Columbia Business School (2011)

2011/12

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C O L U M B I A B U S I N E S S S C H O O L

COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL

1 A B O U T C O L U M B I A B U S I N E S S S C H O O L

AnnualReport2011/12

The Veritas Prep 2011-12 Annual Report for Columbia Business SchoolAt Veritas Prep, we make a point of following trends and noting changes in the landscape of top business programs. Over the years, Columbia Business School has tended to move around the rankings quite a bit, yet decade after decade, it is always in the top ten, and often in the top five.

Columbia is often at the top of our clients’ lists, too. This is due to the overall reputation and prestige of Columbia University, its prime location in New York City, the finance capital of the world, and the impressive history of the business school itself as a feeder to Wall Street and other industries.

Of course, these are the elements that everyone knows about Columbia. We have developed this Annual Report to introduce you to the other strengths behind the Columbia Business School brand - and to alert you to changes in the admissions process - to help you best to position yourself for success at this very competitive program. Our deep experience and long track record of helping clients gain admission to Columbia Business School informs the content of this Annual Report, and we hope you find it useful.

What’s Inside

About Columbia Business School ..............................................2

What’s New at Columbia ..............................................................6

The Columbia Business School Approach ..............................7

What Makes Columbia Business School Different? .............8

Admissions at Columbia ............................................................. 10

Application Options:

Early Decision and the J-Term .................................... 10

Deadlines ........................................................................... 12

2011-12 Essays & Essay Strategies ............................ 13

Admissions Statistics ..................................................... 16

Columbia Business School Students ...................................... 17

Columbia Academics & Grading Policies .............................. 18

Notable Courses and Faculty

at Columbia Business School .................................................... 22

APPENDIX ........................................................................................ 24

Admissions Statistics ..................................................... 24

Visiting Columbia ........................................................... 24

Costs & Financial Assistance at Columbia .............. 26

Professional Recruitment at Columbia ................... 27

Employment Statistics .................................................. 28

Veritas Prep and Your Columbia Application ...................... 29



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With a high yield typically over 70%, most candidates accept an offer to go to this powerhouse institution. The acceptance rate at Columbia rivals that at Wharton and Harvard, at just 15% year after year.

“New York City is [Columbia Business School’s] living laboratory for business research and the implementation of ideas.”

Dean Glenn Hubbard

About Columbia Business SchoolColumbia is one of the world’s elite business schools, notable for its access to impressive speakers and career opportunities due to its prime location in New York City, as well as its long tradition of excellence in finance. Columbia has increased its global perspective in recent years, featuring a growing population of international students as well as numerous connections to foreign programs.

Columbia Business School emphasizes “big picture” frameworks that go beyond mere technical expertise. The MBA program is designed to instill both the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the fast-moving, competitive world of business. Columbia Business School’s “finance-heavy” reputation is earned by a rich legacy, particularly their early 20th century history and the development of Value Investing by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in the 1920s. Notable alumni who have proven the worth of a Columbia Business School education include Mario Gabelli (Gabelli Funds), Henry Kravis (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts), Lionel Pincus (Warburg Pincus), and Jerry Speyer (Tishman Speyer) - and of course Warren Buffett, among many others. That said, for quite some time, the school has spent considerable effort on broadening its base of recognized excellence beyond the realm of finance, and these efforts have only accelerated under current Dean Glenn Hubbard.

Dean Hubbard is a prominent economist; As chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors, he was one of the architects of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. He also served in the Treasury during the Clinton years., Hubbard has been affiliated with Columbia since 1988 and took over as Dean of the business school in 2004. He has taken steps to correct what earlier generations of students might have called “under-management” of the school’s brand, and has put his stamp on the institution.

Dean Hubbard is also a public persona. In 2010, his book Seeds of Destruction offered a fairly damning treatise on governmental policy that is full of doom and gloom for this country’s future - and some specific ideas on how to fix it. Hubbard was also the subject of a fairly damning portrayal himself in the movie Inside Job, about the causes of the economic crisis. His less-than-flattering interview and allegations that he and other Columbia professors have not been transparent in disclosing corporate sponsorship for research have prompted changes in corresponding policies at the school.

Hubbard’s efforts across a range of fronts at Columbia have directly helped to expand the school’s reputation . He has instituted changes to the curriculum, tended to the student experience, and has worked hard to extend the reach of the school’s bond with its alumni. It’s not an exaggeration to say that since he took over leadership, the school has overcome the limiting perception of an exclusive focus on finance and is recognized as a place for entrepreneurship, international business, and media, among other specializations.

The Dean’s formulation of the school’s positioning is eloquent in its simplicity: His aim is to ensure that “Columbia Business School surpasses every other in its ability to bridge relevant academic research with real world business practice.”

Candidates interested in Columbia Business School can take a cue from the school’s logo in understanding its orientation: the distinctive symbol that looks somewhat like the number 4 comes from the fleet-footed Greek Messenger of the Gods, Hermes (pronounced HER-mes; yes, you pronounce the “s”), who is responsible for business and commerce. Hermes is the name of the alumni magazine, and The Hermes Society is the group of student ambassadors who volunteer to host receptions and help with recruiting, outreach, and networking to interested candidates (Veritas Prep is always thrilled to see the names of so many of our former clients in this list of committed and enthusiastic Columbia students!).

Columbia benefits from a dynamic community as well. The caliber of student at Columbia Business School is always beyond impressive. Recent entering classes have included published authors, former hedge fund managers, an American Idol finalist, former White House staffer, an Olympic gold medalist, a climber of Mount Everest, and several members of the Peace Corps. And Columbia faculty are frequently quoted in mainstream publications, including the New York Times, NPR, Slate, Financial Times, and BusinessWeek.



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Columbia Business School on CampusWhile students and alumni benefit from (and generally enjoy) living in New York City, it is worth noting that New York can be a seductive and slightly distracting force, a simultaneous pro and con that more secluded schools like Tuck rarely contend with. There is one other drawback of a location in New York: the cost of real estate and the lack of easy expansion. The school’s primary presence on campus, Uris Hall, is a rather ugly testimony to this fact. Not even the most committed Columbia booster would try to put lipstick on the pig that is Uris Hall. Though the building’s exterior was renovated in the mid 1990s, it still looks the uninspired box from the 1950s that it is, even if the large auditoriums for lectures have been updated to state-of-the art. The cluster of classrooms on the upper floors, however, has proved more intractable, which is why, starting in 1999, many business classes began being held in the new Warren Hall (technically a Columbia Law building), and in 2002, permanent space in Warren was transferred to the business school.

Fortunately, Columbia University has a plan, and the business school is central to it: the Manhattanville Expansion, a 17-acre site in West Harlem between 129th and 133th Streets (just five blocks from the existing campus), with 6.8 million square feet in the master project plan to be fully developed by 2030. The business school will occupy 450,000 of those square feet (up from a mere 280,000 available in existing facilities). Though the recession and city red tape have lengthened the overall project timeline, the first phases are still on target for a 2012 opening - and this was most definitely helped with a $100 million gift from Columbia Business School alumni Henry Kravis in late 2010.

The business school will be the anchor to the first phase of the project, with two buildings underway (one of which will be named after Kravis), although the Columbia Neuroscience building will be the first to open. The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), a prime partner to the business school, is also moving in Phase 1.

Columbia University is complying with LEED Silver standards (lower than some other business schools like Ross who have recently opened Gold-certified buildings) and is committed to reducing emissions in accordance with Mayor Bloomberg’s ambitious PlaNYC goals.

“The school is a leading source of ideas, and it’s a leading source of talent...It’s really unrivaled... The vision that we have is by better connecting Columbia Business School with Manhattanville, we’re not only going to enhance the education of our students, but we certainly are going to enhance and strengthen the community.”

Henry Kravis,

Columbia Business School ‘69



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Areas of Study. Columbia does not have formal majors or concentrations. Instead, students design their own course of study by choosing from electives under the following Areas of Focus:

• Accounting

• Decision, Risk & Operations

• Entrepreneurship

• Finance & Economics

• Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Management

• Management/Leadership

• Marketing

• Media

• Private Equity

• Real Estate

• Social Enterprise

• Value Investing

Some of these are further divided into subspecialties (e.g., specializations in Investment Management and Corporate Finance fall under Finance). When completing your application to Columbia Business School, you will be asked to select from among these Areas of Focus, to indicate to the admissions committee what you are interested in studying during your MBA coursework (your selections on your application are not binding).

Degree Programs at Columbia Business SchoolAugust Start. The majority of students at Columbia are on the traditional track of the two-year, full-time program common to most American business schools. About 540 people graduate each year (almost 3/4 of the class) from this traditional two-year program. Columbia does not offer a part-time MBA program.

January Term. Columbia is the only top American business school that offers an accelerated option with the identical curriculum, completed in less time: just 16 months, instead of 21 for the August start. Harvard and some other schools used to offer this option but discontinued it in the 1990s, probably due to the administrative burden it undoubtedly represents and also because it requires campus to remain open all summer to support classes for this cohort.

Students in Columbia’s J-Term commence their studies in January and finish in May of the following year. Instead of spending that first summer of business school in an internship, the J-Term is in class, completing the second semester core curriculum. This means that when the September comes around, they will have completed the same classroom credit hours as those who began the previous fall. When their colleagues who started the previous year return to campus as second-years, the two cohorts merge, taking electives together, going through recruiting, and the following spring, walking across the stage together as one graduating class.

There are usually three 90-student clusters in the J-Term (see the Academics section for a discussion of the cluster system at Columbia), which means that about 180 students in each graduating class began in the J-Term. The MBA degree they earn is identical to those who started in September. The only difference between the J-Term and the September start is the lack of a summer internship, which means that this accelerated program is best suited for those who are not changing careers. It is also unusual to find a dual-degree student in the J-Term.

The compacted schedule of the J-Term lowers the opportunity cost of lost salary and is ideal for:

• Entrepreneurs

• Students who work (or will work) in the family business

• Students returning to their current employer, whether or not they are financially sponsored (there are few of these; most sponsored students gravitate towards the EMBA options)

• Candidates who possess a strong professional network in the industry of their choice

See the Admissions section below for important considerations to keep in mind with a J-Term application. Note that fellowships are not available to J-Term students. And, these students may find themselves at a disadvantage if applying to the highly competitive second-year Value Investing Program, because applications are due in May when their first semester is just ending (students starting in September will be finishing their second semester and will also be able to present their upcoming summer internship as part of their application package to the program).



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Executive MBAs. Columbia has a variety of programs available for those with more experience, including their New York-based EMBA, and several offered in partnership with other top business schools around the world. There is often some confusion between these different programs, yet each is quite unique in terms of structure and content. The Columbia admissions office has consolidated all application processes and standardized admissions across the Columbia EMBA and the regular full-time day MBA.

• Columbia EMBA in New York - most closely resembles the full-time Columbia MBA program among the EMBA choices. Two flavors of the Columbia EMBA are offered:

• Saturday-Only EMBA, a new 24-month option with (as the name suggests) classes held on Saturdays, with one full-week residency in the second year. Requires no employer sponsorship, financial or otherwise. Just one start date of May is available.

• EMBA Friday-Saturday, the existing format and the shorter option, allowing students to finish in just 20 months. Matriculations are available in January and in September. Employer sponsorship of time is required due to the numerous weekday on-site residencies.

• EMBA-Global with London Business School, with more of a US-European focus as you might expect, or EMBA-Global Asia offered with a third partner, the University of Hong Kong.

• The Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA, which is more closely managed out of the Haas School of Business in California.

Each of these EMBA options has slightly different requirements in terms of essay questions, deadlines, and internal application review procedures, though the competitiveness among all of them is roughly the same, and all are slightly less competitive than admissions to the full-time Columbia MBA.

A key advantage to the joint programs is that because graduates fulfill the requirements of the separate schools, they earn degrees from each and are therefore alumni of each as well, gaining access to the resources and privileges (and alumni networks) of multiple top programs simultaneously.

This Annual Report covers strategies and insights geared towards the two full-time programs (the J-Term and the standard September start). However, because essay questions are identical for the full-time programs and the two Columbia EMBA in New York options, candidates may benefit from studying the recommendations offered on essay questions below (deadlines and admissions policies are different though).

Joint Degree ProgramsColumbia offers 10 dual degree programs. Applicants must apply to both schools and be accepted independently at each, though the application to the second school need not be concurrent with the first. For example, an applicant may apply in the Fall for admission to Columbia’s MBA program, and then apply the next Fall to Columbia Law for the JD (or vice versa).

Available joint degrees at Columbia Business School include:

• Architecture: MBA and MS in Urban Planning

• Dental and Oral Surgery: MBA and DDS

• Engineering and Applied Science: MBA and MS

• School of International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”): MBA and MIA

• Journalism: MBA and MS

• Law: a 3-year and the standard 4-year MBA and JD

• Nursing: MBA and MS in Nursing

• Physicians and Surgeons: MBA and MD

• Public Health: MBA and MPH

• Social Work: MBA and MS in Social Work

The JD/MBA, MBA/MIA and MD/MBA are the most commonly pursued joint degrees.



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What’s New at ColumbiaBesides the new Saturday-Only EMBA introduced in Spring 2011, the following are a few other changes that Columbia has made recently:

• Columbia made slight adjustments to its essay questions this year. After last year’s radical change in what the school asked of candidates, this year’s application reflects more of a refinement than a course correction. The biggest change is that Columbia has added back a third essay question that forces applicants to research the school’s offerings and provide a tailored answer. The admissions team has also adjusted their classic career goals essay and now supplemented it with a very direct question about what the candidate plans to do with the MBA. Essay 2 is largely unchanged. See the Application Essays section below for our assessment of these changes and some recommended approaches for tackling the challenges of these essays.

• The Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy launched in May. This new interdisciplinary academic center will bring the law and business schools at Columbia even closer together (they already share a building), and the alumni donation making this center possible is also funding two professorships, one in each graduate school. Anyone interested in pursuing a career in public policy or a JD/MBA now has even more resources available at Columbia.

• Columbia Business School has formalized a “conflict of interest” policy for faculty. In response to the controversy from the movie Inside Job, professors are now expected to disclose any work they’re doing that may create, or appear to create, a conflict of interest, including corporate sponsorship of research and expert witness testimony.

• Columbia also received a $100 million gift to its endowment from alumni Henry Kravis, (founder of asset management firm KKR) earmarked for one of the two new buildings going up on the Manhattanville campus (in West Harlem, north of the main university campus which is in Morningside Heights).



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The Columbia Business School ApproachUnder Dean Hubbard’s leadership, Columbia Business School has defined elements that make up its current approach, which can be summarized as:

Theory AND Practice. Columbia Business School’s aim in recent years is to create “whole” business thinkers who “connect the dots” and understand the importance of bigger picture frameworks such as globalization and the complexity of social (i.e. non-financial) metrics for evaluating business’ impact on the world around them. Bridging theory and practice has become a touchstone of the educational process. Research is important for Columbia’s faculty, and bringing the theory outside the classroom and applying it in the real world is a key driver in the curricular design.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset. Like it is at most top programs, entrepreneurship is a popular focus of study, however Columbia Business School takes this further with an emphasis on entrepreneurial thinking regardless of intended future career or discipline. Columbia proposes to imbue its graduates with an “entrepreneurial mindset for recognizing and capturing opportunity.”

Range of Expertise. Dean Hubbard’s efforts at diversifying the school’s thought leadership have paid off. Columbia is now recognized as being in the very top tier for leadership studies (along with Harvard), entrepreneurship (along with Stanford), international business (along with Wharton), and the varied fields of real estate, media, and social enterprise. Columbia Business School has competitive offerings in other key areas such as operations, marketing, human capital management, and healthcare. The presence on the faculty of media darlings such as Milstein Real Estate Professor (and now Vice Dean) Chris Mayer, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and International Development guru Jagdish Bagwati have served to elevate the school’s profile in other areas beyond finance.

Global Reach. Columbia’s global perspective is the deliberate result of decades’ worth of (often-expensive) investments. A closer inspection of Columbia’s efforts shows the sheer scale of the school’s global undertakings. How many other schools have gala fundraisers in London? How many schools organize a Pan-Asian reunion in Hong Kong only to have to turn away hundreds of alumni because the 500-person cap has been reached? In any given week, between the Dean’s Office, Admissions, and the External Relations team, Columbia has staff trotting around the globe tending to the school’s relationships with alumni, business and government leaders, and prospective students. The alumni database is now 39,000 members strong, and it is most definitely a worldwide network.

The school’s global philosophy is also evident in the classroom: 38% of students are from abroad. Though it is not an admissions requirement, applicants demonstrating either experience abroad or functional ability in a language besides English can hold an advantage, and Uris Hall can at times seem like a modern day Tower of Babel. In 1991, Jerome Chazen (MBA ’50) gave $10 million to found the Institute of International Business at Columbia Business School that now bears his name. (For more on the Chazen Institute, see below.) The popular joint degree programs with the School for International and Public Affairs offer additional opportunities to Columbia students.


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T H E C O L U M B I A B U S I N E S S S C H O O L A P P R O A C H

What Makes Columbia Business School Different?

1. The New York Advantage. This used to be Columbia’s tagline, and we feel it still holds true for this school. The wealth of resources available - and the wealthy resources - are all potentially advantageous to a student at Columbia Business School. Columbia had over 400 speakers on campus last year. While the “other” New York business school is perhaps better situated in terms of the geography of the Isle of Manhattan, the reputation and clout of Columbia Business School continues to pull New York’s movers and shakers up to Morningside Heights.

2. Value Investing. A cornerstone of Columbia’s finance program is the Value Investing Program in the Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing. Perhaps the most famous value investor in the world is Warren Buffett, a graduate of this program. The basic approach of value investing is evaluating fundamentals against market price to determine intrinsic value for a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. A variety of Value Investing classes and resources are available to Columbia’s entire MBA and EMBA student bodies, however the Value Investing Program is only open to MBA students, with a competitive application process for admission. The advantages? It’s taught by more than 25 investors who serve as adjunct faculty. These are practitioners, not just academics. Students also benefit from an impressive roster of guest speakers, and invaluable mentorship and recruiting support. About 40 students are selected based on interest and “aptitude” for investing as expressed in an application essay, mandatory interview, and a two-page writeup of a proposed long or short investment. Many classes in the Value Investing Program require students to pitch ideas, usually multiple pitches per class. This type of hands-on training - and the exposure students get to marquee Wall Street firms - puts Columbia’s Value Investing Program in a category by itself.

3. Master Classes. These project-based electives are superlative in terms of offering the ability of second-year students to roll up their sleeves and apply what they have learned. This is one element of Columbia’s focus on combining theory with practice.

4. A Range of Excellence. While certainly Columbia is known for finance - after all, value investing was invented here - it also has well-regarded faculty from, and deep connections to, media, real estate, marketing, and other fields.

5. An Accelerated Option. Columbia is the only full-time day MBA program in the U.S. that offers two intakes, August and January - and the J-Term allows students to progress through in the quickest possible time, at just 16 months end to end. No other American business school has the identical curriculum available in such an accelerated format.

“The vibrant community [is] one fosters that a lifetime of learning and invaluable relationships.”

Dean Hubbard


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Columbia Is a Good Fit for You If...1. You are an excellent student. Columbia places a premium on strong academics. If

you did well in college, they may find your profile all the more appealing.

2. You have a bit more work experience. While Columbia will review any application that comes in, it’s tougher for younger candidates to be successful here, while those with more work experience might see a favorable outcome.

3. You want an EMBA from two great schools. Earning your degree through one of Columbia’s Executive MBA programs, in partnership with either London Business School, or UC-Berkeley Haas, means that you will be an alumni of both programs, offering a combined breadth of opportunities and resources unheard of for graduates of most elite programs.

4. You’re not changing careers, and you’re in a hurry. As mentioned above, the Columbia J-Term is the only accelerated MBA program available in the U.S. It’s not the right option for everyone, but if you are committed to your existing career and just need more skills to advance, or if you’re an entrepreneur or will be returning to a family business, the J-Term can be an ideal choice, with lower opportunity cost than the traditional two-year track.

5. You want to work on Wall Street. This hardly needs to be mentioned, but in case it’s not obvious: Columbia is a major feeder program to the bulge bracket i-banks, hedge funds, and the most elite financial institutions in the world. Goldman Sachs only recruits at a handful of schools: here, and at Wharton and LBS. If you want to play with the big boys, this could be the place for you.

“ [H]aving sound principles takes you through everything, and the bedrock principles that really I learned from Graham and Dodd, haven’t had to do anything with them.These different options are laid out fully on the left.”

Warren Buffett,

Columbia Business School ‘51


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Admissions at ColumbiaApplication Options: Early Decision and the J-TermIn nearly all respects, Columbia does admissions differently. They don’t have fixed rounds the way most other top American schools do, and they have a binding Early Decision option which can be confusing. This combined with the J-Term program means that some explanation is necessary in order to help applicants understand which is the right MBA track - and when is the right time to apply.

J-Term. While the J-Term is truly a different program not a different admissions process, it does merit some discussion here:

• First of all, there is just one deadline for the J-Term: in early October (coincides with many schools’ Round 1 deadlines).

• There is no Early Decision option for the J-Term.

• The waitlist for the J-Term does not roll over to the August class. If you are placed on the waitlist for the J-Term, the latest date you can expect to get a final answer is usually mid-December (perhaps earlier if you’re not a local candidate).

• If you are declined a spot in the J-Term, you can apply in the August Regular Decision cycle during the same admissions season, however you’ll need to significantly improve your profile and fix the weaknesses that the caused the original decision, or you’ll likely see the same results. Veritas Prep recommends waiting to the following application season before you re-apply (and at that point you could apply to either the J-Term or the September start, in both cases you’re considered a reapplicant).

• The J-Term is less competitive in that the school gets fewer applications, which means it’s easier for an exceptional candidate to stand out, but there are also fewer spots available (usually around 180).

The Columbia Admissions Office processes applications in this order - and always, applications within a category are processed in the order received, so first-come, first-served:

1. J-Term applications are prioritized because the admissions office needs to construct that class fast, since they’ll be headed to campus in December in order to begin their studies just a few months later, in January. All decisions for J-Term applicants are generally finalized by December.

2. Early Decision applications are processed somewhat in parallel with the J-Term pool.

3. Regular Decision applications are not processed until the J-Term and the ED applications have all been cleared. The soonest the Regular Decision is opened tends to be in the December timeframe.

Rolling AdmissionsColumbia’s admissions process is rolling which means three things:

1. Applications are evaluated in the order received, so there is a significant advantage to applying early

2. There is no schedule for issuing interview invitations or final decisions; application decisions are released when they are rendered, which can be at any point in the process

3. Columbia uses the waitlist a little differently than other schools, often as a “holding stage” while they evaluate additional candidates

Because Columbia does not have “rounds” the way its peers do, sometimes people are tempted to call the Early Decision cycle “Round 1” and the Regular Decision cycle “Round 2” - but this is a misunderstanding of both the process and the implications of applying in one versus the other. These different options are laid out fully on the left..


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A D M I S S I O N S A T C O L U M B I A

Early DecisionEarly Decision is a binding opportunity at Columbia. This means that if you submit an ED application to Columbia, and they accept it, you are committing in advance to say yes to them. You promise to decline any other schools’ offer that might come around later - even if it was from, say, Harvard. So, it may require some thought before going down this route.

Accordingly, Columbia’s ED process is different than any other school’s Round 1, and it’s even different from many “Early Action” rounds such as the one offered at Tuck, which is non-binding (though Tuck does require a deposit to be submitted quite soon after notice of acceptance if you want them to hold your spot).

Because of this binding element, the Early Decision option at Columbia is ideal for candidates who have completed their research and decided that Columbia is the school for them. Early Decision applications are reviewed before Regular Decision applications, and this process tends to serve as a nice win-win for both the school and the (well qualified) applicant: It makes the yield management process easier for Columbia, and gives the applicant the comfort of knowing that he or she will attend Columbia early in the process.

Early Decision candidates who are offered admission have just two weeks from acceptance to submit their nonrefundable $6,000 first deposit. If such a level of commitment is problematic, the applicant is urged to pursue admission through the Regular Decision process. Though the occasional opportunist does, in fact, renege on this offer, the admissions office’s attitude is summed up by: “We’ll let some other institution handle someone who so casually breaks their word and pledge.”

Candidates might consider an Early Decision application to Columbia as part of a strategy of Round 1 applications to other schools, however it doesn’t make sense (nor does it strike us as ethical) to submit to multiple “early-action” rounds.

Each year, Columbia generally is the first American business school to open its application and thus unofficially kicks off the admissions season, with the admissions committee starting to evaluate Early Decision and J-Term candidates in the late Spring. The ED round ends in early October. Early Decision is only available for the September start (not the January term). In years past, Columbia offered a commitment to return decisions for ED candidates within 8 weeks. That commitment is no longer made to candidates (a change coinciding with the arrival of the new admissions director), however ED applications are always processed before Regular Decision candidates. There are also no “rules” about how many ED candidates the school will accept. It might vary from a third to almost half of the September class (so from perhaps to 180 to 270 candidates). Columbia does not break down the statistics of incoming applications based on ED versus Regular Decision versus J-Term.

Each year, Columbia generally is the first American business school to open its application and thus unofficially kicks off the admissions season, with the admissions committee starting to evaluate Early Decision and J Term candidates in the late Spring. The ED round ends in early October. Early Decision is only available for the August start (not the January term). ED applications are always processed before Regular Decision candidates. There are no “rules” about how many ED candidates the school will accept. It might vary from a third to almost half of the August-entry class (so, from perhaps to 180 to 270 candidates). Columbia also does not release statistics of incoming applications based on ED versus Regular Decision versus J-Term.

“As an Early Decision candidate to Columbia Business School, I am committed to attending Columbia Business School and will withdraw all applications and decline all offers from other schools upon admission to Columbia Business School.”

Statement of Commitment required of Early Decision applicants.


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Regular DecisionThe most confusing part of the Columbia Regular Decision admissions process is the fact that it appears that there’s only one deadline, and it’s in April.

This is misleading for two reasons:

1. Because of the rolling admissions process described above, applications are evaluated in the order received, which means there are fewer and fewer slots available as time goes by. An application received in March or April simply doesn’t have the same odds of success as one that is submitted in October or November.

2. Merit fellowships are only available to those who submit by an early January deadline, so for many candidates, this January date is the “real” deadline they care about, and that’s when the bulk of applications are received.

Regardless of what the “official” deadline is, international candidates should get their application in as early as possible, to make sure they have enough time to secure required visas.

Columbia does admit the bulk of their August-start students through the Regular Decision process, and it’s when most people apply. Do not be lulled by that April deadline into thinking that you can delay your application to Columbia. For most candidates, it would make sense to make Columbia your first application, not your last.

What Does All This Mean?Here’s a mini-decision tree to help you interpret Columbia’s policies and evaluate your options:

1. If you are in love with Columbia, submit in the Early Decision option (early October deadline)

2. If you are in love with Columbia and want to get through business school faster - and are an entrepreneur or will be going back to a family business or do not otherwise need the summer internship experience - submit to the J-Term (early October deadline)

3. If you really like Columbia but are not comfortable committing to attend Columbia over any other school that might eventually say “yes” to you: submit early to the Regular Decision process (by “early” we mean before January)

4. If you are an international candidate, you should try to submit as early as possible (Early Decision or Regular Decision), and definitely submit no later than March

5. If you are a reapplicant to Columbia, you should submit in the Early Decision option, to emphasize your commitment to the school

IMPORTANT NOTE: The actual admissions cycle that you submit to is determined by a selection on the Columbia application itself; it is not dictated by the day you submit your application. The essay questions and application requirements are absolutely the same for all of these options, with the only exception being the commitment that binds the Early Decision applicant.

DeadlinesBecause of the unique nature of Columbia’s rolling admissions, and the important considerations that come into play with the J-Term and the Early Decision rounds, you should review the preceding section for insights into the potential advantages available to you. In all cases, Veritas Prep strongly recommends you to APPLY EARLY to Columbia Business School. The dates below are offered only because they are the absolute final cutoff day beyond which applications are not accepted; an application received by the school on a deadline is actually at a significant disadvantage than if it were submitted earlier.

January 2012 Start (J-Term Class of 2013): One Deadline Only

• Application Opened: May 2011

• Application Reviews Begin: May 2011

• Final Application Deadline: October 5, 2011

August 2012 Start (Class of 2014): Early Decision

• Application Open: May 2011

• Application Reviews Begin: May 2011

• Final Application Deadline: October 5, 2011

August 2012 Start (Class of 2014): Regular Decision

• Application Open: May 2011

• Application Reviews Begin: December 2011

• Deadline for fellowship consideration: January 4, 2012

• Final Application Deadline: April 11, 2012

All deadlines are 11:59 PM Eastern time on the dates specified above.


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2011-12 Essays & Essay StrategiesColumbia has expanded its essay questions somewhat this year, while still forcing candidates to focus even more strongly onto career goals. Last year, Columbia had radically shifted direction by asking just two essay questions. They’ve reintroduced a third question which, as in prior years, requires applicants to explore the school’s programs and offerings and write about them. The biggest shift though are the changes in essay 1 and the introduction of the “short answer” question that asks you point-blank to tell them what you want to do with an MBA. As always, Columbia allows for an optional essay if there are extraneous circumstances to be explained, and as always, Veritas Prep does not recommend submitting the optional essay unless a specific application weakness needs to be explained.

Applicants to any of Columbia’s programs will go through the same application and answer the same essay questions, including Columbia in New York EMBA candidates. (Joint EMBAs with other schools have different processes and different questions.)

Short-Answer Question: What is your post-MBA professional goal?

(200 characters maximum) It’s clear that Columbia is trying to tap into the “less is more” ethos that is popular these days. Think of this as the positioning statement that sums up your career goals in one sentence. Do you want to be known as the applicant who wants to run a sports team, or perhaps the applicant who wants to launch a renewable energy startup? Columbia provides some examples on its site, but while this is helpful, we also wonder if next year we’ll hear admissions officers lamenting that applicants didn’t get creative enough and hewed too closely to the examples given. No need to take too many risks or get too gimmicky here, but remember that your career goals are an important aspect of your candidacy that you want the admissions committee to remember about you.

1 Considering your post-MBA and long term professional goals, why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career?

Additionally, why is Columbia Business School a good fit for you?

(750 words maximum) This question essentially carries over from last year, although it’s been rephrased somewhat, and now includes the “at this point in your career” part. Also, while last year’s question asked, “How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals?” this one places more emphasis on your fit with the school. Despite the changes, we’d still categorize it as the typical “Why an MBA? Why this school?” question that many top MBA programs ask. As we said last year, many applicants fail to adequately to explain why Columbia is the best place for them to earn their MBA, given the school’s culture, academic strengths, ties to certain industries, etc. Yes, Columbia has a big name and proximity to Wall Street. Those strengths are obvious. What else does Columbia offer that you can’t find anywhere else? This is what the school is looking for when it asks about “fit.”

2 Describe a life experience that has shaped you. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.

(500 words maximum)This question is new this year, although the second sentence (about wanting to “get a sense of who you are”) carries over directly from last year’s Essay #2. We like the more direct nature of this year’s question, which asks for a specific life experience, rather than simply asking about your personal interests, which last year’s essay did. As we always say, when a school changes an essay prompt from one year to the next, that usually means that the admissions committee wasn’t getting what it wanted. Our bet is that last year’s responses were bland and weren’t revealing enough, so Columbia narrowed it down this year in an attempt to get to know you even better. Don’t be afraid to reveal something that seems a little more personal than what you thought you would share going into this process. They clearly want to see how you have grown and evolved in your relatively young life.

“Essay 1 is the heart of the application.”

Columbia Admissions Office

“We would like to see you perform well on the GMAT. If you have a lower GMAT, you want to make sure that every other part of your application is as strong as possible.”


“The résumé gives me a picture of the applicant. I use it as an introduction before reading the rest of the application.”

Assistant Dean of Admissions Mary Miller


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3 For the third essay, please choose one of the following three

options: (250 words maximum) Option A. The annual A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition is a student initiative managed and run by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). The competition encourages Columbia MBA students to explore creative, entrepreneurial ideas that are sufficiently ambitious in scope and scale to be considered “outrageous.” Students explore these ideas while learning firsthand what goes into the development and presentation of a solid business proposal.

Develop your own outrageous business idea. In essay form, compose your elevator pitch.

All of these optional essays are new this year. For this one, Columbia wants to see several things. First, the school needs to know that you’ve done your homework and understand how much emphasis the school places on entrepreneurship. (Don’t care to become an entrepreneur? That’s okay. Remember that you don’t have to choose this topic to write about.)

Columbia also wants to see - if you claim to want to be an entrepreneur - some real passion come through in this essay. Your idea shouldn’t be a random one, but rather something that’s rooted in one of your interests, whether it’s as big-minded as solving world hunger or as prosaic as fantasy football. Finally, Columbia wants to see if you can dream big. You don’t need to submit an entry that would win the competition here, but you do need to show that you’re the type of big dreamer the school looks for.

Option B. Columbia deeply values its vibrant student community, the building of which begins at orientation when admitted students are assigned to clusters of 65 to 70 fellow students who take most of the first-year core classes together. During the first weeks of school, each cluster selects a cluster chair. Further strengthening the student community are the more than 100 active student organizations at Columbia Business School, ranging from cultural to professional to community service–oriented. Leadership positions within clusters and clubs offer hands-on management and networking opportunities for students as they interact with fellow students, administrators, faculty members, alumni, and practitioners.

You are running for either cluster chair or a club leadership position of your choosing. Compose your campaign speech.

If we were to boil this essay down to one word, it’s “fit.” The admissions committee wants to know if they can envision you as someone who will plug into the student culture, get involved, and make things happen. Do you plan on just sitting in class and being a wallflower, retreating to your New York City apartment after class is over? Then this essay isn’t for you, and Columbia wants to send a message that the school may not be for you, either.

This is a great chance to demonstrate your knowledge of the school and to show off your enthusiasm for everything Columbia has to offer. If you’re having a hard time choosing which of these optional essays to choose, we’d recommend this one. “Fit” and “getting involved” are two themes that always help your case. Finally, don’t be afraid to have a little fun with this one. In real life, these speeches are often at least a bit light-hearted (imagine inside jokes about bad cafeteria food, and so on), so this essay can be, too!

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/entrepreneurship/initiatives/outrageous

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/academics/clustersystem

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/student-groups

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/student-groups


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Option C. Founded nearly three decades ago, the Executives in Residence Program at Columbia Business School integrates senior executives into the life of the School. Current executives in residence include more than a dozen experts in areas ranging from media and investment banking to private equity and management. A hallmark of the program is one-on-one counseling sessions in which executives advise students about their prospective career choices.

Select one of the current executives in residence with whom you would like to meet during your time at Columbia. Explain your selection and tell us how you would best utilize your half hour one-on-one session.

Columbia’s Executives in Residence Program is one of the school’s true strengths and points of difference vs. other top MBA programs, and we like it a lot. However, unless you see someone on the list of executives who really appeals to you, we recommend that you not try to make this essay work. We just envision too many applicants trying to force a story here when they simply don’t have one that comes naturally.

If you do see someone on the list who sparks your interest, though, this is a good chance to help the Columbia admissions team better understand how you’re thinking about your future career goals. For example, does one of the executives in residence have five children? (This info is not hard to find. Researching these executives beyond Columbia’s web site is fair game!) If family is important to you, then describing a meaningful half-four conversation with the executive about work/life balance could make for a terrific essay here.

“Columbia Women in Business is the largest club on campus.”


http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/executives

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/executives

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/executives/executives


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Admissions CriteriaColumbia Business School looks for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Their admissions process favors candidates with a history of high academic achievement; those with serious blemishes on their undergraduate record tend to have more difficulty securing an offer from Columbia. Columbia students share a record of achievement, demonstration of strong leadership skills, and the ability to work in teams. Superior communication and writing skills are assumed and essential, and the environment favors those who are proficient in a language beyond English.

The Columbia admissions process evaluates three dimensions equally:

1. Academic strength, measured by the GMAT and undergraduate/graduate transcripts, as well as any professional certifications like the CFA;

2. Personal characteristics, which need to be demonstrated throughout the essays and recommendations but most critically coming through on the new Essay 2; and

3. Professional promise, which is measured more acutely at Columbia than most any other top program. This is their assessment of whether your career goals are valid, feasible, and achievable.

Columbia also maintains a preference for candidates with at least some work experience. While we have seen them admit superlative candidates straight out of college, this is quite rare; 99% of the last few entering classes had at least one year of work experience. Veritas Prep recommends two or more years of work experience ideally for Columbia Business School applicants.

Interestingly enough, Interviews are not 100% required at Columbia, however they do interview most candidates before extending an offer. The exceptions to this mostly come into play for a reapplicant who was interviewed during his or her initial application process. Columbia tends to interview all applicants to its EMBA programs, especially EMBA-NY since those candidates tend to be local to the tri-state area and can more easily come onto campus and meet with the admissions team.

Columbia is also quite strict on its “no deferrals” policy; if you’re admitted to Columbia, and you accept, you better plan on going for the term you applied, or you’ll be a reapplicant like everyone else when you’re ready to try again.


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Columbia Business School StudentsColumbia ranks as one of the largest business schools in the world, with a typical class size around 725 students. As noted throughout this Annual Report, the international population is significant, as the percentage of students who come from abroad continues to creep up. Among the domestic population, Columbia is also focusing on diversity, with populations of female (33%) and U.S. minority (23%) students that are about the same as many other elite business schools.

Student OrganizationsColumbia boasts over 100 student organizations, covering the gamut of personal and professional interests, and the Office of MBA Student Life is dedicated to supporting this array of options. Each of the major disciplines at the school has a club that is meant to help extend the educational experience beyond the classroom. Furthermore, the Career Management Office has resources that the clubs can rely upon. The result is a wide array of outlets (to say nothing of lots of “leadership” roles to put on a resume) that students can use to extend their knowledge and influence in areas either of direct professional relevance or merely the personally interesting.

Some of the most prominent Columbia clubs are:

• Columbia Women in Business

• Private Equity and Venture Capital Club

• Investment Banking Club

• Sales and Trading Club

• Microbrew Society

• Wine Club

• Rugby Football Club

• Hermes Society (student ambassadors)

• Energy Club

• Healthcare industry Association

• International Development Club

• Marketing Association of Columbia

• Management Consulting Association

• Media Management Association

• Real Estate Association

• Social Enterprise Club

• Cluster Q, CBS’s LGBT group

The most organized of the clubs charge dues (some, in finance, north of $100 per year) and organize industry networking dinners and multi-day conferences. The resume books that are assembled of members’ resumes are an effective career launch tool for many. The school’s location in New York City ensures that lively and diverse speakers are brought to campus, with sometimes 100 events in a single week.

Recent prominent speakers include:• Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Fed

• Leonel Fernandez Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic

• Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase)

• Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric

• J. Christopher Flowers of J.C. Flowers & Co

• George Fisher of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

• Robert Pittman (formerly of AOL) currently Principal of Pilot Group

• Vikram Pandit (PhD ’86), CEO of Citigroup

• Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer

• Joel Klein, Education Chancellor of New York City

• Richard Parsons, CEO of Time Warner

• Patrick Cescau, CEO of Unilever

• Seth Godin, branding guru and author of Tribes and Purple Cow

Student Statistics (Classes entering in 2010)Because of the J-Term, Columbia reports data on an admissions cycle basis, rather than for a single graduating class. The last data available combines the two entering cohorts in 2010: the J-Term (part of the class of 2011) and the August-start (the majority of the class of 2012).

Matriculating Students ................................739(an increase of just 2 students)

Percent Female .............................................. 35%(up 2%)

Percent U.S. Minority ................................... 33%(up from 22%)

Percent International ................................. 40%(up 2%)


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C O L U M B I A A C A D E M I C S A N D G R A D I N G P O L I C I E S

Columbia Academics & Grading PoliciesThe Cluster SystemEven for people as talented as Columbia students tend to be, the experience of being dropped into the midst of a class of over 500 students (or about 200 in the J-Term) could prove intimidating. Columbia uses a cluster system to make it more manageable and to promote opportunities for building relationships among a smaller subsection of the class. The class is divided into 11 clusters of about 65 students each, with eight clusters in the September start and three in the J-Term. The Admissions Office composes the clusters to be a mix of backgrounds, interests, goals, and nationalities. The clusters provide student with a more manageable community, and relationships formed here often last a lifetime. Clusters are also assigned second-year student mentors to help navigate processes and protocols, fielding questions about the reputation of certain programs or professors, and to generally offer insights into both the job search and balancing the program with one’s sense of self and life.

The core of the Columbia experience is the stellar academics - classroom experiences led by leading luminaries who also happen to be great teachers. On the one end of the spectrum is the large auditorium packed to the rafters for a star like Bruce Greenwald (value investing) or Nobel-winner Joseph Stiglitz (globalization). The size of these classes (and their reputations) means that most Columbia grads share them as a common point of reference. On the other end of the scale is the small seminar with eight or ten participants, all of whom are on a strictly first-name basis with the professor. In these types of classes, the professor often brings in experienced professionals to supplement the learning with real-world insights and unexpected twists. The wise student will be sure to sample both these modes of teaching, and also the courses that occupy a middle ground between the two. The Columbia experience balances a mixture of traditional lecture/self-study/homework with group (or entire class) projects, and experiential learning (most notably in the Master Class, which is covered in greater detail below).


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The First Year: The Flexible CoreThe Columbia teaching philosophy stipulates that all introspective managers - and hence all Columbia MBAs - must be minimally fluent in the core foundations of business and structured quantitative reasoning. These functional domains are deemed so central that there is absolutely no flexibility in one’s first term (except to the extent that a student can test out of a core requirement through an exemption exam). To begin to savor the smorgasbord of academic offerings, the student must wait until the second semester, where two electives may be scheduled.

Remember that Dean Hubbard wants Columbia MBAs to “be able to connect the dots.” Furthermore, Columbia prides itself on staying close to the market and in responding to changing needs. As a result, in 2008 - pre-dating the financial crisis - the flexible core was launched, and its primary innovation was to compress some of the core foundation domains into half-term courses for first-year students, and to then offer students some limited choice in seeing how those foundational domains play out in practice. The net effect is that those key business domains are presented in applied settings with slightly different emphases.

For example, economics is covered in different ways Managerial Economics (“micro”), Global Economic Environment (“macro”) and GEE II: Business Cycles and Financial Markets. Similarly, strategy as a domain is central to Strategy Formulation, Game Theory & Business and Strategy, Structure & Incentives. The foundations of leadership from Leadership Development are expanded upon in Organizational Change, Power & Influence, Social Networks & Social Capital and/or Performance Measurement. So today’s Columbia Business School student is able to cover all the bases that the collective wisdom of Columbia’s history has deemed too critical to miss, with a framework that offers students some choice, and some pre-positioning for the two full-term electives that are permitted in the second term.

Individual, Business & Society. Another Columbia innovation that the school likes to tout as being unique is the Individual, Business & Society Curriculum (IBS). IBS is managed by Columbia’s Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership & Ethics, and the curriculum, which is integrated thoroughly into both the MBA and EMBA experience, proceeds from the premise that businesses operate in social contexts. The IBS curriculum realizes that earnings per share is not the sole metric for a business’ success, and furthermore, that devising alternate metrics is both critical and yet beset by problems of standardization in definitions. Still, the aspiring leader is made stronger by grappling with cases and readings that address these issues head on, and the IBS curriculum ensures that Columbia graduates will have done so in virtually every course of the core, and in many of the electives as well.

Program for Social Intelligence. The Program for Social Intelligence (PSI) is Columbia’s answer to Harvard’s long-held ownership of the top slot in leadership studies. PSI is a collection of courses and extracurricular activities designed to enhance students’ abilities as leaders throughout their careers. Many a Columbia MBA has looked back, with the wisdom borne of real-world experience, on the dreaded Human Behavior in Organizations core course and realized how the insights in that course contributed to their overall career success. PSI brings together multidisciplinary techniques and frameworks for managing individuals, teams, organizations and networks in dynamic, global contexts. PSI activities are grounded in a proven blend of empirical assessment, experiential learning and executive coaching. The PSI is woven into both the MBA and the EMBA experience. This combination helps students sharpen their self-awareness, judgment, and decision-making, while expanding their abilities to solve problems. The program is explicitly woven into both the flexible core (Leadership, Creating Effective Organizations) and also into elective courses (Managerial Negotiations, High Performance Leadership, Top Management Process).

The PSI includes an assessment center which helps students and alumni gain insight into their leadership styles, ability to detect others’ emotions, and work-style preferences in team contexts. Topics include:

• Leadership: Personality Patterns

• Leadership Styles Inventory

• Spot the Fake Smile

• Cognitive Style

• Culture in the Workplace

• Empathy Assessment

• Perceived Decoding Ability

The Core Foundations at Columbia are:• Corporate Finance

• Financial Accounting

• Economics

• Marketing

• Operations

• Strategy

• Leadership


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The Second Year: Electives & The Master ClassThe second year of the Columbia Business School experience is composed entirely of electives. Students take at least 11 electives in their Columbia career, and may also chose from over 200 elective courses at other schools within Columbia University. Students are given an endowment of bidding points for bidding for the electives they wish to secure entry to (when enrollment in said elective is capped).

Master Class. Columbia’s Master Classes reflect a belief that knowledge is only the start, and that educational value is created by “doing.” The Master Class is one of Dean Hubbard’s signature projects, which certainly plays to the school’s location in the midst of New York. For 12 weeks in a Master Class, small groups of students partner with senior teams (and a requisite high-level sponsor) in participating firms such as Pequot Capital, Pepsi, Home Depot, Paul Weiss, Chanel, and Hermes (in this case, the luxury brand, not the school mascot). The program also has a strong entrepreneurial tranche that helps small non-profit and commercial organizations which, by definition, candidates are not likely to have heard of - including a dedicated Entrepreneurship in Africa component. In a Master Class, students are given access to real-life managers’ information and are asked to develop their own responses to the challenges faced - which are then compared to what the firms themselves developed in order to look for solutions, information gaps, or other fresh interpretations. The gap between theory and practice can actually be quite large, and it’s a gap that the students learn to appreciate. Companies, too, benefit from a fresh set of extremely intelligent minds looking at the problem. The Master Class is Columbia’s cornerstone “experiential learning” offering. Master Classes are electives available only to second-years, and are competitive; some require specific applications and are very limited in the number of students accepted.

Recent projects are testament to the intellectual boldness of the Master Class program:

• Entrepreneurship in Africa

• Advertising, Branding & Creativity

• Creation of a Retail Enterprise

• Education Leadership Consulting

• New Product Development

• Retailing Strategy & Operations

• High Potential Entrepreneurship

• Real Estate Investment & Entrepreneurship

• The Marketing of a Nation: Israel

Course EnrollmentStudents use the Business Online Selection System (BOSS) to bid for courses. During bidding rounds, a student can bid, change the bid, or drop the bid - as many times as desired. Once the round closes, the final bids are processed, and the student’s point endowment is modified accordingly. The process is similar to that of many top business schools that use some form of bidding or point allocation to determine spots in the most popular courses.

“In a Master Class, students are given access to real-life managers’ information and are asked to develop their own responses to the challenges faced - which are then compared to what the firms themselves developed in order to look for solutions, information gaps, or other fresh interpretations.”

GradingColumbia students are a talented lot, but graduate school grading can still come as a bit of shock to people with fond memories of being praised throughout college. Instead of using the A-F scale, Columbia uses the pass system, although there are different shades of passing: A non-binding curve has been adopted by the faculty, with a recommended outcome of 20 to 25% of the class receiving an “H,” 50 to 60% receiving an “HP”, and the balance getting the lower grades.

H Honors (10 points)

HP High Pass (7 points)

P Pass (4 points)

LP Low Pass (1 point)

F Fail (0 points)

IN Incomplete

Students in the second, third and fourth terms will have Dean’s Honor List recorded on their transcripts if their point average is greater than 8.5.


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Columbia Business Plan CompetitionsColumbia, like most prestigious business schools, offers several business plan competitions. Among the most popular are:

The A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition. 32 teams of students perform a two-minute pitch before executives from firms such as RRE Ventures, Call Street, Tango Media, and Millennium Technology Ventures. Finalists are asked to expand upon their pitch if selected. The whole event is “live,” and the “outrageous” part of its name requires that ideas be sufficiently ambitious in scope and scale. $14,000 in combined prize money is at stake for the top three finishers.

The Sheldon Seevak Real Estate Business Plan Competition. Under the auspices of the Milstein Center on Real Estate, this competition honors the founder of Goldman Sach’s real estate practice, and offers $10,000 in prizes.

International ProgramsSince its founding, over 2,500 Columbia MBA candidates have taken advantage of funding provided by the Chazen Institute to study foreign languages (Arabic, Business English, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish) with a distinct emphasis on applied business contexts. The program offers two hours of intensive immersion in classes with no more than nine students each. The Chazen Institute offers Columbia students the chance to spend their third semester at a partner school abroad, and to receive full credit for that study towards the Columbia MBA.

Partner schools are located in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK - and even Berkeley, California. Chazen Institute study trips abroad are also popular. During these 7-10 day trips, groups of 20 to 40 students and a sponsoring faculty member meet with business leaders, government officials, and alumni while visiting businesses, factories and cultural offerings in the foreign destination. Trips often have a specific theme as well.

Destinations over the past few years include: Bulgaria/Romania, China, Dubai/Doha, Japan, Mexico (Real Estate), South Korea, India (Social Enterprise), Italy, Southeast Asia, Egypt/Israel, Argentina (Social Enterprise), and South Africa (Real Estate). Second-year students can take their interests and run further with them (to say nothing of laying the groundwork for developing a formal reputation in regional specialization) by applying to become Chazen Society Fellows, who undertake research and publish their findings in the Chazen Web Journal of International Business.

Recent student articles include:

• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Ethics

• Lessons from the Japanese Bubble for the US

• Green Revolution/ Mobilizing Africa’s Agricultural Resources

• Navigating the Wind and Solar Markets: International Perspectives on Industry Economics, Financing and Policy

• The Impact of the Financial Crisis on China

• Branding in China: The Challenge of Selling Starbucks Coffee in a Tea-Drinking Nation and Other Lessons

International Business“International Business” is a formal study area at Columbia, and this sample of recent course offerings hints both at the breadth of scholarship and practical focus:

• International Banking: Value & Risk

• International Financial Management

• Emerging Media

• Investing in China

• Global Real Estate Investment

• Global Marketing

• The International Media Business

• Growth & Sustainability in Brazil

• Entrepreneurship in Africa Master Class


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N O T A B L E C O U R S E S A N D F A C U L T Y A T C O L U M B I A B U S I N E S S S C H O O L

Notable Courses and Faculty atColumbia Business SchoolColumbia faculty members conduct research into virtually every business domain and region one might be able to conceive of. Among the faculty (over 170 professors, sourced from every major region of the world), the Executives in Residence, and the Master Class program, Columbia students are assured of being able to bridge the gap between world class theory and world class experience.

Bruce GreenwaldRobert Heilbrunn Professor of Finance and Asset Management,Director of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd InvestingAmong Columbia’s luminaries, few professors have reached the rock star or guru level of Finance Professor Bruce Greenwald. In addition to being the leading authority on value investing - or, as the New York Times put it, “the guru to the Wall Street gurus” - Professor Greenwald is an expert on productivity and information economics. The titles of his classes suggest the range of his interests: Value Investing; Economics of Strategic Behavior; and Globalization & Markets & the Changing Economic Landscape. Not only is he well versed on multiple subjects, but he’s also a great teacher in the Socratic method –students who are unprepared for class should be on high alert. Year in and year out, Professor Greenwald’s classes are significantly oversubscribed, but about 650 students annually find a way into at least one of them. Professor Greenwald is by far the one professor that alumni clubs beg to have sent to them, goosing an event’s attendance significantly by his presence. (Quick note: The Columbia finance department has several faculty with names that are sometimes confused - an error that could cause extreme embarrassment. Bruce Greenwald is the head of the Value Investing program. Joel Greenblatt and David Greenspan have been on the adjunct faculty of the Value Investing Program in years past. Michelle Greenwald, an adjunct professor in Columbia’s marketing department, is no known relation to Mr. Greenwald, however Ava Seave, also a Columbia marketing professor, is Mr. Greenwald’s wife.)

Laura ResnikoffSenior LecturerProfessor Resnikoff has a reputation for no-nonsense, focused courses that give students incredible access to leading players in the private equity field. Professor Resnikoff takes these relationships seriously and instills that ethic in her students: if a class member is so much as a few seconds late to the appointed gathering time in the building lobby of a private equity firm, that student is out of luck, and might as well head back to campus. Those students who manage to make it on time are star-struck by the people they meet, and the ease with which student ideas are evaluated by experienced players in the field - some of those ideas being nicely validated; others quite summarily shot down. Though not for the faint of heart, it is a situation many students clearly value, for competition to get into her classes is tough. She led the inaugural Master Class in Private Equity and often teaches Turnaround Management.

Murray LowAssociate Professor of Management;Director of the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship CenterProfessor Low stands as one of the school’s most adored teachers. Having started several successful companies himself, Professor Low now devotes himself to studying the context in which entrepreneurship occurs – searching for causal links and debunking supposedly common sense links. He has helped to increase the schools’ reputation for turning out entrepreneurs who graduate both with viable business plans and funding, and who in turn circle back to help stoke the cauldron of creativity and process management back on campus.

“In addition to being the leading authority on value investing - or, as the New York Times put it, ‘the guru to the Wall Street gurus’ - Professor Greenwald is an expert on productivity and information economics. “

“Having started several successful companies himself, Professor Low now devotes himself to studying the context in which entrepre-neurship occurs.”


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N O T A B L E C O U R S E S A N D F A C U L T Y A T C O L U M B I A B U S I N E S S S C H O O L

Gita JoharMeyer Feldberg Professor of Business, Vice Dean for Research, Cross-Disciplinary AreasProfessor Johar proves that not all beloved Columbia professors teach finance. She teaches courses on consumer psychology and cognition, and how these can be factored into marketing, branding, and advertising activities. Her seminars can entail highly specific “field trips,” such as a trek to the Calvin Klein store on Madison Avenue to look for subtle design clues and consistencies that enable Calvin Klein to charge 10 to 20 times the price of a utilitarian garment. Recent course titles include Advertising and Branding, Global Marketing Consulting for Social Enterprise, Research Methods, and Consumer Behavior, and her youthful, low-key style is a large factor in her increasing popularity on campus. Professor Johar was named Vice Dean for Research and is in charge of Columbia’s new Cross-Disciplinary Areas.

Laurie Simon HodrickA. Barton Hepburn Professor of Economics and Founding Director, Program for Financial StudiesProfessor Simon Hodrick has a distinguished career bridging theory and practice. Selected as “One of Forty Under Forty” by Crain’s Chicago (while she was a professor at Kellogg), Columbia lured her to New York both for her many prestigious fellowships and for her approachable, if demanding, teaching style. She has been awarded the Columbia University President’s Medal for outstanding teaching, and students rave that what they learned about corporate finance and the market for corporate control from her has proved valuable over the course of their careers. Professor Hodrick is launching the new Program for Financial Studies.

Administratively, the faculty is grouped into five major divisions1. Accounting

2. Decision, Risk & Operations

3. Finance & Economics

4. Management

5. Marketing

Every top-tier business school has its list of star faculty whom the students adore. The Columbia faculty is populated with many prominent business leaders, researchers, and teachers. Among Columbia students, there are a handful of professors who are considered a “must” to have for a class, due to their reputation both as educators and as experts. This list isn’t merely a collection of famous names, but rather the instructors that Columbia students deem to be essential for the full experience.

Columbia’s Research CentersOne of the advantages of a business school as old as Columbia’s is the various endowed, interdisciplinary research institutes that receive generous funding over the years. Columbia is no exception in this regard, and has more than its fair share. The past 80 years have been kind to Columbia Business School, and so there’s an impressive array of such research institutes:

• Arthur J. Samberg Institute for Teaching Excellence

• Behavioral Research Lab

• The Center for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis

• The Center on Global Brand Leadership

• The Center on Japanese Economy and Business

• The Columbia Center for Excellence in E-Business

• The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

• The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center

• The Financial Markets Lab

• The Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing

• The Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business

• The Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate

• The Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics

• The Deming Center for Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness


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APPENDIXAdmissions StatisticsIn keeping with its status as one of the world’s biggest business schools, Columbia sees a large number of applications come in the door each year. At around 70%, Columbia’s yield is very high, which is at least partly a factor of the binding nature of their Early Decision option for the August intake, and partly a result of the historically high yield on offers extended for the January term. Columbia has maintained an acceptance rate in the 15% range for several years.

Visiting ColumbiaOne of the best ways for candidates to truly understand if Columbia is a proper fit is to visit the campus and get a feel for the academic environment, student life, and overall campus culture. Additionally, visiting the school offers the opportunity for face-to-face contact with current students, professors, and admission representatives. To these ends, the Admissions Office has set up an array of options to meet applicants’ varying needs.

Information Sessions. Information sessions provide prospective students the opportunity to learn more about Columbia Business School’s competitive strengths and the application process, as well as to ask questions of admissions officers and current students. No advance registration is required, and many applicants often combine attending one of these sessions with meeting a student for a conversation over a meal or coffee and/or a class visit.

Class Visits. Class visits are an excellent way to see Columbia’s curriculum in action, and the admissions team encourages that candidates take advantage of the opportunity. Applicants can use an online registration system to attend a specific class in a subject that interests them, and are encouraged to sign up early, as capacity for the specific class option is fixed. The Admissions Office also operates a host program - for those with the time to spend - that allows the applicant to trail a student for a good portion of the day. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the culture and to get a personalized perspective on the school. (Note that candidates who are considered local to the school are almost expected to visit campus and sit in on a class; to live in the tri-state area and not make the effort to get to Uris Hall could be seen as somewhat of a blemish on an application.)

External Sessions. Of course, the Admissions office recognizes that not all applicants can visit campus easily. Each fall, admissions officers team up with Columbia alumni around the world for “Columbia on the Road” sessions in which application mechanics and - more importantly - the Columbia program and culture are conveyed as convincingly as possible. The tour typically reaches 70 cities, including destinations in both the Middle East and Africa, which helps to reinforce the school’s global scale. Like its peer Chicago Booth who is also trying to reinforce the message that it’s more than a finance school, Columbia admissions is emphasizing the school’s different Areas of Focus through topical panels on campus, including sessions on Marketing, General Management, Media, and Social Enterprise.

The numbers below reflect the two 2010 intakes: the 2010 J-Term (part of the Class of 2011) and the 2010 August start (Class of 2012) - Columbia reports these cohorts together:

Total Applicants .......................6,666(a decrease of about 200 from the prior-year’s entering classes)

Admitted ......................................1,023 (5 fewer than last year), or 15%

Enrolled (across the two intakes) ...................................739 (2 more than the previous year)

Yield ...............usually around 70%

Interviewed ..................................27%much lower than the prior year’s 34%; almost 700 fewer candidates were interviewed (1,800, compared with about 2,500)

All the statistics below are unchanged from the prior year’s class

Middle 80% GMAT Range ....................... 680-760

Middle 80% GPA Range ......................... 3.1 to 3.8

Average Age .................................... 28

Overall Age Range ................22-37

Middle 80% Work Experience Range .....................................3-7 years

At Least One Year of Work Experience ....................................99%


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Columbia and Social Media. Columbia seems not to be embracing social media quite as much as some of its peers (Wharton is possibly at the head of the pack among the top programs). Columbia does have a presence on the following sites which are mostly used by its PR department; Columbia admissions is noticeably absent from any social media or web-based outreach activities

• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/columbiabusiness - primary activity is to tout faculty appearances in the media

• Twitter three accounts-

http://twitter.com/Columbia_Biz - The general b-school account which announces research, professors quoted in the media, etc.

http://twitter.com/columbiabiznews - Much the same tidbits as are posted on their Facebook page

http://twitter.com/ColumbiaMBA - The admissions account; mostly announcements of info sessions and on-campus “roundtable” events

• YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/ColumbiaBusiness - An increasing effort from the Columbia admissions team lately, with short Q&A videos going up that may answer some applicant conundrums, plus a variety of segments from the Chazen Institute, the Lang Entrepreneurship Center, the Stanford Bernstein Center for Leadership, and the Social Enterprise Program.

• LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/companies/2625

• Columbia’s main MBA Website - http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/admissions - not the best organized school website in the world. Be sure to study the FAQs and the Application Requirements pages. You can also ask a question of a student (a member of The Hermes Society).

• Public Offering - http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/publicoffering - the Columbia Business School blog - with an entire section dedicated to warren Buffett and Bill Gates (however, the entire blog has been “on hiatus” for well over a year now).

• And of course the Veritas Prep Blog at http://www.veritasprep.com/blog is an active resource for Columbia-specific information and targeted business school admissions strategies, available for free and updated every weekday.

Columbia has a free portal set up for candidates called Inside MBA. By registering (http://gsbcolumbia.askadmissions.net/emtinterestpage.aspx?ip=accountcreation), you will receive email updates of news and events from Columbia admissions and gain access to an additional content area of the admissions site. You must create an InsideMBA account before you can create a separate account for the online application system.

Contact InformationOffice of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid216 Uris Hall3022 BroadwayNew York, NY 10027Phone: (212) [email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/columbiabusiness

http://twitter.com/Columbia_Biz

http://twitter.com/columbiabiznews

http://twitter.com/ColumbiaMBA

http://www.youtube.com/user/ColumbiaBusiness

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/2625

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/admissions

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/admissions/learnmore/contactstudent

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/publicoffering

http://www.veritasprep.com/blog/

http://gsbcolumbia.askadmissions.net/emtinterestpage.aspx?ip=accountcreation

mailto:apply%40gsb.columbia.edu?subject=


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Costs & Financial Assistance at ColumbiaTuitionThe estimated 2011-12 budget for one year of attendance is $87,775 for a 9-month academic term. This includes a room-and-board estimate of $20,700, comprised of “room” of $1,450/month, “board”, at $650/month, and utilities at $200/month (“room and board” is Columbia’s terminology; and knowing the cost of rent in New York City, even these numbers look conservative to us). Not included in this estimate are additional items such as study tours and club memberships.

Financial Assistance OptionsEstablished institutions such as Columbia tend to benefit from the generosity of foundations and corporate and individual donors, who provide various funds that help students with tuition. Requirements for a fellowship vary widely, including academic excellence, geographic and ethnic diversity, work experience, and community involvement. Scholarships, by contrast, are primarily need-based. Fortunately for applicants with well-documented need, Columbia is exceptionally well endowed in this regard as well.

Federal and Private LoansFederal Stafford Loan - Available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The maximum dollar amount is $20,500 and the subsidized amount can be up to $8,500, depending on financial need. Students should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and wait for further instructions at the admitted student website once they have been admitted.

Federal Perkins Loan - An interest-free loan while in school, it is a smaller loan program available to qualified students who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans - This loan can cover cost of attendance after other assistance has been calculated, provided the student qualifies and is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

International Loan Options - There are several private loan programs available to both US citizens and non-citizens. The rates charged by these programs vary with the student’s credit history. Please be advised that International students are only eligible for private loans with a US-based co-signer.

Outside Funding Options - Information on third party funders is maintained at this link. These various third-party funders have specific mission-driven policies that you should consider carefully before applying.


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Professional Recruitment at ColumbiaLike all top-tier business schools, Columbia puts muscle and resources behind doing its utmost to ensure that students who graduate find rewarding jobs. The Career Management Center (CMC) partners with students to assist them with every phase of their career development, from internship and job searches to lifelong career progress. The center makes a concerted effort to teach students lifelong career management skills.

Resume Books & Club Resume Books. The career services office makes available to companies resumé books, which are compilations of the resumés of first and second year students. Furthermore, the more substantive of the student clubs compile their own resume books to circulate the talent to more industry-specific potential purchasers.

CMC Individual Offerings. At the individual level, from the first week of orientation, CMC has a series of structured offerings that help students begin to tackle and to refine for themselves the career search. The CMC professionals and their knowledge of recruiters and the alumni base will help the student formulate a strategy and tailor a plan that benefits from institutional wisdom. Such offerings include:

• Four-session non-credit course for first-year students

• Individual advising sessions, set up on request

• Workshops and clinics

• Mock interviews and presentation/public speaking management

Career Management Library. The CMC maintains a physical library (9am-7pm) of over 900 volumes of job-search related books that students can use while on campus. The library also maintains industry job binders with relevant job postings, Wetfeet guides, and 40 periodicals. The Virtual Career resource Center is a portal for online tools that assist both current students and mid-career professionals.

The On-Campus Recruiting Process. On-campus interviews begin in in late October, starting with financial firms, and usually two days later, all other firms. Recruiting corporations submit applications to Columbia’s COIN system in September and CMC works with recruiting companies to ensure that students’ schedules are not over-booked. CMC will also go to bat for students to ensure that students do not miss academic commitments for an off-campus interview, and maintains strict blackout periods that coincide with school holidays and exam periods.

Executives in Residence (EIR)Though formally distinct from the CMC, the Executives in Residence program is another key job-related resource available to Columbia students. The EIR was founded almost 30 years ago, and is designed to give students access to experienced leaders in key fields such as consulting, investment banking, private equity, real estate, broadcasting, and pharmaceuticals. EIR executives conduct brown-bag lunches with students in groups of ten to 12, and will also assist in setting up interviews with target firms.

Alumni Career ServicesOf late, and partially in response to the challenging economy of the past year, the school has beefed-up its offerings in supporting mid-career alumni - and, not coincidentally, in the process, has earned some alumni gratitude and strengthened those bonds to the school in the process.

Not least of these offerings include:

• Career Assessment Tool

• The Virtual Career resource Center

• Global Workplace, an online career management platform for those seeking a job abroad

• MBA-Direct, a portal for mid-career MBAs

• Videos of Presentations and CMC Workshops


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Employment Statistics (Class of 2010)Columbia will be the first to tell you that it is far more than “just a finance school.” That said, recent graduating classes still mostly find their way to the finance sector. Outcomes were strong for this class, even though the downturn was still fresh in the minds of employers. The data below was reported on Columbia’s Class of 2010 (the most recent statistics available); remember that this includes students who started in the J-Term in January 2009. These data do not include the 22 students who launched businesses coming out of Columbia (about the same number as at Wharton) nor the 52 sponsored students who returned to their previous employers.

Function

Industry

Major Employers(Class of 2010)Major companies across the globe recruit Columbia graduates, and many of the employers that come to campus are a similar bunch to those that recruit at other top schools. The following are among the most common employers for graduates from recent classes.

McKinsey & Company

Boston Consulting Group

Booz & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Deloitte Consulting

Citi

Credit Suisse Group

Deutsche Bank AG

Bain & Company

Barclays

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch

UBS

Goldman Sachs Group

American Express

Unilever

Morgan Stanley

SalariesMedian figures for Columbia graduates have been stable for many years now:

• Base salary: $100,000

• Signing Bonus: $20,000 - $25,000

• Other guaranteed compensation: around $25,000

Healthcare 5%

Real Estate 4%

Media 4%

Manufacturing 3%

Other 19%

Consulting 8%

Technology 7%

NonProfit 7%

FinancialServices43%

Manufacturing 12%

Media/Technology 8%

Real Estate 6%Government/NonProfit 2%

Other 3%

Retail 1%

Consulting 20%

FinancialServices48%


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Veritas Prep and Your Columbia ApplicationVeritas Prep has a distinguished track record helping our clients gain acceptance to one of the world’s truly elite business schools. We have a roster of admissions consultants with extensive experience on the admissions policies and educational programs at Columbia Business School and can help guide you through the sometimes confusing options and help you develop the best strategy possible.

Our TeamOur team of Columbia consultants includes former admission representatives, alumni interviewers, members of influential student groups, and, of course, accomplished professionals in a variety of fields. Our Columbia consultants have career experience in a variety of industries and functions. With multiple Columbia consultants on our admission consulting team, we are able to provide customized service to clients based on background, timing, and logistics.

Each client who works with Veritas Prep on a Columbia comprehensive package will receive a customized team of consultants: a Head Consultant and a Columbia Specialist.

Head Consultant. All of our Head Consultants have experiences in admissions that affords them a unique perspective on the applicant pool and how candidates must position themselves to express proper fit, and to stand out in an increasingly competitive process. Your Head Consultant guides you through every step of the process: from the initial Diagnostic Session to submission of the application, and the admissions interview.

Columbia Specialist. Every ccomprehensive package client will also receive input from a Columbia Specialist who is either a Columbia student or recent graduate. Specialists provide insider information about the program they attended to ensure that you demonstrate school fit. In addition, they offer valuable insights about how to stand out from your competition. If you select a Columbia school package or choose to work with a specialist on an hourly basis, our team will ensure that your application components are perfectly tailored to Columbia. For more on Veritas Prep’s incredible team and the individuals who serve as our Columbia consultants, please visit the Consultant Profiles page of our website.

“Veritas Prep was an amazing help throughout my entire application process. My Head Consultant not only assisted me with my overall story, but worked tirelessly with me to refine my essays and coordinate with school specialists. She was extremely responsive over email and phone, and kept us both on track so that I was able to complete 5 applications without too much stress. Thanks to her guidance, I was accepted to 4 of my top 5 schools: UCLA Anderson, NYU Stern, Kellogg, and Columbia Business School. I am so excited to have been admitted to my dream schools. Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting was a key component to realizing my education aspirations, and I have nothing but great things to say about my experience - I am so grateful!”

Jennifer Chiang

http://www.veritasprep.com/business-school/meet-our-admissions-consultants/


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Our Columbia ServicesThe Columbia Business School is always one of the most popular school selections among our clients due to its reputation as a cutting-edge research school with the largest and most prestigious footprint in New York City- to say nothing of its strong ties to Wall Street. Only once we have determined why Columbia might be a good fit for you, we begin to build your personal marketing platform and help you piece together the perfect Columbia application.

Diagnostic Session. Our Diagnostic Session - the first step in our comprehensive packages as well as a stand-alone service - assures that your goals and prospects are properly aligned. In the Diagnostic Session, you will speak with a Head Consultant who has experience with Columbia Business School, and you will start to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and discuss your career goals, and how Columbia can help you achieve them.

Personalized MBA Game Plan. Your Head Consultant will create a Personalized MBA Game Plan, a strategic approach based on your professional, academic, and personal history. Those elements become the foundation of your Columbia application story, allowing you to demonstrate leadership, innovation, maturity, teamwork skills, analytical ability, and potential for academic excellence. A major component of the Game Plan is the identification of strengths and weaknesses - as well as truly unique qualities - relative to the Columbia applicant pool. This application platform helps you shape a strategy of how to address application components such as the resumé, essays, and letters of recommendations.

Involvement. One risk that Columbia MBA admissions is acutely aware of is the downside of being in New York City - how easy it would be to enroll in Columbia and yet be distracted by New York. So a successful Columbia application must display that the applicant is an active, engaged community member - however that community may have been defined in the past. This past success is, for this purpose, an accurate predictor of future performance.

Balance and Perfection. Once the themes have been installed as the backbone of the Columbia application, the Veritas Prep Head Consultant ensures that all of the questions have been properly answered, that the resumé and essay questions have been crafted with style and efficiency, and that all of the key Columbia Business School themes have been addressed in a balanced way throughout the application.

It’s not easy applying to one of the most demanding finance schools in the country, but our consulting team ensure that our clients get the best chance of admissions success through the most accurate, engaging, and persuasive portrayal of their candidacy that they can possibly create. This is true of our approach to all schools, but particularly at Columbia, where three critical themes - practical experience, emotional intelligence, and involvement - must resonate so strongly and consistently throughout the application.

“Your Head Consultant will create a Personalized MBA Game Plan, a strategic approach based on your professional, academic, and personal history.”


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About Veritas PrepFounded in 2002, Veritas Prep has emerged as a global leader in GMAT® education and MBA admissions consulting. The company’s business school team includes more than 300 graduates of the world’s elite MBA programs, managed from its headquarters in Malibu, California.

The Veritas Prep consulting model is built on adding value to a student’s application process by providing both mentorship and expertise. The business school admissions process has become increasingly competitive and applicants must do everything possible to showcase their value. Our consultants assist applicants in presenting their unique stories in the most professional and meaningful way possible. In a sense, our consultants are translators - helping an applicant discover raw materials and information and then helping that candidate articulate a unique story in a language that admissions committees understand. More than anything, Veritas Prep gives candidates a sense of ownership and control over the process. Quality of work, attention to detail, care for the student, and integrity are the lynchpins of a successful consultation.

In addition to elite MBA admissions consulting services, Veritas Prep also offers the finest GMA T preparation available in the industry, as well as admissions consulting for law school, medical school, and graduate school.

For comprehensive information on all of Veritas Prep’s many services, please visit our website.

“Success Favors the Prepared”

http://www.veritasprep.com

Columbia Business School (2011)

Documents

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american business

evaluate early

elite business

regular decision

london business

regular decision

early decision