Chicago Booth full-time MBA · 2026-27 full-time MBA applicants (Class of 2029)

Answers

For every question: which parts of an applicant's background to use, how they connect to what the question tests, and the points to hit - not a script. See it for our sample applicant, or upload your Booth application and get it for yours.

Make it yours. Upload your Booth application and get these answers from your own background: which of your stories fit each question, the angle to take and the points to hit.

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Save your submitted Booth application as a PDF from the application portal. If you can't, upload your resume and essays instead. For every question we show you which parts of your application to draw on, how they connect to what the question tests, talking points, and what's missing - not a script to memorize. Nothing is invented. We read your file once and don't keep it. Your guidance is saved to your account, so you can come back to it on any device, and you can upload again anytime to replace it.

Sample applicant: Lucas. A 2020 finance graduate from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School, Lucas Ferreira is applying to Chicago Booth's full-time MBA from Minneapolis, where he is a senior associate in project finance at a community-solar developer. He has financed 14 solar projects and killed one he should have dropped sooner. He wants to move into clean-energy infrastructure investing and eventually run a developer of his own.

Lucas is fictional, and so are Prairie Lantern Solar, Halstead Municipal Advisors, Northside Money Lab and the Lake Street Old-Timers hockey league; the application was written for this sample. Every answer below uses only what's in the application, the way your own will. Read Lucas's application (PDF).

Opening: your background

Walk me through your resume. Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

Halstead Municipal Advisors analyst work: 18 debt-capacity models, Brainerd $42M referendum, the water-utility rate study template Sets up the throughline from public finance to project finance, and the template shows you build things that outlast you.
Prairie Lantern: Associate to Senior Associate, 14 projects closed (61 MW, about $118M), first portfolio financing The core of the resume and the numbers she will want to probe.
Stearns County kill decision and the goal of underwriting 5-50 MW deals The interviewer has the resume line but not your essay, so this links past to future.

The angle

She sees only the resume, so your job is to give her the logic connecting municipal bonds, community solar and an infrastructure-fund goal. That logic is learning where capital meets local reality: school boards, township meetings, utility upgrade costs. She just underwrote distributed solar at a mid-market fund, so keep each step tight and let her pick what to dig into.

Talking points

Start at Carlson: finance plus the Environmental Sciences minor, and why that pairing pointed you toward energy
Halstead: Brainerd referendum and the rate study template still used about 10 times a year; what municipal finance taught you about local decision-makers
Move to Prairie Lantern in 2022: subscriber forecasts, 30+ township meetings, then promotion to owning the model and lender process
Hit two numbers: 14 projects and $118M closed; portfolio financing cutting closing from 5 months to 11 weeks
Bridge to now: Stearns County showed you where deals die; why the 5-50 MW underwriting role next, then a Midwest storage developer

To think about

Why did you leave Halstead for a developer in mid-2022: what pulled you, in your own words?

Avoid: Running long and turning it into a recital of your bullets or Essay 1. Aim for about 3 minutes and leave hooks like Stearns County for her to ask about. Don't open with the farmhouse story.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

What do you actually do day to day?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Owning the financial model and lender process from interconnection study to commercial operation This is literally the job; walking that lifecycle makes it concrete.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

What do you do outside of work, for fun?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Goalie and treasurer for the Lake Street Old-Timers, about 3.4 goals against a game, turned $900 of rink debt into three seasons of surplus Fun, self-deprecating, and it shows initiative without sounding like a work story.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Why an MBA, why now and why Booth

Why an MBA, and why now? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

Essay 1 line: 'I can model a project. I cannot yet lead a company, raise equity or judge a team.' Names the exact gap an MBA fills, beyond the modeling you already do well.
Stearns County kill (7 MW, $4.1M upgrade estimate, $380K write-off, four extra months) Shows the moment you saw where deals die and that you need judgment, not just more analysis.
Senior Associate since Jan 2024: 14 projects closed, first portfolio financing Shows you have hit the ceiling of the finance seat at a 60-person developer, which is why the timing is now.

The angle

Your story is that you've mastered the model and the lender process, but Stearns County and Dana's 'over-prepare and under-decide' feedback showed your gap is decision-making, raising equity and leading people. Now is right because you've closed 14 deals and led the first portfolio financing, so more of the same job won't teach you the investor-side and leadership skills you need. Ingrid only has your resume, so make the gap concrete.

Talking points

Open with where you are: 14 financings, $118M, first portfolio deal at Prairie Lantern
Name the gap plainly: equity raising, leading a company, judging a team, not modeling
Use Stearns County briefly as the moment the gap became obvious: grid costs and capital you couldn't fully judge
Why now: ~6 years in, already managing 2 analysts, and the next step (investment team) usually needs the MBA
Bridge to your goal: underwriting 5-50 MW solar and storage deals

To think about

Why can't you make the jump to an infrastructure fund or a developer's investment team without an MBA? Have you tried, or talked to people who did?

Avoid: Don't retell the whole farmhouse story from Essay 1. Ingrid hasn't read it, but keep it to two sentences so it doesn't eat the answer. Also don't make the MBA sound like a fix for a weak GPA or GMAT.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will a Booth MBA help you get there? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

Short-term goal: associate at an infrastructure fund or a renewable developer's investment team, underwriting 5-50 MW solar and storage This is specific and matches Ingrid's own path at a mid-market infrastructure fund.
Long-term goal: build or run a Midwest storage and distribution-level solar developer designed around interconnection reality It grows directly out of what you learned at Stearns County.
Associate work: 30+ township and county meetings, 22% low-income subscriber tracking Shows you know the local politics side, which a future developer CEO needs.

The angle

Your goals line up: you've lived the developer side, so you'd underwrite the size of deal that falls between big funds and local banks, then build a company that avoids the interconnection trap. Ingrid just underwrote distributed solar at a mid-market fund, so expect detailed follow-ups. Show you know why that deal size is underserved and what a fund associate actually does.

Talking points

Short term: associate underwriting 5-50 MW solar and storage, and why that size is underserved
What you already bring: lender-side and tax-equity experience from 14 closings
Long term: a Midwest storage and distribution-level solar developer, built around interconnection costs
How Booth fills it: Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity, Polsky for testing the storage idea
Be ready for her follow-up: which funds, and what would make you hire someone versus building yourself?

To think about

Which specific funds or developer investment teams are you targeting, and what's your backup if fund recruiting doesn't land?

Avoid: Ingrid works in this exact space. Don't overclaim knowledge of fund-side underwriting, and don't stay vague about 'clean energy'. Name deal sizes, technologies and the Midwest focus.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

Why Booth?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Essay 1 course list: Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity, Negotiation Strategies, Managerial Decision Making Ties Booth's flexible curriculum to the gaps you named.

The angle

Talking points

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What resources at Booth will you take advantage of? Which classes are you looking at?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Planned courses: Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity, Negotiation Strategies, Managerial Decision Making These are actual class names you can give when asked.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Booth offers a lot of curricular and extracurricular experiences. How will you decide what to prioritise? Tell me about a time you had to prioritise among many options at work.

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Dana's 2024 feedback: 'over-prepare and under-decide', and your one-paragraph recommendation habit This is your actual method for choosing, born from a real weakness.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Your work and what you've done

Tell me about an accomplishment you are proud of. Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

First portfolio financing at Prairie Lantern: 6 projects, one lender, ~$140K saved per project, closing cut from 5 months to 11 weeks Your clearest delivered result, and one you volunteered for because nobody had done it before.
Rate study template at Halstead Municipal Advisors, still used on about 10 studies a year A short second example that shows your work lasts after you leave.

The angle

Your interviewer has only your resume, and she spent her summer underwriting distributed solar at an infrastructure fund. The portfolio financing will mean something to her. Show what you value: picking up the job no one owned (six weeks of reading lender agreements at night) and building something the company now reuses. Then keep it to the bottleneck you removed, not the whole deal history.

Talking points

Set up the problem: closing projects one at a time, about 5 months each
Why you raised your hand: no one at the company had done a portfolio deal
The hard part: six weeks of lender agreements at night, getting 6 projects to fit one lender
Give the numbers: ~$140K saved per project, 11 weeks instead of 5 months
Why you're proud: did the process stick for later deals? Say so only if it's true

To think about

What did you personally have to persuade the lender or your leadership to accept, and was the portfolio approach reused after the first deal?

Avoid: Drowning her in tax-equity jargon or deal mechanics. She knows the space, so she'll be listening for your judgment, not a term-sheet tour. Also be clear about what the team did versus what you did.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

Tell me about a leadership situation where you faced a problem. How did it get resolved? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

An analyst's error reached a lender draft; you rewrote the model template and review checklist A real problem on a team you manage, fixed at the system level.
League treasurer: $900 owed to the rink, no records, payment plan negotiated, surplus for three seasons A backup example of leading without formal authority.

The angle

You manage 2 analysts, and the lender-draft error is exactly the 'something went wrong' this question is after. The test is how you handled the analyst and whether you owned the review gap as your own, rather than blaming the person. Changing the template and checklist shows you fixed the cause, not just the symptom.

Talking points

The moment: an analyst's error ended up in a draft that went to a lender
Your first move with the lender: how did you correct it?
How you handled the analyst: the conversation you actually had
Own your part: why didn't your review catch it?
The fix: the rewritten template and checklist, and whether errors have dropped since

To think about

What exactly was the error, what did you say to the analyst, and has anything like it happened since the new checklist?

Avoid: Making the analyst the villain, or skipping the people side and only describing the new checklist.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

Describe a time you had to make a tough decision.

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Recommending the kill of the 7 MW Stearns County project after the $4.1M utility upgrade estimate; $380K written off A high-stakes call that is on your resume, so she may ask about it directly.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Tell me about a challenging experience and how you handled it.

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Spring 2018: your father laid off from the Duluth paper mill, 30 hrs/week at a hardware store, 2.71 GPA, then 3.2+ every other semester Resilience under personal pressure. It isn't on your resume, so it adds something new.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Tell me about a time you failed.

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

The four months you spent arguing to save Stearns County: money lost and a planting season Gary lost Your own named failure, and Booth rewards candor.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Working with others and how others see you

Tell me about a time when you had to deal with diverse perspectives. How did you deal with each of them? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

30+ township and county meetings with the land team explaining project economics to local boards and landowners Several groups wanting different things from the same project: boards, landowners, your land team, your finance view.
First portfolio financing: 6 projects bundled with one lender, closing time cut from 5 months to 11 weeks A lender, internal project teams and leadership each had stakes in how the bundle was structured.
Tracking the 22% low-income subscriber requirement on 9 community-solar gardens Shows you balancing a policy mandate against revenue forecasts, which is another set of perspectives.

The angle

Ingrid wants to see whether you understood each position, not just that you got a deal done. Pick one specific township or county meeting and walk through what the board, the landowner and your own land team each needed. Then say what you changed in how you explained the economics because of them. The interviewer only has your resume, so that line about 30+ meetings is where she'll probe.

Talking points

Pick one township or county meeting and name the project and who was in the room
Lay out each side: the board's concern, the landowner's stake, your land team's goal
Say how you translated the project economics for each group (Northside Money Lab-style plain finance)
Give the outcome and what you'd now do differently in those meetings
Optional link: the lender, internal teams and leadership pulling different ways on the portfolio financing

To think about

Which single meeting had a board or landowner whose view actually changed your numbers or your approach, and what exactly did they object to?

Avoid: Don't flatten the locals into 'people who didn't understand finance.' Show you took their concern seriously. Also, don't drift into the Stearns County story; save that for other questions.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

Tell me about a time you had to work through a conflict.

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Lake Street Old-Timers league treasurer: $900 owed to the rink, no records, negotiated a payment plan with the rink manager A real negotiation with a counterparty, plus chasing dues from teammates, which is friction with people you see every week.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

What feedback have you received at work that surprised you?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Dana's 2024 review: 'over-prepare and under-decide,' the 40-tab model when the team needs a yes or no This is exactly the question, and it is real and specific.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

What you'd add to Booth

How would you contribute to the Booth community? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

Northside Money Lab: teaching a 6-week budgeting and credit course twice a year since 2021, including Renata correcting your car-loan math Shows you already give time to explaining finance to people who didn't ask, and you welcome being corrected.
Lake Street Old-Timers treasurer: took over $900 of rink debt with no records, now three seasons of surplus Proof you take the unglamorous job nobody wants and fix it, which is what student-run Booth needs.
30+ township and county meetings plus 14 closed financings (61 MW, about $118M) Gives classmates real community-solar deal and local-politics knowledge most consultants and bankers won't have.

The angle

Booth is run by students, so contributing means taking on actual jobs, not just showing up. Your pattern of volunteering for the role nobody wants (goalie, treasurer, first portfolio financing) plus years of explaining project finance to landowners and Money Lab students is concrete evidence you'll give back. Ingrid co-chairs the Energy Club and runs a grid and storage financing speaker series, so specific offers there will register.

Talking points

Open with the treasurer turnaround: $900 debt, no records, surplus three seasons, as your habit of taking the job no one wants
Offer your deal knowledge: first portfolio financing, 6 projects, 11 weeks vs 5 months, as something you'd teach Energy Club peers or bring to the storage-financing speaker series
Bring in Money Lab and Renata: you'd help classmates from non-finance backgrounds with modeling, and you like being corrected
Ask yourself: which concrete Booth role would you raise your hand for (club treasurer, peer tutor, LEAD facilitator)?

To think about

Which specific Booth role or event have you found that you'd actually volunteer to run, and have you talked to a student about it?

Avoid: Your essay 2 already closes on 'unglamorous job, candor, explaining finance'; don't recite that trio. Ingrid hasn't read it, but generic claims won't land; name the role.

From: Lucas's application · Chicago Booth facts · the question and its sources

At the end of two years, what would be your impact on the Booth community? What legacy do you want to leave?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Rewriting the model template and review checklist after an analyst's error reached a lender draft Shows you build systems that outlast you, the core of a legacy answer.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Which clubs are you interested in, and what do you want to do outside of class?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Essay 1 list: Energy Club, Private Equity Club, Polsky New Venture Challenge, Energy Policy Institute Already tied to your goal of underwriting 5-50 MW deals and later building a Midwest storage developer.

The angle

Talking points

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Closing

Any questions for me? Sample applicant

Based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your Booth application to get this from your own background.

Material

Essay 1 plan: Polsky Center storage idea, Energy Policy Institute, Energy Club, Private Equity Club, New Venture Challenge Your questions should test whether this specific plan works at Booth, not ask things the website answers.
Goal: associate at an infrastructure fund underwriting 5-50 MW solar and storage deals Your interviewer just underwrote distributed solar at a mid-market infrastructure fund, so she can answer from her own recruiting path.
Dana's 'over-prepare and under-decide' feedback and your plan to take Managerial Decision Making A real question about how that class changes decisions shows you are working on a known weakness.

The angle

You are interviewing with someone whose career is close to the one you want. Ask questions that only a second-year who recruited for infrastructure investing and runs the Energy Club could answer. Each question should show you have already pictured your two years at Booth: Polsky, energy finance, PE recruiting. Then let her answer tell you whether that plan holds up.

Talking points

Ask how she presented a non-finance background to mid-market infrastructure funds, then share what your own pitch would be: 14 projects, 61 MW, the first portfolio financing
Ask what the Energy Club's grid and storage financing speaker series and Midwest trek actually reach, and whether a Minnesota and Illinois community-solar person could help build them
Ask whether Polsky or the New Venture Challenge has handled hardware-light infrastructure ideas like Midwest storage development, or whether it leans toward software
Ask how Managerial Decision Making changed one real call she made, tied briefly to the four months you spent on Stearns County
If time allows, ask about Booth hockey: is there a spot for an old-timers goalie who lets in 3.4 a game?

To think about

Have you talked to any Booth students or alumni in energy or infrastructure yet? Naming one conversation and what it left unresolved would make your questions sharper.

Avoid: Don't use questions as a disguised second pitch, and don't fire off five of them. Pick two or three, really listen, and follow up on her answers. Skip anything published on Booth's site, such as the curriculum's single required course.

From: Lucas's application · the question and its sources

Is there anything you wish we had discussed that we haven't?

A preview, based on Lucas, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your Booth application to preview your own.

Material

Optional essay: spring 2018 2.71 GPA while working 30 hours a week after your father's layoff; GMAT raised from 605 to 655 She has only your resume, so she hasn't seen the context behind your weaker numbers or the resilience Booth assesses.

The angle

Talking points

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