Columbia: Calling all applicants - Class of 2016

Hey everyone - here's what EssaySnark knows, and what we presume to be true, based on how things have worked with rolling decisions at Columbia for many many years:

1. They'll finish all the ED and J-Term apps before they crack open the first RD app. Therefore, if you applied ED, it sounds like they're planning on getting decisions out to you by Nov. 18th - though that hasn't been officially announced, and it's very possible that post-interview decisions could still be coming after that date, since the adcom has no control over timing once the interview invite goes out.

2. The process that mgh234 described is generally accurate for Columbia, however the "review high GMATs first" thing is not (never heard of ANY schools doing it that way, frankly). And even knowing the process, you shouldn't read too much into it, as mgh234 said; we've seen plenty of people who get the interview a seemingly long time after they submitted - which would imply the first reviewer passed and the interview invite came from the second interviewer - but they still make it in.

3. If you applied for ED right around the deadline, it's not too late for the interview invitation to come. Please don't write it off yet. They get a lot of apps all bunched up together and it takes awhile to move through them. It's only been 3 weeks! Yeah, the waiting part sucks, but it's not over yet. In past years, we often saw people get interview invites in early November and then final decisions right after Thanksgiving. They've accelerated things this year (which is to everyone's benefit) but even with that, the party is still happening at Columbia ED.

This is probably not advice that you want to hear, but the best way to deal with the agony of waiting is to dive into your next application. Hopefully you'll not need to submit it, but at least it'll keep your mind occupied!!

Good luck to all, we hope this works out for you!
EssaySnark


PS: For whatever reason, we're no longer getting the email alerts when a message is posted to these forums, so if you have a burning question for us or if something has gone unanswered here, you can always PM us about it. Thanks!

Got the call from the adcom yesterday around 2:20 pm EST but I missed it and they called me back around 5:15 pm to let me know that I'm admitted!

Applied: 10/2
Interview invite: 10/23
Interviewed: 11/9
Interview Report Submitted: 11/10
Accepted: 11/14

26 M Reapplicant (NYC Resident)
710 GMAT
3.65 GPA
3.5 years Management Consulting experience

I applied super late last year and was rejected after interview. Best advice I can give is to apply early and really demonstrate your passion and fit for CBS.

Thanks to all for your support on these forums. Good luck to everyone still waiting!!

Got the call this morning at 11:30am CT.

Here's my timeline:

Applied EOD 10/2
Invite to interview 10/23
Interviewed 11/8
Feedback 11/11
Call 11/18

Don't give up hope! I was feeling really down on Friday after 4 days had passed, but I don't think there's a science to it.

Got my admission call today

Interviewed on 11/14
Feedback submitted 11/15
Call on 11/22

Decisions are still going out - so ED applicants don't lose hope

Got the acceptance call today -- ED applicant. Been a lurker on this forum so figured I'd share my stats.

Applied: 10/2
Updated GMAT submitted: 11/11
Interview invite: 11/15
Interviewed: 11/23
Feedback submitted: 11/23
Accepted: 11/25

Profile:
720 gmat
3.4 gpa
International (Indian)
Boutique management consulting

Note: I had decided to retake the GMAT and had requested that the Ad Com not review my file until I had submitted the revised GMAT. I also did a campus visit after submitting my application and sent an email with reflections from campus and class visits.

Interview report was in Sunday and I got the good news call from admissions today!

Just got the call! And was awarded a merit scholarship :D

Here's my timeline:

Applied: 11/05
Invited to Interview: 12/19
Interviewed: 12/23
Feedback Submitted: 12/24
Accepted: 01/06

Cheers!

I'm in! Just got the call! Anyone know when they update your status online?
Edit: just got the email, status is updated as well.


Submitted 11/14
Invited to interview 12/19 (my birthday!)
Interviewed 12/30
Feedback submitted 1/3
Admitted 1/10

just called the office - they couldn't find me initially, and after much holding and waiting and re-spelling my name, she actually transferred me to the woman who made the call, who decided to not leave a voicemail.

got in - with a small fellowship!

here's my timeline:

applied: rd, 11.17.2013
invited to interview: 12.19.2013
interviewed: 1.6.2014
interview submitted: 1.7.2014
accepted: 1.15.2014

my interview really tripped me up - my interviewer, about two decades out of CBS, literally asked me very little about why CBS/MBA in general, and more about my job and how i reacted/lead/solved problems. here are a handful of questions i remember from the interview:

* Why do you want an MBA? Why do you need it to achieve your goals?
* What do you expect to bring to your learning team? What do you want your teammates to bring?
* What gets you excited about work?
* Talk about a specific time that you had to convince people to do something

best of luck to everyone still in the process!

Got the call this morning, no mention of a fellowship. Here are my dates for those interested:

Applied: Nov. 25
Invited to interview: Dec. 27
Interviewed: Jan. 10
Interviewer report: Jan. 15 (after a reminder email!)
Accepted: Jan. 23

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

I am submitting my application this month . I wonder if they automatically give admission to the first submission.

So after a pretty insightful back-and-forth convo that I had with EssaySnark through PM, here's some takeaways that I think could help some of you applying:

Most of the convo was about that first essay involving your post-MBA goal. I made the mistake of assuming that since the short-response question was asking about the short-term goal, that I would spend the entire essay talking about my long-term goal. The advice I had gotten previously was to talk about where I wanted to be at the peak of my career. The problem was that adcom generally looks for applicants that have a realistic idea of where they want to be 5-8 years from now and how an MBA will take them there. My essay must have been confusing because I spent too much time talking about where I wanted to be 15-20 years from now, without ever stating that that's the time frame i was speaking towards. It made it sound as if I would be running my own investment management fund before I was 30, which painted a pretty unrealistic picture in the eyes of adcom.

If anything, I should have at least built a clear roadmap between where I am now and where I will be at my peak, but the majority of the essay should have been about where I see myself in those middle years.

Hopes it helps!!

Background:

Country: Colombia
Undergrad: Industrial Engineering
GPA: 3.4
GMAT: 720
WE: 4+ years in Consulting
Age: 27

Timeline:

Submited: 7/16
Invited to interview: 8/7
Interview: 8/16
Interview report completed: 8/20
Accepted: 8/27

@vibhav, yes deferral is a possible outcome for an ED app (it's similar to waitlist but unfortunately with lower chances of success, in our experience. We wrote about this on the EssaySnark blahg a long time ago, this post hasn't been updated recently but it explains the situation.

However, insufficientdata, we don't have data to support your observations.

In our experience in supporting hundreds of Columbia applicants over the years, a well-qualified ED app has no different chance of outcome when it's submitted earlier in the summer or at the deadline.

If there's a pattern in the data here, then we would guess it could be causation around a later application and the applicant maybe not having their act together.

The main downside of submitting a Columbia ED app at or near the deadline is that the process will likely be extended; you may not get invited to interview as quickly and the final decision might not come till after Thanksgiving or later. That's the only negative effect we've ever seen in many years of watching people go through the process.

Hope that helps!
EssaySnark

Submitted: 8/11
Invited to interview: 9/3
Interview: 9/5
Interview report completed: 9/5
Accepted: 9/17

Good luck to everyone!

JUST GOT THE CALL!! So happy!

ED.
Submitted: 8/12
Interview invite: 9/3
Interview: 9/11
Feedback: 9/12
In: 1:00 PST

Stats: Ivy Engineering Undergrad/3.44/3 years at mat of aerospace/25 at mat (will be almost 26)/730 GMAT

Hello guys,

I got the call yesterday!
I am 23/m/international.

Submitted: 8/19
Invited to interview: 9/15
Interviewed: 9/18
Accepted: 9/26

Just want to point out that the whole process is way less stressful than it seems when you read this forum. And when you get admitted, everything you had to go through becomes automatically so, so worth it. Stay confident, determined and excited -- don't settle for a we'll-see-what-happens type of attitude: picture yourself there already.

Good luck to all current applicants!!!