Prepare early, and often

Start preparing right after you apply. My clients who apply in July, August and September are often invited within two weeks of submitting applications. Those who apply in November and December might take longer, more like one month. 

Even if Columbia does not invite you to interview, the preparation will help with other schools. Since Columbia interviews are conducted by alumni, I encourage you to start your self-study by using my "mirror method". 

Columbia matters most to Columbia.

Why?

Yield

• A friend of mine conducts interview Columbia alumni interviews in the United States

• He recently showed me the interview criteria that Columbia asks him to use when evaluating applicants

• As I read it, I noticed that Columbia asks interviewers to evaluate how interested you are in the school

• In fact, they mention it several times

• Columbia asks its alumni to confirm your interest and commitment to Columbia in order to protect its yield, which is around 72% (vs 90% at HBS)

Q: Why Columbia?

A: Location, location, location.

• One of my clients chose Columbia over Stanford GSB because he wanted to pursue a career in the art industry after graduation

• Stanford may want to become a leading arts center, but they cannot compete with New York City

• Think of a reason why you MUST go to NYC for your MBA

• How does being there for two years best prepare you to achieve your goals?

• Then, be sure to mention the people and student culture that reinforce your learning objectives and maximize your opportunities to achieve your post MBA goals

• Talk about how the CBS alumni that you know fit your personality

  • Mention how they used the degree to achieve their goals

  • Then, draw a logical line that shows why CBS is also the best place for you

WHY CBS / WHY MBA

• Walk me through your resume.  (Pick and probe content)

• Explain your professional progression up until now and why you need an MBA?.

• Why an MBA?

• Why now?

• Why Columbia?

• Where else did you apply?

• What criteria did you use when choosing schools to which to apply?

• What will you do if you don't get in anywhere else?

• What will you contribute to Columbia?

• What makes you unique from other (financiers / salesmen / IT specialists, etc.) applying to Columbia? 

• What other steps have you taken to prepare yourself for your goal?

• Are there any red flags you think the adcom will find in your candidacy?

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND SITUATIONS

• How do you work in teams? Have you ever been in a leadership role?

• What is your management/leader style? Give an example.

• Example of a major mistake and how you dealt with it.

• Example of leading a team.

• Example of contributing to a team.

• Example of a challenging team/group situation.

• Example of an adversity/challenge and what you learned from it.

• Biggest professional accomplishment/achievement.

• What was an ethical dilemma you've faced, and what did you do about it? (Follow up with q’s like “What would you do differently?”)

• Describe a time, either professionally or academically, when you witnessed others behaving unethically--what did you do about it?

ANALYTICAL ABILITY / CURRENT EVENTS

• Tell me about a technology trend and how it will affect business. (Since I talked a lot about wanting to apply my knowledge of tech trends to my career) 

• What is the impact of the financial crisis on the XXX industry?

• Topical questions about the current financial crisis, etc.

• Anything related to interviewee’s field:  Future or real estate, health care, etc.

PERSONAL

• What do you do in your free time?

• What do you get excited about? What turns you on?

• Why? (sports, hobbies etc.)

• Tell me something unique about yourself.

• What are 5 adjectives that describe your interpersonal skills and communication style?

More reports here: https://www.clearadmit.com/school/columbia/#interview-reports-section-anchor 

STEP ONE

DECIDE HOW

MANY SESSIONS

YOU WANT

• One Columbia Business School mock interview training session lasts 60 minutes

• We spend the last 30 minutes reviewing your answers

• I can help you brainstorm more effective ways to answer the questions I asked

• Finally, if time permits, we can discuss other types of questions that might be of concern to you

Not sure how many sessions you need?

• Most of my successful clients practice Columbia Business School interviews with me for at least 3 hours (three sixty minute sessions)

• Some need as little as 1 hour (one sixty minute session), which is my minimum charge

• Others practice for 5 hours or more (five sixty minute sessions)

STEP TWO

ARRANGE PAYMENT 

HOW TO PAY

• Clients in Japan pay via bank transfer or cash

• Clients outside Japan pay via PayPal

STEP THREE

SCHEDULE OUR FIRST SESSION

TO OCCUR AT LEAST 5 DAYS

BEFORE YOUR COLUMBIA INTERVIEW

• Once payment clears, I will give you access to my Google Calendar 

  • All times are JST (Tokyo time)

  • If you do not find a convenient time, please email me several options

  • I will do my best to accommodate

• Please follow my cancellation policy

  • If necessary, requests to reschedule appointments should be made at least 24 hours in advance of the originally scheduled appointment time

  • Rescheduling requests made less than 24 hours prior to an appointment will be granted at Vince’s discretion

STEP FOUR

SEND ME YOUR RESUME

After reviewing your resume, I will prepare a custom list of questions to fit your case.

• I ask questions that test your ability to discuss issues that might be of concern to Columbia Business School interviewers

• I also assess your communication skills

After your interview, I will destroy all hard and soft copies to maintain client confidentiality

STEP FIVE

PRACTICE BEFORE and

AFTER EACH SESSION

• Interviewing is a learned skill

• You will improve with practice

• Please practice at least three hours before and after each of our mock interview sessions

• I encourage you to use my "mirror method" to practice interviews at home

• Final tip for applicants in Japan: you should prepare for some portion of the interview to be conducted in Japanese. This might the case in other non-English-speaking countries, as well. 

• Best Harvard Business School (HBS) MBA interview tips

• Best Stanford MBA interview tips

• How to pass the Wharton Team-Based Discussion interview

• Prepare for interviews using Vince’s mirror method

• Vince’s best interview tips