SBC Columbia Interviewguide

COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL
INTERVIEW GUIDE
CO LU M B I A B U S INESS SC HOO L IN T E RV IE W G UID E
Copyright © 2013 by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Inc, Los Angeles, California, USA. www.stacyblackman.com
Cover design by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Inc
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without
written permission from the publisher. Contact Stacy Blackman Consulting at ebook@StacyBlackman.com.
ISBN-13: 978-1-61755-914-3
ISBN-10: 1-61755-914-8
Visit www.StacyBlackman.com/store for the latest Stacy Blackman Consulting ebooks.
DISCLAIMER:
This guide is designed to assist in your MBA Admissions application, but does not guarantee admission to the Columbia
Business School.
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TA BLE O F CON T EN TS
INTRODUCTION: 4 TEAMWORK 20
The Stacy Blackman Consulting Interview Guides Behavioral Teamwork Questions
The MBA Interview Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis
Your Audience Potential Fit at Columbia Questions
Setting Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis
Subject Matter AMBITIONS 22

Objectives Why B-School/Why HBS Questions
WHAT COLUMBIA IS LOOKING FOR 7 Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis
THE COLUMBIA INTERVIEW 12 Post B-School Ambition Questions
Logistics: Place and Time Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis
Your Interviewer COLUMBIA INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS 25
Statistics Five Representative Samples
Style EVALUATION 27
COLUMBIA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 13 Sample Evaluation Form
ACHIEVEMENT 13 PREPARING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW 30
Basic Background Questions The S.T.A.R. Method
Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis Mental Bookshelf
Setback Questions Dress Rehearsal
Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis HONING YOUR PRESENTATION 32

A Note About Mistakes and Failures What to Wear, What to Bring
DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL 17 Making an Impression
Personal Leadership Questions Closing Strong and Following Up
Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis APPENDIX 33

Theoretical Leadership Questions Common Interview Questions
Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis ABOUT STACY BLACKMAN CONSULTING 37
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INTRODUCTION: The Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Interview Guides

In this guide, we help you effectively prepare for your business school interview. The guide contains a compilation of the
most important lessons we’ve learned over the years while working with our clients and interacting with members of
admissions committees at top schools. We discuss all aspects of the interview: style, logistics, common questions and more.
After reviewing the guide, you will know what to expect and will be in the best position to shine when you meet face to face
with a representative from your target school. You will be able to prepare in a productive way: choosing the best subjects
and stories for your interviews and avoiding the pitfalls that trip up many interviewees.
We will begin by offering insight into what constitutes “fit” for the program being discussed. By listening carefully to
admissions officers over the years and by paying close attention to the profiles of successful applicants, we have assembled
a list of the fundamental qualities and attributes that each program values, so that you can be sure to emphasize and
accent these characteristics, as they apply to you, in your interview. As you might expect, there is some degree of overlap
between programs, but we have tailored the discussion in each guide to the specific program being evaluated. Study this
list closely, pay close attention to the qualities that describe you, and use your stories to supply the admissions officers with
convincing reasons to believe that you possess these characteristics. We also present you with common interview questions
with sample scripted answers and an accompanying analysis. By applying this information to your interview preparation,
you will greatly improve your execution on the stories you decide to share with the interviewer, enabling you to most
effectively represent the best of who you are.
THE MBA INTERVIEW

Every year the top business schools receive thousands of applications for admission but only have the capacity to admit
an average of 25 percent of those who apply. The sobering truth is that there are many more qualified candidates in the
applicant pool than there are seats in next year’s class; so the challenge for the admissions committee is to select the best
and brightest from this group of aspiring MBA scholars (and those who fit best with the culture of their particular program).
Your essays, academic transcripts, resumes, and letters of recommendation tell part of the story, but an interview is also
a very key source of information. An interview can tip the scale for or against you, so how you represent yourself in person
is of the utmost importance.
Interviews provide the admissions committee an opportunity to get to know you better and to learn more about you than
a GPA, test score, resume bullet point, or even a methodically worded essay can convey. The interview is your opportunity
to put your best foot forward, connect the dots of your personal narrative, and tell a story presenting your unique voice.
Let your personality shine through, convey excitement and enthusiasm, inject a touch of wit and humor (with caution), and
never forget that your interviewer is going to be asking himself or herself the question, “Would I want to have this person
representing our school as a student and alum for the next 60 years?”
In general, business school interviews are not formulaic. The focus can range from specific questions about your job
responsibilities to broad discussions of life, philosophy, and current events. Approach the interview as a conversation,
which may allow for some give and take, and even a casual exchange of ideas. You may discuss your hobbies or recent travel
adventures more than your career aspirations. This reflects the fact that you are being sized up as a person in all of your
dimensions. Many schools view the interview as one of the most important pieces of the admissions puzzle, which is why
it is required for admission at most top schools.
In preparation for your interview, it’s good practice to first consider who your audience will be, where the interview will take
place, what the subject matter is, and your ultimate objective.
AUDIENCE: THE INTERVIEWER AND ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE

SETTING: ON OR OFF CAMPUS
SUBJECT MATTER: YOUR EXPERIENCES, ATTRIBUTES, AND GOALS
OBJECTIVE: TO EARN AN ACCEPTANCE LETTER
AUDIENCE
MBA interviews are conducted by current students, admissions personnel, and alumni. Don't dismiss students or alumni as
the lightweights; they frequently receive detailed instructions and report back to the admissions committee on specific
criteria. Their insights and opinions are definitely valued by the admissions committee.
Your interviewer will be listening carefully to your answers in order to more fully understand who you are, how you think,
and what you have done. He or she will also be reading between the lines, trying to assess your enthusiasm for their
program and determine whether you will be an asset to their community. In this way, the right attitude can go a long way
and take you even further than the “right answer.”
SETTING
Interviews may be conducted on or off campus. One of the main benefits of an on-campus interview is that there is generally
less variability. When you interview off campus, you could be speaking with someone who graduated 10 years ago and
conducts one interview a year. It’s possible that he or she will have expectations that are not in sync with those of the
admissions committee regardless of the instructions that have been given. On-campus interviews will be conducted by a
member of the admissions committee or by a current student who regularly conducts interviews and is also considered to
be a student member of the admissions committee. Thus, they are well-trained and immersed in the process. In addition,
an on-campus interview carries the benefits of a campus visit. If you have not already visited campus, this is a great
opportunity to do so.
With all of that said, an off-campus interview is still a perfectly valid option, and if you have already been on campus and
live far away, it is generally not necessary to go again. Some applicants may be more comfortable with the less-formal
feeling of an alumni interview, which may be conducted in a coffee shop, as opposed to the more daunting and pressure
filled trip to the admissions office. This is a personal choice – there is no right or wrong answer beyond choosing the setting
where you will be most relaxed and most likely to succeed.
You may take a slightly different approach to preparation if you are offered a phone interview, either with the admissions
committee, an alumnus, or a current student. The drawback of a phone interview is that you lose the ability to “read” the
body language and expression of the interviewer. Similarly, the interviewer does not have an opportunity to meet you in
person; it can be difficult to develop a deeper connection with a disembodied voice via Bluetooth. Thus, you must keep in
mind that the impression the interviewer garners about you is going to be through your words and vocal inflection alone.
That said, the lack of a visual connection in a phone interview allows you to employ a preparation strategy that is not quite
as easy to pull off during an in-person meeting: You can create a bullet-pointed “cheat sheet” of notes, which could greatly
help when responding to interview questions. In recent years, some schools have conducted interviews by video conference
call, akin to a video chat over Skype, in which case your body language and appearance would come back into consideration.
SUBJECT MATTER
The subject matter of the interview – your experiences, attributes, and goals – is decidedly broad. Most interviewees are
stumped as they consider preparing for the interview, with one question cropping up again and again: “What is the
interviewer looking for?” If they only knew what the interviewer and admissions officers were looking for, then they’d have
a much easier time preparing stories that feature those relevant experiences, attributes, and goals. Indeed it would be
helpful if each school’s admissions committee told you exactly what they were looking for. Representatives of each MBA
program, from admissions officers to current students, certainly offer plenty of clues; we will discuss these later on in the
guide, so that you can keep important attributes top of mind as you prepare.
OBJECTIVE
Schools vary in the goals they have for the interview. For some, it's a preliminary screening tool. For others, it's used to
clarify questions within your file or evaluate a borderline case. Many schools use the interview to help determine the
intangible “personal fit.” The interviewer is trying to determine if who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and what you
hope to achieve in the future is a good fit for their institution.
Your end goal, of course, is to earn an acceptance letter, but the way you do so is to persuade the interviewer and the
admissions committee that you fit. You must look at your strengths and achievements through the lens of the admissions
officers. The interview is your opportunity to personally communicate and demonstrate those strengths, providing multiple
reasons to believe that you will fit in next year’s class.
WHAT COLUMBIA IS LOOKING FOR

“Columbia Business School looks for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural,
and geographic backgrounds. Our students share a record of achievement; demonstrated, strong leadership; and the
ability to work in teams.” – Columbia MBA Admissions
Columbia Business School, located in New York City, has an impressive reputation and history. The school’s dean, Glenn
Hubbard, while fortifying Columbia’s traditional strength in finance education, has made experiential learning,
entrepreneurial thinking, and global perspective the new cornerstones of the program.
Will you thrive in Columbia’s hands-on, team-oriented learning environment given your attributes and experiences? Are you
endowed with the “social intelligence” required to grow as a person (not just a professional) during your two years?
Will you make the community stronger through your contributions, diverse background, values, and unique point of view?
These are the questions the admissions committee will be asking as they review your application.
Based on over a decade of experience helping our clients earn admissions letters to Columbia, we’ve assembled a list of
attributes and characteristics of the kind of candidates Columbia is looking for.
COLUMBIA CULTURE - QUALITIES AND VALUES

ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET TEAM LEADERSHIP PASSION
GLOBAL AWARENESS COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP ANALYTICAL ABILITY
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE HIGH-IMPACT LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY
ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
“Entrepreneurship is far broader than just starting a business. It is, indeed, a way of thinking.” – Columbia MBA Admissions
The “entrepreneurial mindset” is a popular catchphrase at Columbia and is integral to the new dean’s vision for the program.
As a representative from Columbia admissions points out, “One can concentrate in entrepreneurship if he or she chooses.
But all the core classes are infused with the entrepreneurial theme. In other words, it is impossible to come to Columbia
without being exposed to all of the different aspects of entrepreneurship.”
A person who is entrepreneurial initiates change and creates something that has not existed before, whether it is a new
product, process, or way of viewing the world. Dean Hubbard shed some further light on the entrepreneurial quality the
school is looking for. He defined entrepreneurial-minded people as follows: “Those who know how to recognize and capture
opportunity, minimize risk, and make the best decisions possible with inadequate or incomplete information.”
Columbia is on the lookout for future entrepreneurs but does not define entrepreneurship narrowly. You need not have
started a business or want to start one in the future. Rather, the school is looking for dynamic, inventive, creative individuals
who are forward looking – who see the potential to make things better and, moreover, have taken action in the past to
implement positive change. This entrepreneurial thinking and action may well have taken place within the context of a
very large and established organization.
If you are having trouble coming up with ways to feature your entrepreneurial mindset in your interview, consider discussing
situations in which you have taken initiative versus waiting to be assigned a task. Consider times that you have stepped
forward to address a longstanding problem in your organization or community or an instance in which you volunteered for
additional responsibilities outside of your job description.
Early in your career, your superiors may be reluctant to entrust you with major leadership responsibilities because your
ability to lead is untested; therefore, candidates who have actively sought out opportunities to make an impact above and
beyond the call of duty will have demonstrated the entrepreneurial mindset the admissions committee is looking for.
GLOBAL AWARENESS
“Not only is the business environment fiercely entrepreneurial, but it is also relentlessly global. In working across borders
and cultures, one must be adept at working in a decentralized organization and have the ability to recognize and capture
opportunity.” – Dean Glenn Hubbard, Columbia Business School
Approximately one-third of Columbia’s student body comes from countries outside of the U.S. The curriculum is infused
with an international perspective through Master Classes, study tours, and a variety of special projects that sends students
to Asia, Africa, South America, and other locations where they apply lessons to business challenges. Consequently, the
admissions committee prizes an awareness and appreciation of other cultures and a demonstrated ability to connect with
a diverse community of people. Candidates should emphasize concrete experiences as an outsider and highlight an ability
to find common ground and form effective relationships with people different from themselves. The diverse makeup of
Columbia’s student body as a whole means there will be almost no “insiders.” Indeed, every student begins life at Columbia
as an “outsider,” but those who are successful don’t stay on the outside for long. Those applicants who can provide evidence
that they not only survive but also thrive in this kind of environment will be of particular interest to the admissions
committee.
Global awareness isn’t just a matter of fitting in during your two years at Columbia. It also relates to one’s past experiences
and future career goals. Columbia graduates will compete in a global marketplace; so experience with the challenges of
doing business globally and a natural curiosity for learning more about other countries and cultures will be valued by your
interviewer.
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
“The fast, decentralized nature of modern firms means that social intelligence is required in a manager’s career from the
start.” – Dean Glenn Hubbard, Columbia Business School
Social intelligence is required to effectively manage individuals, teams, and networks. The Columbia Admissions Committee
will be looking for evidence that you understand what Dean Hubbard referred to as the “softer side of management and
interpersonal interaction.” When relating your experiences during your interview, you should go beyond just rattling off the
plot, “I did A, then I did B, and we accomplished C.” Your interviewer also wants some insight into what you were thinking
and feeling, why you made a particular choice given the alternatives, and how you factored in the feelings and motivations
of your teammates and colleagues before taking action.
A quality that goes hand-in-hand with social intelligence is maturity – the extent of your life experience and how you have
matured, crystallized values and passion, and formulated a worldview. Maturity isn’t a matter of growing older; it’s a matter
of growing wiser. You should be on the lookout for opportunities to share defining moments in your life and to describe what
you learned and how you have grown as a result. Remember that social intelligence and maturity are very often the result
of experiences that take place in our lives outside of work. Try to balance the personal and professional and share a portfolio
of experiences that reveal your human side, not just your business persona.
TEAM LEADERSHIP
“We are looking for interesting people who are involved and want to contribute. We also take into consideration the ability
to work well in teams.” – Columbia MBA Admissions
When reviewing your application, the admissions committee will be assessing not only your capacity to play on a team but
also your ability to lead one. “Team leadership,” as opposed to some other leadership styles, requires the ability to influence
others without direct authority. This type of leader engages, empowers, and motivates his teammates to give their all.
Dean Hubbard stresses how important it is for Columbia students to possess “the skills to build and lead teams, to work in
borderless environments, without organizational silos and, often, without national identities.”
Columbia’s “experiential learning” model is designed to prepare its students to face complex challenges in which a rigid,
hierarchical team structure will be of limited application. The admissions committee needs to see evidence that you are
capable of the team play, collaboration, and the learning/teaching dynamic required to excel in a hands-on learning
environment.
Your capacity to work in a fluid, dynamic team environment, taking the lead when necessary, capitalizing on the strengths
of others, and handing over the reins when the time is right are what Columbia is looking for.
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
“At Columbia Business School, we are grooming the next generation of business leaders – and we look for students with
demonstrated leadership potential. It may be evident from their work history, how they have taken a leadership role in
other areas such as community leadership, or leadership positions in school or from volunteer experiences.” – Dean Glenn
Hubbard, Columbia Business School
Most candidates who have a goal of attending business school at some point in the future understand that the top programs
want to see evidence of community service. In response, they dive into a community service project in hopes of checking
the community service box on the application. Unfortunately, they never stop to think about why the admissions committee
is interested in their community service accomplishments.
The admissions committee isn't like a judge who has sentenced you to 100 hours of community service. Rather, the
committee is interested in your community service work because it provides insight into your deeper interests. According
to Columbia’s Dean Hubbard, “Professional as well as personal accomplishments are important, as are activities that
demonstrate that a candidate is fully engaged in his/her endeavors and is committed to making a contribution to the school
and the business world that goes beyond the expected.”
Most of us need a job to earn a paycheck, but community service (barring a judge’s mandate) is optional. Therefore, you
will want to put a great deal of thought into what kind of community and volunteer work you do. If the only reason you can
come up with for being involved with a particular organization is because you think it will look good on your business
school application, you are probably wasting your time.
The other reason that your interviewer wants to see evidence that you are the type of person who devotes energy to
making a community stronger is that she is deciding whether or not to invite you into the Columbia community. You will
be as busy in an MBA program as you are at your current job. Do you have the dedication and drive to get involved and
give back even when it’s not strictly required? If you have a history of contributing energy to the causes and communities
you care about, then your interviewer is likely to conclude you will make their student community stronger.
According to recent leadership research, “Leadership style can be broken down into takers and givers. Takers are often
charismatic personalities who end up making decisions to enrich their own coffers and careers. Givers, on the other hand,
create value and empower employees to become leaders.” This is a critical distinction that sheds some light on why some
candidates who have impressive transcripts and resumes might not make the cut at Columbia. The admissions officers are
not only concerned with your achievements; they are also interested in the connection between those achievements and
who you are, the means you used to reach the ends you achieved, and the value of your achievements to the organization
or community as a whole. Leadership stories in which you’ve enriched the team, helped your teammates grow, and put the
needs of a community of people ahead of your own are therefore the most compelling to the admissions committee and
should be shared with your interviewer.
HIGH-IMPACT LEADERSHIP
“Leaders are people who leave their footprints in their areas of passion.” This leadership definition offers important clues
about what the admissions committee will be looking for when evaluating your leadership potential. They will want to see
evidence that you have made a significant impact (i.e., left your footprints) on the communities of which you’ve been a part
(i.e., your areas of passion).
Stories about your past leadership achievements will help your interviewer gauge your potential for realizing your future
ambitions. The term “footprints” in the leadership definition is instructive. You should provide concrete examples and
tangible evidence that you made a difference. Your interviewer understands that you are early in your career, so he doesn’t
expect that you will have led an entire company or founded a not-for-profit. If you have, great! If not, he will appreciate
leadership on a smaller scale from organizing a classroom to directing a combat squad, from running an independent
business to spearheading initiatives at work. The scale of your achievement is less important than the fact that you’ve left
indelible footprints in areas that matter to you. Your job description provides the baseline of what is expected of you.
Applicants who are accepted to Columbia have gone above and beyond and challenged the status quo. Applicants don’t get
into a top school because they are different but because they have made a difference.
PASSION
The leadership definition above doesn’t end with the word “footprints” – leaders leave footprints in their areas of passion.
Your interviewer will expect you to articulate what you are passionate about and will want to see evidence that you have
actively expressed those passions inside and outside of work. Columbia prepares its students to make a mark on the world,
but no school can supply you with passion. The hope is that you will arrive on campus on day one with a burning desire to
make the world a better place.
Grand achievements are rarely the work of a single individual; passion is critical to Columbia because leadership requires
harnessing the energy and talents of others. Your spirit and desire to achieve something meaningful will be necessary to
activate and motivate your team and, some day, an entire organization. It’s not just your footprints that interest Columbia
admissions officers – they also want to see the footprints of those who are following you as you blaze a new trail in an area
of passion.
ANALYTICAL ABILITY
Columbia has a reputation for valuing “quant jocks,” but the school has outgrown its roots as a program primarily for
future i-bankers. Nevertheless, those roots run deep, and prospective students must have the capability to handle the
rigorous analytical demands of the program.
Even so, the school wants to attract applicants from a variety of professional backgrounds, so poets can certainly apply.
Those applicants who do not have sufficient academic or professional evidence of analytical prowess will probably want to
take a college-level calculus and possibly a business statistics course to prove they can keep up. Scoring in the high
percentiles on the GMAT’s quant section will also certainly help your case.
Furthermore, your interviewer will use the stories you share to glean your analytical approach to problem solving. It’s
critical to describe what you did but also what you thought – the decision-making process that provided the basis for your
actions.
Proving that you made the best choice generally requires some discussion of the paths you didn’t chose. Where possible,
feature your ability to analyze and breakdown a complex problem, weigh the alternatives, and select the one that best
achieves your objectives. By doing so, you will show your interviewer that you have the analytical aptitude to “excel” at
Columbia.
INTEGRITY
In light of a litany of corporate scandals and the global financial crisis, business schools have redoubled their efforts at
ensuring that their students are prepared for the ethical challenges they will face in the future. Columbia has increased its
commitment both to admitting students who possess what Dean Hubbard referred to as “a strong ethical code” and to
providing the tools and training to prepare graduates for complex ethical decision making.
Integrity is not a single attribute but a combination of attributes. In his book, Integrity, Dr. Henry Cloud defines this quality
as the “courage to meet the demands of reality.” He then provides specific traits required for integrity: creates trust,
unafraid of reality, results oriented, solves “negative realities,” causes growth, and finds meaning in life. His list may help
spur your thinking about how you might convey your integrity to your interviewer.
The challenge for applicants is to figure out how to communicate the quality of integrity during the interview. It bears
mentioning that this is one of those qualities that is often more convincing when reinforced by a third party; therefore,
consider ways that your recommenders might build the case and supply examples that you possess integrity.
THE COLUMBIA INTERVIEW

In this guide, we provide insights, helpful hints, and examples to help you prepare for the Columbia interview. We focus on
common questions that have appeared in actual Columbia interviews and share sample answers and analysis. We have
also included actual Columbia interview transcripts, featuring questions from prior interviews. While the specific wording
of the questions frequently changes, the goals of the interviews remain consistent: The admissions committee is looking
for evidence that you have a combination of attributes that are a great fit for their program, the energy and talents to enrich
the student community they are assembling, and the passion and potential to make a positive difference in the future.
LOGISTICS: PLACE AND TIME

Columbia interviews are conducted by Columbia alumni in locations all over the world and by current students. If you are
invited to interview, Columbia will do its best to match you with an interviewer near where you live or work. (If no matches
are available, you may be invited to interview by phone with a current student belonging to the Columbia Business School
Ambassadors program.) The interview may be conducted at the alum’s office or in a quiet public place. Interviews are
scheduled throughout the admissions process – whether you are invited to interview early or later in the process does not
influence your chance of being accepted. You can expect your interview to last approximately 45 minutes, though it may
last closer to an hour, especially if your interviewer takes a more conversational approach.
YOUR INTERVIEWER
Your interviewer will be a Columbia alum or a current student regardless of the approach, your interviewer will be carefully
instructed by the admissions office regarding types of questions to ask, agenda for the interview, and how to evaluate you.
Your interviewer will not be familiar with your application, so be sure to email a copy of your resume before the interview
and bring extra copies with you when you meet. Though most applicants find their Columbia interviewers to be friendly and
conversational, some inevitably feel that their interviewer put them in the hot seat to see how they react under pressure.
So the tone of your interview will largely depend on your interviewer’s style. It’s important to remember that regardless of
the approach, your interviewer will be carefully evaluating everything you say and how it is said.
STATISTICS
Unlike many of the other top business schools, Columbia does not require that an applicant undergo an interview as an
admissions requirement. Therefore, the number of interviews that the program conducts varies from year to year. Certainly,
being asked to interview is a good sign, as it means your application has been deemed competitive and the admissions
committee wishes to learn more about you. However, Columbia’s admissions statistics remain daunting. As the admissions
website explains, “We typically receive and review 5,500 to 7,000 applications for the program each year, and in 2010 only
15 percent of applicants were admitted.”
STYLE
The majority of interviewers try to set up a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, often spending a few minutes on small
talk before getting into the interview questions. Your interviewer may also give you a chance to ask a few questions at the
end of your interview, so be sure to spend time planning for this portion of the meeting as well. Avoid asking questions you
could easily answer by looking at the admissions website, and use this opportunity to learn more about Columbia from
someone with firsthand knowledge.
Even though many Columbia interviewers consider themselves program ambassadors and attempt to make you as
comfortable as possible throughout the interview process, don’t expect that they will ask you softball questions or hesitate
to probe into your responses. On the contrary, interviewers will ask highly specific questions designed to explore your
accomplishments and goals, as well as your leadership and teamwork styles, which will help them figure out if you have what
it takes to contribute positively to the Columbia community.
COLUMBIA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

While you can never know exactly which specific questions you will be asked during your Columbia interview, you can
anticipate that the types of questions will fall into a few broad categories. As Columbia’s admissions website explains, "Our
students share a record of achievement; demonstrated, strong leadership; and the ability to work in teams." You can be
certain you will face many questions concerning your accomplishments as well as your teamwork and leadership
experiences.
In addition, your interviewer will be interested in hearing about your future ambitions, and the specific ways that Columbia
business school fits into your plans. In fact, Columbia interviewers often put a special emphasis on making sure you’ve
done your homework on the program and have unique and convincing reasons for wanting to attend – saying that you
admire Columbia’s stellar reputation just won’t cut it.
In the following pages, we share actual questions asked in previous Columbia interviews, analyze sample answers, and
demonstrate approaches to crafting your personal narrative that will help convince your interviewer that you deserve a seat
in next year’s class.
ACHIEVEMENT
Your educational and professional achievements will undoubtedly be of interest to your interviewer. However, to gain a
fuller picture of you, she will also want to hear about your personal accomplishments. Therefore, you can expect questions
on topics ranging from your academic track record to your volunteering activities, from the promotions you’ve received at
work to the personal hobbies and interests at which you’ve excelled. Your interviewer may also test your intellectual vitality
by asking you to analyze the choices you’ve made on the path towards those achievements.
BASIC BACKGROUND QUESTIONS

Because your interviewer will likely only take a brief look at your resume prior to your meeting, he will want to know more
about your achievements. However, don’t answer questions by simply reiterating what is on your resume. Rather, share your
story. What is the larger narrative linking the bullet points on your resume? How have your roles and responsibilities
prepared you for your larger career goals? Perhaps most importantly: how did you feel, what did you say and what did you
learn? Your interviewer will also likely ask a question or two that allows you to discuss some of your passions outside of
work.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Walk me through your resume.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I always dreamed of working in entertainment, but unlike most young girls, I didn’t want to be on stage. Rather, I wanted
to be one of the people pulling the strings behind the scenes. Later, to get closer to the industry of my dreams, I went to
the University of Southern California for my undergraduate degree and graduated summa cum laude in business with an
emphasis in marketing. When Warner Bros. offered me a job as a senior administrator in events and administration, I
jumped at the chance. Though many of my job duties focused on event planning, I oversaw a key marketing initiative
aimed at major buyers for our video products. My success with this project led to my promotion to the global brand
marketing and product management department, where I oversaw worldwide development, marketing, and distribution
of our home videos. When our entire department was folded into another department at the end of last year, I was offered
a new position, but declined to accept it and did some serious soul searching. Though I'm grateful that I fulfilled my
dream of working in the entertainment field, I found that the actuality of the industry was highly impersonal and often
dysfunctional. I decided that I would like to embark on a new career path and one day open my own boutique marketing
firm. Once I decided on this goal, it followed naturally that Columbia Business School would be the best place to study
the management fundamentals I need to run a successful firm as well as expand my contacts to the east coast."
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS:
What kind of role did you play on your team?
Tell me more about your leadership experience.
ANALYSIS:
Use this question not only to create your career narrative, but to address any pieces of your resume that might be a
potential cause of concern to your interviewer. In crafting her career story, this candidate first emphasizes her desire to
work in show business and the path she took to get there. She covers the highlights of her career that pertain to her
marketing accomplishments – notice that she doesn’t get bogged down in her event planning work as it isn’t central to her
narrative. She then addresses a significant gap in her resume by explaining why she left her job. Finally, she describes why
she hopes to transition to a new career path that will allow her to use her marketing skills in a new way and addresses why
she feels a Columbia Business School education will be key in attaining this goal. This question presents you with a great
opportunity to speak to any gaps or unusual transitions on your resume in a proactive manner.
The candidate’s description of the entertainment industry is the one place where we would critique her answer. Although
it is okay to state preferences, likes and dislikes, always aim to keep answers positive. There is rarely a need to pass negative
judgment on another industry, job or person. A better approach would be to focus on what is drawing her to the new goal,
rather than what she disliked about the old path: “I realized that what I liked best about my job was marketing: analyzing
and connecting with people. I would love to leverage those skills in a variety of settings, not just entertainment. Thus, I would
like to embark on a new path and open up a boutique marketing firm.”
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Tell me about your activities outside of work.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I guess you could say that when I’m not working, I’m thinking about food. Food is one of my biggest passions, and the
driving force behind many of my extracurricular commitments. When I moved to New York City for my first job after
growing up and attending college in Iowa, I couldn’t believe the diversity of food available here. During my first month at
work, I organized a biweekly dinner group amongst my colleagues, and we take turns picking our favorite restaurants to
share with others in our group. It’s been a great way not only to experience new types of cuisine, but also to forge closer
relationships with my coworkers. Of course, when you live in New York, seeing homeless people is an everyday occurrence,
and it really started bothering me that in this city of abundance there are so many people going hungry. So I organized
a group that once a month spends a Saturday preparing brown bag dinners and distributing them to the homeless that
evening. We have a group of 20 regular volunteers, and while I know we’re not solving the city’s homelessness and hunger
problems one Saturday a month, it’s immensely satisfying to do something with our own hands and let people know we’re
thinking about them.”
What have you learned from these experiences?
How have you integrated this knowledge into your professional life?
How did you recruit your group of volunteers?
How has your initiative grown?
ANALYSIS:
Earlier in this guide, we shared a list of the attributes that Columbia is looking for in its students. This question provides a
great opportunity to show that you possess some of these attributes. This applicant conveys that he is passionate about
food, and that he has used this passion to spark some very productive activities. Both examples show that he can be a leader
of his peers, while his volunteer group demonstrates that he feels a deep commitment to serving his community. While you
don’t want to go overboard in this answer and try to hit on all of Columbia’s desired qualities, you should be able to
emphasize a few key attributes when discussing your personal hobbies and interests.
While many of your achievements speak for themselves, your interviewer will also ask you questions that go beyond your
basic background. She will test you by asking you to analyze your achievements. This is your chance to show off your self-
awareness and maturity by describing your decision making process (what you thought, felt, said, and did) and what you
have learned from some of your key experiences – both positive and negative – along the way.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
How did you choose your career path?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I come from a family of educators, and I entered Vanderbilt University as an education major, with a goal of teaching at
a private high school. In the meantime, I took my first college-level econ course and got hooked. I decided to double
major in economics and education, received my teaching credentials, and accepted a job teaching business to high school
seniors at the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. After a couple of years of teaching my favorite subject, I became
restless and began thinking that I would like to work as a private sector economist, implementing some these theories
that I had been discussing. At first I tried to talk myself out of it: I had been trained as an educator, and I was carrying on
a proud family tradition. I decided to talk to my parents to gather an outside perspective before making any sudden
decisions. I expected them to give me a pep talk, encouraging me to stick with it. However, my father responded with
enthusiasm and said he and my mother would support my decision if I wanted to leave teaching. Because I had studied
business extensively, I was able to transition to my position as a market analyst with relative ease. I have loved every
minute of it, and learned in the process of switching careers that risk taking is an absolute necessity on the road to
happiness”.
ANALYSIS:
This question allows you to discuss the values and passions that have influenced your professional decisions. In this
candidate’s case, she first emphasized family tradition over her own personal interests, which ultimately led to her feeling
that she embarked on the wrong career path. If you have similarly experienced conflict along your career path, and most
of us have, explain to your interviewer the type of conflict (whether internal or external), what you thought about it, and
what you did to resolve it. Also, it’s key to reflect on what you have learned as a result. Before switching career paths, our
sample candidate seemed to be somewhat risk averse and stuck with the status quo; now it’s clear that she’s embraced risk
taking as a means of meeting her goals and achieving happiness. Your answer should similarly provide a glimpse into some
of your driving beliefs.
SETBACK QUESTIONS
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Tell me about a failure or setback you have experienced.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“After college I launched a business with two partners based on web software I’d designed that allowed people to make
reservations online for restaurants that paid a nominal fee to be listed on our web site. We put our all into growing our
product, but did not have funds to hire a big team or embark on a large-scale marketing campaign. We were approached
by a large, well-funded company that had been working on similar software and were set to launch in multiple cities.
They offered to purchase us and let us know that if we did not sell, they would move ahead with their own plans that would
directly compete with us. Fueled largely by fear, we sold. While some might not consider this a failure since we still made
money off of our idea, I believe it was. I walked away from a product that I was passionate about, and that was in many
ways superior to our competitor’s, simply because I was afraid to compete with them. To this day, I wonder what would
have happened if we’d stayed in the game. I learned from this experience that I’m far more satisfied taking smart risks
than I am playing it safe and letting my fears guide me.”
What led to the failure?
What did you do as a result?

How did others react?
How did you feel?
ANALYSIS:
By its very nature, a failure question tests your maturity and self-awareness. In a situation where you are marketing yourself,
it may feel awkward to highlight the instances in which you have made an error. It’s much more fun to share your
accomplishments, and it’s natural to want to highlight strengths. What many applicants don’t understand is that the ability
to recognize, accept responsibility for, react to, and learn from a failure is a tremendous strength – one that not all early-
career, high achievers possess.
A NOTE ABOUT MISTAKES AND FAILURE

The admissions committee has offered you an opportunity to share your strengths and tout your achievements; now it is
time to demonstrate a different kind of confidence: The confidence to admit that you are fallible and that you take
advantage of the instruction provided by the inevitable missteps that will test even high achievers. Don’t defend your
mistake or deflect the blame. The interviewer’s motivation for asking about mistakes is an attempt to gauge your self
awareness, resiliency, and ability to respond positively to adverse circumstances.
You should note that a mistake is different from a failure (though both are fair game in interviews). So how does one
distinguish between a failure and a mistake? A mistake is defined as “a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or
ignorance or inattention” while the definition of failure is “the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended
objective.” The distinction is between an action and a result. Certainly, a mistake can lead to a failure, but that is not
necessary to qualify it as a mistake.
Everyone makes mistakes and experiences failures, but it is the ability to learn from those mistakes that leads to wisdom
and future success. Try to extract the universal lessons from the experience, and when possible, tell the interviewer how
what you learned has changed the way you approach similar situations today. This is the case, regardless of how the
mistake question is phrased; the purpose of talking about mistakes is not just to outline the experience – it is to share what
you learned.
Here are some other common achievement questions:

Tell me about your educational experience.
What are your current responsibilities at work?
Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have come across.
What would you bring to Columbia that other applicants of similar professional background would not?
DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL

Each of us is part of a number of communities both inside and outside of work, and those who have a habit of leadership
ask themselves, “How can I make this community stronger?” In other words, they aren’t just “members,” but they also
engage with the community and enlist the help of others, taking a leadership role to make a lasting impact. This type of
behavior defines one of the key qualities that Columbia is looking for in potential students.
When choosing examples to discuss, you’ll want to tell stories that truly define your attributes as a leader. You may have
had a number of leadership experiences, but which one had the greatest influence on your leadership development or
highlights significant aspects of your leadership style? A defining experience shapes your views and understanding of what
leadership is. Talk about a challenge that required you to use your unique combination of attributes to set a vision, inspire
people, and generate results not on your own, but by leading others. When selecting your leadership topics, the scale of
the accomplishment is less important than what you learned from the experience and how you grew as a leader.
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

Some people are intimidated by the word “leadership” and have trouble generating personal examples that live up to their
preconceived notions of what leadership is. While you need to provide concrete experiences and tangible evidence that you
achieved something important by leading others, the interviewer understands that you are early in your career, so he
doesn’t expect that you will have achieved leadership accomplishments on a great scale. If you have, great! If not, consider
your experiences as a team leader at work or in the classroom. Another viable option is to draw on the leadership you’ve
demonstrated in your extracurricular activities or through volunteering, which can also help reveal more of your passions
and personality to your interviewer.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What kind of leader are you?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I would say that my leadership style is very collaborative. For example, last year I chaired a fundraiser for an organization
that mentors teens from low-income, high-crime areas. It’s a fairly large organization, so I didn’t know everyone who was
on the committee to help me with the fundraiser. I made coffee dates with the five volunteers I’d never worked with
before, in order to get a sense of what they hoped to contribute and to learn about their past experiences working on
fundraisers. I then worked out assignments for everyone that would allow them to capitalize on their strengths. When
handing out the assignments, I explained that I was completely available if anyone needed my help, but that I wanted them
to feel autonomous in completing their assignment as they best saw fit. In my opinion, communicating trust and a
willingness to let others take charge is the best way to ensure that a project has a successful outcome.”
ANALYSIS:
If you are asked an open-ended question such as this, it’s best to ground your answer in a concrete example. Simply
rattling off a list of the leadership attributes you feel you possess won’t mean much to your interviewer. However, if you
can provide her with a story that allows her to see these attributes in action, you will have a far easier time convincing
her to agree with you. This candidate chooses a good example of a time when he employed a very collaborative approach
that he feels is representative of his overall leadership style. Also note that by discussing a volunteering project as
opposed to a work assignment, he establishes himself as a leader who is interested in giving back to his community,
demonstrating that his personal qualities and values are directly in line with those of the Columbia community.
The answer above could have been strengthened by adding one final statement about the results achieved in this specific
example: “I am proud to report that we were able to raise $75,000, and fueled by our success, the same group is now
working together to double that number in the next year.”
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Talk about a time when you were successful as a leader.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“Because my father became sick during my senior year of high school, I opted to defer my enrollment to Berkeley for one
year and attend a junior college so I could stay home and help care for him. As a way to release some of the tension I was
feeling at home, I joined the college Quiz Bowl team. None of my team members took the competition very seriously, our
faculty advisor was more or less M.I.A., and there were no repercussions when team members failed to show up for meets
with other schools. To combat the team’s low morale, I suggested we enjoy a weekly outing to a local restaurant that
hosted a trivia night on Wednesdays. We got to know each other in this relaxed setting, and we built up our confidence
by answering easy, entertainment-based trivia questions. After a few weeks, I proposed that we move our Wednesday
night tradition to rotating team members’ apartments, where we could take turns hosting potlucks and practice answering
questions that were more likely to show up at our Quiz Bowl meets. Though it was difficult to get everyone on board as
I didn’t have a formal leadership role, I rallied a core group of ten of my teammates, with whom I practiced after school
two days a week, and we faithfully attended the Wednesday night potlucks. That year, we made it to the regional Quiz Bowl
finals. The next year my father recovered and I went to Berkeley, but I’m happy to report that each year a different
successor has taken over coordinating practices and weekly get-togethers, and the team has continued to make it to the
finals for the past four years.”
Describe your thought process and feelings.
How did others react?
What methods did you use to enlist support?
ANALYSIS:
Unlike open-ended questions that give you some leeway in constructing your answer, behavioral-based questions (i.e., “tell
me about a time” questions) ask you to base your answer around one specific past incident. Behavioral questions are a
staple of MBA admissions interviews, as admissions committees believe that one of the best ways to predict future behavior
is by looking at your past actions. When answering behavioral questions, it’s important to briefly set up the situation,
carefully outline your actions, and emphasize the positive outcomes you achieved. Remember that your success as a leader
is largely based on what you accomplished for your followers. So when you make the claim that you have impacted a group,
it’s important to have concrete evidence backing you up. This interviewee does so by not only discussing the steps she took
to make her Quiz Bowl team competitive, but by explaining how her actions provided a spark to the team’s morale that
outlasted her residency with the team. That the leadership role she created could be passed on to others after she left
shows the lasting impact of her actions.
THEORETICAL LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

Your interviewer will not only be interested in your personal leadership experiences, but in your ideas and beliefs about
leadership. This will manifest itself in your interview in one of two ways. First, questions may come up asking how you
would handle a theoretical leadership responsibility. Second, you may also be asked to discuss leadership as a concept. Both
types of questions are meant to test your analytical abilities, as well as probe deeper into your personal definitions of
leadership.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What problems do you see within your current company and if there are any, what would you do to improve them?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“Working at a small startup has been a great experience, especially because I feel like I really can make a difference in
the organization and I am encouraged to jump in and solve problems even outside of my official position. However, I
would say that this type of culture can create other challenges: Here, we embrace innovation so much that we haven’t
taken the time to implement any best practices. As a result, we all do things a bit differently. Currently there are only five
of us in the office, but this will become a real problem as we go forward. I’ve brought up with the CEO a need to implement
and document best practices, but he’s told me we have more important things to worry about at present. However, if I
were in his position, I would make it a priority so all employees are on the same page going forward and practices can be
consistent as we grow quickly. I would explain to my staff that we will always be interested in improving and hearing ideas
for improvement, but that the best way for us to innovate as a team is to first agree on our company’s best strategies.”
ANALYSIS:
Do not assume this question is an invitation to rant about all of the things that are wrong with your company, boss and
colleagues This candidate avoids appearing overly negative by first declaring that working at his current company has
been a great experience, and then by focusing on one clear issue. While you don’t want to be overly negative, you also don’t
want to go in the opposite direction and answer, “There are absolutely no problems in my current company. Everything is
great!” No company is perfect, and even when you’re working for a profitable company with high employee satisfaction,
there are always further improvements that can be made. In asking this question, your interviewer is looking for evidence
that you aren’t just showing up, punching your timecard, and tuning out, but paying close attention to your surroundings
and analyzing the ways that they could be further enhanced.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
How do team skills differ from leadership skills?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I see team skills as requiring more fluidity than leadership skills. As a member of a team, you may take on a leadership
role, or you may take more of a back seat and follow. There is more collaboration, and more movement in roles, depending
on the makeup of the team and the tasks at hand. As a leader, the role is more fixed – you need to actively delegate to
others, and take responsibility for helping them to grow and develop. A good leader will solicit feedback and input from
the team, but ultimately make the call on how to proceed. I was part of a work project last year that didn’t include a lot
of direction from management, so we had to figure out how we wanted to tackle the project ourselves. I immediately put
forth an idea that I thought we should implement… until I heard my colleague’s idea, which I felt was superior to mine.
Instead of pushing for a leadership role on the team, I knew that I could best serve the team by getting on board with my
colleague’s idea and letting her know that I was happy to follow her directions.”
ANALYSIS:
This candidate uses a specific incident to provide support for her theoretical answer. Don’t feel that you have to save your
personal stories for behavioral questions only. The point of the interview is for your interviewer – and by extension the
admissions committee – to get to know you better. Providing evidence that you act in ways that are in line with your values
and beliefs sends a strong message that you would contribute integrity to the Columbia community.
Here are some other common questions regarding demonstrated leadership potential:
What kind of leadership roles have you had, if any?
Can you tell me more about your management style?
How would others describe your leadership style?
Can you give an example of a great leader?
TEAMWORK
Teamwork is integral to the Columbia MBA experience. Incoming students are divided into 60-person cohorts who complete
the entire first-year curriculum together and continue to be frequently grouped together in the second year as well. Team
exercises also make up about 20 percent of the entire Columbia curriculum. It should come as little surprise, then, that your
interviewer will be very interested in finding out more about your team experiences and in figuring out how you might fit
on a Columbia team.
BEHAVIORAL TEAMWORK QUESTIONS

You should expect to be asked a question or two about the team experiences you’ve had in the past. Keeping in mind that
Columbia values team leaders, or people who can guide their peers without formally assigned leadership roles, should help
you determine which of your teamwork stories to tell.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Describe a teamwork experience when you had to deal with difficult team members.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“The summer before my senior year of college, I was chosen to be a TA for a freshman-level algebra course. To prepare
for my teaching duties, I had to arrive on campus early for a two-week training to be completed with my fellow incoming
TAs. One member of my training group was quite negative. During our training sessions, she constantly interrupted the
trainer, poking holes in his instructions. During time set aside for discussing our assigned readings, she digressed into
horror stories about her experiences tutoring freshmen and warned us that they would try to cheat, they wouldn’t respect
our authority, and so on. I expected our trainer to interrupt her, but he was a fifth-year senior who had only become a TA
the year before, and this was his first time training incoming TAs. He was clearly overwhelmed by her forcefulness.
Because she was seriously impeding the quality of our training, I decided to intervene. I asked her to meet me for coffee
after class. I told her that I was impressed with all of the experience she had working as a tutor. ‘But you know, I think
you might be scaring everyone, even our poor instructor, with all of the stories about how awful the students can be,’ I
said, keeping my tone light and non-confrontational. She sounded surprised and said this hadn’t been her intention. I told
her that we could probably all benefit from hearing how she handled her problem students, and then we made small talk
as we finished our coffee. After we met for coffee, she stopped dominating our training lectures and her comments were
more upbeat, focusing on solutions instead of problems. When I asked her to coffee, I had suspected that she was probably
a nice person who just didn’t realize how her negativity was affecting the class. I was happy to see my suspicions were
correct.”
What was the outcome?
Did you encounter resistance?
How did you feel about addressing the problem?
ANALYSIS:
As was the case with the question asking you to discuss problems within your work organization, the point of this question
is not to focus on your teammate’s shortcomings. Rather, it is to discuss your own thoughts and feelings and what you did
to address the problem. Whenever possible, discuss a situation in which your actions led to a positive outcome. That this
candidate was able to redirect her teammate’s negativity in a non-confrontational manner demonstrates her social
intelligence, one of the key qualities that Columbia is looking for.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What kind of role do you play in your team at work?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“My teammates have nicknamed me ‘The Number Guru,’ and I have to say they’ve pegged me correctly. Like many
accountants, I’m quite comfortable in front of a spreadsheet. However, to fulfill my goal of transitioning into a management
position, I know that I am going to have to become more confident as a team leader. This is one of the reasons that I am
pursuing a Columbia MBA, to throw myself into situations where I must collaborate with my peers and effectively
communicate in order to be successful. Last year I volunteered to train our summer interns, which was a big step forward
for me. If I’m accepted, I look forward to further expanding my boundaries and honing my soft skills at Columbia.”
ANALYSIS:
As the answer above shows, it is acceptable to confess that your teamwork and leadership skills are still developing. After
all, this is a key reason why many choose to attend business school. While your Columbia interviewer will likely want to be
convinced that you can play the role of a team leader in the future, it is not necessary to convey that your skills and style
are fully established. You can certainly demonstrate your maturity by showing that you are not only aware of the strengths
you bring to a team, but also understand the skills that you must improve in order to meet your career goals.
POTENTIAL FIT AT COLUMBIA QUESTIONS

Your interviewer will expect that you’ve done your homework on Columbia and not only understand the importance of
teamwork in the program, but also have given some thought to how you can contribute to the teams you’ll be a part of if
you’re accepted.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
How will you act if a member of your study team at Columbia is difficult?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I will be the member of the study team who doesn’t shrink from confrontation. I grew up as the youngest of four siblings
in my household, and I learned from an early age the importance of speaking up for myself. In the teams I’ve been a part
of throughout my life, be it sports, volunteer groups, or work projects, I’ve noticed that confrontation makes a lot of
people uncomfortable, and they avoid it. But to me, it’s healthy to get problems out in the open, and I often end up being
the team member that others rely on to initiate conversation and status checks, even when they can be uncomfortable.
I have learned to do this in a calm and respectful manner, and to approach these sometimes difficult discussions as a
dialogue in which everyone involved has a chance to speak their minds. I believe I will play a necessary role in addressing
problems head on and contributing to their eventual resolution.”
ANALYSIS:
This applicant’s answer takes into account a universal truth about working on a team: Conflicts happen. To help brainstorm
your answer to this and other teamwork-related questions, think about the roles you play when conflict arises. Like this
candidate, are you the one who brings the conflict into the open, or do you work behind closed doors, trying to smooth out
the problem before a confrontation occurs? There is no “right answer” here. Your interviewer is aware that Columbia teams
will bring together many different personality types, and she will be most interested in figuring out if you possess the self-
awareness and maturity to know how you will contribute to your team’s work in the face of team conflicts.
Here are some other common teamwork questions:

Describe a difficult teamwork experience when you had to convince people of something they didn't want to do.
On your first day at Columbia, what strength will you bring to your team?
On your last day at Columbia, what will be your final comments to your team?
AMBITIONS
As well as learning about the ways in which you have contributed to various organizations as a team member and leader
so far, the admissions committee also wants to know the contributions you hope to make in the future. For this purpose,
your interviewer will ask questions focused on your future ambitions. These questions will give you an opportunity to
discuss both your long and short-term career goals, as well as the reasons that you believe Columbia Business School can
help you achieve them.
WHY B-SCHOOL/WHY COLUMBIA QUESTIONS

If you’re reading this guide, we can assume that your most immediate ambition is to get into Columbia Business School. In
order to gain a seat in next year’s class, one of the tasks you must accomplish is convincing the admissions committee that
attending business school will help you fulfill your future ambitions in a way that your career experience alone cannot.
Whereas all top programs want to know why you’ve chosen to apply to their school specifically, Columbia interviewers are
known for putting a special emphasis on testing whether or not your reasons for wanting to attend Columbia are strong
and convincing. If you could substitute the name of any other b-school into your answers, then you haven’t done your job.
While it’s true that the goals that made you apply to business school will be the same regardless of where you are
interviewing, the ways in which Columbia can help you achieve those goals should be something you’ve thought about
seriously well before your interview.
When faced with questions about why you want to go to business school or Columbia, your answers should demonstrate
that you have done your homework on the program, whether you've interviewed students, alumni, and professors, sat in
on classes, or regularly read several Columbia student and professor blogs. Use what you know about the program's
curriculum and philosophy to prove that Columbia can help you achieve your goals like no other program. Finally, make sure
the motives you share for choosing Columbia are personal and unique.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Why are you pursuing an MBA? Why Columbia?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“Because I hope to one day attain an executive position in the financial services industry, I believe that an MBA is the best
way to gain the comprehensive knowledge of business fundamentals as well as the necessary contacts to achieve my goal.
Columbia’s world-renowned financial curriculum and its location in one of the world’s finance centers makes it an obvious
choice for where to pursue my MBA, but my reasons for wanting to attend Columbia go deeper than that. As we’ve seen
in the last few years, the financial services industry is severely flawed and in need of reforms that come from inside the
industry. I think that the people who bring these changes will have to think less like traditional financiers and more like
innovative entrepreneurs. I had the opportunity to sit in on a couple of core classes during my campus visit, and I was
impressed by the emphasis on entrepreneurial thinking that I saw evident in both lectures. Talking after class with current
students, I found out that entrepreneurship is indeed a running theme in guest lectures, master classes, and group projects.
I left campus feeling more certain than ever that Columbia was the best school for me.”
Why now?
Where else are you applying?
How will you make your decision?
What will you do if you are not admitted?
ANALYSIS:
Common mistakes here include being unrealistic or too narrow with your answer. For example, if this applicant had said that
he knew the Columbia MBA was the stamp on his resume he needed to succeed in the world of finance, he would have
devalued the program’s offerings and put unrealistic expectations on the power of a Columbia degree to open every door
for him going forward. Conversely, if he had simply ended his answer by mentioning Columbia’s renowned finance
curriculum and location, his narrow answer would have lumped him in with all of the other aspiring finance executives who
want to study in New York City.
Instead, this candidate strikes the right balance by explaining why Columbia’s emphasis on entrepreneurship will help him
bring changes to the financial industry. He also scores points for discovering the significance of entrepreneurship at
Columbia for himself by visiting Columbia classrooms and discussing his observations with current students.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What do you find interesting about Columbia's teaching model?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“It is my belief that the classroom alone is not adequate preparation for handling the range of situations that one
encounters in the real world. So the fact that Columbia teaches theory as well as case studies and Master Classes in which
students can apply these theories, is certainly of interest to me. I also am excited about the hands-on opportunities
Columbia offers as part of its overall learning experience. For the past two years, I’ve been refining my business plan, and
I’m really looking forward to using it to apply to the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund. The opportunity to work
with established entrepreneurs and obtain seed money to start my business would be, for me, the ultimate hands-on
learning experience.”
ANALYSIS:
While your answer to this question should provide further insight as to why you want to obtain your MBA at Columbia,
your interviewer is also interested in assessing the specificity of your answer. Have you really researched how the program
functions and what it offers? Can you offer convincing reasons for why it appeals to you? In addition to questions about
Columbia’s teaching methods, you might also be asked about what clubs you might join or other campus activities in which
you would like to participate. The more program research you conduct before your interview, the more convincing and
genuine your answers will be.
POST B-SCHOOL AMBITION QUESTIONS

Your interviewer will want to know what, exactly, your career goals are, so it’s important to have your specific career goals
mapped out, including both short-term and long-term goals. Unless you have clearly defined where you want to go, you will
have a difficult time convincing the admissions committee and your interviewer that Columbia will help you get there.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“My long-term career goal is to run my own venture capital firm that supports the development of green businesses.
After receiving my MBA from Columbia, my short-term goal is to work in a VC firm to gain hands-on investing experience
that will provide the necessary compliment to my investment banking background. I would prefer to join a smaller VC firm
where I can hopefully work in many areas and gain the expertise I need to eventually head my own company. In parallel,
I will continue to develop my involvements with the Manhattan Greening Project, which has sparked my interest in green
business and which will provide the experience necessary to launch my venture later on.”
ANALYSIS:
Your objective in answering this question is twofold. First, you want to identify a long-term goal that is somewhat lofty and
worthy of an MBA education. An MBA is a serious investment of time and money, and if you can fulfill your goals without
one, your interviewer will question your motives for applying. Second, you must make sure that you have mapped out a
reasonable path toward your long-term goal. If you haven’t thought about the steps you’ll need to take after acquiring
your MBA, then you might appear to lack vision and realism. While your path may eventually deviate from your plans, it’s
still important to set them. Sharing vague long-term goals and saying that you plan to use business school to figure out
how to get there will do little to convince your interviewer that you deserve one of Columbia’s highly coveted acceptance
letters.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
What would you do if after b-school you can't get a job in your chosen field?
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“If I can’t find a suitable job in health care management right away, I certainly won’t give up on my career goals.
Fortunately, hospitals have a wealth of volunteering opportunities, so I will be able to spend time working in an industry
I love, making valuable connections and gaining experience. I would also attempt to assess the reasons that I’m not
getting hired and taking measures to address them, such as continuing my health management education. Once I have
an opportunity to prove the valuable ways in which I can contribute, I am confident I’ll be on the path to obtaining my
career goals, even if the path doesn’t start exactly where I hope it will.”
ANALYSIS:
Sometimes we encounter road blocks on the way to fulfilling our ambitions and this question is meant to help your
interviewer assess how you would deal with such challenges. A mistake here would be to list all of the reasons why it would
be impossible for you not to get a job in your desired field. Rather, focus on the foreseeable actions you would take if you
found yourself in this situation, and keep your answer upbeat and positive. When you set ambitious goals, it takes a fair
amount of determination and resilience to get there. Make sure you convey that you have these qualities in your arsenal.
Here are some other common ambition questions:

Assume you get in to all of your schools. How do you decide which one?
What are some of your concerns regarding attending Columbia?
What clubs or activities would you like to be involved with on campus?
COLUMBIA INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

Over the past decade, we’ve gathered scores of actual Columbia interview transcripts; we have selected the following five
transcripts to include here, because they effectively represent the types of questions you may be asked and the overall style
of the interview. It will be useful to review these in your preparation, in order to see commonalities amongst the transcripts
and to get a feel for the style of a typical Columbia interview.
In particular, you will want to note the following themes, all illustrated throughout these transcripts:
1) High volume of questions squeezed into the 45 minute (give or take) interview.
2) Great range in types of questions asked in a single interview: personal, professional, situational, future goals, etc.
3) Universal emphasis on “Why Columbia” questions.
4) You may not have time to ask questions at the end of your interview (though you should prepare a few in case your
interviewer asks).
5) Though there are commonalities among the transcripts, the style of interview and specific questions will largely depend
upon your interviewer.
COLUMBIA TRANSCRIPT 1
I visited Columbia, but did my interview in an L.A. in a coffee shop. Coincidentally, she actually went to the same high school
I did here in L.A. I think it went pretty well. It was an hour long and she asked me all the standard questions, and it became
more of a conversation at the end.
• Why MBA?
• Why Columbia?
• Describe a difficult teamwork experience when you had to convince people of something they didn't want to do.
• Describe a difficult teamwork experience when you had to deal with difficult team members.
• What are you short-term and long-term goals?
• What schools did you apply to?
• What is your number one choice?
• Tell me about yourself.
• How do your past experiences and future goals fit in to your desire to get an MBA?
• Why specifically CBS?
• What quantitative preparation have you had?
• Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have come across.
• What kind of leader are you?
• Tell me about a challenging team experience.
• Tell me about a failure / setback you have had.
• What do you think about the state of the current economy? What is the best course of action?
• Walk me through your resume and how you arrived at wanting to get an MBA.
• What are your short-term and long-term goals?
• Why Columbia?
• Did you visit Columbia? What did you think?
• If accepted, how will you contribute to the school?
• Asked a few detailed, pointed questions about interests and organizations listed on my resume.
• What do you do outside of work?
• Have you had a positive experience so far with Columbia's application process?
The interviewer was pretty tough. She prepared many questions and focused on details.
• Talk through every education and work experience on your resume.
• Why MBA?
• Why Columbia? Are you applying to other schools?
• Why now?
• What do you think you can contribute to the class?
• Why do you think you don't need the internship?
• What does your manager think about your strengths and weaknesses?
• What kind of the role are you playing in your team at work?
• What do you think is the most significant thing you've learned from your military service?
And lots of follow up questions for every question on this list.
HARVARD TRANSCRIPT 5
• He started with questions about my current responsibilities and a lot of details about my company and its focus.
• He asked me specific details about the project I am working on.
• Will you stay with your current employer after the MBA and if not, what are your plans?
• Why are you interested in Columbia, and why do you want an MBA?
• Tell me about your activities outside of work.
• How did you choose your career path?
• Tell me more about your undergraduate institution.
• What is your father’s occupation? (The interviewer then asked about all of my family members.
This part of the interview was very friendly and conversational.)
• We had a bit of an industry discussion (related to my career).
• We then had a casual discussion about literature and our favorite authors.
• Tell me about your hobbies and volunteer work.
• What are your long-term career goals?
EVALUATION
After the interview, your interviewer will report back to the admissions committee with an evaluation form. The evaluation
will be reviewed along with all other application materials, and then a decision will be made regarding your candidacy.
Thus, it can be helpful to understand specifically how the interview is evaluated, as this can help you navigate the interview
with greater confidence and precision.
On the following page, we have presented a sample interview evaluation form. This is only a sample, but it is inspired by
the actual forms filled out by hundreds of interviewers at MBA programs. Essentially, the school has identified a certain set
of important criteria, and then you, the interviewee, are judged on these attributes, comparing you with other candidates.
The interviewer may supplement the discussion of these attributes with a free-form write up, conveying the interviewer’s
general impressions or explaining inconsistencies.
On this form, everything is game: Did you appear to be too timid to stand up in a competitive MBA environment? Did you
appear too controlling to do well working in a group? Did you seem too rehearsed, creating doubts about your sincerity?
Did you seem unenthusiastic about the MBA program? All of these might show up in your evaluation – but chances are that
if you are sincere, enthusiastic, and relaxed enough to let your personality shine through, you should do very well!
SAMPLE EVALUATION FORM

CAREER PROGRESSION:
Has the candidate made significant career advancements, with increasing levels of responsibility? Will his/her experiences
contribute something unique to classroom discussions? Has the candidate demonstrated initiative and leadership in any
form?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
Did the candidate answer the questions asked? Is he/she articulate, concise, and professional? Is he/she an active listener,
engaging in conversation with sincere eye contact and poised, proper body language? Is he/she fluent in English?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MOTIVATION:
Does the candidate express a strong interest in building a knowledge base and skills set, or show a primarily interest in the
MBA as a two-year vacation and means to social network?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SELF-AWARENESS:
Is the candidate aware of gaps in his/her knowledge, and aspire towards self-improvement? Does he/she take responsibility
for actions, or blame others for mistakes? Does the candidate have a sense of humor?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
INTELLECTUAL ABILITY:
Does the candidate demonstrate intellectual curiosity, analytical aptitude and creative problem solving skills? Is the
candidate intellectually curious?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEAMWORK:
Does the candidate have a history of working with diverse groups to successfully add value? Would you want to work with
this person? Does the candidate understand the responsibilities of leadership?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RATIONALE FOR MBA:

Is the candidate’s reason for applying for an MBA logical and well-researched? Aware of gaps in knowledge, desire to
improve. Does he/she clearly articulate post-MBA career plans?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IMPACT ON OUR PROGRAM:

Does the candidate understand the program’s culture? Does the candidate plan to become actively involved on campus in
student life? Has he/she shown community involvement in the past?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL:
Does the candidate demonstrate qualities of an effective leader? Does he/she have a history of seeing projects through
from start to finish? Would you want to work for this person? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OVERALL IMPRESSION
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PREPARING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW

Preparation is key to a successful Columbia interview. As we have advised throughout this guide, you should expect that
the interviewer will ask you a high volume of very specific, probing questions in an attempt to determine your fit with
Columbia. It will be imperative for you to have a great number of detailed examples in mind, as many questions will ask you
to draw upon your past experiences. Although you cannot know the exact list of questions your interviewer will ask, the
preparation strategies we share in this section will help you identify your important experiences and be ready to draw on
them as needed.
THE S.T.A.R. METHOD

When discussing your past experiences, it’s crucial to explain yourself in a logical and concise manner that your interviewer
will be able to easily follow. A valuable interview technique you can use to organize and frame your answers is:
STAR: SITUATION - TASK - ACTION – RESULT
SITUATION Begin with setting the stage: “My brand was losing market share to a new competitor.”
TASK Identify the task or project performed: “I decided to revise our strategy.”
ACTION Describe the action you took: “I surveyed customers to learn what traits they valued and
implemented product changes accordingly.”
RESULT Summarize the outcome: “We gained 20 percent additional market share.”
The S.T.A.R. method will help you stay on track and give a thorough answer that provides background, tells exactly what
you did, and ends with the critical results. Although many interviewers will ask follow-up questions to gather more details
once you have given your answer, this technique provides a strong start and keeps you from going off course with irrelevant
points. It will ensure that you include the pertinent details, such as background and results, but that you do not lose track
of your answer and launch into long and unnecessary explanations.
MENTAL BOOKSHELF
As you are preparing your responses to questions about your life experiences, attributes, and goals, envision these stories
as books of your personal narrative, stacked in a virtual bookshelf in your mind. Each of the 10-20 books represents a story
you are prepared to discuss in your interview. When possible, you can outline your stories using the S.T.A.R. framework.
During your interview, it’s as easy as retrieving the story from the shelf and presenting it with ease and confidence.
It is helpful to map out your mental bookshelf on paper, organizing your stories and mapping them to different themes, so
that you are well prepared to leverage them as needed. Your “bookshelf plan” might look something like this:
STORY 1: Organized 2009 fundraiser for Big Brothers Organization – leadership, teamwork, communication,
navigating different points of view, working with a challenging peer
STORY 2: Teaching tennis – leadership, mentoring, personal interests, helping others
STORY 3: Laid off from AirTone – failure, lessons learned, resilience, mistake, challenge
During your interview, when asked about a time you faced a challenge, you can think back to your bookshelf and select Story
1 or 3. Then you can discuss the story using the S.T.A.R. framework, which you have also prepared in advance.
DRESS REHEARSAL
When preparing for an interview, many applicants make the mistake of only rehearsing their answers mentally. Even after
carefully reviewing their application and going through lists of practice questions, they stumble in the live interview. It’s
important to note that practicing the answers out loud is actually very different from silent, mental rehearsal. Don’t let the
interview be the first time you tell your stories out loud.
Once you have prepared your stories, using the techniques above, you can practice using them to answer lists of questions,
included in the Appendix. Practice a mock interview with a trusted friend, or even alone in front of a mirror. Your rehearsal
will make the actual interview much more fluid; you will be calm and polished, and the conversation will flow in a much more
relaxed way.
HONING YOUR PRESENTATION

WHAT TO WEAR, WHAT TO BRING
Dress appropriately. If your interview is going to take place in a coffee shop or other informal setting, you can safely dress
business casual. If your interviewer invites you to visit his or her office for the occasion, dress in professional attire. It’s
always better to err on the side of being too dressed up rather than too casual. Bring a professional looking folder to hold
copies of your resume and perhaps business cards. The folder serves an additional purpose – it can help you to anchor your
hands, so that you are not nervously and wildly gesticulating during the interview, which can be distracting for the
interviewer. Hold the folder with both hands and as you are speaking, you may raise a hand briefly when illustrating a point,
then return your hand to its home base.
MAKING AN IMPRESSION
In the interview, it’s not only important what you say, but how you say it. Don’t allow yourself to get so anxious that you
stumble over your words, and maintain a structure that prevents you from rambling. When asked a question, first think
through the structure of your response (like The S.T.A.R. Method), then speak with clarity and confidence. Your body
language should be consistent with your message and project professionalism.
CLOSING STRONG AND FOLLOWING UP

Be sure to have a list of prepared questions that highlight your knowledge of and interest in the school; don’t ask a question
that could be answered by a brief look at the Columbia website. You will find that most alumni enjoy sharing their
experiences and memories of the program, and this portion of the interview will likely be quite enjoyable.
Follow up within 24 hours with a thank-you note (via email is fine in most cases) to your interviewer. Sending a thank you
note means you know how to operate in the business world, and it can help convince the interviewer that you belong at
Columbia.
APPENDIX
Common Interview Questions
• Tell me about yourself.
• What was your GMAT score?
• What quantitative preparation have you had?
• What do you do outside work?
• Tell me a project you're working on.
• Tell me about your volunteer experiences.
• What do you think is the most significant thing you've learned from X?
• How did you choose your career path?
• How did you choose your undergraduate school?
• What is unique about you?
• Which websites are you reading currently that are not related to your profession or future interests?
• Describe the most interesting course you took in college.
• When have you gone beyond what was established or popular? How did others react? What did you learn?
• What do you do in your free time?
• What have you learned through your job?
• What is the most important thing you have learned over the past few years within your company?
• Discuss a time you solved a problem creatively.
• What do you think about X in the news recently?
• Discuss your most creative idea that failed.
• Who was your favorite college professor and why?
• If you had it to do over again, would you attend your same undergraduate college? Why or why not?
• What would be the title of your biography?
• If you were me, what question would you ask?
• What magazine would you be on the cover of? What would the headline say?
• What is general management?
• Tell me about your college extracurricular activities.
• What global issue is most important to you?
• What motivates you?
• How did you decide on your current position?
• What brought you to your current company?
• Did you choose this particular group at your company? If so, why?
• Which of the two companies that you have worked at did you learn more from?
• Do the companies you have worked for have similar cultures?
• Tell me about a time when you overcame an obstacle.
• Give an example of a time when you had to deal with many competing priorities.
• Describe one of your favorite extracurricular activities. Why do you enjoy it?
• What is the most important lesson you’ve had to learn about yourself?
• What would your supervisors say you need to improve on?
• Why do you think you are successful?
• What do I not know about you?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Think about an occasion when your beliefs were challenged. What did you do?
• What makes you unique?

• Tell me your story.
• Tell me about your typical day at work.
• Tell me about one career decision you regret.
• Explain what you do at work. How does your company fit into your industry?
• What is your biggest success?
• What is your biggest failure? What did you learn from it?
• What’s the biggest risk you have taken recently?
• Talk about a recent project/experience at work.
• What is something you would do differently if you could repeat it?
• Tell me about an important event that changed your perspective.
• Tell me about a time when you used quantitative skills at work.
• Explain your thought process in a situation when you had to decide between two desirable options. Do you think
you made the right decision?
• Tell me about a time you overcame an obstacle.
• Describe a situation where you successfully responded to change.
• Since you applied, what have you been doing?
• Give an example of an innovative thing you have done.
• Tell me about your career.
• Tell me about a professional regret or mistake.
• Discuss your career progress since graduation from college.
• What accomplishment on your resume are you most proud of?
• Discuss your responsibilities in your current position.
• Describe a success and a failure you’ve experienced in your current position.
• What do you do exactly in your position?
• Did you have opportunities to work for other companies after college? Why did you end up at your current
company?
• Describe your greatest accomplishment. Why it is meaningful to you?
• What other careers and jobs did you consider pursuing after college?
• Tell me about your parents and family.
• Where do you come from?
• What decisions did you make in the past that you might make differently now?
• Are you good at what you do?
• What do you like about your current job? What do you dislike?
• Name a leader/CEO you admire.
• Who is your hero?
• Tell me about how your decision-making process.
• Tell me something about you that I couldn’t learn from your application.
• What inspires you the most and why?
• What are some misconceptions about you?
• Who are your best friends? How did you meet them?
• What do you find meaningful about your work?
• What was your most difficult personal obstacle? How did you overcome it?
• What are three principles that you hold dear? Why?
• How do you interact with others when you travel?
• How have you been exposed to leadership, given that you’re in an entry-level position?
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• Tell me about a time where you managed people or managed a project.

• How do you get people to buy into your vision and do things you believe are right?
• What has been your biggest leadership challenge?
• Tell me about your proudest experience as a leader.
• Give an example of a time you led a team and explain how the team fared.
• Tell me about the best leader your worked for and also describe the worst leader you worked for.
• Tell me about your most memorable leadership experience.
• Tell me about a big accomplishment.
• Give an example of an experience that led you to learn something about yourself and about leadership.
• Give me an example of when you handled a difficult subordinate at work.
• Describe a situation where people have relied on you.
• Describe an incident where you disagreed with a superior/subordinate. How was the disagreement settled?
• Tell me about a leadership experience with a college activity.
• Describe a leadership experience with a community activity.
• Discuss a leadership experience where you had to depend upon others for success.
• Tell me about a leadership experience you have had since submitting your application (i.e., something not
covered in your essays).
• Discuss a bad manager. Why was she/he bad? How did you handle this?
• How do you manage your boss?
• What is your best example of leadership?
• How have you taught your subordinates?
• Discuss an example of when you displayed leadership. How were you a successful leader?
• Give an example of a time when you impacted a team or business without holding a leadership role.
• If you were your company’s CEO, what would you change?
• How has your leadership style developed?
• How do you define a good leader?
• How do people respond to your leadership?
• Describe how one of your passions contributes to your leadership style.
• What elements of your leadership style could be improved?
• What have you learned from good leaders?
• How do you lead a group?
• Describe something you have fixed or wish to fix at work.
• What constructive criticism would you get from your subordinates?
• How do you approach disagreements with team members?
• What would you do to motivate an underperforming team member?
• Tell me about a challenging team experience.
• How will you get the best out of your study team's experience/strengths?
• What are the qualities of a good team player and what would you bring to a team situation at Columbia?
• Give me an example of a time when you played a significant role in helping a team achieve its goal.
• Tell me when you were on a team with problems what did you do?
• How much of your job are you working with your team and how much do you work with other organizations?
• If I asked your teammates what your strengths and weaknesses are, what would they say?
• Give an example of a time when you were able to get along with a difficult person. How did you do it?
• Tell me about a situation when things with a supervisor, client, or team member didn’t work out as you had
planned.
• Describe your relationship with your managers? Do you always agree?
• How have you gotten staffed on the projects you’ve wanted at work? Why did you choose these projects?
• What are the most important qualities of a high-performing team?
• Which of your personality traits enable you to interact with diverse types of people?
• How do you function in a team?
• How and when do you seek advice of others?
• Why are you pursuing an MBA? Why Columbia?
• When did you decide to get an MBA?
• Why do you need an MBA now?
• Where else are you applying? How are you going to choose?
• Have you visited campus? What did you think?
• How does your past experience and future goals fit in to your desire to get an MBA?
• Will you stay with your current employer after your MBA? If not, what are your plans?
• What do you want to do after business school?
• What will you try to learn at Columbia?
• Why are the other options available to you sub-optimal compared to an MBA?
• Tell me about a situation when you realized that you would benefit from an MBA.
• What did you learn from that experience?
• Outside of the classroom, what do you hope to experience at Columbia?
• What would you do if you did not get into business school anywhere?
• What about Columbia worries you?
• What value will you bring to the school?
• What will you contribute to the Columbia classroom?
• What is your opinion of the Columbia application process?
• What will be your biggest challenges at Columbia?
• Who are your ideal Columbia classmates?
• What do you want to accomplish at Columbia? How did you begin investigating MBA programs?
• What would you do if you had to choose a new profession?
• What is your dream job?
• Why general management?
• Where do you want to be in 5, 10, and 30 years?
• How will you make an impact in your career?
• What will you be doing over the next six months?
• What is your vision for your target industry?
• Where do you want to intern next summer?
• What specifically attracted you to Columbia?
• How will you prepare for this career besides an MBA?
• Have you spoken to any of our current students or alumni?
• What extracurricular activities do you plan to participate in?
• Why do you need an MBA to achieve your goals?
• What unique contribution will you make in our classroom?
• What unique contributions will you make to our culture?
• What do you believe is the key strength of your candidacy? Key weakness?
• What will be the key difference between your life now and your life as an Columbia student?
• What skills will you gain from an MBA that will enable you to succeed in your career?
• How specifically can our program help you achieve your long-term goals?
• If you came back to your 15-year Columbia class reunion, what will your classmates remember about you?
ABOUT STACY BLACKMAN CONSULTING

Stacy Blackman Consulting's mission is to help our clients achieve their most ambitious educational and professional goals
by making the MBA application process less stressful and more successful.
Since 2001, we have helped hundreds of candidates with their applications to top business schools; our clients have been
admitted to every top MBA program worldwide.
Stacy Blackman Consulting offers Comprehensive, Hourly and Editing services. Services may include:
• School selection
• Strategy development
• Assistance with essay writing: coaching, review and feedback
• Interview coaching
• Planning for school visits
• Reference selection, preparation and editing
• Developing resumes
• Review of data forms
• Wait list and deferral strategy
• Assistance with extracurricular involvements
• Coordinating school communications
In addition to our consulting services and our online essay, interview and application basics guides, we have published a
book on the MBA admissions process entitled The MBA Application Roadmap.
To learn more about our services and resources, or to schedule a free consultation, visit our website
(www.StacyBlackman.com).
For MBA news and admissions tips, updated daily, visit: http://www.StacyBlackman.com/blog
To see more Stacy Blackman Consulting products, visit: http://www.StacyBlackman.com/products

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The Stacy Blackman Consulting Interview Guides Behavioral Teamwork Questions

The MBA Interview Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis

Your Audience Potential Fit at Columbia Questions

Setting Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis

Subject Matter AMBITIONS 22

WHAT COLUMBIA IS LOOKING FOR 7 Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis

THE COLUMBIA INTERVIEW 12 Post B-School Ambition Questions

Logistics: Place and Time Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis

Your Interviewer COLUMBIA INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS 25

Statistics Five Representative Samples

COLUMBIA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 13 Sample Evaluation Form

ACHIEVEMENT 13 PREPARING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW 30

Basic Background Questions The S.T.A.R. Method

Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis Mental Bookshelf

Setback Questions Dress Rehearsal

Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis HONING YOUR PRESENTATION 32

DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL 17 Making an Impression

Personal Leadership Questions Closing Strong and Following Up

Sample Questions, Answers and Analysis APPENDIX 33

INTRODUCTION: The Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Interview Guides

THE MBA INTERVIEW

AUDIENCE: THE INTERVIEWER AND ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE

WHAT COLUMBIA IS LOOKING FOR

COLUMBIA CULTURE - QUALITIES AND VALUES

THE COLUMBIA INTERVIEW

LOGISTICS: PLACE AND TIME

COLUMBIA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

BASIC BACKGROUND QUESTIONS

What did you do as a result?

A NOTE ABOUT MISTAKES AND FAILURE

Here are some other common achievement questions:

DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

THEORETICAL LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

BEHAVIORAL TEAMWORK QUESTIONS

POTENTIAL FIT AT COLUMBIA QUESTIONS

Here are some other common teamwork questions:

WHY B-SCHOOL/WHY COLUMBIA QUESTIONS

POST B-SCHOOL AMBITION QUESTIONS

Here are some other common ambition questions:

COLUMBIA INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

SAMPLE EVALUATION FORM

RATIONALE FOR MBA:

IMPACT ON OUR PROGRAM:

PREPARING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW

THE S.T.A.R. METHOD

STAR: SITUATION - TASK - ACTION – RESULT

HONING YOUR PRESENTATION

CLOSING STRONG AND FOLLOWING UP

• What makes you unique?

• Tell me about a time where you managed people or managed a project.

ABOUT STACY BLACKMAN CONSULTING

• Assistance with essay writing: coaching, review and feedback

• Planning for school visits

• Reference selection, preparation and editing

• Review of data forms

• Wait list and deferral strategy

• Assistance with extracurricular involvements