2008 Columbia Business School Packages

MBA Admissions Consulting MBA Essay Editing MBA Interview Services MBA Wait List Letter

Writing Effective Wait-List Letters: A Quiz Think you know how to write an effective wait-list letter? Test your knowledge with the following quiz: 1. Wait-list letters may be three or more single-spaced pages long:  (a) when the applicant has a lot of accomplishments to talk about, (b) they should never exceed two pages, (c) only for law school wait-list letters, (d) if you are not enclosing an additional letter of recommendation. 2. Expressing some frustration or disappointment in the wait-list letter is: (a) OK if the school is really your number-one choice, (b) appropriate if it reflects how you honestly feel, (c) never a good idea, (d) useful in the letter's conclusion to elicit sympathy. 3. During the wait-list process, you should generally aim to contact the wait-listing school: (a) every other day if it's really your number-one choice, (b) weekly by email or letter, (c) only when prompted by the school, (d) every three to four weeks (if the school allows contact). 4. The main topics of a wait-list letter should be: (a) your recent professional achievements, (b) new reasons why this school is a good fit for you, (c) developments in your community work since applying, (d) any substantial recent examples that offset the weaknesses of your application, (e) all of these. 5. It's acceptable to repeat wording from your application essays in the wait-list letter: (a) never, (b) if you run short of time, (c) if it was an especially strong part of your application, (d) if you think it's important enough to reinforce. Answers:  1b,  2c, 3d, 4e, 5a. Posted by Paul Bodine on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:07:14 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

Approaching short essays “I want to explain how lacrosse involves determination, sacrifice, never giving up, never losing confidence, grit, unselfishness, quick thinking on the fly, looking out for others, etc.” These were my client’s initial wishes for his 250-word Columbia “greatest passion” essay. My response: “Sorry! That’s too much... And even if you could fit all these points in, the result would only be blur – not a clear or vibrant message.” As essay questions seem to trend shorter and shorter, I more and more often hear a client ask, on starting a given essay, “I have to figure out how to fit everything in.” By “everything” he usually means all the positive reflections arising from that experience. For example, if it’s a leadership essay, those reflections might include: vision, motivational skill, big-picture thinking, ability to tap others’ talents and interests, commitment to a cause, etc. Instead, I suggest making a note of all those points you could discuss, but then selecting one or two that (a) are backed up by engaging and revealing examples, (b) complement the messages conveyed by your other essays without being redundant, (c) don’t just make an obvious point (e.g., you have a strong work ethic), and (d) fill in an important point missing elsewhere (or perhaps only touched on elsewhere). For example, my client’s lacrosse essay could focus on quick thinking and responsiveness, or learning to sacrifice and push himself to the limit. The other relevant points were addressed (with vivid examples) in other essays. -- Cindy Tokumitsu, Senior Editor, Accepted.com Posted by Cindy Tokumitsu on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:18:20 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

Average 2007 GMAT: 710
Average 2007 Acceptance Rate: 16%
Average 2007 GPA: 3.4
Class Size: 711
2008 application deadlines - Oct. 10 (ED), March 3 (International Appl.), April 16 (US Appl.)
Columbia Admissions

Columbia J-Term Application Tips

Date Rating Course 03/2008 4.20 Finance 03/2008 4.00 General Management 02/2008 5.00 General Management 02/2008 4.00 Other 02/2008 4.33 Finance

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Date Title 9/26/2007 2008 Columbia MBA Admissions Chat with Michael Robinson 11/1/2006 Columbia MBA with Linda Meehan 10/17/2001 Columbia with Linda Meehan 9/28/2000 Columbia Chat