Thoughts on Round 2 at Columbia and MIT

When you say Columbia R2 is equivalent to everyone else's round 3, are you talking about the Columbia Regular Decision?

From reading some interviews with the Columbia Adcom, it seemed that the purpose of Early Decision (assuming this is what you mean when you're talking about Round 1) is to provide a mechanism to assist the Adcoms in processing the large number of applications, and some interviews go on to say that on volume, they admit more students in RD than in ED.

Sorry to hijack the thread but it's in line with the discussion

There has been a lot of discussion about Columbia's Early Decision rounds in the past - not sure on the GMATClub, but certainly on other discussion boards and blogs.

The CBS adcom loves to spin and BS their explanation for the Early Decision. The real reason why it exists is it artificially inflates their overall yield, while trying to stem the flow of applicants away from HBS and Wharton - schools they lose most of their students to traditionally (and maybe other schools now too...).

Think of it like fishing -- the adcoms are a bunch of fishing boats. CBS is the fishing boats that decides to go out to the sea earlier than every other boat in order to scoop up as much fish as possible before others can get to it.

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your response. Assuming that ED is an exercise in yield, would RD still be as bad as Round 3 in another school, where i've heard it's quite common that less than 1/4 of the positions are still available, or more like a round 2?

I remember there being some limitations with Columbia if you're an international student (as a dual national, I'm trying to decide how I should present myself). Is this true?

There's limitation with respect to visa issues, which isn't a school specific issue, but the fact that it takes quite a while for immigration to process your student immigrant visa application. That's why Round 3 (or in Columbia's case - applying ideally before mid-Feb to be safe) is really a no go for a lot of applicants who need US immigration papers to study in the US.

Hi Alex, thanks for the response. I'm not applying this year, but next year (so in around 9 months I may become a client of yours!). I'm pretty sure I'll send all my apps in at the same time and Columbia is definitely on my list, but I haven't given as much thought to the "rounds" from a tactical perspective.

Hey Alex,

If you have a moment, it would be much appreciated if you evaluate if you think I should spend the time to fill out a CBS application. I probably should've gotten an assesment before I even picked my schools but it is what it is at this point.

I've already applied to MIT Sloan (R1) and going to submit Haas (R2) this evening.

Demographics: 27 yrs old, Male, Asian American
GMAT: 700 Q48, V38, AWA6
Education: 3.5 in finance and information systems, top 5 business school. Graduated cum laude.

Work: 5 years, small market private equity joined at startup and helped them build up to 10 investments. Led key functions i.e. due diligence, capital raise, deal marketing, fundraising, investor communications, etc.

Extracurriculars: Club lacrosse, honors fraternity in college. Started non-profit pilot program and committee director for leading industry finance society. CFA charterholder.

Additional schools: Columbia, Michigan and Wharton. My goal is to stay in private equity with a focus on sustainable areas like alternative energy or pursue a strategy/corporate development role in the industry.

I appreciate your insights.

Sure, why not. It shouldn't take too long to put it together given that you've already applied to schools where there's some overlap in terms of the essay questions.