The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is one of the top MBA programs in the world, holding a spot among the elite M7 and boasting several Nobel laureates among its faculty. Yet despite Booth’s strong reputation, many applicants are surprised when they learn about all its MBA program has to offer.
Even the most polished business school application can send the MBA admissions committee unintended messages through certain details that applicants tend to overlook.
In this episode of The mbaMission Podcast, mbaMission Founder and host Jeremy Shinewald talks with Jessica Shklar and Rachel Beck—two of the firm’s most experienced admissions consultants—about the subtle things admissions readers pick up on in applications that candidates likely did not intend to convey. The conversation takes a tour through almost every part of the MBA application, focusing first on some of the most basic mistakes candidates make and then diving deeper into more complex errors.
With its straightforward approach to the traditional goals statement and one other required essay (allowing applicants to choose between two prompts), the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University seems interested in getting to know its applicants both professionally and personally. The admissions committee wants to first understand your professional aspirations in the short and long term, along with how you envision benefitting from the Johnson MBA program and what related strengths you already possess. For the second essay, you have two very different options: You can elect to discuss how you see yourself being a contributing member of the Johnson community, or you can create the “table of contents” for a book about your life. An optional essay is available, if needed, to address the usual topics of problematic candidacy issues or any outstanding qualifications that might not be represented elsewhere in your application. Read on for our full analysis of Cornell Johnson’s essay questions for 2026–2027.
The New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business requires only two essays this year, but the contrast between the prompts for those essays enables candidates to cover a significant amount of ground. First, the school poses a straightforward and traditional question about applicants’ short-term professional aspirations and why Stern specifically is needed to achieve them. For the second required essay, candidates face Stern’s challenging but very revelatory “Pick Six” submission, which demands that they tap into their personality and character and convey a bit of their creative side. Together, Stern’s essay questions should allow you to present a good balance of your professional and personal sides for the admissions committee, though the optional essay is also on the table if you feel strongly that a vital part of your candidacy has not been covered by one or the other. Read on for our in-depth analysis of all of Stern’s prompts for 2026–2027.
We at mbaMission often receive panicked phone calls from applicants in their late 20s, asking if they are too old to get into business school. Why do so many candidates have this concern?
Over the past decade or so, several top schools have declared their openness to younger candidates and have even been courting them. Harvard Business School has welcomed “direct admits” (those entering immediately after completing their undergraduate degrees) and started the 2+2 Program to encourage undergraduates to consider deferred acceptance.
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Click here for the 2025–2026 MBA Essay Tips
