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Is columbia business school worth itPoets&Quants - After Earning An MBA, She Trashes The School.
This review is for CBS. Anyone that is considering Columbia is also likely considering a bunch of great schools that have many of the same positives; namely access to a great network, excellent professors, smart classmates, professional opportunities, and everyone's favorite Grade Non-Disclosure.
I chose Columbia because it was a top 10 school I didn't think anything less was really worth the investment and I wanted to live in NY mainly for personal reasons. However, after going I can say that I think there are a few other things that make Columbia awesome: - A surprising level of community, especially for a "city school.
CBS Matters is definitely my favorite thing about Columbia. In addition to on campus happy hour on Thursdays there is Rugby Happy Hour on Wednesdays at a bar a few subway stops away. It is open to the whole school, not just the rugby team although I would highly recommend joining the rugby team because it's awesome , and usually has equal or better attendance than school-sponsored happy hour.
However, there are TONS of opportunities to travel. In the summer before school starts a huge chunk of the school takes part in the "pre-MBA World Tour" which includes student-organized trips pretty much all over the world I got to take part in the final leg in the Hamptons with about classmates. I took a Global Immersion class in Madrid about the European Financial Crisis which included full days of speakers who experienced the crisis first hand and evenings seeing the city, eating a lot of great food, going out to clubs, and touring the soccer stadium.
I really only thought about this from a personal perspective coming in but it is a helpful resource since every industry and almost every big company has offices in NY you can find time to meet with people from any industry or company you might be interested in without having to plan your whole day or week around it.
There are also conferences hosted on or near campus almost every week I went to the media, marketing and women in business conferences. I just don't see those kind of things being possible outside of NY. There definitely are some downsides to Columbia as well You pay a premium for being in NY for sure, so if you aren't getting value out of that location then you can probably get a lot of the positives of Columbia somewhere cheaper. My core marketing class was painful and electives were generally taught by mediocre visiting professors — pretty disappointing when you see the industry legends teaching the finance courses.
They are working on a new campus that should be opening around and so they aren't putting much work into the current one. It is small and below the standards I would expect from such a great school. Very few dining options and the library is pretty consistently overrun by undergrads. Tough answering whether it is worth it right out of school especially for me since I am still on the job hunt. I would say that if you have a good sense of what you want to get out of it and you focus on that it will be worth it but since priorities vary so much person to person it is also very easy to get distracted.
Overall BSchool experience 3. 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 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. Overall BSchool experience 5. Curriculum, Classes, Professors Career opportunities provided by school Location. Facilities Specialization in a particular area e.
Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc. I chose Columbia for two reasons : one I wanted to be in Manhattan, the financial capital of the world and two HBS was going way over my budget. I had attended some programs at HBS earlier and I knew that while case method is very interactive and interesting but at the same time it leaves you yearning for some basic concepts and learning.
Columbia was the right choice, it combined best of learning with humdrum of NYC. Location gives it solid advantage in terms of best of visitors who give you real insights in business and then you can really learn. Another great thing at Columbia is the research that is being carried out. You will learn a lot! Professors are solid and you will really love some the classes particularly on negotiations and operations.
Overall BSchool experience 4. I went to Columbia to get hired at an MBB consulting firm, and that's ultimately what happened, so I can certainly say the school met my expectations and goals. However, a brand new campus will be completed soon ish , and that should solve that problem. One thing I didn't appreciate about CBS is since the school is located literally in Manhattan, it's much more difficult and orders of magnitude more expensive to construct new buildings, so this issue ultimately gets a pass from me.
Even with the myriad distractions in NYC more on that below , CBS students have an incredibly strong connection to each other and the school. If I wanted to fill up every night of the week with club and social events purely with CBSers, it'd be very easy to do. The generally held viewpoint that CBS is internally extremely competitive and cutthroat is completely false.
Between academics, clubs, social events, networking, coffee chats, internships in school and summer , mentoring, and the general distractions of NYC, there's always something to pull you in a different direction.
Some of my classmates held essentially full-time jobs in Connecticut, others had three kids in Long Island, and others could always be counted on to be in Watson the library when not in class. Some were club kids who were constantly jet-setting, and others were at every single on campus event. The really nice aspect of this is that you could be part of one of these groups one week and another the next - the fluidity and frequency of events were strengths.
After the core curriculum, academics is literally a choose-your-own-adventure, with no majors or departmental requirements to fulfill. A caveat here: if you're the type of person who needs more hand-holding and structure to your MBA experience, you may feel more lost at CBS.
Those with a strong sense of self-direction and motivation tend to be more successful. Of the big three placements consulting, finance, tech , CBS excels in two of them and performs reasonably well in tech - all the big firms are on campus and seems like half my friends are going to Amazon. If you're not going into one of the bigger industries, your career search will have to be much more self-driven.
From a consulting perspective, CBS is amazing. I was exposed to easily over a dozen top consulting firms with minimal effort on my own part, and formed solid relationships with recruiters and alumni at virtually all of them.
Second year students actively help prep and recruit first years, and the recruiting atmosphere is collegiate and encouraging without being overly competitive. Hello thanks for useful insight. Just one question are you a us citizen? The reason I am asking is because I heard that is is much harder nowadays to find sponsor in NY for top management consultant firms like bcg?
Do you have any information about that? Thanks in advance. I was happily impressed by the close-knit, collaborative, and supportive culture at Columbia Business School. The school's unparalleled location and opportunities across all industries makes it an obvious choice for those looking for and a fun and rewarding experience along with brand recognition and location.
The alumni network is top-notch, and I never would have encountered the number of post-MBA opportunities I have without it. Columbia helped me achieve all of my post-MBA goals and I would not have been as happy or as satisfied at any other business school. Columbia Business School really is the best of all worlds!
Columbia Business School is an excellent choice, especially for those pursuing finance jobs in New York. There is a huge alumni network and the school places well at all the top investment banks and other finance roles. When it comes to finding other opportunities, though, people can have a very different experience. For example, in my year it seemed as if most of the people recruiting for consulting did not land jobs in that industry.
People recruiting for other, less standard, career paths also had a more difficult time than they might have expected. Academic experiences can vary greatly by class. I had a couple that I thought were a little useful but most were a waste of time. Overall, I think CBS does a good job of teaching the basics of accounting and corporate finance but don't expect to get much more than that. Two years after graduation, most of my friends are still in the city. This is helpful to keep professional and personal relationships.
Verified score: Q50 V Columbia offers the most dynamic global business, finance, and media and technology curricula. You will have the opportunity to engage with NYC-based industries to learn how they function. Only Columbia will offer you the opportunity to learn from the stalwarts of your industry. Columbia does offer a microcosm of diversity like no other program. Till this day, I'm still amazed to learn the diverse background of my classmates and I really like the "CBS Matters" sessions, which gives everyone the opportunity to learn more about you and what leads to who you are today.
Also the career support is tremendous. We have the best executives in residence here, who are all retired industry leaders such as the former CEO of Deloitte. Also we get support from second years who have gone through the entire process. CBS has a career fellow program where selected second years from various industries can meet and help the students in person. It's particularly helpful for those who would like to get hand-on experience in terms of interview process, internship experience, etc.
Almost every company I know recruit from CBS
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