About The School
Located in New York City, Columbia Business School highlights that it is at the “center of business”, helping bright students think like entrepreneurs and helping them develop as leaders.
The symbiotic relationship between CBS and the business world is a major program benefit, and each year many business leaders visit the campus to speak to b-school students and to teach classes. Indeed CBS notes on its website “more business leaders visit our campus than any other top business school.” Because of its NYC location, the school also attracts more than 100 real-world practitioners as faculty (adjunct) in the business school. The CBS Dean, Glenn Hubbard, while fortifying Columbia’s strength in finance, has made experiential learning, entrepreneurial thinking, and global perspectives the cornerstones of the program.
Strengths And Specializations
Columbia’s MBA program is known for its strengths in a wide variety of areas, including finance, general management, entrepreneurship, media, marketing, healthcare/pharma, real estate and social enterprise.
Incoming Class
| Number of Applicants: | 6,029 |
| MBA Class Size: | 756 |
| Tuition: | $148,800 |
Post-MBA Careers
Sector: Financial Services 34.4%; Consulting 33.1%; Technology 15.6%; Manufacturing 5.8%; Started Own Business 3.6%
Top Recruiters: McKinsey, Bain, Citi, BCG, Amazon, Deloitte
Avg Base Salary: $128,343
Salary Increase: 106%
Employment in 3 months: 93.2%
| MBA Rankings | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BusinessWeek | 9 | – | 13 | – | 5 | 6 | 11 | 9 |
| Financial Times | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Forbes | – | 5 | – | 7 | – | 4 | – | 6 |
| The Economist | 12 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| US News | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
Admissions
Avg. Age: 28
Avg. GPA: 3.5
Avg. GMAT: 732
Int’l Students: 42%
Female Students: 39%
Deadlines for Sept. 2019: Oct 3, 2018 (Early Action), then rolling admissions – Jan. 4, 2019, April 10, 2019
Sources: Columbia, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, US News, MBA50
Essays (2018-19)
Applicants must complete one short answer question and three 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:
How will you take advantage of being “at the very center of business”? Click photo. (250 words)
Essay 3:
Please provide an example of a team failure of which you have been a part. If given a second chance, what would you do differently? (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)
For essay writing tips and strategy, view our recent article: Columbia’s New Essay Questions & Writing on Your Failures.
Request a copy of our team’s Insider Tips Report for applying to Columbia Business School.