How do you form the class with both Early Decision and Rolling
Admissions?
If you have a strong application and you apply Early Decision, you can
expect to be admitted. We have many spots available at that point. However,
you have to be committed, not just hedging your bets.
We admit far more people Regular Decision than Early Decision, but that is
simply because we receive so many more applications. If we feel you are not
strong enough, we may put you on the waitlist.
When we read Early Decision, everything is wide open. At the end of the
process, we are fine- tuning the class, and are very picky. It becomes a
different kind of evaluation toward the end, as we have fewer spots.
Most people who apply would make great Columbia students and alumni, but we
can’t take them all. We admit 12-15% of applicants, so there is just no way
to admit every great applicant. So please understand that if you don’t get
admitted, it isn’t because you aren’t strong -- some of it is timing.
What do you advise a waitlisted applicant to do?
Being placed on our waitlist is somewhat different than it is at other
schools. This goes back to our rolling admission. We place people on the
waitlist because we would love to have them here, but need them to
strengthen the application. This could mean clarifying their goals or
rewriting an essay -- or even finding out more about the school, if they
don’t seem to understand our program or the MBA in general, but we like what
they have to offer otherwise. We may use the waitlist as a holding place
until we see more applications from a specific area (geographic, industry,
etc.), as well as to see the application strengthened.
We try to be supportive. Our waitlisted candidates get to talk to somebody
from admissions.
I construct a class that includes diverse backgrounds and interests while
still maintaining high academic standards. I can’t meet all of these goals
in a rolling admissions process without using a waitlist.
If you are put on the waitlist, you should certainly set up an appointment
with the waitlist manager. And we do admit a fair number of people from the
waitlist.
Is there anything else that you want to highlight about the Columbia MBA?
We want people to understand the huge value of an MBA. People should examine
for themselves why they want an MBA what is it going to do for them. An MBA
it is not just for your next job, but for a career and a lifetime. It
prepares you for future changes, exposes you to foundations of all
industries and functions, and will open up a new world for you. It will be
there for you to fall back on. It also supplies you with a network of people
who will always be there should you decide to shift gears, change
directions, or start your own business. You can pick up the phone and call a
cluster-mate or alum, and they will open up their network and share their
experience with you. That’s for the rest of your life! It is not a
short-term investment, but a long-term one.
As I said at the beginning of our interview, this is a place to seize
opportunities – and at Columbia Business School, they are limitless!
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