Columbia Business School

Written by Rachit Agrawal, MBA

Published on Wed, February 19, 2020 9:42 AM • Updated on Thu, February 20, 2020 7:00 AM • 3 mins read

Located in the heart of New York City, Columbia Business School offers a multitude of programs ranging from MBA, MA, and Ph.D. across various disciplines. Focused on the aim of creating industry leaders through its unparalleled resources and programs, Columbia also seeks to offer a diverse cultural learning environment for its students. With its 44,000 and more alumni spread across the world, they are working to tackle real-world problems; thus, benefiting the society implicitly.

With some of its best and well-known faculty, the college is also known for its tie-ups with different renowned organizations as well as Wall Street.

Programs

Ranging from a period of 1.5-2 years, Columbia’s full-time MBA program is the most sought after. Receiving a huge number of applications every year, the admission procedure is highly competitive and tenuous, with an acceptance rate of 15%. Apart from this, the business school also provides a degree in Executive MBA, Executive Education, Doctoral Programs, and a Master of Science in different areas.

Requirements and Admission Procedure

While the college accepts applications on a rolling basis, the students can enroll for their respective programs in January or August, where each semester would comprise of four terms. Please note that while the two semesters are almost similar, they differ in their timings and the duration and availability for the completion of summer internships across different programs.

To begin the application procedure, the applicant must create an account on the CBS website.
Once logged in, the applicants will be required to submit a non-refundable application fee of US$250 to move ahead with their application.
The applicants are required to submit their transcripts from an accredited institution as a digital PDF.
All applicants are required to undertake GMAT or GRE examinations and submit the scores for the application procedure. International students are not required to undertake language examinations such as TOEFL as the candidate’s proficiency is tested based on their verbal score in GRE or GMAT. The Columbia Business School considers these scores valid for five years from the date of examination and only takes into consideration the highest score for the student’s application.
The applicant must also complete and submit one short-answer question and three essays, the details of which are given on the website- https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/
First-time applicants are also required to submit two recommendations for all programs except for the Deferred Enrollment Program.
After the application is submitted with the necessary documents, the applications will be segregated, reviewed, and shortlisted for the next step or the interview.
Once reviewed and shortlisted, the candidates are contacted for interviews by The Admission Office.
Amongst the several scholarships offered by the Columbia Business School, International students are eligible for applying need-based scholarships, merit-based fellowships, and private loans.

With the college’s reputation for providing world-class education, the school is also endowed with at least 100 student organizations, a well established and concrete alumni network, and multiple research opportunities, allowing the students to develop and hone their socio-cultural skills.