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Columbia: Calling all applicants - Class of 2016

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essaysnark

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09 Jul 2013, 07:09

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jdmbaguy

How numbers-based is CBS for JD/MBA applicants? I'm starting at the law school this fall and just started putting together my app (760/3.8). I have no real corporate-world work experience to speak of. Are my chances still good?

Also, what is the normal timeline? If I submit before the end of July (ED App, seeing as I'm already going to law school there), when should I hear back by?

Hey jdmbaguy - congrats on getting into Columbia Law! That's no easy feat in itself. We've had a handful of Columbia JD/MBAs including one who did exactly as you're doing - started at Law and added CBS - so we can offer some insights.

The first is, JD/MBA apps are the only ones that are not processed on a rolling basis at CBS. You're almost definitely going to have a very long wait on this. We had another guy who got into Law on the simultaneous 3-year app and was waitlisted at CBS and they took forever to finally admit him (like, it was mid-summer or something crazy).

The next is, yes CBS cares abut the numbers a lot, even for the JDs. You need to prove that you can handle the heavily quant-based material on the bschool side - which you clearly have done with that GMAT. Kudos on that. Columbia is also a GPA whore, they suck up those high-achievers, so you've got a real chance based on these stats.

It's not the whole picture though; they'll need to know why you want to add the MBA on. Career goals must be articulated just so. You don't need to have corporate experience per se but hopefully you didn't roll straight to law school from college. Having some type of work experience under your belt will help (not technically mandatory but definitely useful). If you want to give more details here or via PM we can offer more insights.

EssaySnark

jdmbaguy

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09 Jul 2013, 10:56

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Another question: I've read in some places that it's okay to go a little over the word limit for the essay. My essay is 513 words on a 500-limit.

Does Columbia share the same philosophy that +/- 5% shouldn't be a negative? Or should I cut more out? I've done multiple edits and simply can't reduce the word count any more.

essaysnark

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09 Jul 2013, 10:58

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jdmbaguy

Another question: I've read in some places that it's okay to go a little over the word limit for the essay. My essay is 513 words on a 500-limit.

13 words over???? Dude. You're fine.

When you're at 113 words is when you need to be worried.

(NOTE: THAT LAST COMMENT IS AN EXAGGERATION. AS IN, SARCASM. PLEASE DO NOT GO 113 WORDS OVER ON ANY ESSAY.)

chains1910

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Schools: Kellogg '15 (D) Wharton '15 (D) McCombs '15 (D) McDonough '15 (A$) HBS '15 (D) Stern '15 (WL) CBS '15 (D)

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09 Jul 2013, 11:37

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jdmbaguy

I went about 70 words over (which I knew was pushing it) and had a typo in my essay last year and was still invited to interview. They're not lying when they say it's a holisitic evaluation.

Gumbo

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09 Jul 2013, 13:33

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I think I posted this in the wrong section originally so I'm re-posting here:

Hi all, Question about the "application status" webpage. Since I submitted my complete application about a week ago, my status page currently says "Application Submitted." Does anyone know if this will definitely changed to "Under Review" at some point, or will it go straight from "Application Submitted" to "Invited to Interview" or "Not invited to interview" etc.?

Thanks!

mappleby

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09 Jul 2013, 14:28

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Gumbo

Congrats on submitting so early, I think you're one of the first at least on GMAT Club. It is hard to say since it changes from year to year. 2 years ago they had an "Under Review" status however last year it never changed from "Submitted." If they use the same process as last year you will get an email update when you are invited to interview. The main page still said "Submitted" but when you click through to the details there would be a big status update at the top of the page with the most recent update.

ichbintekno

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11 Jul 2013, 06:30

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Hi guys,

I'm considering applying for the J term but not too sure if its the best idea given than I'm not 100% sure about my post MBA goal. Would it be a better idea to apply for 2 year program. Please guide me based on my profile-

Mechanical engineer from American University, 3.3 gpa, 690 GMAT, worked at a Fortune 100 Aerospace firm in US and moved to India to start a business in the food industry. I've just exited from that venture and am not too sure what I'd want to get into later. 5 years work experience in all.

Thanks,
V

essaysnark

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11 Jul 2013, 07:01

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vj690

I'm considering applying for the J term but not too sure if its the best idea given than I'm not 100% sure about my post MBA goal. Would it be a better idea to apply for 2 year program. Please guide me based on my profile-

Mechanical engineer from American University, 3.3 gpa, 690 GMAT, worked at a Fortune 100 Aerospace firm in US and moved to India to start a business in the food industry. I've just exited from that venture and am not too sure what I'd want to get into later. 5 years work experience in all.

Hey V. - Goals are super important at Columbia and nowhere is that more true than the J-Term. The fact that you've started a business already indicates that you could be a fit for the different structure offered in this track but you need to come into it with a PLAN. The post-MBA goal needs to be rock solid for you to have a real shot. Some people think that the J-Term is less competitive but that's just not true, it can be harder to get a spot than the August start if the pitch is off. Not that Columbia is ever forgiving if the pitch is off...

Anyway, the profile is a little borderline too. A 690 GMAT is in the realm of possibility for Columbia (it really depends more on the breakdown) however the rest of the app needs to be over the top in order for that to work. It sounds like you have at least a semi-differentiated background compared to others - we're making a lot of guesses about your peer group so we don't want to be too definitive one way or another. There's stuff that seems like big positives in what you sketched out but there's definitely some risks too - and you MUST nail down the goals before you take another step towards a J-Term option. There's no other way to make it in there.

EssaySnark

ichbintekno

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11 Jul 2013, 07:09

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essaysnark

vj690

Thanks for the feedback EssaySnark. I'll definitely give further thought to my goals before I take a call. I meant to ask this question for one other perspective: will the J term limit my chances of seeking a job post MBA, especially since there's a possibility that I may make up / change my mind DURING the program as to what exactly I want to do, even if I have the industry clear early on?

I'm just trying to factor all this in before I get cracking.

Also, are these newly introduced essays? Or have the same ones been around earlier? Just curious.

Thanks ES once again. Btw my GMAT score was Q47 V38.

essaysnark

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11 Jul 2013, 07:19

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vj690

I meant to ask this question for one other perspective: will the J term limit my chances of seeking a job post MBA, especially since there's a possibility that I may make up / change my mind DURING the program as to what exactly I want to do, even if I have the industry clear early on?

I'm just trying to factor all this in before I get cracking.

Yes and no. You'll be much more on your own for a job search, in that you'll be out of sequence from the standard recruiting cycle - you miss out completely on summer internship recruiting obviously, and you don't have that major advantage of having done an internship before going for the main recruiting cycle. If you were to start January 2014 then you'd be technically a "second-year" in August 2014 (you'd have the first two terms under your belt) and that's when the folks starting their first year next month will be second-years so you'd be able to morph in with that group and go through the process with them. As far as we know Columbia doesn't explicit prohibit J-Termers from participating in that full-time job recruiting cycle (by contrast, NYU P/T students cannot do on-campus recruiting with the F/T people), you might want to ask Columbia about this directly. You will be at a disadvantage without the internship though.

Regardless, landing a job after the MBA requires a lot of networking and shoe leather regardless of whether you've got the on-campus recruiting option or not - you'll need to take control of your own destiny as a 2nd year regardless of what school or what track you're in. Anyone who's self-motivated and driven will do just fine.

vj690

Also, are these newly introduced essays? Or have the same ones been around earlier? Just curious.

These questions are technically new this year but conceptually they're not; Columbia has been looking for the same thing in their applicant pool for many, many years. Discussion here.

EssaySnark

TechWithNoExp

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Schools: CBS '16 (D) Kellogg '16 (WL) Anderson '16 (A)

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19 Jul 2013, 08:52

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Trying to tackle Essay #2.
1. "Columbia Business School is located in the heart of the world's business capital - Manhattan."
2. "How do you anticipate that New York City will impact your experience at Columbia?"
It seems to me like the two parts are connected and that we need to answer how NYC as a business capital will impact our experience at CBS.
Which means this essay also touches on professional goals and not personal goals and interests.

Whats every 1's take on the second essay question?

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19 Jul 2013, 09:00

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TechWithNoExp

I think it touches both professional and personal goals: I broke this essay down into three para's and talked about networking with employers, enjoying the city with classmates and working with my non-profit which has a chapter in NYC.

essaysnark

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19 Jul 2013, 09:06

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hailmary620

TechWithNoExp

You can go either way with this one but we agree that the emphasis should probably be on professional goals, mostly because that's what Columbia cares about the most, and also because of the wording as TechWithNoExp pointed out, re: "business capital". Both of you look like you're coming at this the right way. Your three paragraphs sound like a good structure, hailmary620.

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TechWithNoExp

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21 Jul 2013, 01:34

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Thanks for the insight.
Lets get cracking.

TechWithNoExp

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28 Jul 2013, 04:31

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If you haven't taken a look at CBS's notes to the next class site you might want to.
https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/notes/cont ... en-buffett

Could give you some good ideas.

TechWithNoExp

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31 Jul 2013, 23:36

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Columbia MBA Alumni Pledge $40 Million for New Campus
https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... nav-r-blog

Most people here won't be able to enjoy the new campus but this shows serious investment in the future of the school.
Interesting point for essays.

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03 Aug 2013, 22:50

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jpd5044

Does anyone know if there is any advantage at all to applying earlier in the RD cycle? Will you hear back earlier if you submit in say September for RD vs October or November?

LastChanceMBA

Most likely in for RD, probably submit around November. I'm planning on going out to NYC to visit in October.

Yes, CBS has rolling admissions, so the earlier you apply in any round, the sooner you'll hear back from them. However, they will not start looking at RD apps until after the ED apps have all been reviewed.

Source: Info session I attended, it's probably somewhere on their website as well.

essaysnark

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04 Aug 2013, 19:58

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GMATravails

jpd5044

Does anyone know if there is any advantage at all to applying earlier in the RD cycle? Will you hear back earlier if you submit in say September for RD vs October or November?

LastChanceMBA

Most likely in for RD, probably submit around November. I'm planning on going out to NYC to visit in October.

@GMATravails, you're right. And to expand on that: They don't start opening the RD apps until December.
@jpd5044, in our experience in watching the cycle unfold for countless applicants over many many years, there is almost zero difference in timing/sequence/outcomes for RD applicants who submit anytime before December. And, just because your app goes in before someone else's doesn't mean you hear back sooner. We often see people who submit in December get an interview invite before the month is out, yet those who submitted for RD in September don't get an invite until January. And final decisions are equally all over the map and unpredictable. It all depends on how the process goes for your specific app.

For those trying to figure out the best time to apply, here's our advice:

J-Term: Submit now, or anytime through the deadline. No massive dis/advantage in any case, provided your app is strong enough. The advantage to submitting earlier is you get an answer earlier; a possible risk is that there's higher probability to get waitlisted.
Early Decision: If you submit now, you'll likely get the interview invite (if any) fairly quickly, and you could even potentially get a final answer before Rd 1 apps are due at other schools. If you submit around the ED deadline, which is when the bulk of the ED apps come in, you likely won't hear about an interview until early November with a final decision by early to mid December.
Regular Decision: No difference in submitting any time from now up to December. Don't submit any later than mid-January. Submitting after February 1st is a huge disadvantage.

Finally: What the adcom states in info sessions may contradict what we're stating here (e.g., they often say that you should apply early in the round regardless of which option you're applying under, and in our experience, applying early just doesn't matter much except with RD - but for RD, it really matters). In almost every other case with every other school and every other admissions policy, we say go with what the adcom says as gospel. In this case, we're going off of our years of data and patterns from a gazillion others who have gone before. This is how it plays out at Columbia. There are always exceptions so please don't hit us with "My friend's sister's fiance's brother had this happen..."; what we just laid out is what we offer as best practices to all our clients.

If you want more: The EssaySnark Columbia page has an index to all our posts about how the process works and when to apply.

EssaySnark

mgg234

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05 Aug 2013, 19:42

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I heard Columbia cares a lot about GPA, I'm a 26 year old white male and have a 3.4 from undergrad at NYU Stern, and 750 GMAT (49q/44v). 4 years work experience doing project management work at BB IB's. Is my below average GPA going to be problematic if I apply early decision to Columbia? Hoping to get into management consulting in the financial sector.

essaysnark

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05 Aug 2013, 21:56

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mgh234

Columbia does like to admit people with high GPAs but you're not in trouble in any way; they admit plenty of people in the 3.4 range too. In fact, pretty sure that 3.4 is the average GPA for all students (or maybe it's 3.5 but in either case, you hardly are "below average"). Your 750 is impressive and NYU is a great school. Now just make sure those essays, resume, and recs are in line with this and you should be good to go!

EssaySnark