Columbia Business School MBA Essays for August 2025 Entry
Jun, 13, 2024
Categories: Admissions Consulting | Columbia Business School | Essay Analysis | Essays
The most important thing I can tell you about gaining admission to Columbia Business School‘s Class of 2027, aside from my essay analysis below, is to apply in Round 1 (Deadline September 10, 2024). Based on what occurred with CBS applications for August 2024 entry- Hard but normal for admission in R1 and terrible in R2 (incredibly rate of rejection and waitlisting reported worldwide)- I am telling every applicant I encounter to apply in Round 1 for Fall 2025 entry if at all possible. Given that CBS takes the Executive Assessment (Try to get at least a 150, 155 is better and 160 or over is good) in lieu of GMAT or GRE, it is along with other schools that take the EA (NYU, Duke, Darden, Stanford MSx), an easy place to apply to R1. Even if you are applying everywhere else in R2, apply to CBS in R1 if you want to maximize your shot for August 2025 entry. The Round 2 deadline is January 7th and Round 3 deadline is appropriately April 1st because unless you are a very special person who does not need financial aid and is absolutely super amazing and unique, you have to be a fool to apply for that round.
If you are considering January 2025 entry, see my J-term post here. In that post I discuss the difference between August and January term entry.
The second most important thing I can tell you, aside from my essay analysis, is that you need to learn about a lot about CBS. It is one of the schools that requires knowing a lot about it through networking with current students and alumni. CBS wants to be loved. Comparatively speaking, the amount of engagement you should have with this school is very high compared to the rest of the M7 because they ask in their application forms for your student, alumni, and adcom contact. For more about this issue, see my post from last year, How much do I really need to know about an MBA program to prepare a strong application for it? It varies! It provides a comprehensive guide to this issue for CBS, the rest of the M7, and many other top schools.
Along with HBS, Stanford, and INSEAD, I think CBS is one of the best first applications to work on. In the case of CBS, Essay 1 requires more of a focus on goals than any other school, so doing it gives applicants all the content they need for any school’s goals essays. Also Essay 3, provides a perfect length for explaining why you want to attend a specific MBA program. Make that argument right for CBS and it will help you with other schools that require similar essay content.
You can find testimonials from my clients admitted for Columbia Business School here. Since 2007, when I established my own consultancy (I have been an MBA admissions consultant since 2001), I have been fortunate to work with 98 clients admitted to Columbia Business School for Fall term, J-Term, and Deferred Admission.
For my post on re-application to Columbia, see here. For my analysis of recommendations , please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here
The Essay Questions and the Immediate Post-MBA Goals Statement
The questions are taken from the website.
Immediate Post-MBA Goals Statement:
What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)
Examples of possible responses:
“Work in business development for a media company.”
“Join a strategy consulting firm.”
“Launch a data-management start-up.”
Remember this is 50 characters, not words! This would be about 5-10 words. The question itself, fortunately, includes the above examples to make it clear what Columbia is looking for here. Given the length, you can’t possibly expect to explain what you want to do short-term. That is what Essay 1 is for. In fact, it is best to simply write this little statement after you have a good working version of Essay 1. CBS is looking for a short, but a very clear statement of what you intend to do after your MBA. If you have difficulty explaining your immediate post-MBA plans in the space given, I think that is likely an indication that your plans are too complex, vague, or otherwise not well thought out. What you state here should be backed up by what you discuss in Essay 1 and 2 (or the reapplicant essay for reapplicants).
If you can be clever or catchy in formulating this response that is fine, but it is a completely secondary consideration to simply stating something that is very clear and that is completely consistent with what you write in Essay 1 and 2. Being clever is not critical here, being clear is.
Essay #1:
Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)
Since I have found it necessary to make this clear to clients: THIS ESSAY IS COMPLETELY FUTURE FOCUSED. That is why they say they “have a clear sense of your professional path to date.” Any statements you make about your past experience should be analytical rather than descriptive and for the sole purpose of explaining what you want to do in the future and why. Discuss your past to help establish your motivation for your goals. If they wanted a detailed past history, they would not have worded the question the way they do.
A BAD CBS Essay 1 will typically consist of extended discussion of past experience, lack of explanation of post-MBA goals, and inability to distinguish between long-term goals as typically required by other schools and a long-term dream job. Here is what you can do to avoid that:
If you are having problems clearly articulating your goals either in Essay 1 or in the 50 character statement, I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. The following table will help you with both Essay 1 and Essay 3.
The following image may not work for all browsers. If so, see here.
(A Google Docs version of this matrix can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WobczFFLHBzQRxUeuwBRNmGQ3q-RKP_94iGHuLlXXEs/edit?usp=sharing)
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze your situation in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?
The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a co-curricular program designed to provide students with the skills and strategies needed to develop as inclusive leaders. Through various resources and programming, students explore and reflect on the following five inclusive leadership skills: Mitigating Bias and Prejudice; Managing Intercultural Dialogue; Addressing Systemic Inequity; Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking; and Creating an Inclusive Environment.
-Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and the outcome. (250 words)
-Alternatively, please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization.
What is nice about this question is that can be used for a wide variety of answers in a personal, academic, professional, or extracurricular content. The actual question itself is behavioral and really fits the STAR (Situation, Task, Action(s), Result) approach to such questions. While CBS does not mention the task (your role), I think it is important that you keep that in mind. A good answer will efficiently explain the situation (and given the length of the essay, cannot be context heavy), explain your role in the situation, explain what you did, and clearly state the result. The word breakdown might be: Situation/Task (~50 words), Action(s) ~150 words consisting of 1-3 actions, Outcome (~50 words).
The essay topic has been modified and the situation where you utilized one of these five skills is very open ended and the new non-PPIL option is even more open-ended. You may have succeeded, partially succeeded, or failed in the situation. That said, I think it is easier to write about being successful rather than discussing a failure because such an answer requires discussing what you learned and given the overall essay length, this might prove difficult. It might also prove risky to write about failure here if you come across as not fully upholding the values implied by this essay question. On the other hand a failure utilizing one of these skills could work well if you highlight the insight gained and how that insight subsequently helped you. I would avoid a situation where your use of one of the five skills was ambiguous as this is unlikely to make for a good essay.
Let’s consider the various thematic options here and how they might be used. Of course, there are certainly more ways of doing this effectively than will be able to elaborate on here.
For details about the Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL), see https://groups.gsb.columbia.edu/ppil/home/. PPIL is a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) initiative that just had its soft launch in spring 2021 and has subsequently been developed.
The specific language of DEI as well as five categories for possible answers may not be familiar to some applicants, especially those coming for countries, without such practices. Hence I will define/explain the categories and suggest possible ways of writing on them. Unfortunately CBS still has yet to define these categories and the PPIL does not include definitions/explanations either and since these terms are subject to rather different interpretation, I will simply provide my own, which are by no means comprehensive. Should CBS explain these terms then I will alter this post accordingly. Since the launch in 2021 they still have yet to do that, which I consider to be extremely unhelpful and not inclusive, especially for those coming from outside of the United States.
One major PPUL site update since 2021 has been Program Insights, which I recommend reviewing as it might help with brainstorming essay topics.
Mitigating Bias and Prejudice
For some reason, CBS uses both “Bias” and “Prejudice”, which are synonyms and hence can be used to define each other. I will use “bias” here. Explanation: To mitigate bias ( defined as “inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair”), is to alleviate, lessen, or weaken a prejudice. Note that mitigating might not actually eliminate a bias outright but would attempt to reduce its impact. In addition to attempting to control for overt bias (such as an open prejudice against a specific group), another form of bias mitigation involves becoming aware of and controlling for unconscious bias, which is a common idea in the DEI field and is defined as “social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing.”
A typical example of conscious bias would be the outright exclusion of a particular group from leadership roles. For example, a student club that is extremely hierarchical and does not allow junior members to take positions of responsibility. Another example would be a preference in hiring more males over females based on some kind of overtly stated rationale.
A typical example of unconscious bias would be a sexist perception such that a male who is highly vocal and opinionated is described as “a strong leader/go getter” while a women who exhibits the same behavior is described as “pushy/annoying. ” The person doing the describing might not be aware they are using completely different language to describe the same behavior.
A good answer here will involve the direct confrontation and attempt to overcome a conscious or unconscious bias(es).
Managing Intercultural Dialogue
Explanation: The idea of “Managing Intercultural Dialogue” could also be called cross cultural communication: “Cross cultural communication thus refers to the communication between people who have differences in any one of the following: styles of working, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Cross cultural communication can also refer to the attempts that are made to exchange, negotiate and mediate cultural differences by means of language, gestures and body language.”
The challenges of communication include fundamental differences in assumptions based on identify differences, use of language (Two people using the same language can easily miscommunicate if they don’t share or understand each other’s definitions), and misinterpretation based on making assumptions about a behavior that has a different meaning than the observer understands.
An effective answer here will involve handling cross-cultural communication. Examples might include actions involving negotiating, facilitating, and directly communicating with someone whose identity is very different from your own.
Addressing Systemic Inequality
Systemic inequality is also know as structural inequality. I will use a definition of the latter provided by the United Nations:
An effective answer here would attempting to overcome organizational discrimination that is systemic against a particular group or groups that is practiced as a matter of outright policy. It could be everything from discriminating against the hiring of LGBT employees to seniority based discrimination that prevents junior players in a sports club from being starting players.
Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking
With respect to “Understanding identity” this would mean understanding the identity of others in relationship to you and “Perspective taking” is the ability to formulate insights based on understanding the other’s identity. Basically it means thinking outside of your own perspective and looking at a situation from the viewpoint of another. It is a specific form of empathy based on understanding why the other (person, organization, group) looks at a situation differently than you do.
Creating an Inclusive Environment
Definition: Based on a definition of an inclusive workplace found here, I define an inclusive environment as follows: An environment that makes every person feel valued while also acknowledging their differences and how these differences contribute to a group/team/organization’s culture and outcomes.
Hence an effective answer would highlight the way(s) in which you made (or attempted to make) a professional/academic/extracurricular/personal environment open to and benefitting from person(s)/perspective(s)/group(s) that had not previously been valued.
I will give a personal example, during my first year of college (1986), I joined a student quarterly with a mostly male staff. Soon thereafter, as co-editor, I helped introduce a women’s section to the paper in order to get women involved in the newspaper, to get their perspectives effectively included, and to increase our staff. We benefited from a greatly expanded team, went on to win Columbia Student Journalism awards, and my eventual replacement as editor -in-chief was a woman. The biggest challenges involved overcoming the perspectives of older male staff members who did not understand why there needed to be a women’s section and to convince female students that we were earnest in our objectives to include and empower them.
-Alternatively, please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization.
Now you don’t have to make Essay 2 fit into the PPIL framework. This is a welcome change as it opens up new possibilities and would be especially helpful for those coming from more homogenous countries and backgrounds. You should feel absolutely no obligation to write on PPIL as CBS is clearly indicating what they are looking for is an essay about how you interact/impact others. This new prompt allows one to focus on team and organizational challenges. Whether the team or organization was at work, school, or extracurricular does not matter. Focus on how impactful you were. That said I would not recommend selecting something prior to university. For those who have been out of school for more than 3 years, I would also recommend trying to use either a professional or post-college extracurricular activity. If you have not anything recently on this, maybe it is not the best topic for you.
Making a team more collaborative would imply that there was a problem in the team. Define the team. Explain what the problem was. Explain what action(s) you took to overcome the problem. This is a test of your teamwork skills. The harder the problem, the more likely it is that you will be able to highlight your impact. Likely collaborative problems in teams include: lack of a shared sense of purpose (mission), miscommunication, improper delegation of tasks, underperforming member or members, over dominant members, and lack of clarity about what the team’s output should be.
Fostering a greater sense of community within an organization, while certainly a problem that could exist at any time and place, seems particularly relevant during the Covid years. Going remote put an immense strain on creating a sense of community for many organizations. While Zoom and WhatsApp groups helped us all during the bad years, they often did not fully replace what had been lost by no in-person contact. Overcoming the challenges of the Covid years is likely to be a topic in some applicants essays. Additionally restoring a full sense community to an organization after remote ended and in-person began again is equally challenging. Whatever the case, whether Covid related or not, creating a sense of community requires a range of actions that bring people together and bond them. If you have contributed to building community in an organization, this is an ideal topic.
ESSAY 3: WHY CBS?
We believe Columbia Business School is a special place with a collaborative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging, agency, and partnership–academically, culturally, and professionally.
How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)
Keep in mind that this question is focused on why Columbia Business School is the right MBA program for you. That is to say what does its curriculum, community, and network offer you that will help you reach the professional objectives you have mentioned in Essay 1? And beyond, professional objectives who does CBS fit you as a person from an academic and cultural perspective. For a more general discussion about the whole issue of academic fit, see here. If you are unclear about why you need from an MBA program, see the GAP, SWOT, and ROI table above.
I think there are two aspects to the question: (1) Why CBS is right for you and (2) Co-creation.
WHY CBS IS RIGHT FOR YOU
Balance and integrate Goals and Why Columbia?
A good version of Essay 3 will connect goals with Columbia. If you use the GAP/SWOT table above, Step 3 relates directly to the content of this essay. That is to say, the objective is not merely to explain why Columbia fits you, but why it aligns with the goals discussed in Essay 1. Your objective is to write an essay that shows Columbia why it is the best possible place for you to achieve your career goals. If your goals are not showing themselves to be particularly well supported by Columbia, you may need to either change your goals or decide to apply elsewhere.
Beyond Goals
Beyond direct goals reasons for why Columbia is right for you, consider what aspects of its curriculum or community support your personal and professional interests. This might be a club or activity that you want to engage in. For more about CBS clubs, see here.
While in recent years, the school emphasized its New York City location in Essay 3 it no longer does. You need only discuss that if it is especially useful for making the best possible argument for why CBS fits you. In general, such arguments are often dumb cliches and since they are not what the question is focused, don’t waste words on the topic.
Co-creation
The use of “co-create” is new this year and indicates that they are looking for answer that includes how you will actively optimize on your CBS experience. CBS is not a hand-holding kind of place. It is a commuter school with a core curriculum but with extensive opportunities for defining your curricular and extracurricular experience that is specific to you. Think about what you really want to focus your time on and contribute to.
WHAT NOT TO DO: Don’t write an essay consisting of a laundry list of activities you want to engage in.
WHAT TO DO: Make highly personalized intelligent choices in the form of a learning plan specific to you. In 250 words, you can highlight like 3-4 specific topics. Say something meaningful. Show how you be an engaged member of the CBS community.
If you wish to provide the Admissions Committee with further information or additional context about your application, please include it here. You may write an essay or submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)
2. Will the topic I want to discuss significantly improve my overall essay set?
3. Is the topic one that would not be covered from looking at other parts of my application?
4. Is the essay likely to be read as being a specific answer for Columbia and not an obvious essay for another school?
If you can answer “Yes!” to all four questions, it might be a good topic to write about.
Columbia Loves to Be Loved
One thing that is consistent about Columbia Business School is that they want to know that their school is your first choice. If you have an alumni interview you can be expected to be asked about that very directly. See here for my advice on Columbia interviews. Best of luck for gaining admission to the Columbia Business School Class of 2027!