How tough is it to get in here? Anyone been there / done that / thinking of it? Particularly keen to here from the relics on AF who are and will admit to being 30+ AND who have actually held down paid employment in the world of finance. I know, probably less than 10… a lot less.
*hear*
#Oops#
Columbia’s EMBA is interesting. Note there are two programs, each about two years long: - Friday+Saturday every other weekend - Saturday every weekend Whether it’s tough to get into is relative. I think good pedigree, good career, and good scores/application -> high chance of acceptance. I’ve considered it and might apply early next year, but would only go if the firm paid for it. (Will try as part of bonus negotiations.) Btw, you don’t need to be 30, though the average age is 32. An EMBA may be right for you if you don’t want to stop working/don’t want to career switch but do want the education/pedigree/networking opportunity.
full time admits perhaps 7-10% of applicants. (you should easily find this figure on the web.) emba: multiply by about a factor of 5.
if u get an eMBA , you HAVE to write EMBA
actually executive MBAs are typically for much more experienced people…someone who is in their early 20s (assuming justin88’s name relates to 1988 birth) would be very strange to want in an emba…why not go for MBA? most professors have told me the e-mba programs are typically garbage compared to regular mbas (it was the case in my school…i marked case studies for the emba program and they sucked…and were all senior manager type people…who didn’t care much about studying; just wanted the title…) this is in general, not for columbia…i’m sure any degree from this school would be incredible.
It’s on my list of places to apply next year. I’ll go regular MBA. I know a few people that went there. They were all fairly smart, went to good to excellent undergraduate schools (where they were not necessarily amazing students in all cases), had GMATs at or above 700, and decent work experience.
MFIN— Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > actually executive MBAs are typically for much > more experienced people…someone who is in their > early 20s (assuming justin88’s name relates to > 1988 birth) would be very strange to want in an > emba…why not go for MBA? > most professors have told me the e-mba programs > are typically garbage compared to regular mbas (it > was the case in my school…i marked case studies > for the emba program and they sucked…and were all > senior manager type people…who didn’t care much > about studying; just wanted the title…) > this is in general, not for columbia…i’m sure > any degree from this school would be incredible. no matter how old you are, MBA has huge opportunity cost. (fyi i’m perhaps one of the more senior people on this board… not 23!)
Muddahudda, I am a CBS grad from the full-time program. While the average age was something like 28, approximately 15% of the students were over 30 with the occasional student over 35. From a pure learning perspective, I think CBS’ EMBA program is quite good. The classes taught by the same professors, have similar content, etc. In fact, I took several courses through EMBA because it allowed me to save bid points for other courses (topic for another post). The main downside to EMBA courses are that the students are less engaged, it’s a pain to coordinate/schedule group meetings, and it’s quite comical to sit in a conference room with a bunch of middle managers as they all try to delegate to each other. The average age was higher and I think it’s easier to gain admittance (my understanding is that most EMBA programs are a huge cash cow for business schools). If you go through EMBA, you will miss the opportunity to apply to the value investing program, which for me is the school’s main differentiator and is the reason I chose it over H/W. It’s a really great program. That being said, every year there are lots of qualified students who are disappointed because they came to CBS explicitly for the value investing program but don’t get in (in my year they took 40 out of ~130 student applicants).
I’m curious, what exactly is taught in the value investing program? What did you learn during the program? Was it worth it considering you chose CBS over H/W?
MFIN— Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > most professors have told me the e-mba programs > are typically garbage compared to regular mbas > i marked case studies > for the emba program and they sucked…and were all > senior manager type people…who didn’t care much > about studying; just wanted the title…). This is exactly right. People who do eMBA’s are usually people working full time that just want the degree, and don’t give a crap about what they’re actually learning. The big companies and big universities have a “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” thing going on Schools open up slots to big firms and say: look, our grads all go to top firms! Firms then say: look, our people all come from the top schools!
greengrape Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This is exactly right. People who do eMBA’s are > usually people working full time that just want > the degree, and don’t give a crap about what > they’re actually learning. while this is true of most full-time MBAs and undergrads in general, at top schools you tend to have a more select students that actually care about what they’re learning. > The big companies and big universities have a “you > scratch my back, I scratch yours” thing going on > > Schools open up slots to big firms and say: look, > our grads all go to top firms! > Firms then say: look, our people all come from the > top schools! let me guess, you didn’t go to a “big university”??? (whatever that means!)
I actually agree with greengrape on the symbiotic relationship between top schools and top companies/positions. They absolutely maintain relationships and accept people for part-time and eMBA based on mutual benefit. Case in point: guy I worked with at my old firm did the eMBA at Columbia/LBS jointly. My firm had already sent a couple people there, paid the tuition and graduated them successfully. People went on to good jobs. Did they need the eMBA to succeed? No, most would probably have been successful anyway. However, because they went to eMBA that is becoming an established path and because they call came from my company that company is an established feeder to that eMBA program. It’s all about greasing the groove.
brain_wash_your_face Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I actually agree with greengrape on the symbiotic > relationship between top schools and top > companies/positions. They absolutely maintain > relationships and accept people for part-time and > eMBA based on mutual benefit. Case in point: guy > I worked with at my old firm did the eMBA at > Columbia/LBS jointly. My firm had already sent a > couple people there, paid the tuition and > graduated them successfully. People went on to > good jobs. Did they need the eMBA to succeed? > No, most would probably have been successful > anyway. However, because they went to eMBA that > is becoming an established path and because they > call came from my company that company is an > established feeder to that eMBA program. It’s all > about greasing the groove. Agree on symbiosis/mutual benefit, which in the vernacular is “win-win”. There’s nothing wrong with this. However he’s saying schools are accepting subpar students from these “feeder firms”.
Curious about dsp’s question as well - elaborate more on the value investing program please.
CBS page on Value Investing program: http://www7.gsb.columbia.edu/valueinvesting/ I’m a recent admit to Columbia full-time MBA program (class of 2013) and will be starting this fall. I hope to get into the value investing program. That said, you can take most of the classes in the program as electives – there are only I believe 3 that are specific to those accepted. They let in about 15% of their applicants. CBS is unique in that it has a binding early decision policy. If you apply ED you could find out that you’ve been accepted next month for the following fall. They also have a program called J-term for students that are sponsored or don’t need a summer internship; J-termers start in January and work through the summer, “catching up” with the rest of the students in the fall of MBA2. I chose the full-time MBA program because I really wanted to robust network that the emersion into a full-time program provides. Columbia also offered the programs and location that were right for me.
Would I be too old to do an MBA on the Value Investing program? I’m 39 with a decent background in finance. Bit of a late blossomer, but a convert to value investing! Any hope for me?
Dude_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Would I be too old to do an MBA on the Value > Investing program? I’m 39 with a decent background > in finance. Bit of a late blossomer, but a convert > to value investing! Any hope for me? Attach a recommendation from the WB himself, and you’ll be in. It’s as easy as that!
^Ha, will do. Great name handle btw.