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Columbia Business School MBA Essays 2026-2027: Prompts and Word Limits

Verbatim essay and short answer prompts for the Columbia Business School MBA application for August 2027 and January 2027 entry, with word and character limits.

Essay overview

Applicants complete two short answer questions and three essays, and may submit an optional essay. The prompts below are quoted from Columbia Business School's MBA application requirements page, which carries the current-cycle application (August 2027 entry; January 2027 entry). Short Answer Question 2 differs by entry term; the three essays are the same for both terms.

Short answer questions (August entry)

  • Short Answer Question 1: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)
  • Short Answer Question 2: How do you plan to spend the summer after the first year of the MBA? If in an internship, please include target industry (industries) and/or function (functions). If you plan to work on your own venture, please indicate a focus of business. (50 characters maximum)

Short answer questions (January entry)

  • Short Answer Question 1: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)
  • Short Answer Question 2: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

Essays (August and January entry)

  • Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)
  • Essay 2: Please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative, more inclusive or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization. (250 words)
  • Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place with a collaborative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging, agency, and partnership--academically, culturally, and professionally. How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)

Optional and reapplicant essays

  • Optional Essay: If you wish to provide further information or additional context around your application to the Admissions Committee, please upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)
  • Reapplicant Essay: How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate how you plan to achieve your immediate and long term post-MBA professional goals. (Maximum 500 words)

Use of generative AI

Columbia states that the work in the application, including essays, must be completely accurate and exclusively the applicant's own. Columbia University permits generative AI tools for idea generation or to edit a candidate's work; using them to generate complete responses violates the Honor Code.

Sources

  1. 1. Columbia Business School, MBA Application Requirements