But this doesn\u2019t mean the school is any less curious about what inspires you.\u00a0Chicago Booth is changing things up with two new essay questions for its 2018-2019 application cycle.\u00a0In announcing that its 2018-2019 application is available, Booth\u2019s admissions blog<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0debuted the following MBA essay questions:<\/p>\n Essay 1: How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Essay 2: Chicago Booth immerses you in a choice-rich environment. How have your interests, leadership experiences, and other passions influenced the choices in your life?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Booth\u2019s new first question cuts to the chase, departing from the more abstract way of eliciting your b-school motivations through \u201cBooth moments.\u201d In doing so, it asks you to connect your coherent and compelling career vision to how the Booth MBA \u2013 in particular \u2013 will help you to achieve your greatest ambitions. It\u2019s a version of the standard favorite, \u2018Why an MBA and why\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0school,\u2019 and significant introspection is critical to writing an essay that\u2019s both persuasive and genuine. Your ability to articulate clear goals, even if they inevitably evolve during the MBA journey, convey your maturity and confidence to the Admissions Committee.<\/p>\n It also demands a deep understanding of Booth\u2019s culture, values and what makes it special. Without a sincere appreciation of its unique program offerings and community culture \u2013 gained by thorough networking, thoughtful research, and, whenever possible, a visit to its campus \u2013 the admissions committee may not assess you a good fit.<\/p>\n The second question is an appeal to share something much more personal, beyond your transcripts, test scores and professional achievements. Booth is digging for a glimpse of what drives and inspires you. As Donna Swinford in Booth Admissions underscores in her blog, \u201cAt Booth, passions and ambitions serve as a compass in navigating our choice-rich environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Consider it this way:<\/strong> Similar to\u00a0Wharton\u2019s new essay<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0pairing, the Booth\u2019s first question asks what you\u2019ll get out of Booth, while the second wants to know what Booth and its community will get out of you.<\/p>\n Fortuna\u2019s Julie Ferguson<\/a>, former Chicago Booth Senior Associate Director of Admissions,\u00a0offers this perspective: \u201cThe new, more direct approach asks applicants to be clear and concise about their motivations – the \u2018moments\u2019 format didn\u2019t necessarily ask candidates to map out their whats and whys of an MBA. The flexibility of the curriculum requires students to have a firm grasp on why they need and want an MBA, so that they\u2019re poised to take full advantage of the choices available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n As a Booth\u2019s former Assistant Director of Admissions, it strikes me as typical\u00a0<\/em>Booth to recast its essay questions this way. That\u2019s because the Admissions Committee wants to know that you have a deep understanding of what distinguishes Booth from other programs (including neighboring Kellogg). It also wants to curate a diverse student community, where different experiences and perspectives influence the learning environment. As such, this second question is a prime opportunity to share something beyond your day job, to explore and articulate the forces that shape your decisions, identities and experiences, and which stand to positively impact the future community you hope to join.<\/p>\n It can be intimidating if you think that your story isn\u2019t so unique, or tricky to know where to start. Begin by reflecting on definitive moments and milestones along your personal journey and explore what might set you apart \u2013 even if it doesn\u2019t seem relevant at first. Caution: Do not try to anticipate what you think the Admissions Committee wants to hear and respond from that contrived place. Authenticity is essential \u2013show your enthusiasm and be yourself.<\/p>\n Remember:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBooth looks for candidates that know what they want and will make the most of their two years there,\u201d adds Julie. \u201cThe new essays will give applicants the opportunity to show that they\u2019ve thought through this major life step, and that Booth is the perfect place for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Krista McNamara\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong>is a <\/em>Fortuna Admissions<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0expert coach and former Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago\u2019s Booth School of Business.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gone is the creative and quirky Chicago Booth essay that asked MBA candidates to choose among an assortment of photos, name a \u201cBooth moment\u201d that most resonated and explain why.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1831,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-fortuna-admissions","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n