Columbia 2012 Applicants' Discussion Thread New! Columbia GSB Admissions Team Answers Questions on GMAT Club https://images.forbes.com/media/lists/95/2009/columbia-business-school.jpg Also, please see: Columbia GSB MBA Guide Columbia Applicant Summary (Real Time) Quick Glance: GMAT Club vs. Latest Intake (Class of 2013) Application Tracker Feed Detailed Applicant List: Add Yourself to This List (add Columbia GSB to your profile) GMAT Club's Real-time Admissions Statistics Add Your Profile to This List 2012 Roll Call (J-Term) Until the main roll call window hasn't added J Termers, I will manually update this. Please ping me to update your name and status here Even9net Tiggy - Accepted - 28th July, 2011 Submitted: 6/19, Review: , Invited to Interview: 7/12 Nimabi - Submitted: , Review: 6/1, Invited to Interview: 7/7 Miambaprosp - Accepted - 28th July, 2011 Submitted: 5/21, Review: 6/2 , Invited to Interview: 7/7 and Interviewed: 7/17 Mmbma - Submitted: 6/15, Review: , Invited to Interview: 7/20 Wishnuv - Submitted: 6/28, Review: , Invited to Interview: 7/19 NYYankees (R) - Submitted: 7/15, Review: 7/18, Invited to Interview: 7/28 (R) - Reapplicant Application Deadlines August 2012 Entry Early Decision: October 5, 2011 Merit Fellowship Consideration: January 4, 2012 Regular Decision: April 11, 2012 January 2012 Entry October 5, 2011 Essay Questions Applicants must complete one short answer question and three essays. Short Answer Question What is your post-MBA professional goal? (200 characters maximum) Essay 1 Considering your post-MBA and long term professional goals, why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? Additionally, why is Columbia Business School a good fit for you? (750 words maximum) Essay 2 Describe a life experience that has shaped you. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (500 words maximum) Essay 3 For the third essay, please choose one of the following three options: Option A The annual A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition is a student initiative managed and run by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). The competition encourages Columbia MBA students to explore creative, entrepreneurial ideas that are sufficiently ambitious in scope and scale to be considered “outrageous.” Students explore these ideas while learning firsthand what goes into the development and presentation of a solid business proposal. Develop your own outrageous business idea. In essay form, compose your elevator pitch. (250 words maximum) Option B Columbia deeply values its vibrant student community, the building of which begins at orientation when admitted students are assigned to clusters of 65 to 70 fellow students who take most of the first-year core classes together. During the first weeks of school, each cluster selects a cluster chair. Further strengthening the student community are the more than 100 active student organizations at Columbia Business School, ranging from cultural to professional to community service–oriented. Leadership positions within clusters and clubs offer hands-on management and networking opportunities for students as they interact with fellow students, administrators, faculty members, alumni, and practitioners. You are running for either cluster chair or a club leadership position of your choosing. Compose your campaign speech. (250 words maximum) Option C Founded nearly three decades ago, the Executives in Residence Program at Columbia Business School integrates senior executives into the life of the School. Current executives in residence include more than a dozen experts in areas ranging from media and investment banking to private equity and management. A hallmark of the program is one-on-one counseling sessions in which executives advise students about their prospective career choices. Select one of the current executives in residence with whom you would like to meet during your time at Columbia. Explain your selection and tell us how you would best utilize your half hour one-on-one session. (250 words maximum) CLASS PROFILE (Official Figures) MBA Student Profile — Class Entering 2011 (January and August) Applications Received 6692 Applicants Accepted 1062 Acceptance Rate 16% Class Size 751, divided into 11 clusters GMAT Scores (middle 80%) 680–760 Undergraduate GPA (middle 80%) 3.1–3.8 Work Experience (middle 80%) 3–7 years At Least One Year of Work Experience 100% Average age 28 Women 35% International Citizens 38% - 48% of the incoming class came with a background in Financial Services (28%) and Consulting (20%); Lowest percentages from Non Profit (4%), Manufacturing (3%) and Energy (2%) - Highest percentage of incoming students, by undergrad major, is from Social Sciences (35%) followed by Business (26%) External review of the Columbia Business School https://poetsandquants.com/2010/12/09/columbia-business-school/ Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQzdr1MFVFw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cD2mv8-_xA Admitted Students can join the facebook page set-up. https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/gr ... 096381155/

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Columbia 2012 - Calling All Applicants

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CalvinNHobbes

Joined: 29 Jan 2011

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15 Jan 2012, 09:04

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Hello all,
I heard from an Admissions consultant that CBS treats Jan4 th deadline as a R2 and chances are slim after that..
I am from an oversubscribed group - Indian IT guy. wondering whether to send by app by next week or wait it for EA next year...

hello212

Joined: 15 Jan 2010

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Location: United States

Concentration: Finance, Strategy

Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2014

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V44 Verified score

GPA: 3.54

WE:Consulting (Consulting)

Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2014

GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V44 Verified score

Posts: 258

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15 Jan 2012, 11:46

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Hey guys, just wanted to follow up on my CBS interview as promised.

The biggest thing that characterized my interview was that it was EXTREMELY short. As in, we scheduled 45 minutes but it only lasted 25. My interviewer seemed personable and enthusiastic, but honestly, just went from question to question with little commentary in between. I definitely did not have the fun, hour-long conversations that some of the admits have had here.

Given b-schools' intense focus on fit, it seems like the game's over for me at CBS. Oh well, guess I'd better focus on my other schools (assuming I get interview invites).

I'll let you know what the questions were after my "decision has been rendered," which my interviewer told me should be in the next week or so.

Yalephd

Joined: 03 Aug 2010

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GMAT Date: 08-08-2011

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16 Jan 2012, 07:55

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PaulAllen, were you contacted by email or by phone to set up the interview?

PaulAllen

Got an interview invite today! Submitted: 11/30

Yalephd

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16 Jan 2012, 07:57

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My status was changed to inform me that I will be contacted within 24 hours to set up an interview. For those who were invited to interview, were you contacted by phone or by email to set up the interview?

speedmerchant

Joined: 01 Nov 2011

Last visit: 20 Jun 2018

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Location: United States

Concentration: Finance, Accounting

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Wharton '14 (D) CBS '14 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V38 Verified score

GPA: 3.73

WE:Investment Banking (Finance: Investment Banking)

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Wharton '14 (D) CBS '14 (M)

GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V38 Verified score

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16 Jan 2012, 08:09

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Yalephd

They send you instructions on how to contact someone for your interview. You search the system and get a list of about 8 names that you can choose from (based on your location). You reach out to them and request / coordinate the interview. It's a good idea to do some digging on each of your options first, in order to try to target those with whom you may have the best chance of connecting.

wgoh123

Joined: 10 Jan 2012

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Schools: Johnson '14 (A) Haas '14 (A) Ross '14 (A)

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16 Jan 2012, 09:55

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Hello212: Keep your head up! Interviewers are trained not to show emotion in many cases. They want to maintain objectivity/not tip their hand. Maybe he/she was on a tight schedule that day... Don't draw too many conclusions - your stats are excellent, if you feel like you at least made sense/answered questions with intelligent answers you have a good shot of getting in.

hello212

stellabudro

Joined: 16 Jan 2012

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16 Jan 2012, 14:41

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Hi guys, I'm new to this site. I had my interview with Columbia last week and I felt like it went really well. I'm just wondering how long it will take to hear back. Will you hear sooner if you're admitted or denied? Or at the same time? Needless to say, I'm not very good at waiting. Thanks for any insight you guys can give.

bluesiege

Joined: 11 Sep 2009

Last visit: 15 Jul 2012

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Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management

Schools: Booth '14 (A) CBS '14 (D) Wharton '14 (M)

GPA: 3.5

WE:Project Management (Computer Software)

Schools: Booth '14 (A) CBS '14 (D) Wharton '14 (M)

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16 Jan 2012, 15:29

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Hi all,

I submitted my application yesterday (1/15). I hear mixed messages about my submission date: was it very late (i.e. similar to R3 for another school) or does Columbia accept a decent number of people submitting their app around this timeframe?

I know the earlier the better, but it would be great to have any indication.

Cheers.

TheGeneral

Joined: 11 Jan 2012

Last visit: 28 Aug 2013

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Concentration: Finance, Economics

Schools: Booth '14 (M) CBS '14 (A) McCombs '14 (A)

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Schools: Booth '14 (M) CBS '14 (A) McCombs '14 (A)

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16 Jan 2012, 20:04

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bluesiege

I think you are similar to R3 because CBS will review all the pre 1/4 apps first as they are considered for merit aid and only then move to post 1/4 apps. At that point there will be fewer spots left in the class, very similar to R3 at other schools.

mbacandidate2011

Joined: 22 Oct 2010

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Schools: Booth '14 (S) CBS '14 (D) Sloan '14 (I) Kellogg 1YR '13 (S)

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16 Jan 2012, 20:25

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TheGeneral

bluesiege

While visiting Columbia last year, my student host broke it down like this:
ED is similar to Round 1 - every spot is open so slight advantage
Pre-scholarship is similar to Rd 2 - some spots filled but many still open, not much disadvantage over ED but less seats available
Post-scholarship is similar to Rd 3 - many/most seats filled so most competitive

That being said, people do get in Rd 3/post scholarship deadline. No reason to get discouraged at this point.

bluesiege

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WE:Project Management (Computer Software)

Schools: Booth '14 (A) CBS '14 (D) Wharton '14 (M)

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16 Jan 2012, 23:06

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Thanks guys for the info.

I know I shouldn't be discouraged, but c'mon, a R3 application is definitely not what I had in mind. Well, I should have done more research on this before deciding to optimize for 2 other apps that had a RD2 deadline on 1/4.

Well, at least that helps in terms of managing expectations

rohanngupta

Joined: 03 Jul 2011

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Location: India

Concentration: Finance, Economics

Schools: NYU (Stern) - Class of 2014

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40 Verified score

GMAT 2: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

GPA: 3.63

WE:Investment Banking (Finance: Investment Banking)

Schools: NYU (Stern) - Class of 2014

GMAT 2: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

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17 Jan 2012, 09:38

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Rejected without interview. Submitted 11/29.

BabyG

Joined: 04 Jun 2008

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Location: United States (PA)

Concentration: Operations, International Business

GMAT 1: 710 Q46 V41 Verified score

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17 Jan 2012, 10:43

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stellabudro

I've heard that a decision is rendered within a week of your interview. Brace yourself.

healthcareguy

Joined: 27 Oct 2011

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17 Jan 2012, 10:47

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rohanngupta

Rejected without interview. Submitted 11/29.

Sorry to hear that man, good luck with your other schools. This makes we wonder, has anyone who submitted their application after 12/18 heard back about interviews? It's only been a month but they seem to be moving at warp speed.

GS18

Joined: 22 Dec 2011

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Location: United Kingdom

Concentration: Strategy, Technology

Schools: ISB (A) CBS '14 (D) Ross '14 (WL) Wharton '14 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q50 V38 Verified score

Schools: ISB (A) CBS '14 (D) Ross '14 (WL) Wharton '14 (D)

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17 Jan 2012, 12:53

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healthcareguy

rohanngupta

Rejected without interview. Submitted 11/29.

wow, dint realize it untill i read your post thats its been a month, i applied 12/19! considering ross might send out first waveof interviews withing 2 weeks of the last deadline... CBS application submissions seems eons back!!!

jn1986

Joined: 29 Jul 2011

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Concentration: General Management, International Business

Schools: HBS '14 (A) Tuck '14 (A) CBS '14 (A) Wharton '14 (WL) Booth '14 (WL)

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GPA: 3.8

Schools: HBS '14 (A) Tuck '14 (A) CBS '14 (A) Wharton '14 (WL) Booth '14 (WL)

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17 Jan 2012, 15:30

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Did anybody have any problem scheduling an interview with an alum?

Two of the three alumni in my list said they aren't available. I am waiting to hear from the 3rd person. It has been 5 days (including weekend) since I emailed her.

ayn876

Joined: 25 May 2011

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18 Jan 2012, 01:47

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Is anyone out there still considering applying for RD for this year? I'm debating trying to get it in by the 20th but from the comments on this thread it seems like it would be significantly more competitive (akin to R3 at other schools) and it might make sense to hold off for a year...

avart

Joined: 10 Sep 2011

Last visit: 21 Mar 2012

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Status:Applying

Location: Armenia

Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management

Schools: Booth '14 (I) CBS '14 (D) Boston U (A) Kelley '14 (D) HBS '14 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

GPA: 4

WE:Engineering (Computer Software)

Schools: Booth '14 (I) CBS '14 (D) Boston U (A) Kelley '14 (D) HBS '14 (D)

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

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18 Jan 2012, 03:42

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Hi all,

I have submitted my application more than 2 months ago (11/4) and haven't heard back yet. Since then my status is "under review".
I wonder if it is common for CBS. Are there any applicants with similar cases or is it a rather exceptional situation?
Any ideas or suggestions? Should I contact them? Does it affect my chances?

Thanks

VKDAD

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18 Jan 2012, 11:51

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avart

If you contact them they will give you the standard reply that it takes 8-12 weeks to render a decision after it has gone under review. Since your application went under review in December they technically have until end of Feb or first week of March to get back to you. I doubt they will give you any other information than this.