Calling all Columbia Applicants for 2009!

Yesterday I submitted my Columbia ED app. Today I received an email saying

" Dear XXXX,

Your application for the MBA September Early Decision program for Fall of 2009
has changed.

Please log into our website: https://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/learnmore/checkapp
to check your application status."

Now what does it mean by "Your application for the MBA September Early Decision program for Fall of 2009 has changed"?

I though they meant app status, so I checked that, but it is still "received" , no change there.

I am worried what is the change in my app, and who changed what? You people also received same message after a day of submitting? Thanks

Process->received->review

Just to keep ya'll in the loop, my interviewer submitted her feedback a few minutes ago. Definitely been a longer process than I expected. For the edification of those keeping track, my timeline has thus far been:

Submitted: 8/10
Under Review: 8/14
Interview Invite: 9/23
Interviewed: 9/25
Complete: 10/1
Decision: ?

Will obviously keep ya'll updated as to any further status changes. Hang in there, everyone!

Wow it took your interviewer a little while to submit the info!

My interview is scheduled for this Saturday.... [crossing fingers]

Just got my interview invite today too, folks. I'm chuffed! Will go home and see what's the earliest I can schedule.

Good luck, Tien. Should only be a few more days for you.

Solaris & Loathe,

Best of luck on your interviews! Seriously, the interview is fairly straight-forward becuz CBS has a script that they tell the interviewers to read from. That's why the majority of debriefs (from Clear Admit wiki) sound like my own debrief. Just practice those questions and you'll be golden. Godspeed!

Dinged by CBS yesterday afternoon.

A VERY special thanks to djhouse for helping me submit the best app possible. I definitely feel good that I left it all on the field. Also, many thanks to IHateTheGMAT, terp06, rhyme, sudden, river, kiddderek, kryzak, dosa, avi, pelihu, and anyone else that I forgot to mention who has kept me motivated.

It looks like I'm confined to one of those one-way relationships where I'm madly in love with CBS, but she isn't interested in me.

To those still waiting, good luck! I'm looking forward to living vicariously through the g-clubs' CBS acceptances.

I am sorry to hear that. Good luck with the rest of your apps!

Very, very sorry to hear that man. I really thought you had a great shot.

I think Columbia really is missing out on the people who really want to be there. It's sad to see. Well hope you show them by getting into wharton and harvard!

With all due respect, why do you say that? Do you know, or know of, people that go/went there that didn't really want to be there?

Ryguy904, so sorry. I know how much you wanted to go to Columbia. You have my best wishes for your other applications.

Guys..

Based on your estimates, when do you see someone who went under review on 09/17 getting a ding or interview notification?

Are we running 4 weeks ahead of the under review date?

I have to admit, out of all of the schools that I have visited so far (Chicago, Kellogg, Columbia, UCLA, Tuck), Columbia did seem to have the least amount of school spirit and the least "connected" student body. I believe that the undergraduate institution also has this feeling - out of all of the Ivies, I have heard that Columbia is the school that fosters the least community spirit and has the most individualistic students.

A lot of students attend Columbia because it's convenient and they have commitments in New York (friends, family, significant other, finance jobs) that they need to keep or stay in tune with. If a student turns down Harvard or Wharton for Columbia, I would bet that 9 out of 10 times, they are a native New Yorker.

Being in New York comes with access to a lot of wonderful things and unparalleled career opportunities in your backyard, but at the same time, Columbia definitely did not rub me as the school to be at if you crave a sense of community and are looking to make lifelong friends from your MBA experience. If Tuck is on one end of the spectrum socially, I would say Columbia is on the other end. A lot of people enjoy the city atmosphere, and an equal amount hate it (for the purposes of academia).

Interesting. I would have expected Harvard and MIT to be much worse.

RyGuy, best of luck with your other apps- thanks for being such a positive factor on this thread. Hopefully we'll avenge your ding

As for Terp's evaluation above, I generally agree. Most schools in big cities like NY or Chicago are going to have a lot of outside distractions such as families and previous networks of friends. No way of getting around that. Other moderate-sized cities such as Boston feel more homey while tiny towns like Hanover offer nothing but a constant dose of your classmates each and every day. The tradeoffs are up to each applicant. For me personally, the opportunities in networking, culture, entertainment, etcetra far outweigh the community feel factor. And I also think that the community is what you make of it. For instance, I plan on being around campus as much as possible and if admitted, I'm going to live in Morningside Heights or whereever the most CBS students congregate in the Upper West Side. I plan on being active in clubs and activities so I'm not that worried about making lifelong friends. I was worried initially due to the commuter school reputation but I think that each person's personality/effort plays a huge role. I'll definitely be one of those losers who is at every single school-sponsored Thursday happy hour

One last point is that I think New York actually provides an advantage in terms of network for those who plan on living in NY post-MBA (like myself). Instead of a transition period where you lose touch with friends and then have to reconnect, your friends from b-school will transition into working life in NY pretty seamlessly. I know that my undergrad school (in DC) had a large number of graduates move to NY but it wasn't that easy to become friends again with many. Maybe that's a problem specific to my situation but sometimes people get new lives and it's tough. I think that going to b-school in NY and then staying put to start working life is actually a big advantage in terms of my network both employment-wise and socially. I'm sure many will disagree but I figured I'd explain my perspective at least.

Exactly what Tien said! And this is what most alumni think to be one of the bigger advantages of going to Columbia (or NYU for that matter).

I mean a "commuter school" reputation is fine, but are you really going to be friends with every single person in your class at Tuck? You'll hang out with the same 25-30 people at every school. Whether they be in New York City or Hanover, NH. Only difference being after graduation, at least half your friends from Tuck will move away for jobs elsewhere in the country. While most from Columbia will still be around a 5 mile radius from you.

I've said this before and I find this "commuter school" shtick to be very overrated.