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Definitely a top school with a rigorous course load meant to prepare you for business application and solid recruiting networks; however, there a lot to be said for up-and-coming b-schools who are quickly gaining a great alumni base and $$$ and trying to lure good candidates w/ scholarship and shiny new facilities and perks. Be prepared to trade off the NYC-location for slightly less than lackluster facilities and on campus dining/catering (understandable considering NYC is so expensive, but trust me, Uris is not what you would think a top-10 school would look like). Regardless of what the infrastructure is looking like now, the school probably trumps most other similarly ranking schools just based on location. At no other school (except Stern) are you able to network so quickly and closely with both alums and recruiter. Actually beneficial in-semester internships are also a huge plus which wouldn't be available at most schools.
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CBS is big on CBS. If you want to go here, you have to be very clear about why. The career resources are excellent, students and alumni are so happy to help, and just using the Columbia name can get you a call or coffee chat with anyone in the industry of your choice. The world is your oyster here. Take advantage of everything New York has to offer, and the huge (40,000+) alumni database.
The social life here is unparalleled. It's been three months and we've already gone to Cancun as a class, had a Gatsby themed Fall Ball and gotten together for dinners, potlucks, sushi and various other gatherings. Columbia's greatest strength is it's awesome, friendly people!
If you are not from a business or "traditional" background and are recruiting for banking or consulting, the first semester is EXTREMELY difficult and overwhelming. I would take online courses before school, especially in Excel (if you did not use it in your previous job) so you can feel like you are somewhat on par with your classmates. While CBS has grade non-disclosure, this means you want to fall somewhere in the middle to make sure you are in good academic standing. The "curve" makes this very difficult for people who are new to the rigorous core curriculum. Do your best to prepare before school; there simply isn't enough time when you start classes and recruiting to do it all.
Recruiting is extremely well run and CBS will walk you through the process. Join any professional club that is geared toward an industry of interest. They have incredible resources at your disposal. It may be hyper competitive, but everyone will get a job in the end - and a great one at that!
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Being in New York City was an incredible experience. As a CBS student I had unprecedented access to top firms and elite thinkers in my industry. Networking is as easy as a subway ride away. I had friends from other top business schools constantly call me up for a place to stay as they flew in for their corporate visits.
One drawback is that the facilities are old, but this should change with the new campus.
Another highlight is the student body. There is a healthy mix from all industries and all geographies. I also benefitted from classmates who were well connected within New York City that could show me around and give me excellent introductions into my targeted companies.
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I visited Columbia before I applied and got accepted and I would say the experience overall is very similar to my school visit experience. I highly recommend everyone to visit their shortlisted schools before they actually apply! The New York location is unparalleled. We have awesome speakers from literally across every industry come to speak on campus every week. The adjunct professors who are industry practitioners are amazing. The only things that could be improved are facilities (not enough for 800 people per class - but we are building a new campus) and career opportunities for international students. It is quite a challenge navigating through cateer search as an international student.
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Although it has been only my first quarter, it already feels like it's been an eternity. In this time I've come to greatly appreciate my classmates, the faculty members, and the resources that are made available to all MBA students. The school does an incredible job of inducting new students into the school, and ensuring that they'll be accommodated an integrated well into the student body.
The Career Management Center takes charge within the first few weeks, and starts educating students in terms of the opportunities available comma and the work that needs to be done in order to get the internship that the students would like.
The professors and faculty members are extremely accommodating, knowledgeable and know their subject well. I was particularly surprised by their ability to integrate humour into classroom situations and to draw on the classroom experience to enrich the case or concept at hand.
The school's location is most definitely one of its key advantages. Just by being in New York City you get to experience so many different things, network with the decision-makers at firms, and hear from industry leaders and experts. I personally got a chance to spend an hour with the global managing director of McKinsey & Co, Mr. Dominic Barton.
Overall, I am extremely glad that I chose the school.
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Going to CBS and participating in the Value Investing Program was easily the best career and life decision I've ever made. I had heard a great deal about the program before I attended but it vastly exceeded my expectations. The quality of students, and even more importantly the faculty and adjunct faculty, cannot be overstated. I was learning directly from some the greatest investors of our generation and that would not have been possible at any other b-school. The opportunity to supplement your learning through internships at NYC hedge funds is huge - this was a key part of my and my fellow investing-oriented classmates education. If you know you want to work on the buyside or any investing-related role, there is no doubt in my mind that CBS is the best place for you.
Every hedge/mutual fund you can think of recruits or has recruited on campus. More importantly, due to CBS' extensive alumni network, you can make in-roads with any fund you want and get in front of them - the rest is up to you. The opportunity is there if you are willing to do the work and put in the time and effort.
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My CBS MBA enabled me to make a career switch into consulting and eventually to start my own (successful) business. Neither would have been possible without the skills, network and confidence the school allowed me to develop.
I was a J-term student: a path I choose primarily because, although I'm American, I had spent nearly all of my adult life out of the US and wanted to be part of a more international community. For a US school, I would say that Columbia ranks at the top f international experience / outlook. (The J-term was about 50% international). I live in London now, and there is a great group of alumni here as well.
It is true that Columbia is most known for its strength is in finance - an area in which I held little interest. That said, I took some great classes in subjects across the board. The ability to choose electives in other programs at Columbia University also provided a unique opportunity to enhance the traditional b-school curriculum with classes in other academic programs that are also among the top rated, both in the US and globally. (The School of Journalism, Teachers College, etc).
Culture-wise, even with such a high contingent of international students, I did find the experience to be quite "American" (for lack of a better term). Not necessarily a bad thing, it was just a little adjustment for me to go from chateau champagne parties at INSEAD (where I worked previously) to college-grade beer in student halls at Columbia.
We passed grade non-disclosure the year I was there, and I found the community to be very supportive and, with a few exceptions (there's always one), not overly competitive.
I left the program with lifelong friendships and a business network upon which I draw regularly. Classmates have become both clients and customers, as well as open sounding-boards as we work to explore more business opportunities.
The one area where CBS really needs improvement is in its facilities. Luckily for you, this is already in the works and the development of the new Manhattanville campus is well underway.
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My first suggestion would be to evaluate schools based on what current students say. Talking to people is the best way to figure out if the school is a good fit for you. There are a lot of stereotypes about schools online that get perpetuated by people who know the stereotype but don't actually know the school.
I had a truly wonderful experience at Columbia. It is a larger school so allows you to be a part of a diverse group with a lot of different backgrounds and a part of an alumni network that is that much larger. It was amazing to meet people from all over the world and with such varied experiences and backgrounds. As large as the student body is, it is still tight-knit and feels much more manageable given the cluster system and the way that you get to meet people through clubs, activities, and recruiting.
One thing that I was nervous about due to stereotypes I read before school was the culture. The stuff I read (and am hoping still doesn't get put out there) could not have been more wrong. I couldn't believe how supportive my classmates and learning teammates were in their willingness to help me both academically and in terms of my career. The community is incredibly strong. Nearly everyone who is there wants to be there and wants to take advantage of the two years. I don't think being in NYC worked against that. It just meant we had more options available to us for our outside of school activities.
In terms of the NYC location, I would say the only negative is that it is really expensive. B School is already expensive and the money you're going to spend on rent/activities/meals/subway will be that much more in NYC. I would say that there also are so many trips/events that happen at school so there is a bit of pressure to spend money if you want to feel like you're fully involved in the community. While this isn't necessarily the way everyone feels, I would point out that some of my friends felt that way. This is especially true in second year as there is a lot more time to travel and you often find yourself on trips with 70+ classmates.
Other than the cost, I couldn't think of a better location to go to business school especially if you're looking to stay on the east coast after school. Because of the NYC location, a lot of our professors are business professionals as well as professors. Not only does this give a unique perspective to what we're learning, but I also had many professors who said they wanted to help people in the class find jobs and were successful in setting classmates up with opportunities. Classes can also get more real-world perspective through projects/internships. I had friends in a venture capital class where each student was given a VC internship for the semester; that sort of experience can't happen everywhere! In addition, there are always business leaders passing through New York, so the companies and the leaders that come to school are just fantastic. I would also add that took advantage of the small business consulting program which gave me really great experience that I leveraged as I made my career switch.
I found the academics at CBS to average, some classes were great, some were just ok. I was so thankful for grade non-disclosure which was something that I didn't originally consider when looking at Bschools. Not only does it help just get rid of that extra layer of stress, but it really makes people that much more willing to help, there is no competition at all.
I really can't say enough about my experience there, I left with lifelong relationships and having secured a job with a company that I had pinpointed before even starting b-school.
The only thing I would add would be that I suspect the program offerings are very similar between top schools in terms of academics, clubs, and travel opportunities. I also actually suspect the community is probably pretty similar at most schools in the sense that there will be tons of social events going on at all times and chances are you're going to be surrounded by people who are excited to be involved. What might differ is whether you're hanging out in people's apartment complexes or on campus or at a local bar. I would talk to current students and think about what your priorities in terms of location, career, alumni network, and personal fit.
I would just say to look at the employment reports / talk to students to get an understanding of which companies recruit from a given school and also to understand what the hiring practices are like at the companies you're interested in. In some industries, companies can be very particular about which schools they hire from and only will hire from certain schoos.
I recruited for Marketing, so not what people typically think of when they think of CBS. I would say CBS excels at essentially every career path other than marketing. That said, I was able to get the exact job I wanted by going to CBS. I was a career switcher from finance to marketing. I found the marketing club, classmate support, small business consulting, and company events themselves to be essential to me being successful in finding a job.
In general, if you're looking to work in CPG, which I was, at CBS you're mostly going to get east coast based CPGs (which is what I wanted, I knew I didn't want to work in midwest). Even then, you don't get all of them coming to campus. So you need to do a bit of legwork yourself by networking with alums (which I found to exceed expectations on all fronts) and putting yourself out there if there are companies you're interested in that don't come to campus. I was actually happy to have gone to CBS for marketing because there was less competition for jobs/positions than you would get at some of the other schools where the career choice is more popular.
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Columbia - what you expect.
CBS is a great program, with amazing faculty, career opportunities and speaker series. CBS is what you expect, it's THE school in Manhattan, which means you have a revolving door of world class speakers / leaders as well as job opportunities that are simply impossible to get if you're not in NYC.
What it's not. It's not a community school. Don't get me wrong, a great sense of community but when you compare it to other programs, as i've done with friends at other schools, it simply can't match the cohesiveness of community. Why? two major reason, 1) the facilities are simply too small, too dated, too spread out, too inadequate and 2) it's NYC, people have limitless options for things to do, so getting the class together is simply tough.
The professors are genuinely awesome. They care, they're working hard for you, they make time for you and they understand that business school is a hybrid product - class work, recruiting, social, networking, etc.
The curriculum is strong and getting stronger though the best classes are tough to get and the schedule for some reason leans heavy on MW class (perhaps due to student interest)
You have to understand a few things about CBS... it's a business... it's a business school. I get a feeling / vibe / inkling that the office of student affairs really doesn't give two craps about the students once we are here. They are in the business of placing you in jobs, getting you good course work, building a world class network. This is not the bschool program that is going to hold your hand or tell you you're special. Some people love this, some hate it, I think it's fair though I don't really appreciate it (esp. with a $200k sticker price). In short, this program will get you wherever you want to go career wise and the NYC benefit is true and tangible but it comes at a slight cost to community and facilities that are simply... how do i put this... simply unacceptable.
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Fixing the mayhem of recruiting season
On the career front the program at CBS is well designed and I would highly recommend it to anybody interested in Finance and Consulting. The major consulting companies all recruit on campus and the alumni base in finance is incredibly active. Many students have internships during the school year because there are no classes on Fridays. Getting that chance to work for a hedge fund during class can be the difference for many in getting the job they want at graduation. The school is also strengthening the tech/entrepreneurship offerings with a new startup lab. The venture market is New York is growing rapidly and many students start a business with their classmates before reaching graduation.
On the social front the school is very active. The cluster system gives a core group of students you will know well and they travel together, go drinking together and take classes together. The city has more opportunities than you can possibly take advantage of with your limited time. Despite many students having already lived in NYC they still are very active in the school's social scene. The reputation of people scattering after classes is unfounded.
The facilities are sub-par but a new campus is under construction that will remedy that issue.
The Core curriculum is not difficult but provides a good foundation and gives the clusters a great chance to bond in their first semester. The electives have a broad selection and the Value Investing Program is unmatched at any other school for access to hedge funds and real world applicability.
All the major banks, consulting firms and large mutual funds recruit on campus. Hundreds of other smaller companies post to the school's job board but non-traditional career paths (healthcare and retail in particular) need to spend a good amount of time networking on their own to find opportunities.
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Any idea when will the Manhattanville campus open its doors?