives.  Discuss not just general aspirations but specifics: industry, likely positions, which company or companies, possibly where, what you expect to do, possibly challenges you anticipate – and as the question says, how.  To make the essay transcend competent and become compelling, also show how your goals are rooted in your experience, what motivates your goals, and your vision for your goals.  Finally, discuss the learning needs these goals engender that necessitate an MBA.

Optional essay

If there is anything else you would like the admissions committee to know about you, please share that information here. If your previous studies have not included quantitative courses (e.g., accounting, statistics, calculus, etc.) please use this question to provide information about your preparation for the quantitative coursework in the executive MBA program (e.g., GMAT, professional certifications, etc.) (maximum one page, single spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman)

This question invites you to present new material that you think will enhance your application, as well as to explain anything that needs explaining (e.g., gap in employment, choice of recommender if not using a direct supervisor, etc.).  As far as non-necessary points, keep in mind that if you are making the adcom read more than is required, there should be a clear value to the information you’re sharing. Also, because essay 1 asks you what you will contribute, make sure that any additional “enhancement” topics here aren’t things that really belong there. Finally, keep it short – 300-400 words should suffice in most cases.

First Deadline February 1, 2011; final deadline April 1, 2011 (Chicago and London) and April 15, 2011 (Singapore).  Program begins June 20, 2011.

If you would like help with Chicago’s executive MBA essays, please consider Accepted.com’s Chicago Executive MBA Packages or our other MBA admissions consulting and MBA essay editing services.

By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free, email mini-course, “Ace the EMBA.”

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