If you want a guaranteed seat at the Columbia Business School after a few years of work experience, you must consider applying to the Columbia Deferred MBA program. This deferment allows students to explore different kinds of interest areas before joining a full-time MBA program. If you consider applying to the Columbia Deferred MBA program, you should go through all the important information related to the admission process, eligibility criteria, requirements of the admission, etc. This work has been simplified for you. Here are all the relevant details of the Columbia Deferred MBA program.
About the Program
The Columbia Deferred MBA program gives an opportunity to final year students to pursue their choices in the industry for a few years. They provide flexibility of 2 to 5 years for a full-time work opportunity before joining the regular Columbia Business School full-time MBA program. The deferral period should be a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years.
Students can apply for the Columbia Deferred MBA program in the senior year in college or during a subsequent graduate program. Their Admissions Committee is looking for students with diverse educational backgrounds. They make selections on the basis of work experience (internships or part-time employment, etc.), academic performance, etc.
Class Profile
The last class of 2020 of the Columbia Deferred MBA program has 180 students. They represent around 19 countries and come from different 65 schools. Their GPA range is 3.16-4.0. They also come from different academic backgrounds like Business, Engineering, Social Sciences, etc.
Eligibility Criteria
The first thing to know about the Columbia Deferred MBA program is the eligibility criteria. Let us see who all are eligible to apply to the program.
1) Students who are graduating during the current academic year from their bachelor’s degree program.
2) Students who are completing a graduate degree program. It is necessary that the applicants started the graduate degree program just after the completion of the undergraduate degree program. The applicants should not have any full-time experience.
Please note that students who are pursuing a Ph.D. program or are in a law or medical school are not eligible to apply for the Columbia Deferred MBA program. They need to apply through the normal MBA application process.
Requirements for Applying
There are many requirements for the application for the Columbia Deferred MBA program. They are listed here –
1) Online application – Students are required to fill the online application on the school’s website.
2) Academic transcripts – For international students from non-English speaking schools, the academic transcripts need to be translated and submitted.
After the grant of admission, official transcripts need to be submitted from all the schools attended for verification.
3) GMAT/GRE Score – There is no minimum requirement for scores in these exams. Although, the range of GMAT scores of the last class is 640-790.
4) One letter of recommendation – This can come from a professor or mentor. If the applicant has done an internship, the letter of recommendation can also come from the internship supervisor or an employer in case of a part-time job. The letter needs to be up to 1000 words and the recommender should consider this question while writing their recommendation –
Please share how you feel the applicant will contribute to the Columbia Business School classroom and community.
5) Short answer questions – This is one of the most important requirements of the application. Applicants need to answer three short questions which are –
a) How is a Columbia MBA going to help you? (maximum 250 words)
b) What has been your favorite class, and why? (maximum 250 words)
c) Who is a leader you admire, and why? (maximum 250 words)
Please note that international students are not required to submit score in language exams like TOEFL, IELTS or PTE. The verbal score in the GRE or GMAT exam is sufficient.
Check here for essay tips – Application essays, Structured Thinking, Visualization, Story Telling
Application Process
If you are thinking about applying to the Columbia Deferred MBA program, the first thing you need to do is send them your letter of intent in which applicants are to choose which program they want to apply in. They have two programs. The first one is a 16-month program that starts in January and the other one is a traditional 20-month program that includes a summer internship.
When applicants send their letter of intents, they are considered for fellowships and scholarships. There are many merit-based fellowships and need-based scholarships that are available for students studying in the Columbia Business School full-time MBA program.
The application can be made from November till around mid-April every year. Students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or eligible graduate-level program are not required to pay any application fee. After the review process of applications that start after mid-April every year, the Admissions Committee sends invitations to some selected applicants. The invitations are sent till the end of April.
Interviews are conducted online or on campus. The standardized test scores can be submitted by June of the same year. The final decisions of admissions are out within two weeks of the interview. Admissions are granted on a rolling basis.
After the admission is granted, students are required to pay $500 as a non-refundable deposit two weeks after admission. In addition to this, students have to pay a deferral continuation fees every year of deferment. In the year students decide to matriculate, they need to provide a proof of their work experience during the period of deferment. They also need to submit deposits for the entry-point.
If one wants to secure your seat for the Columbia Business School MBA, she/he should put efforts into the overall development of one’s personality and build skills like leadership skills, innovativeness, etc. Stay aware, stay ahead!
Contributor – Richa Mathur
Marketing & Brand Manager | Content Creator
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