Located in the city of New York in Manhattan, Columbia business school is one of the oldest business schools in the world. Carrying a century-old legacy from its inception in 1916, Columbia business school is one of the six Ivy League business schools. Ranked #8 by the Financial Times in 2020 Global MBA Ranking, Columbia school MBA program is one of the most sought out programs around the globe.
With 44,000+ living alumni currently, Columbia business school has one of the largest alumni networks among other notable business schools. Some of its renowned alumni include Warren Buffett, Henry Kravis, Vikram Pandit, and Nand Khemka. Getting into the Columbia Business MBA program is very competitive. For the class of 2019, a total of 5876 applications were received, of which only 754 students got enrolled in the program. 47% of the batch consisted of international students, while 33% of the students were US minorities. Columbia Business School has two intake systems. One in August & another one in January. In this article, we shall let you know every information you need if you’re considering Columbia business school for an MBA.
Columbia business school follows a systematic curriculum throughout the two-year program. The first term curriculum is full of intensive core courses that help students to gain an in-depth knowledge of managerial & leadership skills that are necessary for the success of every business leader. The first term’s curriculum consists of subjects like Managerial Statistics, Business Analytics, Strategy Formulation, Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Managerial Economics, Global Business Environment, etc.
In the second term, students choose courses among various electives relevant to their future career goals or interest areas. The electives are industry-specific (like Real estate, Pharmaceuticals & bio-technology, Media & information management, etc.), region-specific (consists of subjects like Global immersion in India, Growth opportunities in China & alike subjects), Entrepreneurship, & various other topics related to leading people, organizations, & strategies.
Along with this, there are optional graduate-level classes, various international exchange programs, & field trips available for the students.
Eligibility
Class 12th & Undergraduate:
There’s no minimum cutoff mentioned by the Columbia Business School. The candidate only needs to have a bachelor’s degree or it’s equivalent from an accredited institution.
Work Experience:
There’s no minimum work-experience requirement mentioned in the Columbia business school’s website. However, the average work experience of the class of 2019 was 5-years, with 99% of the class having a work experience of at least one year.
Tests:
The business school requires a valid GMAT or GRE score from the applicants. Even though there’s no minimum score requirement, a high score will benefit you during the evaluation process. The average GMAT score of the class of 2019 was 727, with a range of 560-790. And the average GRE scores of admitted applicants range from 154-167 for Verbal & 156-170 for Quantitative Reasoning. Also, for the applicants coming from non-native English speaking countries, they’re required to take the English Proficiency Tests like IELTS or TOEFL.
Course Fees
Investing in the Columbia school MBA program will benefit you in the future with an unbeatable cost-benefit ratio. The tuition fee for the first term comes at around $77,376 and a mandatory fee of $3,973. The books & supplies come at an additional expense of $320. Other than this, for a moderate student lifestyle, the room & board expense for the first term comes at $24,822, Health Insurance at $4,896, and personal expenses of $6,246, totaling your first-year budget to an approximate $117,633 (that’s around 88L INR).
Other than this, there may be some additional costs that a student has to bear, such as study tours, club events, or other such miscellaneous expenses.
Scholarship/Financial Aid
Columbia school MBA program provides several Merit-based & Need-based scholarships & fellowships to its students. There’s a fellowship committee within the admissions office who makes all these scholarship related decisions. There are various Merit-based awards, which are highly competitive & selective. The applicants are evaluated based on some elements like GMAT/GRE score, undergraduate GPA, work experience, future goals, recommendation letters, etc.
Some of the prominent Merit-based awards are the Forté Foundation Scholarship, McGowan Fellowship Fund, & Toigo Fellowship. Along with the Merit-based scholarships, the school also provides Need-based scholarships to students seeking financial assistance. Many things are considered to evaluate students’ eligibility for it including, cash, savings, trust funds, real estate equity, GI and Social Security benefits, income of student and spouse, other familial resources, income tax refunds, sponsorships from companies, as well as prior educational debt levels.
Out of all the students applying for this scholarship, half of them are awarded it. The average sum per student comes at around $20,000. Other than the above two scholarships, the school also provides students to take on-campus paid work opportunities as Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants.
Please note: Fellowships are awarded only to students who begin the MBA program in August. Unfortunately, students who begin in January are not eligible for fellowship support at this time. (Check for more details)
Placements
The class of 2019 received a whopping median base salary of $150,000, ranging from $45,000-$375,000. Around 90.4% of the batch accepted a job offer within 3-months of graduation. Around 67.9% of the class received a median sign-on bonus of $30,000, & 15.2% of the class received other guaranteed compensation, ranging from $2,000-$350,000.
Top 3 industry who recruited the majority of the students from the Columbia school MBA program are:
Financial Services 34.3%
Consulting 32.6%
Media/Technology 13.8%
The top three function students chose where:
Management Consultants 32.9%
Investment Banking 13.8%
Private Equity 6.6%
Some of the top companies who participated in the placement process include:
McKinsey & Company 45
Bain & Company 29
The Boston Consulting Group 28
Deloitte 21
PwC Strategy 17
Goldman Sachs 15
Amazon 14
JP Morgan & Company 12
AT Kearney 11
You can check the complete details here.
Application Process for Columbia school MBA program
Online Application:
Including
-Transcripts
-GMAT/GRE score
-Resume
-3 Essays
-2 Letter of Recommendations
-Application Fee of $250
Interview:
Once you apply, your application gets reviewed by two admissions officers. If your application passes the first step, you’ll be invited to the interview. The interview can only be by invitation, and not by request. The interview will be conducted by the school alumni residing in your geographical area.
After the interview, your interviewer will submit an interview feedback form with the admissions committee, where your entire application will be evaluated again. And based on the final decision, you’ll be notified regarding your acceptance into the institution. All the admitted students are also required to submit a deposit fee.
For the August-entry, the applicant must submit a deposit of $6,000 within two weeks of admission to secure their place in the class. And for the January-entry, students must submit a deposit of $2,000 within two weeks of admission. Please note that if you do not matriculate, your deposit will not be refunded.
Essay Details & Tips
For applying in the Columbia School MBA Program, the applicants will be required to submit a short answer question & three essays along with the online application form.
The essay topics along with our tips are as follows:
Short Answer Question:
“What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal?” (50 characters maximum)
Make sure to write what you’re planning to do after you complete your study from this institution. (your answer can either be to launch a start-up, joining any company, working on a particular profile of your choice, etc.) Since there’s a 50 character limit, be very selective in what you write.
Essay 1:
“Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years, and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job?” (500 words)
Here, try to focus on your long term plans and how your plans & career goals will make an impact in the world. Business schools look for candidates who possess leadership qualities & whose vision is to make a global impact.
Essay 2:
“Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you?” (250 words)
Since the admissions committee is aware that anyone applying into Columbia Business School must have applied to other business schools as well, you’ve to prove your stand & convince them of your genuine interest in the program and how can you contribute to the community. Check Essay Tips Here
Essay 3:
“Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you.” (250 words)
This question mainly aims to know the candidate personally. By resonating yourself with a book, song, or movie, you’re giving them a clear picture of yourself. It is an interesting essay topic. Just remember one thing that whatever song, cinema, or book you choose, articulate well on how you find resonance with that particular content.
Along with the above three essays, there’s an optional essay as follows:
“Is there any further information that you wish to provide the Admissions Committee? If so, use this space to explain any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history. It does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points” (Maximum 500 Words) (Check Essay Tips Here)
Answer the above question only & only when you feel there’s something you need to clarify to the admissions committee, or there’s something specific you’ve to tell them which is not mentioned in your application, but is important. Getting into Columbia school MBA program will brand you for life & it’ll be one of the best investments & decisions of your life. So, if you think you are a match, go for it.
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