The following Columbia MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by an Early Decision applicant. Good luck to them!
This forum was a great resource in helping me prepare for the interview and get accepted to CBS, and I wanted to submit my experience in order to help others in the future.
Where as in previous years, it seemed like the CBS admissions office gives you a list of 6 people to contact. This year, the admissions office only offered one alumnus to contact. We set up the interview in a coffee shop – casual setting, very relaxed format. I wore a blazer, and the interviewer was in casual wear. She started by giving me a bit of background on herself, and dove into questions for me.
I was asked:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why MBA, and why Columbia?
- Why an MBA in the longer context of your future goals?
- Tell me about a time when you were a leader.
- What do you do outside of work?
- What activities do you plan on being involved with at CBS?
- Why an MBA even though you majored in business for undergrad?
- What if you don’t get into the career you planned for?
- Any questions for me?
Overall, the interviewer was very encouraging and made sure I was comfortable. She took copious notes, and noted down the details of the classes and activities I said I planned to be involved in at CBS. The conversation lasted about one hour in total.
