Columbia Business School

Essay Questions for 2024-2025 / Class of 2027

All deadlines are at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Round                 Application Deadline     Final Decisions Released

Round 1              September 10, 2024       By December 20

Round 2              January 7, 2025              By March 26

Round 3              April 1, 2025                     By May 15

The Essays

Columbia Business School Essay Topics

2024-2025 Columbia MBA Essay Prompts: 

Short Answer Question

What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (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 during their educational journey 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 or 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)

Optional Essay

If you wish to provide further information or additional context around your application to the Admissions Committee, please upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)

Visit the Columbia admissions website for more application information.