COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL · MBA GUIDE
Columbia’s full-time MBA starts in August or January in New York City, with a core you take alongside a cluster of 65 to 70 classmates. Start here to understand the program and prepare each part of your application.
August 2027 entry
GET TO KNOW THE PROGRAM
About 70% of students start in August and take 20 months, including a summer internship. About 30% start in January and finish in 16 months without an internship. Both groups join as one class in the second fall.
THE CORE
You take every core course with a cluster of 65 to 70 classmates, and complete most assignments with a learning team of about five.
SUMMER
Most August entrants complete a summer internship. January entrants study through the summer instead.
ELECTIVES
More than 200 electives, in areas such as AI and data analytics, asset management, private equity, and entrepreneurship, let you tailor the degree.
Alongside 150 full-time faculty, more than 100 adjunct professors bring current industry practice, and many executives are a short subway ride away.
The degree: You complete 60 credits over four terms: 18 in the core, most of it in your first term, and at least 42 in electives.
Testing out: Exemption exams let you swap a core course you already know for an elective, except Strategy Formulation and Lead: People, Teams, Organizations.
Dual degrees: You can combine the MBA with one of 11 other professional degrees, such as law, engineering, or medicine, usually saving a year. The Three-Year JD/MBA, with Columbia Law School, has its own deadlines: November 2, 2026 (Early Decision) and February 15, 2027 (Regular Decision).
The schedule: You study four terms in a row, with no summer break but the same professors, core, and admissions standards as August entrants.
Who it suits: CBS suggests January if you don’t need an internship: for example, if you’re an entrepreneur, run a family business, are sponsored by your company, or plan to stay in your industry.
Applying: January applications are reviewed on a rolling basis within each round, so CBS says applying earlier in a round may help.
English tests: Not required. CBS says your GMAT or GRE verbal score is enough, and your interview will be in English.
Degrees: Three-year undergraduate degrees are accepted, and each one is reviewed individually.
Transcripts: If yours aren’t in English, you can translate them yourself.
Loans: U.S. federal loans are for citizens and permanent residents. International students borrow privately, with a U.S. cosigner or through no-cosigner lenders CBS lists, such as MPower Financing. CBS says Prodigy Finance is currently available only to Indian nationals.
Visas: If you’re admitted and need an F-1 visa, Columbia’s International Students and Scholars Office issues your I-20 once you show funding for your first year’s costs.
Working after you graduate: CBS says its STEM designation gives F-1 graduates access to up to three years of U.S. work authorization through Optional Practical Training.
The class: International students made up 41% of the class that entered in 2025, from 72 countries.
UNDERSTAND WHAT CBS LOOKS FOR
Columbia says its students share a record of achievement, strong leadership, and the ability to work in teams, and that they come from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds.
ACHIEVEMENT
Your transcripts, test score, and résumé show what you’ve done. CBS considers only your highest test score and doesn’t combine section scores across exams.
Letrado’s adviceReport every sitting that helps tell your story. CBS welcomes a full testing history and may review extra scores for context.
LEADERSHIP
The first essay asks for your goals over the next three to five years and your long-term dream job, building on your résumé and recommendation.
Letrado’s adviceMake the short-term goal concrete and believable from where you stand now. The dream job can be bigger, as long as the path makes sense.
TEAMWORK
A 250-word essay asks for a specific example of making a team more collaborative or inclusive, or building a greater sense of community.
Letrado’s adviceChoose a moment when you changed how people worked together, not just the result. Describe what you noticed and what you did first.
WHAT CBS SAYS
CBS names three key traits of its MBA students: a strong work ethic, an understanding of the value of professional and personal connections, and the aim of making significant contributions to their industry and society.
Your recommender answers two questions: how you compare with well-qualified people in similar roles, with examples, and the most important constructive feedback they’ve given you, including how you responded.
WHAT CBS DESCRIBES
You can’t request an interview; the admissions office contacts you if you’re selected. For Round 2, interview invitations go out by February 17, 2027.
Interviews are held online, with a current second-year student, a CBS graduate, or a member of the admissions team.
If you’re invited to interview, you can also apply for need-based aid, with an institutional form, the CSS Profile, and your income documents.
CLASS ENTERING 2025
The average undergraduate GPA was 3.6.
These describe one past class, not minimums. CBS doesn’t publish an admission rate.
WHAT CBS REQUIRES
CBS requires the work in your application, including your essays, to be “completely accurate and exclusively your own.” Columbia permits generative AI tools “for idea generation and/or to edit a candidate’s work,” but “using these tools to generate complete responses violates the Honor Code.”
You shouldn’t take part in drafting your recommendation. Everything you submit can be verified, and CBS rescinds offers if it finds any misrepresentation or omission.
PLAN THE APPLICATION
CBS reviews August-entry applications in three rounds. It no longer runs an Early Decision round for the full-time MBA, and suggests Round 1 to applicants who want to show the same commitment.
Round 1
Sep 9, 2026Round 2
Jan 5, 2027Round 3
Mar 29, 2027Applications are due by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, including your recommendation and fee, and a late application rolls into the next round. The January 2027 start has closed, and January 2028 dates aren’t posted yet.
Two short answers, three essays, and an optional essay, plus a résumé of ideally one page. The fee is $250; you can request a waiver if you’re a current full-time student, on active duty in the U.S. military, an eligible displaced person, or serving with the Peace Corps or a Teach For All network partner.
Required, with no waivers under any circumstances and no preference between the tests. Scores are valid for five years; submit at least a week before yours expire.
Scanned copies from every undergraduate and graduate institution you attended, with your GPA reported exactly as it appears on the transcript.
Ideally from your current supervisor. Your recommender answers two questions, in about 1,000 words at most, and you shouldn’t take part in drafting it.
The admissions office contacts you if you’re selected.
If you’re in your final year of college or a graduate program: The Deferred Enrollment Program lets you secure a place now and start after two to five years of work. There’s no fee for current students; the application period runs from November 2026 to April 15, 2027. Graduate students qualify only if they started straight after college, and PhD, law, and medical students aren’t eligible.
Deposits: Admitted students pay non-refundable deposits: $6,000 and then $1,000 in Round 1, $2,000 and then $1,000 in Round 2, and a single $3,000 deposit in Round 3. They count toward your first semester’s tuition and fees.
If you’re reapplying: You submit one new recommendation and a reapplicant essay of up to 500 words on how you’ve strengthened your application since you last applied. The other essays aren’t required again. This applies to your first reapplication within a year; after that, you submit a full application.
If you and a partner are both applying: CBS strongly encourages you to apply in the same round, so you’ll know both outcomes before you have to reply.
After you’re admitted: CBS doesn’t offer deferrals, but it will consider an exception for mandatory military deployment or for a visa you couldn’t get despite timely efforts.
Your test: You need a valid score when you submit. CBS accepts both GMAT editions and may not review scores you add later.
Choosing your recommender: After six months or more of full-time work, ask your current supervisor, or explain why not and ask a former supervisor or a senior colleague. With less experience, ask someone who can speak to your managerial abilities, such as a summer employer.
The letter: CBS reads one letter if you apply directly, and two through the Consortium. Give your recommender’s work email address; if you’re admitted, CBS may contact them to verify the letter.
The route: CBS is a member of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, which works to expand access and representation in business education. Admitted Consortium applicants are considered for full-tuition CBS Consortium Fellowships.
Dates and limits: The early deadline is October 15, 2026, and the traditional deadline is January 5, 2027. The route isn’t open for January entry, deferred enrollment, the Three-Year JD/MBA, or the MBAxMS engineering dual degree.
WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE
1,000 words, plus two short answersA 500-word goals essay, two essays of 250 words, and an optional essay of up to 500 words. Each short answer is limited to 50 characters.
Columbia allows generative AI for brainstorming and editing, but using it to write complete responses breaks its Honor Code. The words need to be yours.
Letrado’s adviceWrite your 50-character goal first. If it doesn’t fit, sharpen the plan before you draft the longer essays.
CBS says your résumé and recommendation already show your path, so use this essay for where you’re going and why it follows.
Describe how you made a team more collaborative or inclusive, or built a greater sense of community. One specific moment is enough.
CBS describes a community built on belonging, agency, and partnership, and asks how you would co-create your MBA there. Be specific.
Use it for areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. It doesn’t need to be a formal essay, and bullet points are fine.
The first asks for your immediate post-MBA goal. The second asks August applicants how they’ll spend the summer after the first year, and January applicants why they prefer January.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE FINANCIAL QUESTION
CBS considers every applicant for merit awards automatically, and invited interviewees can also apply for need-based aid. August-entry awards range from $25,000 a year to full tuition.
MERIT AWARDS
Every applicant is considered on the strength of the application, with no separate form.
NEED-BASED AID
If you’re invited to interview, you can apply with an institutional form, the CSS Profile, and your income documents.
PRIORITY
Priority for institutional funding goes to applicants in the first two rounds.
Awards are announced with your admission decision. Merit awards renew in the second year with satisfactory academic progress, and need-based awards renew as long as you follow the Honor Code.
Institutional funding at CBS (opens in a new tab)PUBLISHED 2026–27 BUDGET · AUGUST ENTRY, FIRST YEAR
$143,030Tuition is $93,908 and mandatory fees are $6,783. The rest covers health insurance, books, food and housing, personal costs, and transportation for nine months. January entrants’ first-year budget is $136,104, for eight months.
For August 2027 entry, use the 2027–28 budget when CBS publishes it. CBS notes that tuition and fees usually rise 2% to 7% in the second year. The budget is also the most you can receive in total from awards, sponsorship, and loans.
CBS cost of attendance (opens in a new tab)Letrado’s adviceIf funding matters to you, apply in Round 1 or 2. Budget for extras such as club trips and recruiting travel, which the published budget doesn’t include.
Columbia reports that 92% of its Class of 2025 had job offers or were employed within three months of graduating.
The Columbia MBA (opens in a new tab)CLIENT JOURNEYS
These journeys share questions many Columbia applicants face: explaining a finance career in plain language, weighing program length, and deciding whether an MBA is the right move.
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Bring your questions to a free 45-minute introduction with your proposed mentor. Afterward, we’ll email a personalized plan with recommended next steps.
