EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Reapplicant Guide
    • Pitching Entrepreneurship as Your Post-MBA Career
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Harvard 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Wharton 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Columbia 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • Testimonials & Reviews
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts

Columbia no longer a favorite?

September 25, 2012 by EssaySnark - Discusses Columbia 3 Comments

This happened a really long time ago. It's still perhaps interest, and it's always useful to study history in order to better understand the present -- but just keep in mind as you're reading that this is a discussion of issues from 2011 and 2012.

It’s really strange.

At this time last year, we already had helped almost a dozen BSers with apps to CBS — who’d already gotten in. Based on their rolling admissions, and the early opening of their application, it’s possible to be admitted to Columbia Business School before most BSers have even submitted their first-round applications.

This year, oddly enough, we’ve hardly even looked at any Columbia essays.  A small handful, but not many.

What’s up with this? Has all interest in Columbia dried up?

Apparently it dried up last year – maybe we should’ve been surprised that we had so many BSers interested in Columbia last year. By now you’ve heard about the 19% drop in applications at Columbia Business School from the 2010-11 admissions season to last year. We have our own theories about why Columbia tanked so much with their apps – lots have tied it to the finance industry troubles but that hardly seems like the full story. Wharton didn’t have a double-digit drop and they’re still considered a major finance school. Here’s where we think Columbia stumbled – none of this is especially new news, it’s just us throwing out our opinions, which, of course, is one of our favorite things to do:

  1. Columbia got complacent. Other bschools are out there mixing things up and trying new models – HBS with its FIELD program (which, again, we assert is not new to bschools, it’s just new to HBS); Wharton with a new curriculum; etc etc etc. Haven’t seen much innovation coming out of Columbia over the past few years – didn’t even see a new website yet. Sure they slapped a new cover page on it recently, but man theirs has to be the worst of any bschool site in existence.
  2. Columbia got greedy. The only big announcements we’ve seen coming out of Columbia in the past, say, three years is a seemingly ever-increasing expansion to their EMBA programs – and those are completely about raking in more students, students who are typically lesser-qualified, who will NOT boost the reputation of the school. All that we can see that these EMBA programs are adding for Columbia is more tuition dollars. From our perspective, accepting more BSers into the EMBA may be very nice in giving access to those less qualified – but isn’t it diluting the overall quality of the student body, school community, and alumni network to do so? Seems like selling out.
  3. Columbia got expensive. All this expansion is ON TOP of the fact that Columbia was already one of the most expensive F/T MBA programs around. And one of the biggest. Why do they need to increase their revenues with these growing pools of EMBA peeps? Aren’t they making enough money up there in Morningside Heights?
  4. Columbia got cocky – or at least, they sure didn’t exhibit any remorse after the embarassment of Inside Job. Yes they instituted some new ethics policy for faculty but they still have the same faculty – Mishkin is still there.

Maybe all these things are pointing to the same thing.

We don’t think that most BSers choose a bschool or eliminate it from consideration based on factors like this – most BSers are likely not even aware of the macro environment of a bschool and how innovative it may be in comparison to its peers or even whether there’s some ethics scandal going on. Most of you probably don’t even know that there was a major GMAT cheating scandal at Duke Fuqua several years back – these things have a way of fading quickly from our collective memories. Inside Job came out in 2010; that’s a long time ago. We’ve had OWS come and go completely in that time; now we have more important things like Gangnam Style and the end of the Mayan calendar to focus on. Maybe the Inside Job controversy is just old news.

But maybe these things are the underlying rot to what’s going on at Columbia. Maybe these are some of the factors contributing to a 19% decline. ‘Cuz that’s significant, any way you look at it. 19%?? Wow.

We have a lot more to say on this. We’re going to continue this topic tomorrow.


 Related posts:

 Post II: Why Columbia got schooled

Post III: More theories on why Columbia got dinged

Post IV: Why were NYU’s numbers off too? (another Columbia rant)

Filed Under: school reviews & insights Tagged With: ethics, trends Bschools: Columbia

« Previous: Our annual doom-and-gloom “is the MBA over?” post.
Next: Why Columbia got schooled. »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Here's what others have said about this:

  1. livetorise says

    September 25, 2012 at 4:58 pm

    I am one of those who is still left applying to Columbia this year. Reading this is really making me worried …about my plan. Do others know something (like the ones you laid out) that I don’t know?

    Reply
    • essaysnark says

      September 25, 2012 at 5:39 pm

      Not sure what you’re asking… we can’t say what you know or don’t know 🙂

      We’re going to continue with this conversation throughout the week but to give you a sneak peek of where we end up: Columbia is still a good school. As good as they seem to think they are? That’s questionable.

      Reply
      • livetorise says

        September 25, 2012 at 8:08 pm

        🙂 I guess I wasn’t asking anything. Just wondering!!

        Thanks for these posts on Columbia.

        Reply

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the 'Snark via email

Enter your address to get weekday blahg posts by email.

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Jan '24 intake Rd 1
    in 1 month, 1 week, 2 days
  • INSEAD Round 4
    in 1 month, 1 week, 2 days
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 2
    in 2 months, 2 weeks, 6 days
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 3
    in 4 months, 4 weeks, 1 day
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 4
    in 6 months, 1 week, 3 days
   
   

CLASS OF 2025 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

From a former BSer:
"love the guide books!"




    The 2022 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2025
   
    The 2022 Harvard MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
  The 2022 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with clear guidance for the 2022 essays!
   
  The 2022-2023 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2022-2023 applications
   
    The 2022 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video, plus the new optional short-answer question on "the world you come from" -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2025!
   
    The 2022 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values'
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - revised for 2022!
   
    The 2022 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the essays, Early Action, the possibility of a test waiver, and everything else going on here!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - updated for the Class of 2025 requirements!
   
   
The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2025 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2022
   
    The 2022 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2022-2023 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the essays, the EQ Endorsement and test strategies!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2025 essays!
       
   
   
Get started now - without doing any work! The Comprehensive Profile Review will help you start your strategy for your MBA applications.


EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2023 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy