Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru

May 19, 2026

Columbia Business School MBA Essays for January and August 2027 Entry

The Columbia Business School MBA program is one that I have extensive experience experience helping clients get admitted to. Most recently, I had 10 clients admitted for August 2026 entry and 1 client admitted for J-Term 2026. You can find testimonials from my clients admitted for Columbia Business School here. Since 2007, when I established my own consultancy, I have been fortunate to work with 104 clients admitted to Columbia Business School for Fall term, J-Term, and Deferred Admission. The advice I provide here is based on my almost twenty-five years of experience of helping clients get admitted to the world's top MBA programs.

The most important thing I can tell you about gaining admission to Columbia Business School, aside from my essay and application form analysis below, is to apply in Round 1 for either January (Deadline: June 17, 2026. R2 is August 13, 2026) or August (Deadline September 9, 2026. R2 is January 5, 2027 and R3 is March 29, 2027). Based on what has occurred in prior years, Round 1 is best to maximize admission because the rate of waitlisting and outright dings goes up significantly in subsequent rounds. Given that CBS takes the Executive Assessment (Try to get at least a 150, 155 is better and 160 or over is good) in lieu of GMAT or GRE, it is along with other schools that take the EA (NYU, Duke, Darden, Stanford MSx), an easy place to apply to R1. Even if you are applying everywhere else in R2, apply to CBS in R1 if you want to maximize your shot at admission.

The second most important thing I can tell you, aside from my essay analysis, is that you need to learn about a lot about CBS. It is one of the schools that requires knowing a lot about it through networking with current students and alumni. CBS wants to be loved. Comparatively speaking, the amount of engagement you should have with this school is very high compared to the rest of the M7 because they ask in their application forms for your student, alumni, and adcom contact. For more about this issue, see How much do I really need to know about an MBA program to prepare a strong application for it? It varies! It provides a comprehensive guide to this issue for CBS, the rest of the M7, and many other top schools. Keep in mind that CBS provides a specific place in the "Application Information" page to highlight the ways you have engaged with the school:

"Columbia Business School Contact

Have you ever spoken with a Columbia Business School Program Representative, alumnus, current student or attended an admissions-sponsored event?

Previous Columbia Contacts

Please specify admissions staff, alumni, or current student(s) with whom you have spoken or what event(s) you have attended.

Contact Type	Contact Name	Contact Context
add new

My advice is make effective use of this part of the application. You don't need to name drop in your essays because it is highly redundant. Do it here and provide multiple admissions, student and alumni contacts if possible. You even have space to explain your connection to the contact. While 3-4 contacts is enough, I have certainly had a number of clients, who were rather enthusiastic and had 10 or more contacts listed. This often included friends, coworkers, those met at alumni info sessions, outreach via LinkedIn, and the Hermes Society (a first stop for anyone who has no contacts with CBS current students). Hermes allows you to find current students who share your interests. It is a great platform for engagement and it is pity not to use it if you don't have personal connections with current CBS students already.

Along with Stanford, and INSEAD, I think CBS is one of the best first applications to work on. In the case of CBS, Essay 1 requires more of a focus on goals than any other school, so doing it gives applicants all the content they need for any school's goals essays. Also Essay 3, provides a perfect length for explaining why you want to attend a specific MBA program. Make that argument right for CBS and it will help you with other schools that require similar essay content.

For my post on reapplication to Columbia, see here. For my analysis of recommendations , please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here.

Before discussing the essays, for those applying or considering applying for January entry, please see the next section. If you are applying for August entry, you can ignore this section.

J-Term

The Accelerated MBA, J-Term, can be a great program for those who don't need an internship and don't need a Merit Fellowship. J-term is not for career changers, it is those looking to enhance their position within their present career trajectory and/or entrepreneurs. The program is designed for those students who do not want or need a full-time internship and don't require Merit Fellowships. The principal advantage of the 16-month program is its accelerated format, which allows members of the smaller January class to network quickly and effectively and return to the workplace sooner. You need to make the case in Essay 1 and/or Essay 3 and/or the Optional Essay that you meet the special criteria for this program and that an internship is not something critical for you. For those who don't need a summer internship, this is really a great program. Internships for J-Term? Based on what former clients tell me, it is common for J-Termers to do part-time internships in NYC while studying. Actually, this is often true for those attending the August Term as well. These are not the same as summer internships but such part-time internships can surely serve the same function.

Is J-term easier to get into than August entry? I have always thought so. The lack of Merit Fellowships, an internship, and the nature of who the program is designed for, clearly indicate that it is going to attract fewer applicants, so my assumption is that it is surely easier. Happy to proven wrong if CBS admissions provides data showing otherwise (They don't). Unlike an August entry applicant, someone applying to Columbia J-term can really be assumed to prefer Columbia over all alternatives. This can make interviews a bit easier in the sense that August entry Columbia alumni interviewers are notorious for being particularly aggressive at determining whether the interviewee's first choice is really Columbia. Since J-term has no real US rival, this topic can be easily dispensed with in an interview.

Program Alternatives to J-term: There are no US alternatives to J-term worth mentioning if someone wants a January 2025 start. Cornell Tech, Kellogg and NYU Stern (Tech and Fashion & Luxury) offer one year MBAs, but none start their programs in January, Cornell Tech and NYU are specialized degrees, and Kellogg is an accelerated program in terms of the number of courses taken. Only J-term makes it possible to do two years of courses on such an expedited basis. In addition, the Kellogg program is extremely restrictive, since one has to have taken many core business courses or come from a consulting firm that has established a relationship to apply to it. There are a number of European programs with a January starts but really only INSEAD could be said to be at a similar rank and reputation, at least as perceived by my clients. I have had clients who apply to J-term and INSEAD and, less often, IMD, as both have January entry. Still J-term is an incredibly different program in terms of length and content from either of these top non-US programs. LBS, which does not have a January start, would also be another alternative to CBS in the sense that it can be completed on an accelerated basis, but it has no January start. There are many other programs in the Europe that can be completed in around 16 months or less, such as HEC.

Can an August entry applicant reapply to J-term? Yes! You could be rejected from ED or RD for 2026 entry and reapply for J-term 2027 entry. If you entered in J-term 2027, you would graduate in the Class of 2029 with those who entered in Fall 2027. I have worked with a number of reapplicants who were admitted to J-term after being dinged from the August entry for the same graduating class. In that situation, the key issues for the reapplicant essay are explaining why J-term is now a better choice and you are a better candidate.

EMPLOYMENT SECTION QUESTIONS RELATED TO FUTURE CAREER GOALS

While the essays have not changed, CBS has modified its "Employment" page related to future career goals. The changes to this section are related directly to international applicants. For US citizens and permanent residents this section is just pull downs.

I have added comments

Future Experience (INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS)

Why do you want to study in the United States? 50 CHARACTERS

ADAM's ANALYSIS: This answer should align with your goals and CBS essays. It is only 50 characters long, about 12 words. So feel free to elaborate as needed in your longer essays. In general, I would not recommend being focused on wanting to work in the US, but rather on network, education, and experience in your answer. While you may want to work in the US and can certainly indicate that, being geographically flexible is generally the best strategy, especially in the current job market for international students in the US. On the other hand, if you are company-sponsored and will be working in the US post-MBA, you should indicate that here. I have had many Japanese clients who were sponsored by their companies for MBA to prepare for working in the US. Whether you are Japanese or not, if you company intends for you to work in the US post-MBA, certainly indicate that here. Your visa situation is different from other international students who have to find an employer.

Please indicate the industry in which you plan to work upon completion of your degree:

Please indicate the function in which you plan to work upon completion of your degree:

ADAM's ANALYSIS: These two questions are rather straightforward and should align with your essays. That said, don't worry if these pulldowns don't allow for absolute precision. If you are concerned about that, write a brief note in the Optional Essay.

Do you intend to seek employment in the United States post-graduation for up to three years under an extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) work permit?

ADAM's ANALYSIS: OPT has been a standard intention on the part of international students forever, however the current job market can make this challenging. You should be aware of this issue, but don't overthink it. You can certainly indicate "Yes" but doing so does not mean you can't maintain geographic flexibility. In your essays, you may be referring to the function and industry you want to work in, but that does not mean you need to mention the exact country. It is no contradiction to indicate "Yes" here. On the other hand, if your short-term goal does not involve staying in the US or using OPT, indicate "No." I increasingly have clients from India who fully intend to return to India immediately post-MBA. While this has often been the case for Indians joining their family business post-MBA, it is increasingly the case that I have clients who view a return to India as their short-term career goal.

Do you have plans to work for your family business at some point during your career?

ADAM's ANALYSIS: If your short or long-term goals relate to your family business, you should indicate that here. Otherwise it would be potentially confusing to indicate "Yes."

The Future Experience (US CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT) section does not include the "Why do want to study in the US?" and OPT questions as they would not apply, but it does ask "Do you intend to seek employment in the United States post-graduation?" If you answer "No", I assume that you will be explaining that in your goals essay. The other three questions are the same.

The Three Essay Questions and the Two Short Statements

The questions are taken from the website.

SHORT QUESTION 1:

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.”

Remember this is 50 characters, not words! This would be about 12 words maximum. The question itself, fortunately, includes the above examples to make it clear what Columbia is looking for here. Given the length, you can't possibly expect to explain what you want to do short-term. That is what Essay 1 is for. In fact, it is best to simply write this little statement after you have a good working version of Essay 1. CBS is looking for a short, but a very clear statement of what you intend to do after your MBA. If you have difficulty explaining your immediate post-MBA plans in the space given, I think that is likely an indication that your plans are too complex, vague, or otherwise not well thought out. What you state here should be backed up by what you discuss in Essay 1 and 3 (or the reapplicant essay for reapplicants).

If you can be clever or catchy in formulating this response that is fine, but it is a completely secondary consideration to simply stating something that is very clear and that is completely consistent with what you write in Essay 1 and 2. Being clever is not critical here, being clear is.

Short Answer Question 2　for JANUARY ENTRY: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

This is an opportunity to explain why J-term. You might need to expand on this further in the application, but here is a chance to give a very direct and fact-based answer.

Short Answer Question 2 for AUGUST ENTRY (Based on last year's application. Will update if this changes when the August Entry Application is opened in June 2026): How do you plan to spend the summer after the first year of the MBA? If in an internship, please include target industry(ies) and/or function(s). If you plan to work on your own venture, please indicate a focus of business. (50 characters maximum)

This is an opportunity to show you really have a plan for the summer between your first and second year at CBS. The more specific you can be, the better. The answer should align completely with Short Answer 1 and Essays 1 and 3 to show that you have a fully worked out plan for CBS. See more about formulating that plan in my discussion of Essay 1.

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)

Since I have found it necessary to make this clear to clients: THIS ESSAY IS COMPLETELY FUTURE FOCUSED. That is why they say they "have a clear sense of your professional path to date." Any statements you make about your past experience should be analytical rather than descriptive and for the sole purpose of explaining what you want to do in the future and why. Discuss your past to help establish your motivation for your goals. If they wanted a detailed past history, they would not have worded the question the way they do.

A BAD CBS Essay 1 will typically consist of extended discussion of past experience, lack of explanation of post-MBA goals, and inability to distinguish between long-term goals as typically required by other schools and a long-term dream job. Here is what you can do to avoid that:

Using your 500 words

I think a good essay will consist of the following components

-A first paragraph that begins to the answer directly (briefly states either or both goals or an overall mission relating to both so the reader does not have to guess what the subject of the essay is) and that VERY BRIEFLY explains whatever aspects of background and/or personal motivation that are necessary to help the reader understand your answers to the two questions CBS is asking here.

- A clear short-term 3-5 year plan. Explain motivation and past experience if it has not already been discussed sufficiently.

- A clear dream job, not just a long-term goal or vision but an actual imagined highly aspirational role. Explain motivation and past experience if it has not already been discussed sufficiently.

- Since Essay 3 is focused on why CBS, you should not write about that here. However you may need to explain why you need an MBA in general to achieve your goals.

"What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years"

CBS wants to know exactly what you want to do after your MBA and why. You need to have a clear plan. Explain not only what you want to do, but why you want to do it. Some questions you want to answer here:

How does the post MBA role you will have relate to your longer term career objectives?

How does it relate to your past experience?

What kind of firms do you want to work for?

What is the intended role?

Don't hedge more than is absolutely necessary because you want provide a clear believable, achievable story.

You want want to explain why need an MBA now to get into that role but only briefly as you have an entire essay for explaining why CBS. The point of mentioning MBA here would be if it is not obvious why an MBA is needed to achieve this goal or if you cannot get the topic into Essay 3.

This is a reality based question so provide a well-researched reality based answer. See https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/recruiters/employmentreport to figure out where CBS graduates go. If you are mentioning a role, industry, or company that does not recruit at CBS and your post-MBA goals are not entrepreneurial or in a family business, you have a problem. Make CBS adcom believe in your short-term plan. This is not a good school for confused people, it is one for those who know what they want and have an initial plan for how to achieve it. If you need a lot of hand holding and want to be part of a highly collaborative intense community this is not the best school for you. It is a commuter school (now more than ever because no lives around the Manhattanville campus)

what would be your long-term dream job?

IT IS A DREAM! Tell them a story about the future, not just mentioning a role but painting a picture. CBS is inviting you to showcase your ambition and future potential. What is your vision? What kind of impact do you want make in your life? Assume you succeed and don't just become another middle management type.

Consider illustrious CBS alumni: See https://www.businessbecause.com/news/notable-alumni/7134/columbia-business-school-notable-alumni and https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-columbia-business-school-alumni-and-students/reference. For my post on Warren Buffet, CBS's most famous alumnus, see here. How will you reach their level?

Think about the future. Imagine not on how the world is now, but on how it might be in10, 20, 30 years from now. Describe that future and how you see yourself in it. The future you present might be 10 years from now or 20 or 30 or more years. The point is to showcase your ambition and vision.

What makes your vision of the future different? Consider the following when formulating a vision:

- Is your vision based on a problem you want to solve? If you are are merely providing a solution that already exists and just saying you want to be in charge of implementing it, your vision is dull if the problem is a well known one. You need have a unique proposed solution and/or a unique problem to be solved.

-Is your vision based on a future opportunity that you are forecasting? You don't need a business plan but you need to be able to articulate what the opportunity is and hypothesize how you might address it.

-Is your vision based on a coming technology? That is say, are you predicting the future and making a bet on what technology will enable and you can do with it? Avoid fake futures: A fake future is merely the present expressed as a future desire but without anything that actually sounds like the future. Imagine future tech platforms and technologies. Think like an inventor, a science fiction writer, or a futurologist.

-Is your vision based on a specific value or focus that differentiates it from others? Your vision can be informed by a value that is a source of motivation and can help to distinguish your way of discussing your role in the future from others.

-Is your vision based on a specific organizational role you see yourself in? For example, such as head of your family business or being a CEO? Such roles seem generic but can become specific if you tell the right story about why you want the role and what you would do with it.

-While your vision of your long-term should be a dream, I think it should not be a total fantasy but rather a dream that, while potentially hard to achieve is not outside the realm of what a reader could be believe.

When I work with clients on their long term vision, I typically ask them to come up with a few different initial answers if they don't already have a good one in place. We use these as the basis for a conversation that then leads to the creation of a specific future vision.

GOALS AND WHY MBA ANALYSIS FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT

If you are having problems clearly articulating your goals either in Essay 1 or in the 50 character statement, I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. The following table will help you with both Essay 1 and Essay 3.

The following image may not work for all browsers. If so, see here.

(A Google Docs version of this matrix can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WobczFFLHBzQRxUeuwBRNmGQ3q-RKP_94iGHuLlXXEs/edit?usp=sharing)

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Career." What roles and responsibilities have you had in clubs, part-time jobs, internships, volunteer activities, etc.? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze your situation in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-MBA" future after you have earned your graduate degree. If you cannot complete this step you need to do more research and need to think more about it. I frequently help clients with this issue through a process of brainstorming.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, then you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities? THIS IS WILL HELP YOU ANSWER ESSSAY 3.

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals?

Be informed about your goals. Columbia Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for but about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.

Those applicants who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Additionally, I suggest conducting informational interviews with at least one peer level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well. Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now may very well be cold in the future.

The point is to come across to Columbia Adcom as someone who is not only well informed but has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge. Look at CBS Insights. Some other great general sources for learning what is hot: Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Knowledge @ Wharton, and the Aspen Institute. Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books and listen/watch podcasts/lectures that relate to your intended field.

If at the end of the above process you feel as though you are uncertain about whether you need an MBA, please see Do You Really Need an MBA?

Essay 2. Please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative, more inclusive or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization. (250 words)

What is nice about this question is that can be used for a wide variety of answers in a personal, academic, professional, or extracurricular content. The actual question itself is behavioral and really fits the STAR (Situation, Task, Action(s), Result) approach to such questions. While CBS does not mention the task (your role), I think it is important that you keep that in mind. A good answer will efficiently explain the situation (and given the length of the essay, cannot be context heavy), explain your role in the situation, explain what you did, and clearly state the result. The word breakdown might be: Situation/Task (~50 words), Action(s) ~150 words consisting of 1-3 actions, Outcome (~50 words).

You should have succeeded in whatever team organizational situation you choose.Whether the team was at work, school, or extracurricular does not matter. Focus on how impactful you were. That said I would not recommend selecting something prior to university. For those who have been out of school for more than 3 years, I would also recommend trying to use either a professional or post-college extracurricular activity.

Making a team more collaborative would imply that there was a problem in the team. Define the team. Explain what the problem was. Explain what action(s) you took to overcome the problem. This is a test of your teamwork skills. The harder the problem, the more likely it is that you will be able to highlight your impact. Likely collaborative problems in teams include: lack of a shared sense of purpose (mission), miscommunication, improper delegation of tasks, underperforming member or members, over dominant members, and lack of clarity about what the team's output should be.

Making a team more inclusive would imply that there was a problem in the team. Based on a definition of an inclusive found here, I define an inclusive team as follows: A team where every person feel valued while also acknowledging their differences and how these differences contribute to a group/team/organization’s culture and outcomes. Hence an effective answer would highlight the way(s) in which you made (or attempted to make) a professional/academic/extracurricular/personal environment open to and benefitting from person(s)/perspective(s)/group(s) that had not previously been valued. I will give a personal example, during my first year of college (1986), I joined a student quarterly with a mostly male staff. Soon thereafter, as co-editor, I helped introduce a women's section to the paper in order to get women involved in the newspaper, to get their perspectives effectively included, and to increase our staff. The biggest challenges involved overcoming the perspectives of older male staff members who did not understand why there needed to be a women's section and to convince female students that we were earnest in our objectives to include and empower them. We benefited from a greatly expanded gender balanced team, went on to win Columbia Student Journalism awards, and my eventual replacement as editor -in-chief was a woman.

Fostering a greater sense of community within an organization, while certainly a problem that could exist at any time and place, seems particularly relevant during the post-Covid years. Going remote put an immense strain on creating a sense of community for many organizations. While Zoom and WhatsApp groups helped us all during the bad years, they often did not fully replace what had been lost by no in-person contact. Overcoming the challenges of the Covid years is likely to be a topic in some applicants essays. Additionally restoring a full sense community to an organization after remote ended and in-person began again is equally challenging. Whatever the case, whether Covid related or not, creating a sense of community requires a range of actions that bring people together and bond them. If you have contributed to building community in an organization, this is an ideal topic.

ESSAY 3: WHY CBS? 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)

Keep in mind that this question is focused on why Columbia Business School is the right MBA program for you. That is to say what does its curriculum, community, and network offer you that will help you reach the professional objectives you have mentioned in Essay 1? And beyond, professional objectives who does CBS fit you as a person from an academic and cultural perspective. For a more general discussion about the whole issue of academic fit, see here. If you are unclear about why you need from an MBA program, see the GAP, SWOT, and ROI table above.

I think there are two aspects to the question: (1) Why CBS is right for you and (2) Co-creation.

WHY CBS IS RIGHT FOR YOU

Balance and integrate Goals and Why Columbia?

A good version of Essay 3 will connect goals with Columbia. If you use the GAP/SWOT table above, Step 3 relates directly to the content of this essay. That is to say, the objective is not merely to explain why Columbia fits you, but why it aligns with the goals discussed in Essay 1. Your objective is to write an essay that shows Columbia why it is the best possible place for you to achieve your career goals. If your goals are not showing themselves to be particularly well supported by Columbia, you may need to either change your goals or decide to apply elsewhere.

Beyond Goals

Beyond direct goals reasons for why Columbia is right for you, consider what aspects of its curriculum or community support your personal and professional interests. This might be a club or activity that you want to engage in. For more about CBS clubs, see here.

The resources available at CBS and Columbia University are vast, so figure out specifically what you want from the school as you will need to discuss that. The program is flexible, so identify your needs from Columbia as specifically as possible. After all, you want to show them you love and need them For learning about what is hot at Columbia, I suggest taking a look at their Ideas and Insights Homepage. You will likely want to write about taking a Master Class. I also recommend learning about the Cluster system as it core part of the CBS experience. Japanese applicants should most certainly visit https://www.jbacolumbia.com/. All applicants should attend online chats and reach out to alumni and current students if they have not done so. Feel free to visit campus if you want, but the most important thing to do is connect with students and alumni because you will need to mention that in the application form.

Explaining your learning needs:

WHAT NOT TO DO

An example of circular (tautological) reasoning: "I want to take Capital Markets & Investments because I am interested in learning about capital market investing."

This kind of circular reasoning is so common. Usually it takes place within a paragraph consisting of many such sentences. They actually convey nothing about the applicant. They are just abstract needs and will have limited impact on your reader. The admissions reader wants to learn about you, not about their own program.

WHAT TO DO

An example of an explanation for why: "While I have been exposed to finance through my work at MegaBank of Joy, I presently lack the kind of comprehensive understanding of capital market investing that I will need to succeed as an investment analyst and I know I can gain at Columbia." A more complete explanation would include additional details about the kind of issues that the applicant is interested in learning about and/or specific ways the applicant intended to apply what he or she would learn at Columbia. By focusing on very specific learning needs and explaining those needs in relationship to one's goals and/or past experience, the admissions reader will be learning about you.

While in recent years, the school emphasized its New York City location in Essay 3 it no longer does. You need only discuss that if it is especially useful for making the best possible argument for why CBS fits you. In general, such arguments are often dumb cliches and since they are not what the question is focused, don't waste words on the topic.

Co-creation

The use of "co-create" is new this year and indicates that they are looking for answer that includes how you will actively optimize on your CBS experience. CBS is not a hand-holding kind of place. It is a commuter school with a core curriculum but with extensive opportunities for defining your curricular and extracurricular experience that is specific to you. Think about what you really want to focus your time on and contribute to.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Don't write an essay consisting of a laundry list of activities you want to engage in.

WHAT TO DO: Make highly personalized intelligent choices in the form of a learning plan specific to you. In 250 words, you can highlight like 3-4 specific topics. Say something meaningful. Show how you be an engaged member of the CBS community.

If you wish to provide the Admissions Committee with further information or additional context about your application, please include it here. You may write an essay or submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)

As with other school's optional questions, do not put an obvious essay for another school here.

It is not necessary to write anything here. Many admits I have worked with had nothing to mention. Some have. THIS IS NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT ESSAY OR TO DISCUSS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE.

Additional context can relate to something positive or negative.

You can certainly write on something positive here if you think its omission will be negative for you, but before you do, ask yourself these questions:

1. If they did not ask it, do they really need to know it?
2. Will the topic I want to discuss significantly improve my overall essay set?
3. Is the topic one that would not be covered from looking at other parts of my application?
4. Is the essay likely to be read as being a specific answer for Columbia and not an obvious essay for another school?
If you can answer "Yes!" to all four questions, it might be a good topic to write about.

-Likely possible topics would include issues related to personal background (ethnicity, financial issues, other family or personal background issues) that you think admissions needs to know about.

-Other possible positive topics would be some aspect of your past experience that you could not sufficiently highlight that is key to understanding who you are. Again, the focus should be on an explanation, not a narrative essay. Please no GSB what matters most essays!

-Choice of recommenders is another possible topic here if that requires explanation.

-In some cases issues related to MBA company sponsorship and family business related issues might require explanation.

-If you own/ lead a business and would be temporarily leaving it, explaining who will be running it in your absence would be another topic that could be discussed here.

Negative topics: In addition to GMAT/GRE, TOEFL, and GPA problems, other possible topics include issues related to recommendations, serious gaps in your resume, concerns related to a near total lack of extracurricular activities, and major issues in your personal/professional life that you really think the admissions office needs to know about.

Columbia Loves to Be Loved

One thing that is consistent about Columbia Business School is that they want to know that their school is your first choice. If you have an alumni interview you can be expected to be asked about that very directly. See here for my advice on Columbia interviews. Best of luck for gaining admission to Columbia Business School!

September 29, 2025

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Preparation

In this third of three posts I provide advice for HBS MBA Admissions Interviews.

This third post focuses on preparation. The first post discusses logistics and content. The second post focuses on strategy.

At the time of the blog post, 101 of my clients (mostly comprehensive counseling plus those interview only clients I worked with for 5 hours, this does not include an even larger number of HBS admits that I worked for only 1-4 hours on interview prep) have been admitted to HBS since the entering class of 2008 (I had prior clients admitted between 2001 and 2007 before establishing my own service). My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on HBS, I regularly help some candidates with HBS interview preparation only. My clients admitted to HBS come from all over the world with high concentrations in India, Japan, Singapore, EU, UK, and US.

In this post I apply what was discussed about HBS MBA admissions interviews in the prior two posts rather practically. The objective of this post is to help you with both self prep and to serve as an overall guide to preparing for an HBS interview.

PREPARATION

In my experience, applicants who succeed at HBS MBA interviews go to their interview with a sense of confidence based on having done careful preparation. My clients who have failed the interview stage have often done so because of related reasons: lack of confidence and/or preparation. Of course, there are times when the post-interview reason for getting dinged is never clear. The reality of having too many well qualified applicants means that many who would certainly make the post-interview cut don't, simply due to lack of available seats. While these issues could be the same for any interview, the reality is that HBS admissions interviews are more intensive than that of most other schools. Failure to take this interview sufficiently seriously is a recipe for disaster.

TAKE PREPARATION FOR HBS VERY SERIOUSLY! Any experienced admissions consultant will tell you that the HBS interview is one that really does require preparation even for those who previously aced alumni interviews. My colleagues and I have often become depressed about cases where we had great applicants who did not take the HBS really seriously. By the same token, our clients who really prep for this really do have a much higher rate of admission. I have had clients who might do 5-20 hours of self-preparation for every hour of time spent with a consultant. One of my clients admitted to HBS did 2 hours of prep with myself and another counselor and an additional 100 hours on his own. He already had been admitted to Kellogg and Booth, but knew HBS would be different. It is certainly not uncommon for clients to do 40-50 hours of self prep and additional 1-5 or more hours of prep with consultants. If you think that either your English ability and/or interview skills are somewhat weak, be prepared to do extensive practice both with other people and alone. The self prep component can be particularly effective if you are trying to cover a huge range of questions and also master telling your best stories. If you have an online HBS interview, whether that practice is by yourself, with friends or family, or with a consultant, become comfortable doing interviews on Zoom. For more about the technical aspects of online interviews, see here.

KNOW YOUR APPLICATION

You need to know your application very completely as you will be asked by the HBS Interviewer about its content.
Review your entire application (not just resume and essays, but everything including the transcript) very carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. Remember: Anything is fair game. Assume that the weakest parts of your application will be topics in the interview. Assume the worst-case scenario and be very prepared to address their concerns. If you have any academic weaknesses (low GPA, a relatively weak TOEFL, insufficient proof of a quantitative background), be ready to address those issues. Be prepared to tell new stories and alternative versions of the stories you told in your essays. I especially recommend that you consider how every point on your resume might become a potential topic. A point I continually make to own clients who have been invited for the HBS interview is that proper preparation for this interview really requires that you look for all the weak points in your application: Rip yourself apart in order to try and determine what you need to be especially ready to address. In addition, you should consider having one or more other people who can help you prepare for this and who will review your entire file. If you use any paid services, make sure that the mock interviewer (admissions consultant, admissions counselor, interview coach) will be reading your application first and developing a list of questions based on that review and with an understanding of what HBS asks, otherwise they are not really helping you prepare for an HBS interview. When I do mock interviews for interview-only clients, I always ask to read their applications if they are not doing a blind interview. For schools like HBS and MIT, which are never blind, reading the whole application (especially the essays) is critical for simulating the real thing.

ACTIVE INTERVIEW PREPARATION

I believe in the value of active interview preparation. That is to say, instead of focusing only what questions you might get asked, focus on what you want to say about yourself. A basic any school approach to this would be to connect key words and stories that you hope to use. Given that you can't know exactly what you will be asked, you can at least have prepared for discussing key things that you want to get across to the interviewer. By being a bit more scripted, you can reduce your visible nervousness and overexcitement and give a more controlled response. The following is an "any school" chart:

Active Interview Preparation Chart

Keyword: A selling point or even a weakness	Stories	Questions It Might Answer
Example: Analytical	Development of 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc. Discovery of accounting errors during first year of work. Senior thesis on the S&L Crisis	Name three words that describe you (This would be one) What are your strengths? Why? (This would be one.) How do you solve complex problems? How could you contribute to your classmates? What skill are you most proud of?

(You can cut and paste this into MS Word or Google docs)
In addition to outlining key words and stories as discuss in my general post on interview strategy, you actually more directly connect this to the specific three criteria that HBS values in order to see how well you are covering each of the criteria in your interview preparation. The chart below will help you map out your own HBS interview strategy.

HBS Active Interview Preparation Chart

Keywords: A selling point or even a weakness	Stories	Business-Minded	Leadership-Focused	Growth-Oriented	Questions It Might Answer

Example: Curiosity	Development of 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc.			Curiosity about how to solve for XXX. Studied 6-sigma as a way to do it.	-Tell me about a recent project you worked on -What are you good at?
Cooperative	Overcame team conflict when developing 6-sigma strategic framework for XXX, inc.		-Demonstrates consensus based leadership -Can lead others		-What are good at? -Tell me about a project that you’ve worked recently where you exhibited leadership.-What was like developing a 6-sigma framework for your team?

(You can cut and paste this into Google Docs or Microsoft Word and alter it to include more rows.)

To use the above chart: Try to develop 10 or so keywords and stories that relate to HBS's three criteria for admission. Don't forget to include weaknesses when you do so. Your objective is be ready to tell your best stories as effectively as possible. Use the above chart to help determine which key words and stories will convey the most about you. Remember that you want to use stories that are different from the ones you used in your essays. You might be asked about something in your application, which you should be prepared to discuss, but also assume you will need to provide new stories as well.

SOME OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

I. The questions you get will be specific to you and can be anticipated to a large extent.
As discussed in my prior posts in this series, the interviewer will come in knowing what they want to ask you. If you take the interview I described in my first post (or look at full interview reports), it becomes relatively easy to project yourself into the same patterns of questions you find. Doing so will allow you to practice more efficiently

II. Assume there will be at least one question for which you might not be ready for, but don't panic. Take a deep breath. Answer the question and do not become flustered. You need to always have a strategy for handling such questions. The first thing to do is take a second to think about the question. If you really need to, even say something like "Um, that is an interesting question and either just pause for a second to think or if necessary ask a clarifying question. Next, keep in mind that the purpose of your answer is not to have the correct information but to provide an intelligent response. Especially at schools like HBS, where case study in class requires the ability to give an opinion based on little information, your ability to provide an intelligent and confident response is more important than whether your response is perfect, correct, factual, etc.

III. HBS interviewers ask follow-up questions. They don't do stress interviewing at HBS exactly, but they will question you intensely. They will be taking notes. Anything you say can be subject to inquiry, so speak concisely, answer questions precisely, and try to avoid voluntarily bringing up any topics that you really don't want to talk about. Assume the you will be asking follow-up questions, expect to be able to analyze/explain in a great deal of depth. During your practice sessions, figure out what kind of responses generate what kind of follow-up questions, so you can better anticipate what might come up in the actual interview.

IV. Time management is important. Reported interview length for all interviews is 30 minutes. HBS is totally consistent about this. So part of effective preparation on your part, means really considering time management and not wasting time in the interview by providing answers that are too long. You want to make your answers are sufficiently deep enough but don't take too much time. You need to brief when just providing fact-based answers and deeper when explaining something or telling a story.

V. Have Mock Interviews that reflect both the range of questions and various kinds of interviewers you might encounter. If I do multiple mock sessions with the same client, I will use different scripts. You must prepare for a range of scenarios regarding the questions you will encounter. At HBS, your interviewer will be someone you perceive as either friendly or neutral or a mix of the two. Whether you are being made to feel good about the interview or not by the interviewer, your mission is still to convince this interviewer that you are right for their school. While you may have some idea of the personality of your interviewer before you interview, chances are you will not. It is therefore particularly important to prepare for both friendly and neutral interviewers.

Best of luck with your HBS interview! If you want to do interview prep with me, please see here.

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Strategy

This is the second of three posts I provide advice for HBS MBA Admissions Interviews.

This second post focuses on strategy. The first post discusses logistics and content. The third post focuses on preparation.

This blog post is focused on strategy. What I mean strategy is that focuses on understanding the game your are playing and how to play it well. We will begin with the basics and then go into more complex considerations.

STRATEGY BASICS

I. MBA Admissions is a zero-sum game. The MBA admissions process is a competition for organizational entrance. Ultimately you are allowed to enter or are rejected. Interviews play a critical role in organizational entrance selection for jobs, internships, and, in the case, of some educational programs, admissions. They are simply one factor in the process. What we know about HBS interviews though is that applicants go into an interview with about a 50% chance of admission, which certainly better than the base base rate of admission for all applicants. The interview is just one factor and a great interview does not necessarily result in admission. For more about rejection, see here. That said, you want to play this game as effectively as possible, so doing the best you can on the interview is critical because you have great odds of winning this game.

II. Interviews as gatekeeping.

One may make the initial assumption that the role of an admissions interviewer is to be a gatekeeper. And this is certainly true, whether the interviewer is an admissions officer like at HBS, a student (like at Wharton, Booth or Kellogg), or alumni (like at Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and London Business School). In all cases, the interviewers are trying to determine against set criteria (an evaluation form) whether the applicant fits the program.

III. HBS MBA Admissions Board Stated Criteria:

HBS has three stated criteria for who they looking for: Business-Minded, Leadership-Focused, and Growth-Oriented. I discuss these three criteria here. I highly recommend reading that analysis if you have not because it will help you understand that you need to demonstrate these criteria during your interview. You demonstrate these criteria not only through what the topic you are discussing but how you say it.

ADVANCED STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

I. Can You Cope with the Case Method?

The following is directly influenced by reviewing many client interview reports, learning about HBS in general, and the history of HBS as discussed in The Golden Passport, Duff McDonald's comprehensive and controversial history of HBS.

I think the HBS admissions interview is directly connected to what is certainly at the core of an HBS education, the case method. According to the The Golden Passport (chapter 6), it was under HBS Dean Wallace Brett Donham (1919-1942) that the case method became the "School's signature pedagogical tool" and the impact of that is still felt today. While FIELD was introduced a few years ago, the case method is very much at the core of what HBS does. The case method requires that each student have ability to make meaningful contributions related to the discussion of a particular case. Given that participation is mandatory and a core component of a student's evaluation and that lack of participation can be the basis for failing at HBS, the ability to perform well in class is critical. The MBA Admissions Board fails if they admit someone who does not have the ability to survive in class. In 2007 during my first visit at HBS, I had lunch a former client and two of his friends. Later that summer my former client informed me that one of those guys I met had been kicked out of the school due to lack of effective participation. He was not the only one that year. There are always few who don't make it in every first year class. Since this amounts to only a small number of people each year, the Admissions Board is doing its job to eliminate the following:

People who lack sufficient verbal skills to function at HBS. Beyond people with weak verbal skills, HBS interviewers need to eliminate those who cannot effectively make quick analytical statements. The applicant maybe a great engineer/finance quant/thinker but if they can't perform well on the spot, they will not fit at HBS.
People who lack sufficient knowledge or ability to apply their knowledge to meaningfully contribute in class.
People who lack sufficient confidence to communicate in class.

I mention these three lacks because I think these are the criteria albeit stated negatively that are at the heart of what the MBA Admissions Board is assessing during the interview process. Therefore to win at the HBS interview you need to do the following:

Demonstrate strong verbal skills: For those whose native language is not English, this is why intensive self-practice is so necessary. But even for native English speakers, I recommend extensive self-prep. That might be 20-100 hours of self-practice going through as many possible topics as possible and most of this should be spoken practice. See the third post for details of that practice. I often find that non-native speakers take interview preparation more seriously than native speakers of English because they don't really understand how challenging it can be to do in this kind of interview environment. Some people, regardless of English level, need to focus on improving mental and rhetorical flexibility to provide sufficiently effective answers, which is something that interview training can help with.
Demonstrate professional expertise: Whatever you have said about your work in your application, you need the ability to discuss in detail. You need to be able to communicate clearly and succinctly and in as jargon-free a way as possible to highlight your ability to communicate with a non-expert. Ideally you should be able to provide deep insights into your work, your employer(s), and your industry.
Demonstrate confidence: Always remember that with MBA interviews in particular, the answers are rarely purely factual but involve telling stories and hence the most important thing is to appear confident regardless of whether you think your answer is good, mediocre, or complete bullshit. Actually the ability to bullshit through questions one does not completely understand and/or have a perfect answer to is a core kind of competence. Instead of worrying about the accuracy or quality of the overall answer you might simply focus on delivery. And even if you think you are saying complete bullshit be confident about it. If you provide a confident and yet not totally accurate answer, you can always clarify it in the post-interview reflection. Remember you are being judged both on your answers and the impression you make, so even if your answer is not great, a strong positive impression can still result in a win.

II. Do you have an interesting perspective?

What distinguishes a merely acceptable candidate is that a great one will add a unique perspective. I see this happen especially with clients who get to HBS you are really imperfect. They might have come from a second or third tier school, have only mediocre grades and/or GMAT or GRE test scores, come from a less famous company, or have a messy professional background, yet they bring something unique. The uniqueness is first realized by admissions in the application and then demonstrated in the interview. I make the operating assumption that everyone who makes it the interview stage is at least potentially unique and interesting. My job as an interview coach is to make sure they bring that out when they practice. If you unique expertise or experience make sure you can communicate that during the interview. Hopefully you will be asked about it but if not work it in. If it has already been accounted for in the application, figure out new ways of communicating in the interview. Be passionate about what you care about and make sure that you communicate that to the interviewer.

III. Are you mentality prepared?

There really is nothing to fear because HBS Interviewers are predictable and professional. HBS admissions officers stick to their role and don't focus on themselves. They are trained for their role, which is not necessarily what happens at all other schools. In the case of HBS, an MBA admissions interview is customized for each interviewee by the interviewer after closely reviewing the interviewee’s application (resume, application form, essays, and recommendations). It is a closely timed exchange that lasts for 30 minutes. The questions come fast and the interviewer can ask follow-up questions about the interviewees’ answers intensively. Interviewees typically report that they are either neutral or friendly. HBS interviewers stick to their organizationally defined role and while questions are always personalized for the applicant, the topics and types of questions that are likely to be discussed are predictable, though the range of questions and the intensity of follow-up questions can vary greatly. You are playing a fair game:

You are being judged by someone who comes in assuming your potential for admission. They have no hidden agenda, unlike, for example, a job interviewer who already has selected an internal candidate for the job but most interview outside candidates because of HR policies.
You will not be subject to verbal abuse, hostility, or other negative unprofessional behaviors that occur frequently in job interviews (and less frequently in MBA admissions interviews with alumni). For almost ten years, I have asked my clients about their past job, internship, admissions and other interview experiences and many have had horrible experiences with interviewers who were rude, unprofessional, or otherwise really awful to deal with. Such experiences can leave a person with a negative attitude about interviewers, but you will not encounter this with an HBS interviewer. (Unfortunately I cannot say the same thing about all B-School alumni interviewers because I sometimes get very negative reports o. But that is what happens when you don't really train interviewers or closely monitor them.)
You can anticipate but what you will be asked. While you cannot know the exact terrain that will be covered in your interview (the specific questions), you do know what the overall map (What is likely to be covered). I have discussed this in detail in the first post.

Don't psych yourself out! It is particularly important that you don't worry too much about your perception of the interviewer's attitude as this can be a particularly good way to become nervous. I have had too many reports of clients doing this with HBS. Your interviewer maybe less friendly or more friendly, maybe more aggressive or less aggressive, but whatever their attitude focus on your answers. Feel free to panic and cry after you have exited the interview, but avoid doing so during it. If you give an imperfect answer, move on and don't become fixated.

It is great when interviewers can make you feel comfortable, but not all do that. It is important to understand that some interviewers maintain a neutral or unsupportive stance because they think they are being fair. In HBS interview reports, most of the interviewers are friendly/neutral. Whoever you interview with at HBS should not matter because you should focus on your performance, not the interviewer's reaction. Since you cannot know what is going on inside an interviewer's head, don't try to think about it. Especially if the interviewer looks tired or does not provide much facial or body language, there is no value in focusing your attention on them. Focus on what they ask you and your response. This is not a time to worry about making friends. It is not a date, it is an evaluation of your performance, so focus only that. Some interviewers may think they are being neutral even when an interviewee may feel like the interviewer is actually being unfriendly. For example, I might feel as though someone is being mean or unfriendly regardless of whether the other person is actually intending to be that way. The point is to be effective as you can in the interview without worrying too much about what might be happening inside someone else’s head. Also be aware of what might trigger you to feel uncomfortable. For example, if I know that unsmiling people make me upset, I can when encountering such a person, take a step back, and think, “Adam, this guy is making me uncomfortable, why? Oh, he is unsmiling. He must hate me. No, Adam, you don’t need to make that assumption. That is just your feeling, but unhelpful for what you want to get out of this conversation. Assume he is just the kind of person who does not smile much.” This is easy for me to write, harder to put into actual practice, but worth the effort if you can.

Finally, as mentioned before, confidence matters. Some people are just naturally confident or are really good at faking it, others are not. Some may just have minor problems with sounding confident, others simply become nervous, and others have extreme anxiety which undermines performance. If you feel that this a problem for you or you have been feedback about this, you need to address this issue. For those who feel that their confidence issues cannot be overcome by practice, which is what I discuss in the third post, I'd like to tell you about how I worked with a client who suffered from extreme interview anxiety. This is shortened version of part of my INSEAD Masters thesis, Taking Interviewing Seriously: A Clinical Protocol for MBA Application Interview Coaching. Feel to ignore what follows, if you don't think it applies to you. Just go right to the third post! Best of luck with your HBS interview! If you want to do interview prep with me, please see here.

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"JOHN"

John, a European male in his late twenties, received an invite from HBS, so he had extensive time to prepare, as he received his invitation on October 7, 2015 and he did not interview until mid-November. After doing some initial self-prep (something I strongly advocate and provide materials for), John and I had our first practice on October 25.

What occurred in that first session was not what I had expected. Instead of becoming more comfortable with his responses through self-practice, he was extremely unprepared and began struggling for answers. The struggle was reflected in both his speech and facial expressions. He broke down in the first session, which simply involved going over his answers to typical questions in an open style (not a mock interview). It was as if an answer was not perfect, he fell completely apart. While my Interview Experience survey had indicated that John’s behavior was highly dependent upon how the interviewer acted, John had immense anxiety about his performance, which was not what his prior interview experience had indicated, because he had done well on job interviews. I had anticipated that he would need practice but realized something much more serious was going on.

The first step when the coaching process breaks down, as it did with John, is for the coach to realize that whatever the expected plan for the session was, a new task needs to become the focus. The coach should move the client into the reflective space in order to deal with issue(s) that will impede further progress. In John’s case, the need was obvious, as his behavior was dangerously off-task. Directly acknowledging the issue was my first step. The next was to make John feel safe. Since asking questions that were freezing him up was not working, I asked him directly what was bothering him. He expressed a sense of being underprepared and that he felt at a loss for answers. His willingness to reflect on the situation was critical for creating a space for us to continue working. During the rest of the session, we discussed what would make him feel prepared. I got the impression that for him being prepared meant being perfect. John seemed so rigid and wanted to have THE RIGHT ANSWER. Such answers simply don’t exist. There are many possible right answers or at least answers that are right enough. I thought that anytime his answer was not smooth he too often shut down and became flustered. His desire to be right and in control prevented him from just trying to answer a question.

Breakdowns continued to occur both during sessions with me and with one of my colleagues who reported on November 7^th that “he seems like a nice guy and his experience is very interesting, but that was literally one of the worst interview sessions I've had in recent memory.” Getting confirmation on a client’s behavior from a colleague helped me have confidence that my concerns were real and that John’s problem was quite serious.

I decided to continue using a relaxed approach focused on getting John to give a complete series of answers and restarting at any point where he broke down. Such breakdowns became occasions for helping him construct better answers. The point to me was to convert his rigidity into flexibility but to do it gradually enough that he would not become discouraged. We had three subsequent sessions. Normally, one of my standard practices for HBS involves being a very neutral interviewer because this seems to be the worst case interviewer experience for those who have HBS interviews. (And from what my client respondents told me, no one likes neutral interviewers, whether for a job interview or an admissions interview.) However I did not do this with John as it would have enhanced his anxiety. John needed reassurance so that he could focus on performing. Instead of a mock session, we briefly discussed how to handle such a neutral interviewer. Prior to attending INSEAD, I might very well have been that neutral interviewer, but doubling down on someone’s anxiety is clearly creating harm. Instead I tried to create a safe space for John to practice a full range of questions in order for him to feel comfortable with his answers. Fortunately he reported that his actual HBS interviewers (there were two of them with one acting primarily as an observer) were friendly, which is the style I used for our mock sessions. He reported that, “I left the interview with a very good feeling. I didn't get stuck on any question and I just went with the flow.” He was admitted to HBS. Rather than working against his rigidity, accepting it and then building from it, as well as creating a place where he would feel safe seem to have been the key factors that enabled effective coaching.

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Logistics and Content

This is the first of three posts I provide advice for HBS MBA Admissions Interviews.

This post discusses logistics and content. This post also includes analysis of the Post-Interview Reflection. The second post focuses on strategy. The third post focuses on preparation. These posts reflect the reports I have received from clients over the past several cycles since those for the Class of 2018 (Fall 2016 entry). It also reflects the changed way I advise and prep clients for HBS.

This post just describes the HBS interview with some brief analysis. In the second post, I will get really abstract, analytical, psychological, and otherwise deep. In the third post, I will be very practical, which is good since that post is on self-preparation. If you are familiar with the logistics and contents of HBS interviews, you can skim/ignore this one. It is here mostly for those who need to some grounding in the basics before jumping into my usual guru-level goodness. Through I think it is a good idea to review my advice on the post-interview reflection at the end of this post even if you are not interested in what follows.

LOGISTICS

The interviewers are members of the MBA Admissions Board or contract interviewers who often have other regular roles at HBS (some of have been doing this for well over a decade). Some have been around forever (or something like that), others arrived more recently, but whatever the case, these people stick to their interview protocols and do a better job than any other school at being fair and giving each person who is interviewed a fair hearing. The process of training to become an HBS interviewer involves observing interview sessions. That is why applicants will frequently report a second admissions member who was simply observing. For example, one of my clients was observed in 2024 by the new Admissions Director, Rupal Gadhia, when she was undergoing her training. I think it is as result of a rigorous approach to training that HBS interviewers are the best MBA admissions interviewers on the planet.

Scheduling your interview: HBS oversees interview slots will fill quickly so if you are invited, please select your preferred slot as quickly as possible.You will be invited for an interview and then the scheduling system will open up the next day. Even if it comes at an absolutely horrible time for you, I highly recommend getting access to that schedule and scheduling as soon as possible. If you prefer to have as much prep time as possible, I suggest you schedule as quickly as you can. There are three locations for interviews: Campus, hub, and online. Campus and hub interviews are conducted in-person. For campus and online interviews you will have no idea who will be interviewed by. For hub interviews, the interviewer may become known prior to your actual interview. In some cases, such as Sarah Lucas going to Dubai, this can often be predicted. The difference between a campus interview and other types of interviews is that campus will involve some additional informational activities for those invited, but this has no barring on the outcome. If you prefer in-person interviews and have the money and time to travel to the hub or campus, you should do that. If you prefer, online, do it that way. For online interviews, see some technical advice here. There is no inherent advantage in choosing one method of interviewing over the other two.

All interviews last 30 minutes and rarely exceed that time.

CONTENT

The HBS interview content is quite distinct from what you would find in a typical MBA interview at schools like Booth, Columbia, INSEAD, Kellogg and Tuck. It is even more different than the behavioral interviews conducted by MIT and Stanford. The HBS difference is that each applicant will be asked questions specific to them. Prior to the Class of 2018 (2016 entry), while HBS interviews were always personalized, the reports I received from clients contained more generic questions. These days the questions each applicant gets is more tailored.

While the admissions criteria for HBS were revised for the Class of 2027, there has been no noticeable change to the questions asked in Round One for 2025 entry. Given that being Business-Minded, Leadership-Focused, and Growth-Oriented were always core to what has been asked anyway, this is not a surprise. That said, it is very much worth keeping those three criteria into consideration when preparing for HBS interviews.

A few things to keep in mind:

You have to be prepared for answering questions about anything you have done that is accounted for in the application. You can expect a few questions related to your academic and personal background so you have to be prepared to handle a full range of questions but don't be surprised if you only get a few or even no questions in this area.
You will need to be able to switch between micro/personal level and big picture questions as this can happen often. If you are a non-native English speaker, chances are even greater that you will be in an interview where the number of questions asked is extremely high (maybe not so much of a deep dive at all) because the admissions interviewer is testing your English ability: In particular, your fluency. They want to make sure you can handle the HBS classroom. Still, HBS is famous for going in relatively deep with follow-up questions, so you have to be prepared for that as well.
You need the ability to both explain and evaluate. By explain, I mean you should be able to provide both (1) detailed and succinct answers and (2) anecdotal examples (tell stories) to address a great range of questions. By evaluate, I mean you should be able to interpret and give an opinion when asked for one.
Don't be surprised if much of your essay contents are not discussed in the interview but rather only few points might be referred to. After all, they want to learn things about you they can't find in the essay, so don't think it will your script. Your resume is more likely to be worth your intensive review.

While I can't provide a real interview report, I have described what to expect in an interview. I would also say that the reports I have seen on online are usually too brief and don't generally reflect the actual interview because to do so would be too revealing. It would very risky for an applicant to put up a real report on an HBS interview because the questions are too applicant specific.

How it will start:

-The interviewer will briefly explain how the interview is structured.

-The interviewer will likely begin asking you questions either about something in your background or by asking you about your recent work. Examples:

"Tell me about X college experience"

"Tell me about how (your current work, current project, Project X mentioned in application) is going.

-If the interviewer starts with educational or other personal background questions, they are likely to do for a few minutes before switching to asking about professional experience related questions. Expect 1-3 personal questions before the switchover to professional questions.

-If the interviewer starts with professional related questions, which are often updates at work, they are likely to focus on professional questions for most of the interview and you can expect only a few personal related questions at the end.

The primary focus of HBS interviews is on the applicant's professional experience. While other subjects are discussed, based on reports I have seen, the vast majority of questions in all recent interviews was related to professional experience. You still have to prep for the full range of questions, but a great deal of attention should focus on your work experience, your industry, and your company. They want to see your ability to discuss and explain your industry and company beyond your own role. This is an interview that is used to determine your fitness to be an effective participant in the class and hence the focus is content related to how you could contribute your experience in class discussions.

You need to be able to do the following for all of your employers:

1. Explain and evaluate the nature of the business.

2. Explain and evaluate the industry overall and the competition.

3. Explain key concepts related to your industry and role/function.

4. Explain and evaluate your role in each function you held in the company.

In other words, you should be able to explain and evaluate the above in a way that would parallel how you might use your knowledge in class at HBS.

Below is an example set of questions reflecting the above. We will assume that the applicant has worked at two companies.

"What is the project that you are most recently involved in?" 1-2 followup questions

"Tell me more about your involvement in... another project/organizing recruiting/ supervising a team/ other examples that focus on the applicant's role. 1-2 follow-up questions.

"How did Covid (or some other major event) impact your company and your work personally?"

"What is the best part of your job?" 1-2 followup questions

"What have learned about your company as the result of your time there?" 1-2 followup questions

"Who are your company’s competitors?" 1-3 follow-up questions

"Why did you leave your prior employer to join this company?" 1-2 follow -up questions

"When you are at prior employer, tell me more about your involvement in... another project/organizing recruiting/ supervising a team/ other examples that focus on the applicant's role. 1-2 follow-up questions.

"How would you describe the difference in the work environment between these two companies?" 1-2 follow-up questions

"Can you explain more about X (X is something complex that is at the core the applicant's work)?" 1-5 follow-up questions

What else will be asked:

-Your goals are likely to be asked about but don't be surprised if you are not asked about why MBA or why HBS. You might be but there is a good chance, you will not be asked that. So you have to prep for it.

"Where do you want to work post-MBA?" "Why?"

But be prepared for "Why HBS?" or "Why do you need an MBA" (these are both topics you can always bring up if asked if there is anything you want to discuss, see below)

-If no personal questions have been asked, you might get something related to your hobbies, interests, or background:

"Why do enjoy doing X?"

"Tell me about your involvement in X activity/group/organization/sport/team."

"What do you in your free time?"

-Typical MBA interviews questions that are commonly asked but don't be surprised if you get none of these:

"What are you good at?" (What are you strengths?) or "What is one thing you are good at?"

"What aren't you good at?" (What are your weaknesses?) or "What is something you want to get better at doing?"

"What is something surprises people about you?"

-At the end of the interview, be prepared to be asked if there is anything else you want to discuss or questions you wish the interviewer had asked you. Have possible topics ready for this. Good topics for this:

Something you really wanted to discuss but did not a chance to.
Why HBS if this was not asked.
Discussion about extracurricular activities that highlight something that shows leadership potential, teamwork skills, intellectual abilities, readiness for HBS, or something else you think HBS really needs to know about you. For example, gaining a new skill or making a big impact in a volunteer activity.

Please keep in mind that my discussion above reflects what MBA applicants get asked but for 2+2 applicants the contents will be different because there will be less focus on work experience. I don't work with many applicants for the 2+2 program so I don't have enough reports to write this myself. For a description of a 2+2 interview, see here.

After the interviewer, you will have 24 hours to write a post-interview reflection:

Reflection is an important part of the HBS learning model, so we want to get a
sense here of your real-time thoughts and learnings from the interview
conversation. It is not intended to be another formal essay!

You have 24 hours to complete this reflection. So, please take the time you need
to pause and think, but the actual writing should only take about an hour. There’s
no need to go through multiple drafts or get any outside help - we want the
reflection to be informal, unrehearsed, and in your own words. Please answer the
following prompt by uploading a document below.

Question: What was the highlight of your interview and why did this
resonate with you? Is there anything else you would like to share now that
you’ve had time to reflect on your interview? (Word guidance - 300-450
words)

This is your chance to further emphasize a key aspect of yourself covered in the interview.

To best determine what to write about, I advise my client that right after their interview they write up a full report on the interview so they know what they discussed and so that we can determine what should go into the post-interview reflection. I suggest you do the same even if it is just for yourself.

The reflection has mandatory and optional parts to it. Anything else is optional. Focus on the main point of the question (discuss a highlight) and thank the Admissions Board, but everything below is really optional.

Resonating Highlight; Focus on a specific aspect of the interview that you want to further emphasize. This should be something positive as a highlight is positive. Something that resonates is something that you feel a connection to. For example, if you enjoyed discussing a particular project because it highlighted your ability to make an impact, that could be a good topic. A great conversation regarding your industry or a specific issue might also be the basis for this answer. (MANDATORY)

Anything Else:

-Address any concerns you have over what you said or failed to say in the interview. Sometimes you think there is something you could have said better better or did not say and want to address it. (OPTIONAL)

-Elaborate on issues that you want to highlight that were not sufficiently focused in the interview or application. (OPTIONAL)

-Discuss something you especially want to highlight to the rest of the HBS Admissions Board even though it was discussed in the interview. Just keep in mind that they are not asking for you to summarize the interview. (OPTIONAL)

-Provide a brief assessment for how you think the interview went. (OPTIONAL)

Thank the Admissions Board and your interviewer in particular. (MANDATORY)

WHAT NOT TO DO: Don't write a summary of the entire interview as that is not helpful and not their question.

Essay length for this varies, but I would stick their suggested guideline of 300-450 words.

Best of luck with your HBS interview! If you want to do interview prep with me, please see here.

Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru

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Go to a better blog!

May 19, 2026

Columbia Business School MBA Essays for January and August 2027 Entry

Previous Columbia Contacts

Short Answer Question 2 for JANUARY ENTRY: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

September 29, 2025

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Preparation

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Strategy

HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Logistics and Content

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Short Answer Question 2　for JANUARY ENTRY: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)