Have any board members graduated from or are currently attending Columbia for their MBA? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the program and the types of students it attracts. If so, has anyone participated in their Value Investing Program? From what I can understand it is a highly selective program within a highly selective school and would be a very focused learning effort: http://www7.gsb.columbia.edu/valueinvesting/coursesfaculty/valueinvestingprogram Looks very interesting…
Don’t know anyone who’s gone through it but I’ve heard Bruce Greenwald talk a few times and think he’d be a great teacher. He alone would probably make the experience valueable (get it). …and awesome screenname.
i’m at cbs but not in the VI program. i do know a few people applying for the program. it is a highly selective - part of the application is pitches and most of the students have pretty legit summer internships with top mutual funds and hedge funds lined up beforehand. i figured since i completed the cfa, i would focus on non-finance stuff, but finance and accounting are pretty dominant in the curriculum. greenwald’s class is very popular but you don’t need to be in the program to take his classes. he has one class where he just invites speakers like gabelli in for the second half of term. if you want to take him, you might want to think about applying soon – he’s getting pretty old and his health hasn’t been great.
Fredfunk01–thanks for your response! Can you share your background since you were admitted to cbs? I am taking the GMAT in July and am planning on visiting NYC in 2 weeks for informational interviews with Columbia and NYU. I am assuming I would need somewhere in the 720-750 range to be considered for admission (had a 3.7 in undergrad from a decent west regional and good work experience). I have been working in investments for 6 years now and have my CFA but feel like I could still benefit from a focused education effort. Thanks for your thoughts!
similar background to you. you should be okay if you’re above 700 and have strong recommendations and essays. i would recommend applying earlier since their acceptances are rolling. i applied during the regular decision process but if you figure out that cbs is your school you might want to consider applying for early admission.
CBS sucks. I was waitlisted.
You sure you want to be broadcasting that you didn’t make the first cut at a school that you claim sucks?
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You sure you want to be broadcasting that you > didn’t make the first cut at a school that you > claim sucks? It’s a causal relationship.
Obv joking. I wasnt accepted because I bombed my interview so I am to blame. However out of all other schools I visited, CBS people were the least friendly by far the biggest Dbags.
lol, dbags 
THACHARTER Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Obv joking. I wasnt accepted because I bombed my > interview so I am to blame. However out of all > other schools I visited, CBS people were the least > friendly by far the biggest Dbags. I have to agree. Could be a sample bias, but man the people I met were some pompous a-holes.
aren’t all bschools full of dbags?
No. just some
i don’t think you can generalize about a school unless you’ve attended it. in a class of 700 you’re bound to have some bad apples and maybe the concentration is weighted more in the hermes society. one of my best friends is actually an ambassador. unfortunately you did not get paired with her judging by your feedback. i just finished my first year and yes i’ve met d-bags and arrogant rich kids. a few of our ibanker wannabes have gotten a bad rep for hygiene, but that’s bound to be the case for a finance driven school in new york city. for what it’s worth i’ve developed some great relationships that i’ll carry with my beyond graduation. the majority of the people i’ve met are down to earth, collaborative and have some pretty impressive histories. but there are a few whose parents are movie stars or own castles in france that can’t be bothered to associate with the rest of us.
fredfunk04, mind shooting me an email so I can ask you a few Qs? Unlike what my previous comment would suggest, I’m applying to CBS for 2012 fall entry 
antoniocmsilva at gmail dot com thanks!