Ask Columbia GSB Admissions

Hey Matthew,

I signed up to see the school present on MBA Tour. Do you guys do one-on-ones with students over there? Or are you mostly there to present and answer questions later? Would love the opportunity to speak with you one on one!

Does Columbia have a scorecard to rank applicants like Stanford?

Thank you for your question! It depends on the timing. I encourage you to reach out to the officer who will be presenting in your city to see what time availability they have. You will be able to ask questions at the fairs, so there is a chance to get your questions answered.

Best,

Hi MaxReilly,

Thank you for your question. We review applications holistically, so we consider all aspects of the application during the process. Additionally, there isn't a specific weight/metric put on any part of the application because of our holistic process.

Best of luck on your application!

Dear Matthew,

I have two questions:

1) On one of the essays, can we go 5-6% over the word limit and not get penalized?

2) What's the time frame for the J-term applicants? When can they hear back after submitting an application?

Thanks

Hi rocket1741,

Thank you for posting!

1.) The word limits are guidelines, so you can go over, but please do your best to stay as close to them as possible.

2.) Our goal is either to invite for an interview or deny applicants within six weeks of a completed application being received by the admissions office. If you are invited to interview, our goal for interviewed applicants is to render a final decision within two weeks of the interview report being completed.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for your responses. One last question: when does the orientation start for the jterm entry (class of 15)?

Thank you

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Hi Matthew,

I am starting to work on my application and had a question regarding the section, "Columbia Business School Contact".

It asks, "Do you know any current students at Columbia Business School?" Is this asking if we have any friends or family that currently attend Columbia, or simply if we know someone there? What I am asking specifically is, I have reached out to a couple current students to learn about their experiences at Columbia and we have emailed back and forth a few times; Would I respond with a "yes" or a "no" to knowing these students?

Thank you for answering questions on this board.

Hi Vince,

Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately I cannot give you direct feedback on your application, but the review process is holistic. Your GPA is just one aspect of the application and at this point something out of your control. If you know Columbia is a school you would like to attend I encourage you to do your best on those aspects of the application that are within your control (essays, GMAT, etc) and also use the Optional Essay to explain any additional information including your academics if you feel it is necessary. Students with GPAs outside our middle 80 percent (3.1–3.8) have been admitted in the past.

Best of luck!

Hi Physics,

Thank you for your post! You are welcome to include students you have contacted during the process in that application section.

I hope this helps!

Hi rocket1741,

Orientation for the January Program will begin in early January.

Regards,

Hi Matthew,

I have a quick question regarding the online application.
in the test scores section it asks that you:
"upload your unofficial GMAT score report"
My question is: do you need to upload the unofficial GMAT score report or can you upload the official score report.

Thanks

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for your help. I am planning to apply ED, and I am currently employed at a company that sponsors MBAs. I noticed that in the application, a note from the company indicating sponsorship is requested. My company makes decisions regarding sponsorship later on in the year, and while it is highly likely that I will be sponsored, sponsorship has not been formally offerred at this time. Given this, what do you suggest that I show on the application?

Thanks again.

On the online form, when you have to pick the "job function", what should I put? I've done a variety of metrics based project management roles at investment banks.

For my old job, it'd be most similar to "strategic planning" or "consulting" I assume (although I'd feel more confident selecting consulting if it were "internal consulting") as we developed metrics and then made suggestions of them, but I'm not entirely sure what the terms represent in the context of the form.

Likewise, my new job is also project management based and is partially onshoring an internal business that was previously offshored (so would I put "Development", or is that only for people who work in corporate development as a group?) and partially metrics...so similar concerns/questions there.

Is there a reason "project management" isn't a function option, or should I select "Other" and manually fill this in?

Thanks

Hi magsj73,

Thank you for reaching out to us on the GMATclub forum. Since you are not currently sponsored I suggest putting in the optional essay that you will likely be sponsored at a later date. Once you have your sponsorship letter please e-mail this to us and we can add the letter to you application.

Best of luck!

Hi mgh234,

Thank you for your question. If you do not feel the job functions listed apply to your work please feel free to select 'other' and write in what you think makes the most sense.

Thank you again for your question!

Thanks, one last question. I started a new job in April so I have not had a bonus yet. I was told bonuses are generally in the $10-25k range but I have no idea what my bonus will actually be. What do I put in the "bonus" field on the form? I don't want to put Zero because it'll under represent my pay.

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