Were you waitlisted at Columbia Business School (CBS) as part of a recent admission round? Stay positive! Members of the Admissions Committee assure applicants that CBS admits some waitlisted candidates every year, so there is definitely still a chance that you’ll be admitted.
Matthew Moll, CBS associate director of MBA admissions, provided a range of waitlist-specific advice in response to questions Clear Admit asked recently, so read on to learn whether and how waitlisted applicants should contact the Admissions Committee, what type of updates to an application might be relevant to submit and more.
“Applicants who are placed on the waitlist should contact the Admissions Committee when they are first given their waitlist decision and when they have significant changes to their application,” Moll advises. Candidates should get in touch promptly with their waitlist manager – an admissions officer who will be specified in the waitlist decision letter they receive – if they want to remain on the waitlist. After that, candidates are invited to submit updates via email to that waitlist manager, provided the updates represent significant changes to their application.
What is considered a “significant change,” you ask? “The Admissions Committee considers employment updates and improved test scores to be significant changes to the applicant’s profile,” Moll says. “Additional recommendations can be useful if they add a perspective that previous recommendation letters did not offer,” he adds. But where letters of recommendation are considered, more is not necessarily better, he cautions. “Be certain that additional recommendations add quality insight to your application.”
The CBS Admissions Committee reviews the waitlist on an ongoing basis, but it does not make waitlist decisions according to a specific timeline. “Applicants may receive a final decision at any time during the process,” Moll says.
The Admissions Committee encourages waitlisted applicants to continue to learn about CBS and its community by arranging a visit to campus if possible, rather than by calling the Admission Office.
“Applicants can contact their waitlist manager if they have further questions, but keep in mind that the Admissions Committee will reach out should we need anything further,” Moll says. “Unfortunately, we cannot offer individual feedback to applicants on their candidacy or the status of their application.”
So there you have it, straight from the CBS Admissions Committee itself. Best of luck to any candidates waiting for waitlist news!
