Chicago Booth - Admissions & Profile

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Admissions

Quick Facts

Successful Applicant Profile

With a class size that is neither terribly large nor terribly small, Chicago Booth attracts students from all backgrounds. Analyzing past school data and student profiles reveals that Booth admits students from numerous academic backgrounds and appears to have no favorite undergraduate major. Booth does admit a slightly smaller percentage of internationals than some other comparable business schools, although the difference is not terribly significant. In general, Booth tends to fill its classes with individuals who have the ability to thrive in finance.

  • GMAT Score: 700+
  • Work Experience: 4-6
  • Undergraduate Education: Tier 1 University
  • Future Career Path: Finance or Consulting

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Reputation & Job Prospects

See the rankings page for the school's rank in various publications.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is widely regarded for its rigorous focus on analytics and academics. After Wharton, Booth is considered the strongest finance MBA program in the United States and Booth alums have led almost every major investment bank and many major financial institutions. In many recent graduating classes, over half of Booth students landed jobs in investment banking or related finance fields. A smaller percent also procured employment at well respected consulting firms. Not surprisingly, the median base salary of Booth graduates is well over $100,000 and virtually all graduates find employment quickly after graduation.

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Notable Faculty

Although all top business schools boast an impressive faculty, perhaps Chicago Booth has the most renowned of all. For a number of years, Booth had more Nobel Prize winners on its staff than any other business school.

  • Gary Becker - Taught economics and won a Nobel Prize in 1992. Dr. Becker coined the term "human capital" and made major advancements in price theory.
  • Ronald Coase - Taught economics and won a Nobel Prize in 1991. Dr. Coase made significant advancements in contract theory and developed the Coase Conjecture.
  • Robert Fogel - Taught economics and won a Nobel Prize in 1993. Dr Fogel is known for his work in population economics, including his prediction of massive Chinese economic growth.
  • Milton Friedman - Taught economics and won a Nobel Prize in 1976. Dr. Friedman is widely regarded as the foremost conservative economist and played an influential role in the monetary and neo-classical economics movement.

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School History

In 1898, James Laurence Laughlin launched the College of Commerce and Politics at the University of Chicago to provide greater business education during a time of rampant economic development, making the University of Chicago the second school in the country to launch a business school (after the University of Pennsylvania, which launched the first collegiate business school in the country in 1881). In 1916, after initial success, the school developed the first comprehensive business curriculum in the country: Materials for the Studies of Business. Six years later in 1922, the school launched the first doctoral program in business, beating out rival Northwestern for this honor. The school's reputation today for academic prowess traces its roots back to 1928 when the University of Chicago launched the first business school journal in the nation. One year later and nine years after women gained the right to vote, the business school at the University of Chicago became the first institution of its kind to grant a degree to a woman. However, the 1930s brought tough financial times for the school, nearly pushing it to merge with Northwestern University. Under the proposed merger, administrative duties and redundant programs would be eliminated to save money while undergraduate studies would be centered in Evanston and graduate-level studies would occur in Hyde Park. However, the proposed merger fell through and the two illustrious institutions remained separate.

In 1942, years before the heyday of the civil rights movement, the business school at the University of Chicago awarded its first MBA to an African American. One year later, in keeping with the general trends of other educational institutions, the business school began an executive MBA program. In 1960, with the help of James Lorie and Lawrence Fisher, the school established the Center for Research in Securities Prices. This center helped the school undertake path-breaking analytical research in stock prices and investment theories that played a role in propelling the school toward its well-deserved place alongside Wharton as the premier academic center for the study of finance. In 1982, Chicago became the first business school to have a faculty member win a Nobel Prize when George Joseph Stigler was recognized for his work in economics. In 1986, the University of Chicago became the first well-known business school to offer a weekend MBA program. In 1994, the school opened its new downtown campus in an attempt to expand its teaching and research capacity. Today, the school maintains its flagship campus in the upscale Hyde Park neighborhood where the university resides. In 2000, the school launched an audacious $200 million capital campaign that netted even more (similar to Harvard's campaign of $500 million that netted upwards of $600 million). In 2002, the business school broke ground on a new Hyde Park campus that opened in 2004 as the Charles M. Harper Center. In November of 2008, in honor of Chicago alum David G. Booth (class of 1971) and his record-setting $300 million gift to the school, the university renamed the Chicago Graduate School of Business to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Source: University of Chicago Library, Interviews

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Alumni

With tens of thousands of alumni living and a strong reputation in finance, Chicago Booth School of Business has a strong and long list of accomplished alumni.

Business

  • Becker, Eric - served as Co-Founder & Managing Partners of Sterling Capital Partners
  • Bobins, Norman - served as Former President and CEO of LaSalle Bank Corporation
  • Boe, Archie R. - served as Chairman & CEO of the Allstate Corporation
  • Booth, David G. - served as Co-founder & CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors
    (The school is named after David Booth)
  • Civgin, Don - served as CFO of OfficeMax
  • Corzine, Jon - served as Governor of New Jersey and CEO of Goldman Sachs
  • Dougan, Brady - served as CEO of Credit Suisse Group
  • Ernst, Mark A. - served as CEO of H&R Block
  • Fox, David W. - served as Chairman & CEO of the Northern Trust Corporation
  • Goodes, Melvin - served as Chairman & CEO of Warner-Lambert
  • Green, Judson - served as President & CEO of NAVTEQ
  • Ibbotson, Roger G. - served as founder of Ibbotson Associates
  • Johnson, David W. - served as President & CEO of the Campbell Soup Company
  • Kalaris, Tom - served as CEO of Barclays Wealth Management
  • Katen, Karen - served as President of Pfizer Human Health
  • Leemputte, Peter - served as CFO of Brunswick Corporation
  • Mack, Michael - served as CFO of Deere & Company
  • McComb, William L. - served as CEO of Liz Claiborne
  • Mansueto, Joseph - served as founder & Chairman of Morningstar
  • Mecklenburg, Gary - served as CEO of Northwestern Memorial Hospital
  • Mikells, Kathy - served as CFO of United Airlines
  • Monty, Jean Claude - served as Chairman & CEO of Bell Canada
  • Mukherjee, Ann - served as Vice President of Marketing at Pepsico
  • Neubauer, Joseph - served as Chairman & CEO of ARAMARK Corporation
  • Peterson, Peter G. - served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce & Chairman of The Blackstone Group
  • Pichler, Joseph A. - served as Chairman & CEO of The Kroger Company
  • Purcell, Paul E. - served as Chairman & CEO of Robert W. Baird
  • Purcell, Philip J. - served as Chairman & CEO of Morgan Stanley
  • Ranganathan, Babu - served as Partner at Apex Venture Partners
  • Scarborough, Dean - served as CEO of Avery Dennison
  • Steel, Robert - served as CEO of Wachovia
  • Steingraber, Fred G. - served as CEO of A.T. Kearney
  • Stevens, Mark - served as Vice President at Oracle Corporation
  • Teerlink, Richard - served as Chairman & CEO of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company
  • Winkelried, Jon - served as President & Co-Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs

Other

  • Altman, Roger C. - served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
  • Markell, Jack - served as Governor of Delaware
  • Miller, Alisa - served as President & CEO of Public Radio International
  • Robinson, Craig - brother-in-law of U.S. President Barack Obama

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