T
he following Columbia MBA Admissions interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a J-Term applicant who is awaiting a decision from Columbia Business School. Best of luck to them!
I just completed my interview for the J-Term entry with an alum. We met at a coffee shop in a five star hotel. The interview was conversational and the alum was forthcoming and made me relax throughout. We ordered our coffees and the interview began. These were the questions I was asked:
1. Why are you joining company X? ( I was between jobs and was about to start a new job)
2. Why are looking to do an MBA?
3. Why Columbia?
4. What are your long term goals?
5. Why didn’t you apply for August entry?
6. What changed from your previous application? (Had mentioned in previous response that I had applied and was denied)
7. How would you look at leadership opportunities a Columbia?
8. What are your important strengths?
9. What is your plan B? Follow up question was to name a few target companies.
10. How do you fit the January term without an internship?
11. Tell me about your experience in project X (from resume) with follow up.
Then there was time for me to ask questions. I asked 3 questions – about her course and experiential opportunity; how the Alumni network had helped her in her transition to her home country; any thing that I could do in the interim to prepare myself for the MBA.
Overall, there were no major surprises. She said she had 2 business days to fill in her report and post that 48 hrs or 7 days for the final result from Adcom, depending on the number of applications at that moment. She also mentioned that the Adcom has almost made up their mind and this interview was just to ensure that there are no major gaps between what is portrayed in the written application and the real applicant. She also wished me all the luck in the world. I did offer to pay for the coffee and she refused politely. Hoping for a good news call soon!
For more Columbia MBA admissions interview questions, visit our Columbia Interview Archive!
