Application Instructions
Click on the subject about which you would like information
- Essays
- Fees
- About the Online Application
- GMAT Information
- GPA Conversion Guide
- International Applicants
- Interviews
- Notification
- Application Options
- Recommendations
- Transcripts
Essays
You must complete three essays. An optional fourth essay will enable you to discuss any issues that do not fall within the purview of the required essays. Applicants who are reapplying within 12 months of a previous application for admission are required to write only a single reapplicant essay. Knight-Bagehot Fellows: Please use the space allocated to the first essay for the Wiegers Fellowship Application essay.
Fees
The application fee for the Columbia Business School MBA Program is $250 USD.
When you are ready to submit your application, the online system will ask you if you are paying your application fee by credit card, by check or by money order. Online applicants are strongly encouraged to pay the application fee by credit card using our secure server. Paying the application fee online will expedite the processing of your application.
To Pay by Credit Card
If you are paying by credit card (VISA or Mastercard only), you will receive online instructions once you indicate that you are ready to submit your application. Once you have entered your credit card information and submitted the application, you will receive an e-mail confirming that Columbia Business School's Admissions Office has received your application and fee.
After electronically submitting your application, you will be able to confirm that your payment has been received by checking your application status online.
If You Cannot Pay by Credit Card
If you choose to mail a check or money order (drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars and made payable to Columbia University), please include a brief cover note with the application fee. Please allow up to three weeks for an update to your online status confirming that your fee has been processed.
To Request a Fee Waiver
Fee waivers are available to full-time students, military personnel, and to members of the Peace Corps and Teach for America who are currently in service. When applying, applicants requesting a fee waiver should select the "Check or Money Order" payment option when they submit the application. Applicants who qualify for a fee waiver should fax a fee waiver request letter to 212-662-6754 and should 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.
About the Online Application
The online application allows you to save your work and complete the application over a period of time. With your username and password, you can return to the application to finish working on a section or complete the entire application any time before the deadline for submission. This system also allows you to track the status of your application electronically.
The Admissions Committee requires that you submit all application materials online. This includes the submission of transcripts and recommendations. You should submit the application only after it is complete and after both of your recommenders have submitted their online recommendations. The Admissions Committee has no obligation to consider any additional materials that are not submitted online.
Applicants should not send paper transcripts via mail when first applying. If admitted to Columbia Business School, you will be asked to send an official sealed transcript.
Software Requirements
This application has been tested for compatibility on Netscape Navigator versions 3.0 and higher and on Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 3.02 and higher. If you are using America Online, it is strongly recommended that you use version 5.0. Parts of this application may not function properly on other browsers. In addition to a compatible browser, you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to access certain documents. If you wish to use the transcript template to speed the processing of your application, you will also need to have access to Microsoft Excel 97 or higher and use a browser that supports form-based file uploads, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher.
GMAT Information
You must take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) prior to submitting your application to Columbia Business School. Be sure to self-report your GMAT score when completing your application. In addition, if an offer of admission is made, you must submit an official score report via http://www.mba.com. Columbia's code is QF8-N6-52. Please submit only the score you wish to be considered for admission decisions. GMAT scores are valid for five years.
GPA Conversion Guide
Please use this table to calculate your GPA on a 4.0 scale:
4.0 Scale |
A-F |
100-0 |
1-5 |
Four Passing Grades |
Three Passing Grades |
4.0 |
A+ |
90-100 |
1 |
highest passing grade |
highest passing grade |
4.0 |
A |
|
|
|
|
3.7 |
A- |
|
|
|
|
3.3 |
B+ |
80-89 |
2 |
second highest passing grade |
middle passing grade |
3.0 |
B |
||||
2.7 |
B- |
|
|
|
|
2.3 |
C+ |
70-79 |
3 |
third highest passing grade |
lowest passing grade |
2.0 |
C |
|
|
|
|
1.7 |
C- |
|
|
|
|
1.3 |
D+ |
60-69 |
4 |
lowest passing grade |
--- |
1.0 |
D |
|
|
|
|
0.7 |
D- |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
F |
below 60 |
5 |
failing grade |
failing grade |
Description
The grade-point average (GPA) incorporates the grades for all terms of academic work completed. The GPA includes 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 grade-point average on the 4.0 scale, enter your grade-point average (rounded to the nearest tenth) in the appropriate box. Round scores to two significant digits, with hundredths values of five and above rounding up. A grade-point average of 3.25, for example, would be rounded to 3.3, while a score of 3.24 would be rounded to 3.2.
If your school does not use the 4.0 scale as shown in column 1 of the grading system conversion table on this page, you will need to convert your school’s grading system to the 4.0 scale. Use the 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 above, please make a reasonable and conservative approximation of what your GPA would be on a 4.0 scale.
International Applicants
Additional Information for International Applicants
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
Thorough English competency is required of all applicants. Applicants whose native language is not English and who have not received a degree from an English-language university are required to take the TOEFL. Be sure to self-report your TOEFL score when completing your application. In addition, you must submit an official score report via http://www.toefl.org (Columbia's ETS code is 2174, MBA department code 02). We will consider only your highest score when reviewing your application. TOEFL scores are valid for two years.
Interviews
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. They are offered in the applicant's geographic area; invitations to interview can be sent at any time after a completed application has been received by the Admissions Office.
Notification
Columbia Business School uses an online notification process for all changes in your application status, including final decisions. Any change to your application will include an e-mail informing you that your status has changed. Please make sure that your e-mail 'spam’ filter is configured to allow e-mails from each of the following hosts: gsb.columbia.edu, claven.gsb.columbia.edu, mail.gsb.columbia.edu and columbia.edu. You may also check this website periodically to track the status of your application. Checking your online status will allow you to confirm that all necessary materials have been received and to learn in which stage of the review process your application is.
Application Options
January
The January MBA Program is completed in four consecutive terms, beginning in January and concluding in May of the following year. The January term is ideal for those applicants who have built a strong network in the industry of their choice, plan to return to their current employer, plan to join a family business or wish to pursue entrepreneurial interests. The program is designed for those students who do not want or need an internship.
September Early Decision
The Early Decision option is ideal for candidates who have completed their research about MBA programs and have decided that Columbia is their first choice school. Early Decision applications are reviewed before Regular Decision applications. Early decision candidates must sign the Letter of Commitment found in the Honor System section (please note that the Letter of Commitment will appear only if you have selected Early Decision September as the term). Early Decision candidates who are offered admission will have up to two weeks to arrange their non-refundable $6,000 deposit. The deposit is required in order to reserve a space in the class. Applicants who are not yet ready for this level of commitment are encouraged to apply within the regular pool.
Early Decision candidates must sign the following Statement of Commitment: 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.
Recommendations
All applications require two recommendations by third parties. If you have been working full-time for at least six months, you should submit at least one recommendation from your employer. 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.
If either you or your recommender would like to view the online
recommendation questions, they are listed below.
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, and
please compare the applicant’s performance to that of his or her peers.
3. Please
comment on the applicant’s growth during his/her employment with you and on his
or her ability to work with others, including superiors, peers, and
subordinates.
4. In what ways could the applicant improve professionally? How does he/she accept constructive criticism?
5. Comment on your observations of the applicant’s ethical behavior.
6. What do you think motivates the candidate’s application to the MBA program at Columbia Business School?
7. If you could change one thing about the applicant, what would it be?
8. Are there any other matters which you feel we should know about the applicant?
Please be aware, the Admissions Committee does require that you submit all application materials online, including the recommendations.
Transcripts
Applicants are required to provide the Admissions Committee with records of their academic work. You must submit self-reported transcripts from each of the colleges or universities you have attended as a registered student. The Admissions Committee asks that you submit self-reported transcripts of your academic work using the Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Transcript Template in the online application.
The Transcript Template requires that you have access to Microsoft Excel 97 or higher and that you use a web browser that supports form-based file uploads (such as Netscape Navigator 4.05 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01).
Applicants should not send paper transcripts via mail when first applying. If you are 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.
Note for admitted students who have studied abroad: If the courses have been transferred back to your home institution and appear with grades on your transcript, you do not need to request a transcript from the foreign institution.
Admitted International Students: If you were educated in a country where original transcripts are not in English, you must send both an official transcript in the original language and a certified English translation, along with proof of graduation. Columbia Business School does not recommend or endorse any individual provider of translation services.
