Application Requirements

A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution is required for admission to Columbia Business School. Applicants should scan and submit PDF versions of unnofficial transcripts from each college and university they have attended as a registered student.

Do not send paper transcripts via mail when first applying. If offered admission, you will be required to provide official transcripts from each of the colleges or universities you have attended. Offers of admission are not binding until academic records have been verified.

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Applicants are required to report their grade point averages (GPA) on a 4.0 scale. The reported GPA should include all courses for which you received credit or that were recognized for credit by your degree-granting institution.

If your undergraduate institution provides you with a cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale, enter your GPA (rounded to the nearest tenth) in the appropriate box.

If your school does not use the 4.0 scale, you will need to convert your school’s grading system to the 4.0 scale. Use the below table to calculate your grade-point average from each school you attended. For example, if your institution grades on an HH, H, P, LP, F scale (four passing grades), HH=4.0, H=3.3, P=2.3, LP=1.3, F=0. If your school does not use any of the scales listed here, please make a reasonable and conservative approximation of what your GPA would be on a 4.0 scale.

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All applicants must submit a self-reported GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Examination) score (scores are valid for 5 years). Scores must be valid on the date of application submission.

If admitted, you must submit an official GMAT or GRE score. Columbia Business School’s GMAC code is QF8-N6-36 and its GRE code is 6442. The Admissions Committee will consider only your highest score when reviewing your application and will not combine subscores from multiple exams into a single composite score.

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International students who do not have a degree from an institution in which all instruction is conducted in English must take either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the PTE (Pearson Test of English). You may be exempted from the TOEFL or the PTE only if you have earned a degree from an institution in which English is the language of instruction. We will not accept requests for exceptions to this policy.

The TOEFL and PTE scores are valid for two years. Your TOEFL or PTE score must be valid on the date of application submission.

Be sure to self-report your TOEFL or PTE score when completing your application. If admitted, you must submit an official score report. For the TOEFL, Columbia’s ETS code is 2174, MBA department code 02. For the PTE select "Columbia Business School" from the list of schools provided by Pearson. The Admissions Committee will consider only your highest score when reviewing your application.

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Applicants must complete one short answer question and two essays.

Short Answer Question

What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (200 characters maximum)

Essay 1:

A. Why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career, and how do plan to achieve your immediate and long term post-MBA professional goals? (Maximum 500 words)

B. Please view this video, entitled Community at Columbia. Diverse, tight-knit clusters and carefully selected learning teams are defining features of the first year at Columbia Business School. Along with more than 100 student organizations and countless events each semester, the cluster system helps to create a supportive and devoted lifelong community. Describe why you are interested in becoming a part of the Columbia community. (Maximum 250 words)

Essay 2:

Describe a personal experience and how it has influenced who you are today. This essay should have a personal rather than a professional focus. (Maximum 500 words)

Optional Essay

An optional fourth essay will allow you to discuss any issues that do not fall within the purview of the required essays.

Knight-Bagehot Fellows

Rather than answer the first essay question above, current Knight-Bagehot Fellows applying to Columbia Business School should use the space allocated to the first essay to complete the Wiegers Fellowship application essay.

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All applications require two recommendations. If you have been working full-time for at least six months, one recommendation should be from your current supervisor. The second recommendation should be from either a former direct supervisor or from another professional associate, senior to you, who can add personal insight into your candidacy.

If you are a college senior or have worked full-time for less than six months, at least one, but preferably both, of your recommendations should be from a person who can comment on your managerial abilities. You may ask a summer employer or another person who you feel can objectively assess your professional promise. The second recommendation may be from a college professor.

Recommendation questions include:

1. What is your relationship to, and how long have you known the applicant? Is this person still employed by your organization? If not, when did he/she depart?
2. Please provide a short list of adjectives describing the applicant’s strengths.
3. Please compare the applicant’s performance to that of his/her peers. Does the applicant have the potential to become a senior manager?
4. How effective are the applicant’s interpersonal skills in working with peers, supervisors, and subordinates?
5. How does the applicant accept constructive criticism?
6. Comment on your observations of the applicant’s ethical behavior.
7. What do you think motivates the candidate’s application to Columbia Business School?
8. In what ways could the applicant improve professionally?
9. If you could change one thing about the applicant, what would it be?
10. Are there any other matters which you feel we should know about the applicant?

Please be aware, the Admissions Committee does require all application materials be submitted online, including recommendations.

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Interviews are not required for admission to Columbia Business School. However, applicants may be invited to participate in evaluative interviews conducted by alumni or current students. In most cases, interviews are offered in the applicant’s geographic area, and invitations to interview can be sent at any time after a completed application has been received by the Admissions Office. Interviews are by invitation only and cannot be requested.

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The nonrefundable application fee for the Columbia Business School MBA Program is US$250. Applicants are strongly encouraged to pay this fee via credit card (Visa or MasterCard only) within the online application system in order to expedite the processing of their application.

Applicants unable to pay by credit card may mail a check or money order, drawn on a US bank in US dollars and made payable to Columbia University. Please include a brief cover note with the application fee and allow up to three weeks for an update to your online status confirming that your fee has been processed.

Fee waivers are available to full-time students, active duty military personnel, and to members of the Peace Corps and Teach for America who are currently in service. Applicants requesting a fee waiver should select the “Check or Money Order” payment option when submitting the online application. Applicants who qualify for a fee waiver should email a fee waiver request to apply@gsb.columbia.edu or fax it to 212-662-6754 and explain their need for a fee waiver in the optional essay. Please allow up to three weeks for an update to your online status confirming that your fee waiver has been approved.

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