|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
MBAGuide
Joined: 24 Jul 2019
Last visit: 11 Nov 2025
Posts: 2,282
Given Kudos: 28
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
Schools: Insead Sept'18 (A$$) ISB '19 (A)
30 May 2024, 06:04
Kudos
Bookmarks
Columbia Business School is known for its Finance education. Its proximity to Wall Street contributes significantly to the professional careers of its graduates: 35.7% of graduates went into the financial services industry last year. Management consulting was also very popular with 36.3% of graduates. Within the financial sector, around 16% of graduates opted for investment banking, almost 8% for investment management, and private equity and venture capital together accounted for 8.4% of placements. These impressive numbers underscore Columbia's strong ties to the industry.
Columbia’s location in New York City provides students with unparalleled access to one of the largest and most diverse metropolitan areas in the world. The city offers hundreds of internship opportunities for students during the summer(FT students), further enhancing hands-on learning and career preparation. How amazing is this!
If you are interested in applying to Columbia’s J term here’s everything you need to know about the essay questions.
Who should apply for the Columbia J term?
1. Career enhancers
Professionals looking to advance in their current industry: Those who do not need an internship to change their career, but want to gain advanced business knowledge and leadership skills to advance in their existing field.
2. Entrepreneurs
Individuals planning to start or expand their own business: Those who may not need a summer internship and can use the accelerated program to quickly implement their business plans.
3. Members of family businesses
Next generation leaders in family-owned businesses: Those who are ready to take on greater responsibilities in their family businesses and want to improve their business acumen
4. Company Sponsored Candidates
Sponsored Professionals like management consultants who prefer a shorter duration of study to reduce time away from work and lower the opportunity cost of studying for an MBA.
Key Considerations for J-Term Applicants
Lack of a summer internship: The J-Term does not include a summer internship, which is usually used by career changers to gain experience in a new field. Applicants must be convinced that they can achieve their career goals without this component.
Accelerated Curriculum: the program is fast-paced and intensive and is suitable for individuals who are prepared for a rigorous academic schedule.
The 2024-2025 Columbia Business School J-Term MBA Application Deadlines Are: :
Round 1: June 18, 2024 & Round 2: August 15, 2024 (Rolling evaluations)
The Essays (What has changed!)
Columbia MBA Essay Question 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words maximum)
Tips for writing
The wording of the first essay is interesting because the AdCom clearly emphasises the importance of a clear and focused MBA resume. Many applicants fail to realise that the resume is not just a supplemental document to the essays, but that it is so important that reviewers should be able to understand your work history and career motivations just by looking at the resume. The admissions ofice emphasises that this essay should provide a humane rationale for the choice of goals and explain how the candidate came to find the goals vision with evidence of past actions. Here are some key triggers candidates may consider:
1. Career plateau – you have identified that your learning curve has flattened and there are no new challenges on the horizon in the next two years. If you stay on your current career path any longer, you run the risk of being pigeonholed, making it difficult to break out.
2. Epiphany of goals - You have just realized the purpose of your career, and now that you know it, there's no reason to procrastinate.
3. Post-MBA goals have a time component - your plans are linked to trends that are beginning to solidify by the time you do your MBA. You can not afford to wait to acquire the skills you need to capitalize on these trends.
4. Maturity - You finally have the professional and personal knowledge, balance and perspective to make the wise decision to invest in your long-term future. This is a tactful way of expressing that your age is in line with the average age of job applicants.
5.Natural career break: You are nearing the end of a clearly defined career phase, such as a two- or three-year analyst program at a consulting firm, a two-year management training program at a company, or a stint abroad in another country.
When writing for the J term, please note that you will not have the opportunity to complete an internship. So your goals must not be such that you want to make a drastic shift into another field.
Columbia MBA Essay Question 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a co-curricular program designed to ensure that every CBS student develops the skills to become an ethical and inclusive leader. Through PPIL, students attend programming focused on five essential diversity, equity, and inclusion skills: Creating an Inclusive Environment, Mitigating Bias and Prejudice, Managing Intercultural Dialogue, Addressing Systemic Inequity, and Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking.
Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and the outcome. (250 words)
Tips for writing
In this essay prompt, Columbia clearly outlines the values they seek in their students. These values are crucial for creating a supportive and enriching educational environment, preparing Columbia grads to be effective, ethical, and inclusive leaders in their future careers. Business schools that emphasize these values contribute to a more equitable and socially responsible business community, ultimately benefiting society as a whole. There is little room to stray from what is directly asked—an impactful instance where you demonstrated one of these values. Focus on the why as much as the what. An applicant's core principles and ethical compass are critical indicators of their potential to lead effectively and contribute positively to the business world. Strong examples should include more recent events in your life, as dated stories may not indicate a sustained engagement with diversity and inclusivity initiatives.
New change!
Columbia MBA Essay Question 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams, an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program.
How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)
Tips for writing
Columbia has turned the tables and is asking candidates how they will contribute to the cohesive peer-to-peer learning experience at Columbia. Previously, the question included the specific elements of “Why Columbia?” which have now been replaced with “Why you?”
The essays of unsuccessful applicants often read as if they were written for an audience of rubber stamping, degree issuing automation. Even if admissions officers reject eight or nine out of ten applicants to the M7s, you have to assume that they are open-minded about every applicant and are willing to believe that your application is the one that will get them one step closer to a diverse, interesting cohort. For this reason, the essays of successful applicants tend to be open, confident and optimistic.
Remember that the adcom has a long memory for other applicants. Therefore, your response should be a well-crafted narrative that reveals the many facets of your personality and ensures that you will be remembered by the adcom long after the other applicants have left.
For a highly competitive program like Columbia, it's not enough to just give the committee information that they do not already know from your application or resume. Instead, craft a response that shows your uniqueness in all the areas that matter: professionally, personally and in the community. Inventorize your life to provide the hook for your application.
Start with the narrow, traditional definitions of diversity - ethnic background or gender. If you belong to an underrepresented minority, go into as much detail as possible about this fact to illustrate its importance in your life. Consider your socioeconomic, cultural and professional diversity. If you come from an economically disadvantaged background or an underrepresented region, explain how these aspects are important to the development of your perspective and how you will contribute to the experiences of your fellow students.
Perhaps you have an unconventional educational background, or your goals set you apart from others, or your sexual or family orientation can help you bring a unique perspective to class discussions. Skills or areas of expertise, industry focus, unusual or challenging backgrounds, or even personal traits such as the gift of humor can all be valid diversity points that make you an interesting addition to the Columbia classroom. Select 2-3 aspects that truly make you a noteworthy candidate and provide the necessary anecdotes or examples to support your claim that you will make a meaningful contribution to the MBA cohort.
Do not forget to make it clear to the admissions committee how your experience will enrich the MBA experience of your classmates. Consider what unique perspective or skills you can bring and how you can contribute to the learning experiences of your fellow students. Your essay should outline your reflections on these questions and show that you are making an effort to bring your unique perspective to the classroom.
Examples of Unique Perspectives
1. For example, if you have worked in the non-profit sector, you may have a unique perspective on social entrepreneurship, impact investing, and community development.
2. If you have served in the military, you may have a leadership style that is focused on teamwork, resilience, and strategic thinking.
3. If you come from a different culture or have lived in multiple countries, you may have unique ideas on globalization, cross-cultural communication, and international business.
4. If you have worked in a specific industry, such as healthcare, technology, or finance, you may have a deep understanding of the trends, challenges, and opportunities in that sector.
5. If you have started your own business, you may have much to say about innovation, risk-taking, budget management, and creativity.
To craft a truly compelling essay, it's important to be authentic and vulnerable when sharing your personal story. Admissions committees are seeking candidates who can bring their whole selves to the classroom and contribute to the learning experience. Don't shy away from sharing what makes you unique, but also showcase how you have grown and what you have learned from your experiences. Doing so will not only make your essay more compelling but also demonstrate your potential for personal and professional growth during the MBA program.
Optional Essay
If you wish to provide further information or additional context around your application to the Admissions Committee, please upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)
Many applicants choose not to add anything in the optional essays. We at MBAGuide have a slightly unique take on this. We have created a detailed analysis of the right approach to optional essays, which you can find here.
Link: How Winners Use Optional Essays for Damage Control and Beyond : Wharton (gmatclub.com)
Feeling uncertain about your chances of getting into top B-schools? Sign up for a free one-on-one personalized advice session tailored to your specific situation.
Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com
Columbia’s location in New York City provides students with unparalleled access to one of the largest and most diverse metropolitan areas in the world. The city offers hundreds of internship opportunities for students during the summer(FT students), further enhancing hands-on learning and career preparation. How amazing is this!
If you are interested in applying to Columbia’s J term here’s everything you need to know about the essay questions.
Who should apply for the Columbia J term?
1. Career enhancers
Professionals looking to advance in their current industry: Those who do not need an internship to change their career, but want to gain advanced business knowledge and leadership skills to advance in their existing field.
2. Entrepreneurs
Individuals planning to start or expand their own business: Those who may not need a summer internship and can use the accelerated program to quickly implement their business plans.
3. Members of family businesses
Next generation leaders in family-owned businesses: Those who are ready to take on greater responsibilities in their family businesses and want to improve their business acumen
4. Company Sponsored Candidates
Sponsored Professionals like management consultants who prefer a shorter duration of study to reduce time away from work and lower the opportunity cost of studying for an MBA.
Key Considerations for J-Term Applicants
Lack of a summer internship: The J-Term does not include a summer internship, which is usually used by career changers to gain experience in a new field. Applicants must be convinced that they can achieve their career goals without this component.
Accelerated Curriculum: the program is fast-paced and intensive and is suitable for individuals who are prepared for a rigorous academic schedule.
The 2024-2025 Columbia Business School J-Term MBA Application Deadlines Are: :
Round 1: June 18, 2024 & Round 2: August 15, 2024 (Rolling evaluations)
The Essays (What has changed!)
Columbia MBA Essay Question 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words maximum)
Tips for writing
The wording of the first essay is interesting because the AdCom clearly emphasises the importance of a clear and focused MBA resume. Many applicants fail to realise that the resume is not just a supplemental document to the essays, but that it is so important that reviewers should be able to understand your work history and career motivations just by looking at the resume. The admissions ofice emphasises that this essay should provide a humane rationale for the choice of goals and explain how the candidate came to find the goals vision with evidence of past actions. Here are some key triggers candidates may consider:
1. Career plateau – you have identified that your learning curve has flattened and there are no new challenges on the horizon in the next two years. If you stay on your current career path any longer, you run the risk of being pigeonholed, making it difficult to break out.
2. Epiphany of goals - You have just realized the purpose of your career, and now that you know it, there's no reason to procrastinate.
3. Post-MBA goals have a time component - your plans are linked to trends that are beginning to solidify by the time you do your MBA. You can not afford to wait to acquire the skills you need to capitalize on these trends.
4. Maturity - You finally have the professional and personal knowledge, balance and perspective to make the wise decision to invest in your long-term future. This is a tactful way of expressing that your age is in line with the average age of job applicants.
5.Natural career break: You are nearing the end of a clearly defined career phase, such as a two- or three-year analyst program at a consulting firm, a two-year management training program at a company, or a stint abroad in another country.
When writing for the J term, please note that you will not have the opportunity to complete an internship. So your goals must not be such that you want to make a drastic shift into another field.
Columbia MBA Essay Question 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a co-curricular program designed to ensure that every CBS student develops the skills to become an ethical and inclusive leader. Through PPIL, students attend programming focused on five essential diversity, equity, and inclusion skills: Creating an Inclusive Environment, Mitigating Bias and Prejudice, Managing Intercultural Dialogue, Addressing Systemic Inequity, and Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking.
Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and the outcome. (250 words)
Tips for writing
In this essay prompt, Columbia clearly outlines the values they seek in their students. These values are crucial for creating a supportive and enriching educational environment, preparing Columbia grads to be effective, ethical, and inclusive leaders in their future careers. Business schools that emphasize these values contribute to a more equitable and socially responsible business community, ultimately benefiting society as a whole. There is little room to stray from what is directly asked—an impactful instance where you demonstrated one of these values. Focus on the why as much as the what. An applicant's core principles and ethical compass are critical indicators of their potential to lead effectively and contribute positively to the business world. Strong examples should include more recent events in your life, as dated stories may not indicate a sustained engagement with diversity and inclusivity initiatives.
New change!
Columbia MBA Essay Question 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams, an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program.
How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)
Tips for writing
Columbia has turned the tables and is asking candidates how they will contribute to the cohesive peer-to-peer learning experience at Columbia. Previously, the question included the specific elements of “Why Columbia?” which have now been replaced with “Why you?”
The essays of unsuccessful applicants often read as if they were written for an audience of rubber stamping, degree issuing automation. Even if admissions officers reject eight or nine out of ten applicants to the M7s, you have to assume that they are open-minded about every applicant and are willing to believe that your application is the one that will get them one step closer to a diverse, interesting cohort. For this reason, the essays of successful applicants tend to be open, confident and optimistic.
Remember that the adcom has a long memory for other applicants. Therefore, your response should be a well-crafted narrative that reveals the many facets of your personality and ensures that you will be remembered by the adcom long after the other applicants have left.
For a highly competitive program like Columbia, it's not enough to just give the committee information that they do not already know from your application or resume. Instead, craft a response that shows your uniqueness in all the areas that matter: professionally, personally and in the community. Inventorize your life to provide the hook for your application.
Start with the narrow, traditional definitions of diversity - ethnic background or gender. If you belong to an underrepresented minority, go into as much detail as possible about this fact to illustrate its importance in your life. Consider your socioeconomic, cultural and professional diversity. If you come from an economically disadvantaged background or an underrepresented region, explain how these aspects are important to the development of your perspective and how you will contribute to the experiences of your fellow students.
Perhaps you have an unconventional educational background, or your goals set you apart from others, or your sexual or family orientation can help you bring a unique perspective to class discussions. Skills or areas of expertise, industry focus, unusual or challenging backgrounds, or even personal traits such as the gift of humor can all be valid diversity points that make you an interesting addition to the Columbia classroom. Select 2-3 aspects that truly make you a noteworthy candidate and provide the necessary anecdotes or examples to support your claim that you will make a meaningful contribution to the MBA cohort.
Do not forget to make it clear to the admissions committee how your experience will enrich the MBA experience of your classmates. Consider what unique perspective or skills you can bring and how you can contribute to the learning experiences of your fellow students. Your essay should outline your reflections on these questions and show that you are making an effort to bring your unique perspective to the classroom.
Examples of Unique Perspectives
1. For example, if you have worked in the non-profit sector, you may have a unique perspective on social entrepreneurship, impact investing, and community development.
2. If you have served in the military, you may have a leadership style that is focused on teamwork, resilience, and strategic thinking.
3. If you come from a different culture or have lived in multiple countries, you may have unique ideas on globalization, cross-cultural communication, and international business.
4. If you have worked in a specific industry, such as healthcare, technology, or finance, you may have a deep understanding of the trends, challenges, and opportunities in that sector.
5. If you have started your own business, you may have much to say about innovation, risk-taking, budget management, and creativity.
To craft a truly compelling essay, it's important to be authentic and vulnerable when sharing your personal story. Admissions committees are seeking candidates who can bring their whole selves to the classroom and contribute to the learning experience. Don't shy away from sharing what makes you unique, but also showcase how you have grown and what you have learned from your experiences. Doing so will not only make your essay more compelling but also demonstrate your potential for personal and professional growth during the MBA program.
Optional Essay
If you wish to provide further information or additional context around your application to the Admissions Committee, please upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)
Many applicants choose not to add anything in the optional essays. We at MBAGuide have a slightly unique take on this. We have created a detailed analysis of the right approach to optional essays, which you can find here.
Link: How Winners Use Optional Essays for Damage Control and Beyond : Wharton (gmatclub.com)
Feeling uncertain about your chances of getting into top B-schools? Sign up for a free one-on-one personalized advice session tailored to your specific situation.
Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com
Archived CBS Discussion
Hi there,
You've stumbled upon an old discussion from our CBS Forum
that's now outdated and has been archived. No more replies are possible here.
Interested in current discussions? Feel free to dive into our dedicated CBS Forum
for all fresh things related to the CBS MBA program.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
Moderators:
