Overall a great experience

Experience during the program

Review by an Fortuna Admissions Admissions Consultant who has attended CBS

My CBS MBA enabled me to make a career switch into consulting and eventually to start my own (successful) business. Neither would have been possible without the skills, network and confidence the school allowed me to develop.

I was a J-term student: a path I choose primarily because, although I'm American, I had spent nearly all of my adult life out of the US and wanted to be part of a more international community. For a US school, I would say that Columbia ranks at the top f international experience / outlook. (The J-term was about 50% international). I live in London now, and there is a great group of alumni here as well.

It is true that Columbia is most known for its strength is in finance - an area in which I held little interest. That said, I took some great classes in subjects across the board. The ability to choose electives in other programs at Columbia University also provided a unique opportunity to enhance the traditional b-school curriculum with classes in other academic programs that are also among the top rated, both in the US and globally. (The School of Journalism, Teachers College, etc).

Culture-wise, even with such a high contingent of international students, I did find the experience to be quite "American" (for lack of a better term). Not necessarily a bad thing, it was just a little adjustment for me to go from chateau champagne parties at INSEAD (where I worked previously) to college-grade beer in student halls at Columbia.

We passed grade non-disclosure the year I was there, and I found the community to be very supportive and, with a few exceptions (there's always one), not overly competitive.

I left the program with lifelong friendships and a business network upon which I draw regularly. Classmates have become both clients and customers, as well as open sounding-boards as we work to explore more business opportunities.

The one area where CBS really needs improvement is in its facilities. Luckily for you, this is already in the works and the development of the new Manhattanville campus is well underway.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (3.0)

Strengths of the program:

Location
Brand/Ranking

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Investment Banking
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Facilities