Columbia Business School Essays for 2019-2020

Deadlines:
Round 1: Rolling, until October 4, 2019
Round 2: January 3, 2020
Round 3: April 10, 2020
All deadlines are at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Columbia requires answers for one short essay and 3 longer essays:

Short Answer Question:  What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)
Examples of possible responses:
“Work in business development for a media company.”
“Join a strategy consulting firm.”
“Launch a data-management start-up.”

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)

Essay 2: Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you? (250 words)

Essay 3: Who is a leader you admire, and why? (250 words)

Optional Essay:
Is there any further information that you wish to provide the Admissions Committee? If so, use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)

Other Application components:

Recommendations:
Applicants should submit 2 recommendations and both should be professional. Columbia prefers recommendations from direct and former supervisors. If you are unable to get one from them, then explain why in the employment section of your application.

Following are the recommendation questions (recommended limit – 1000 words):

• How do the candidate’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.
• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

Interviews:
These are by invitation only and often conducted by alumni in your geographic area.

Reapplications: 
Columbia considers you a reapplicant if you are applying within a year of your initial term of entry. Oherwise you are considered a new applicant and have to submit a new application.

Reapplicants do NOT have to submit additional essays. Only the reapplicant essay is required, which is:

• How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate how you plan to achieve your immediate and long term post-MBA professional goals. (Maximum 500 words).

Reapplicants should submit one new recommendation, preferably from a current employer. If you have already used your current employer for a recommendation, please choose someone else in a supervisory role or a client.