Columbia ED 2008 Application - Submitted

well, it took me longer than expected but I finally submitted my application to the Columbia MBA program for ED 2008 on Friday, August 17 (yesterday). After submitting the online application I also mailed out two documents as supplementary materials. I hope they match that to my online file.

So, having read and re-read my essays and semi-objectively assessed the state of my application, what do I think:

-Numbers: All areas where they look for numbers i.e. GPA and GMAT are reasonably good. I was a bit concerned about my graduate school GPA (3.43) and wrote a paragraph about it in my optional essay. Some say that GPA is good enough but I felt I had to explain it and so I did. Anyway, so looking OK in the numbers department

-Educational background: Not too many applicants have PhDs in engineering apparently, so I felt that I had to explain that part of my background a bit more (did that in the optional essay as well). The way I look at it, this is where the admissions committee needs to be convinced that I am serious about a career in finance after having invested a good 10 years in engineering education already. I think I did the best I could to explain that in my essays. Let's see if they are convinced.

-Professional achievements: My work has taken me through 4 jobs in 7 years which is a bit unusual I think. Additionally, I went from working in the industry to a research position and then came back to the industry. This switch meant I had to take a paycut. On the flip side I have worked in two continents and been exposed to diverse personnel and situations which I know is a strength. In my new job I have done very well and that should be another good indicator. Overall, in this section it depends on how the admissions committee perceives my future potential from past work experience.

-Essays: #1-I thought this turned out to be great. #2-This could be a bit better but that's my writing style and that's the best I could do. #3-Everyone who reviewed my essays thought this was my best essay.#4-This one turned to be good considering that I had to convey that much in 250 words. Optional Essay: I thought this turned out to be ok. I explained why my PhD background is a good fit with Columbia and what I bring to the table. So, overall my essays are good.

-References: #1 was a supervisor at my current workplace and I know he gave me the best possible reference. #2 was my PhD supervisor. I am a bit concerned about this, not for content but my choice of reference. I know he ranked me in the top 1% but I am worried that this is not a work reference. Business schools usually like professional references. I thought my advisor could paint a more complete picture of me by pointing out other aspects of my profile. I communicated this with the admissions department and one of the ladies said this is ok. Let's see. I also submitted one supplementary letter of reference from a community service perspective. I hope that helps.

-Activities: I filled in whatever I could think of. This looked pretty good I think. Although, I was not in any fraternity. I know that carries a lot of weight. I however won a couple of awards for academic performance and public speaking.

Overall, it is a reasonably good application. It all depends on how the admissions committee interprets it. We'll find out soon enough!

anyway, this took me a while to finish and since Columbia is my first choice I am happy that I did the best I could. Thanks to a lot of people for helping me out with various aspects of my application. I truly appreciate it.

Gotto go through this again with Wharton, Sloan, and NYU in that order.