Paying Your Way through a Booth MBA

The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business has been getting excellent press lately. With its climb to the #1 spot, shared with Harvard, it is undoubtable that Booth will enjoy a healthy spike of applications in the cycles to come.

Similarly to other business schools of like caliber, a Booth MBA is not cheap. The estimated cost of attendance is around $207,518 for the 2-year degree.

While the Booth School of Business does not currently offer need-based financial aid, it has been very strategic about attracting top MBA candidates with generous scholarship and fellowship packages.

Find out about some of the scholarships and fellowships you may qualify for, as well as tips for positioning your application to get considered.

Chicago Booth Merit-Based Award

This merit-based scholarship is awarded to a select few (<5%) candidates who demonstrate excellence in academics, work experience and community service.

Get considered: If you’ve been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, be sure to include that in your résumé under the experience section. Also include any work-related awards you may have received, or major accomplishments at work you may have achieved.

George J. Stigler Fellowship

This fellowship celebrates the contributions of Nobel Memorial Prize winner George Stigler by offering fellowships to students who have excelled in economics, law and business.

Get considered: Economics majors rejoice! If you majored in economics and wrote an honors thesis or conducted substantive research in the field, include this in your résumé. Depending on the gravity of your research and its effects on your career/personal life, you may want to craft a personal statement as well. Alternatively, you could bring up your economic pursuits in the interview, provided that you have included all pertinent information in your résumé as well.

The Harper Fellowships

This fellowship is awarded to students who have excelled in leadership, academics and extracurricular activities.

Get considered: Highlight your leadership and community service achievements through all portions of your application and be sure to quantify your achievements.

Enid Fogel Scholarship

Celebrating the life of the first African American Dean at the Booth School of Business, this fellowship is awarded to students who champion the causes of underrepresented populations.

Get considered: If you identify as an underrepresented minority in business, highlight your contributions to the communities you inhabit. Mention it through multiple avenues (résumé, interview and personal statement) and have your recommenders mention your achievements and talents also.

Forté Foundation Fellowship

This fellowship is awarded to students who have contributed significantly to the empowerment of women in business. These contributions can be of academic, collaborative, or community-service oriented nature.

Get considered: Take stock of your professional and personal accomplishments. Have any of those achievements benefitted the lives of women in business? To what extent? Be clear and direct about your impact throughout your application.

The Posse Foundation

Alumni of the Posse Foundation can enjoy a full tuition award.

Get considered: Be sure to include your affiliation with the Posse Foundation as well as any awards you may have received as a member of the Posse Foundation.

Reaching Out MBA Fellowship

MBA students who identify as LGBT and have demonstrated significant contributions in leadership and in their careers may qualify for this fellowship that seeks to empower self-identified sexual minorities.

Get considered: What contributions have you made in the workplace? At the intersection of LGBT issues and business? Talk about them candidly and in quantifiable terms.

The Wallman Fellowship

The Wallman Fellowship takes into account intersectional identities and provides a full tuition fellowship for underrepresented minority women who are committed to empowering women in business.

Get considered: What are you most proud of? What sorts of achievements have you made in your academics, extracurriculars and in your career? How have your efforts to empower women in business from underrepresented minority groups led to significant outcomes? Tell your story.

Canfield Private Equity Fellowship and Khosla-Booth Private Equity Fellowship

Both of these fellowships are for individuals who are interested in pursuing careers in private equity. The Khosla-Booth fellowship is geared toward women applicants.

Get considered: To qualify for these fellowships a strong interest in private equity must be clearly demonstrated. Specifically, you should have professional experience in private equity.

Herman Family Fellowship for Women Entrepreneurs

This fellowship is devoted to women entrepreneurs and provides community support in addition to funding.

Get considered: Have you started a business? If so, talk about the process in your application. The personal statement would be an excellent place to highlight major accomplishments, lessons learned and impact achieved through your entrepreneurial endeavor. 

For a complete list of fellowships offered at the Booth School of Business, check out the financial aid website here. Contact us today to help you with your B-school application!