TL;DR: Chicago Booth does not publish an official Booth MBA acceptance rate. What the school publishes is a class profile, and the Class of 2027 numbers are these: 635 students enrolled from a school record 5,876 applications, a 10.8% enrollment ratio. The class averaged 736 on the classic GMAT with a 740 median, 670 on the GMAT Focus edition, and a 3.6 GPA, and 42% of the class submitted the GRE, the product of a three year climb. For the 2026-2027 cycle, Round 1 closes September 15, 2026, Round 2 closes January 7, 2027, and Round 3 closes April 1, 2027, all at 11:59 PM Central (Sources: Chicago Booth Class of 2027 profile and admissions requirements page). If you are deciding whether your numbers clear the Booth bar and which round to target, Oriel Admissions builds MBA application strategy on exactly this data: schedule a consultation.
What Is the Chicago Booth MBA Acceptance Rate?
There is no official Booth MBA acceptance rate. Chicago Booth, like every M7 program, prints no admit percentage in its class profile, so any precise figure you see elsewhere is a third party estimate of a number the school never states. What Booth does publish is application volume and enrolled headcount, and from those two official figures comes the hardest number available: the enrollment ratio, the share of applicants who ended up in a seat.
| Chicago Booth | Applications | Enrolled | Enrollment Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2027 | 5,876 | 635 | 10.8% |
Source: official Chicago Booth Class of 2027 profile. Enrollment ratio is enrolled students divided by applications and understates the true admit rate, since not every offer converts into a matriculant; some Booth admits enroll at peer schools instead.
The number that matters most in that table is not the ratio; it is the 5,876. That is a school record, a 15% jump in a single year, and the second record cycle in a row after applications hit 5,125 the year before. Direction matters as much as level: in the same cycle in which Harvard’s applicant pool contracted 4.5%, Booth’s grew 15%, which means the Booth MBA acceptance rate conversation is about a door that is measurably narrowing. The 10.8% ratio still sits mid pack in the M7, above Harvard’s 10.0% and Stanford’s 6.0% and below Wharton’s 11.7% on identical math, but a candidate who was competitive at Booth two cycles ago is competing against a meaningfully deeper pool today. For the same calculation across all seven schools, see our full breakdown of MBA acceptance rates at the M7.
GMAT, GRE, and GPA: The Most Granular Numbers in the M7
Booth is the quant school of the M7, and its testing disclosure matches the reputation: unusually granular, with averages, medians, and submitted score ranges for both GMAT editions. Read them together and the picture is precise.
| Metric | Booth Class of 2027 |
|---|---|
| GMAT (10th edition), 14% of class | 736 average, 740 median, submitted scores 690 to 770 |
| GMAT Focus, 39% of class | 670 average, 675 median, submitted scores 615 to 725 |
| GRE, 42% of class | 163 Quantitative average, 161 Verbal average |
| Average undergraduate GPA | 3.6 (United States schools, 4.0 scale) |
| Average work experience | 5 years |
| International students | 37%, from 63 countries |
Source: official Chicago Booth Class of 2027 profile. Percentages of class indicate the share of enrolled students submitting each test; GPA reflects United States institutions on a 4.0 scale.
Two readings follow from that table. First, the classic GMAT bar rose sharply: the 736 average is Booth’s highest in at least five years, up from 729 the prior cycle, and the submitted score band tightened from a wide spread to 690 through 770, which tells you the small group still taking the legacy test is scoring near the ceiling. Second, and more useful for most applicants, Booth has become the M7’s widest GRE door: 42% of the enrolled class submitted the GRE, up from 38% the year before and 18% three years ago. No stigma attaches to the choice; take the test on which you can post the stronger balanced score, and at this school protect the quantitative section, because a 163 Quant average is the pool you are measured against. If the test is still ahead of you, pick one format and prepare it properly, per our GMAT prep strategies guide, and treat the score as one pillar of a file whose other pillars must carry equal weight, per the core pillars of an MBA application.
Who Actually Enrolls at Chicago Booth
The 635 members of the Class of 2027 arrived with five years of average work experience from 286 different undergraduate institutions, and 37% came from outside the United States, representing 63 countries, a two point rise in a cycle when Wharton’s international share fell to a ten year low. Business, economics, and engineering degrees dominate the academic backgrounds, and consulting and financial services lead the feeder industries. The strategic reading is about fit with a flexible, evidence driven culture: Booth famously imposes almost no required curriculum, and the committee reads applications for candidates who can articulate why that freedom is an advantage for their specific plan rather than a nice slogan. A quantitatively credible file gets you considered; a precise post-MBA plan is what gets you admitted. Whether Booth belongs on your list at all, given goals, geography, and the rest of your portfolio, is its own decision, and we walk through that logic in how to pick MBA schools.
Deadlines and Strategy for the 2026-2027 Cycle
Applying this cycle means applying to the class that matriculates in fall 2027. Booth runs three rounds: Round 1 closes September 15, 2026 with decisions on December 3, 2026; Round 2 closes January 7, 2027 with decisions on March 25, 2027; and Round 3 closes April 1, 2027 with decisions on May 20, 2027. Applications are due by 11:59 PM Central on the deadline day, and a file arriving after the cutoff automatically rolls into the next round. Booth asks for one recommendation, from a supervisor, and does not superscore, so a single test sitting must stand on its own. Note also that Booth overhauled its written application this cycle: the long form essays are gone, replaced by four short answers capped at 300 characters each plus an optional essay, which shifts the persuasive burden onto your resume, your recommendation, and the coherence of your stated goals. In a pool growing 15% a year, the familiar rule holds: Round 3 is the longest odds path, and a complete Round 2 application beats a rushed Round 1 one. If you are still a student, Booth also runs the Chicago Booth Scholars deferred track, closing April 1, 2027 with decisions on June 24, 2027, a route we map alongside its peers in deferred MBA programs. Confirm the exact dates on the official Booth admissions page before you build your submission calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Booth MBA Acceptance Rate
Booth does not publish an official acceptance rate. Its Class of 2027 profile reports a school record 5,876 applications and 635 enrolled students, a 10.8% enrollment ratio, which sits mid pack in the M7. Because some Booth admits enroll at peer schools instead, the true admit rate sits above the ratio. Treat any precise percentage you see elsewhere as an estimate of a number the school never states.
Yes, measurably. Applications hit 5,876 for the Class of 2027, a 15% jump and the second school record in a row, while the entering class grew only slightly to 635. In the same cycle Harvard’s pool contracted 4.5%. The classic GMAT average also rose to 736, Booth’s highest in at least five years. A profile that was competitive at Booth two cycles ago faces a meaningfully deeper pool today.
The Class of 2027 averaged 736 on the classic GMAT with a 740 median and submitted scores running 690 to 770, though only 14% of the class took that edition. The 39% who took the GMAT Focus averaged 670 with a 675 median and scores from 615 to 725. Booth states no minimum and does not superscore. Averages are not floors, but at the quant school of the M7 a score below them must be answered by visible quantitative strength elsewhere in the file.
Yes, and more of the class uses it every year: 42% of the Class of 2027 submitted GRE scores, up from 38% the prior year and 18% three years ago, averaging 163 Quantitative and 161 Verbal. No preference attaches to either test. Take the one on which you can post the stronger balanced score, and protect the quantitative section, because the pool you are compared against at Booth is unusually strong there.
The Class of 2027 average is 3.6 on a 4.0 scale for United States institutions. The transcript is years behind most applicants, so the committee weighs it alongside evidence of quantitative capability: coursework in statistics, economics, or engineering, a strong test score, and analytical work experience. A lower GPA with those signals reads very differently from the same number without them.
Round 1 closes September 15, 2026 with decisions on December 3, 2026; Round 2 closes January 7, 2027 with decisions on March 25, 2027; and Round 3 closes April 1, 2027 with decisions on May 20, 2027. Applications are due by 11:59 PM Central on the deadline day, and a late file automatically rolls into the next round. The Chicago Booth Scholars deferred track also closes April 1, 2027, with decisions on June 24, 2027.
Yes. The Chicago Booth Scholars program lets students in their final year of study apply now, secure admission, and work for a period before enrolling. For the 2026-2027 cycle the application closes April 1, 2027 with decisions on June 24, 2027. For a strong final year student it is the most favorable route into a program whose standard pool just set back to back application records. Check the official Booth admissions page for current requirements.
37% of the Class of 2027 came from outside the United States, representing 63 countries, a two point rise from the prior year. That puts Booth on the expanding side of a sharp M7 divergence: in the same cycle Wharton’s international share fell to 26%, a ten year low. For applicants from abroad, school by school odds now differ structurally, and Booth currently sits on the favorable side of the split.
Sources: Chicago Booth, Full-Time MBA Class Profile; Chicago Booth, Full-Time MBA Admission Requirements; Poets and Quants, M7 Class of 2027 Coverage.
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