Chicago Booth overhauled its full-time MBA application essay format, replacing traditional longer essays with four required short-answer prompts capped at 300 characters each, plus an optional 300-word essay for applicants who need to address a gap or a low test score. The application fee remains unchanged. The prompts now ask for an immediate post-MBA career goal, a long-term post-MBA career goal, an image and why it matters, and a fun fact or something unique about the applicant. Previously, Booth required a longer format that included open-ended writing space, which applicants could use to provide more context. The switch lands amid an admissions reckoning driven by generative AI concerns, with schools increasingly requiring AI-use disclosures or relying on detection tools. Booth’s new character limits are likely to constrain the amount of polished, generic text applicants can generate. For admissions offices and applicants, the operational shift is clear: smaller responses raise the importance of precise messaging and likely increase reliance on structured advising around prompt interpretation and character budgeting.