Ask Columbia GSB Admissions

Hello,

I submitted my J-term 2016 entry application this past week and all my materials, including both recommendations, have been submitted. When will the admissions team start reviewing completed J-term applications? How long will the admissions process take given that it is still early in the application season?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Matthew,

would a candidate's age (30+) be a disadvantage for her/him?
Do you place a great importance on candidate's age?

Thanks!

Hi chob536,

We have started reviewing applications for January and Early Decision. You can anticipate hearing back from the admissions committee within six weeks of submitting a completed application about whether you have been denied or offered an invitation to interview.

Best of luck!

Hi gunel101,

Thank you for your question! Age is not a factor in the admissions process.

Best of luck throughout the process!

Hello,

Jterms seems to be getting interview or even acceptance already.

Is Jterm usually prioritized in admission process?

Has admission started to give out interview invitation for early applicants as well?

Thank you!

Hi charko88,

Thank you for your question! We have begun reviewing ED and January applications. Candidates for ED and January will receive notification on whether they were denied or invited to interview within six weeks of when they submitted a completed application.

Best of luck!

Hi,

I'm a Senior Consultant having ~3 years of experience with a Top-5 recruiter at Columbia (Aggregate experience >4 years). I'm looking to stay in management consulting, but shift geographies to the US, after MBA. Therefore, i'm evaluating the J-term option. However, i wish to get to know more about recruitment opportunities for international Columbia J-term students (who of course do not undergo summer internships).

I have tried reaching out to a few J-Term students and recent graduates to understand recruitment opportunities for internationals in Consulting, but haven't received response from any of them. If I may request you, could you please direct me toward a CBS J-term student whom I can speak with? Alternatively, you may please shed some light on this topic.

Thanks!

Hi,
Is it possible for students to be considered for both the Fall term and J-term with one application? Or in some cases are students persuaded to apply to the J-term after they have submitted their application for the Fall term?

Hi generalist,

Thanks for reaching out! It is probably best if you reach out to me over the phone or via e-mail so we can talk more in depth, but in general, students are able to make career shifts during the January Program. We have seen students make the switch to consulting (I understand it isn't a total switch for you) in January and work in the US. Please feel free to find my contact information here and we can discuss further - https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-direct ... il/mpm2133.

Regards,

Hi JRAppz,

Thank you for your question! It is not possible to apply for both programs at the same time. In rare cases we will recommend other programs to candidates, but typically a final decision is rendered on the application you submit.

I hope this helps!

ColumbiaMBA

Hi

Hope you are doing really well.

I am an applicant for early decision August entry 2016. I have a few questions :

1. There is a section in the Application that asks us how do we plan to finance our MBA and there are various sections to fill the amount. But what if an applicant hasn't yet thought about the same. For eg. I think I would be putting up amounts in US Federal Loans, Private Loans, and Self Sponsoring ( I am an international applicant) but I havent looked in the finance divisions. How do you suggest I go about it. How would this section affect the candidacy and the scholarships part?

2. By when can we expect to hear from adcom regarding the decision for early entry. Once admitted, whats the general follow up tasks?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Hi peopleanalytics,

Thank you for your questions! This section does not impact need or merit based awards. We want students to think about the financial investment of the MBA program, but we understand they will not have everything decided when they apply. We suggest that you estimate how much you will finance on your own and how much you will take out in loans for this part of the application as most will not know about outside awards at the time of application.

Candidates can expect to hear from us within six weeks of submission of a complete application. Candidates will either be denied or invited to interview within that period. If admitted, Early Decision candidates have two weeks to submit their deposit.

I hope this helps!

Hi,

I am an early submitter to the RD round. Could you throw some light on when the first RD applicants will be getting notified of their application status?

Hi StressEater,

Thank you for your question! We will start reviewing Regular Decision applications once we complete the review of Early Decision. This usually happens in early December. Regular Decision applications that are submitted prior to the start of our review of Regular Decision will be placed in a queue and reviewed on a rolling basis once we start reviewing RD applications. Additionally, candidates who submit prior to the start of our review of RD will receive notification that their six week review process has begun.

I hope this helps!

Regards,

Hi Matthew,

For merit scholarships are these communicated to you when you are admitted? Meaning, If we didn't hear when we got the call we were admitted then it is safe to assume we didn't get any scholarships?

Hi Matthew,
Thanks for your inputs.

There have been lots of anxieties, I think, from the RD applicants on this particular aspect as I see on the Columbia discussion thread. So, as the CBD moderator, I'd try to clarify this little BIT more from you so that I can convey the most clear picture to the fellow applicants on the CBS discussion thread to somewhat help relax their nerves!

1. From your above reply, what I understand is that as CBS starts reviewing its RD applications on a rolling basis from early December(most likely), RD applicants would get a notification at this time through EMAIL that their six week review process has begun. Am I correct ?

2. Also, please clarify that will this notification be sent out as a generic one as you start reviewing the FIRST RD application or will it be sort of individual notification sent to each RD candidate as and when the corresponding file gets opened for review starting early December ?

Look forward to your clarifications. Thanks in advance!

Hi bagdbmba,

Thank you for following up! The Regular Decision review will process will begin sometime in early December. You are correct, we will send an e-mail to candidates who have already submitted and are in a queue who are 'waiting' for their process to being.

Thank you!

(edited - my apologies! I meant to write early [not late] December. Sorry for the confusion!)