Hi StratusPrep

Thanks for reaching out to Stratus Prep. Congratulations on your new options for your MBA and also your acceptance at McCombs. Let me give you some thoughts about your situation.

Congratulations on your new acceptance at McCombs and also the options from your company. This fact alone can be leveraged in any new applications that you have proven value at your company with their sponsorship offer. And you are correct in realizing that you have an opportunity to present your best case for applying early in the cycle. It sounds like you want to give Columbia a shot. You have done a lot of research on this and you have already done the heavy lifting of the application process since you've already gone through it. You should be able to quickly get an application together. Stratus Prep has admissions counselors with extensive knowledge of the top programs including Columbia so you might consider seeking very focused strategic support for this one school with a Stratus Prep MBA counselor. If so, pm me and I can put you in touch with someone from our team.

The only thing I would caution you about is that sometimes when you are applying to a less popular option in a school such as the J Term at Columbia (30% of class), rather than the bulk of the class going to August term, it might be harder to feel a part of the full school community and you have a little less time to demonstrate leadership there. However, the increased prestige and the fact that you have employment options and entrepreneurial interests that are well suited for the J term may offset this slight risk.

Obviously this is a very personal decision and only you can make the right choice for you. But I think your rationale sounds solid and that if you were to contact Stratus Prep we could really help you put your best application together for Columbia. Thanks for reaching out.