Columbia MBA Essay Questions, Tips & Advice for 2024-2025

After some major changes to its admissions process last year, Columbia Business School seems to have settled into a new groove for the 2024-2025 application cycle. The Columbia MBA essay prompts reflect very little change from the prior year. Columbia still requires one of the longest essay sets (in terms of word count). This offers a tremendous opportunity for applicants to prove their fit for this M7 program.

If you’re applying to Columbia Business School, read on for our guidance on how to approach the essay prompts. 

Columbia MBA Essay Questions

Short Answer Question: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)

Examples of possible responses:

• “Work in business development for a media company.”
• “Join a strategy consulting firm.”
• “Launch a data-management start-up.”

January-Term Short Answer Question: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Essay 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a co-curricular program designed to provide students with the skills and strategies needed to develop as inclusive leaders. Through various resources and programming, the goal is for students to explore and reflect on the following five inclusive leadership skills:  Mitigating Bias and Prejudice; Managing Intercultural Dialogue; Addressing Systemic Inequity; Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking; and Creating an Inclusive Environment.

Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one of more of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and the outcome. (250 words)

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place with a collaborative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging, agency, and partnership–academically, culturally, and professionally.

How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)

Columbia MBA Essay Advice

You can learn a lot about a school by looking at the essay questions they ask. Columbia’s MBA essay questions show they want students with clear, well-researched career goals. This is why Essay 1 has a generous word count and there’s a direct short answer question. CBS also values diversity—not just in background, but also in thought. They value collaboration and developing leaders who embrace these core values. Essays 2 and 3 ask you to show how your values and goals align with what CBS offers and what unique perspective you bring. Keep these points in mind as you write your answers.

The ‘Why’ is as Important as the ‘What’ in Essay 1

If you haven’t spent much time reflecting on your career goals, Columbia’s first MBA essay question may seem daunting. And that is precisely the point. Columbia is looking to admit individuals who have given a lot of thought to their career, what they want to do and why, and how a Columbia MBA will help them achieve their goals. This does not mean that you must have complete clarity over your future, but rather you’ve taken the time to think about it and have a strong perspective.

There are three parts of this essay question to pay attention to:

1. Don’t Rehash Your Resume

The first sentence of the essay question makes it clear that the AdCom does not want you to spend a lot of time rehashing your professional experience to-date. To the extent that you do, it should only be for the purpose of providing context to your career goals.

Has your current role made you want to go deeper into the industry or function you’re already in?

Has it made you realize a gap in the market that you’d like to fill through an entrepreneurial venture?

Have your experiences made you realize you want to pivot into something else?

Successful candidates connect the dots between what they have learned from their work experiences and what they want to do in the future.

2. Note the ‘3-5 Years’ Timeframe

The question asks about your career goals over the next 3-5 years. This period would include both during your MBA and a few years following your MBA.

When stating your career goals immediately following your MBA, be specific as to the role/title and industry you want to pursue. And then expand on the answer you provided to the short-answer question. Your response should show that you’ve done research into the role and industry and that you have a realistic understanding of the path to get there.

It may be helpful to discuss the skill sets you have to-date and what you plan on building on top of that during your MBA at Columbia to make yourself competitive for reaching your career goal in the short-term.

Ideally, your goals will also be impact-oriented, showcasing not only what you hope to learn but also how you plan to impact your intended clients, community, or other stakeholders.

3. Dream Big for Your Long-Term Goals

The last part of this question asks about your long-term career goals. However, the use of the words “imagination” and “dream” indicates that the AdCom is giving you permission to think big. You don’t necessarily have be too practical or in the weeds of the “how.” They are hoping to get to know you better as a person by understanding what you value in a career.

Think about what aspects of a job would make it your dream job?

What is the impact that you want to make in the world?

What do you want your legacy to be?

While your long-term dream job can be ambitious, your motivations should still be grounded in the experiences that you’ve had. This is how the whole essay flows together.

‘Small’ Stories Can Make for a Powerful Answer to Essay 2

Before thinking about what you will write for this essay, it is important to understand the history of the PPIL program at Columbia. Plus, the role that DEI plays in CBS’ culture. CBS’ website proclaims: “We believe that the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion should be embedded in every facet of the Columbia Business School culture.”

In 2019, CBS’ DEI Committee developed the school’s values statement as such: “To achieve our vision of developing innovative ideas and inspiring leaders that transform the world, CBS is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The faculty, students, and other stakeholders of CBS strive to build and sustain a welcoming and intellectual community that values and respects individuals’ different and shared identities and perspectives, leading to a sense of belonging for all.”

The PPIL program was developed by a pair of MBA students who graduated in 2020. It was inspired by the research of the late CBS professor Katherine Willams Phillips, who studied diversity and its influence on productivity in groups, teams, organizations, and culture. The program includes a combination of reflections, surveys, workshops, and programming to hone and develop students’ inclusive leadership skillset.

Adopt a Broad Definition of ‘Diversity’

With this context in mind, it’s easy to appreciate why this question is a part of the application and how seriously CBS values DEI. Remember that diversity and inclusion encompass not just race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, but also age, disability, viewpoints, religion, ideas, and experiences. There is no right answer to this question or a superior inclusive leadership skill to cover. Your story may in fact touch on more than one of the five leadership skills. The important thing is to be honest and self-reflective. Topics such as bias, prejudice, and systemic inequity are complex and nuanced. As such, it is best not to oversimplify your story.

Perfection Isn’t the Point

When using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework to answer the question, realize that the result may not be clean and satisfying. It’s okay that even your actions may have been imperfect. Being able to reflect honestly on what you observed and how you handled a situation and realize how you will engage with the PPIL curriculum to improve on your inclusive leadership skills should be the crux of your response.

Remember that ‘Fit’ is a Two-Way Street in Essay 3

Rather than asking ‘why CBS?’ or ‘how will you contribute to the CBS community?’, this question goes a step further. How you would co-create your CBS experience? CBS is looking to admit individuals who want to be active. They want solutions-oriented contributors in the CBS community. Not just benefiting from what’s already available but making their own personal mark on the program. The fact that CBS students, Mariah Celestine ’20 and Camira Livers-Powell ’20, designed the Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) program is a great example of how students can co-create elements of CBS’ academics, culture, and professional development.

Research First, Write Second

The first step to answering this question is to do your research on what CBS currently offers. Do research on their academics and faculty, extracurriculars, career support, culture, and its location in New York City. You can do this through speaking to student ambassadors, alumni, attending small group conversations with members of the AdCom, and even visiting a class.

Once you have a good understanding of what CBS has to offer, you can start brainstorming ways your background, experience, and strengths can elevate your essay. How can it add to the three different aspects of the CBS experience – academics, culture, and professional development?

Through your research, did you discover a gap that you are uniquely capable of helping to fill?

Is there a particular experience that you think you can enhance and take to a new level?

Is there a faculty member that you’d like to collaborate with?

The question asks you to be specific, so avoid cliches and pandering to the AdCom. Your response should not only show how intimately you know CBS, but paint a clear picture of where you will invest your time and energy. How you will contribute, and what will your legacy will be?

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