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JANUARY 31, 2000 B-SCHOOL Q&A: ADMISSIONS Meet Columbia's Admissions Director A Conversation with Linda Meehan, the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at Columbia Business School
Q: Linda, you've spearheaded Columbia Business School's admission efforts for the better part of this decade. Over the course of that time, the MBA degree has become immensely popular, particularly outside of the U.S. CBS, for example, has seen its applications surge by 81% between 1993 and 1998. How are you managing the application process, given the explosive demand for Columbia's MBA degree? A: Keeping up with technology has played a vital role in what we've done. We've also increased our staff over the last number of years, which has certainly aided us in trying to provide excellent service and communication with the applicant pool, and providing the decisions in a timely fashion. We bought a new [online admissions] system from [UVA's] Darden School last year. They've done some customizing for us, and they're continuing to customize for us as we move forward, because our system is somewhat different than theirs and our needs are slightly different. The system is actually quite user friendly for the applicant, and has certainly been a tremendous help to us in our processing. To be clear, the Darden system allows our applicants to apply electronically. Q: How does the Darden system help your office more efficiently manage applications? A: It reduces the amount of paper that's being received in our office. Right now, we're printing out these applications and reading them as we have in the past. One difference between an applicant who applies online versus an applicant who applies in paper is that the only way you can send [a cyber] application is when it is completed. So it's all put together, they push the button, it is received here electronically, and we do not have to rely on the United States mail which, unfortunately, is sometimes very slow. [Receiving an application via snail mail] could take anywhere from a week to a month. In addition, most people spend an enormous amount by sending their applications in by Fed Ex or some other courier service to get them here quicker. And once those paper applications are received, they have to be opened up, entered into a computer, have a file created for them, and then put on the shelf [for us to add the elements that have not been sent] -- and then we wait until the entire application is completed before it's reviewed. Now, with the electronic system, the application [which is cheaper to send electronically than via snail mail] is received completed. There is no data entry required. It goes instantly into a file and on to a reader. So the processing time and the turnaround time for decisions should be much more efficient. Q: Is Columbia moving to an exclusively electronic system? Or does it present its applicants with a number of different application options? A: Right now, we present people with any avenue that they would like to choose. They could send it in paper. They can send it electronically on our system, or they can use Multi App and they could also use the Embark.com [formerly CollegeEdge] system. Those are the [application methods] that we've been making available to them. So they have their choice; we'd like to make it as easy on them as possible. I do want them to be aware though that if they apply electronically, it will expedite their decision. Q: Does it make a difference to you what form an application comes in? A: Only in the fact that the electronic ones are much easier to process.
Q: So whether an applicant chooses to send in his or her application electronically has no bearing on your decision? A: Absolutely not. The Darden System offers certain benefits to our applicants, though. For example, it allows them to go online and follow the status of their application. They can go online and see that their application has been received, they can see that it's being processed, that it is out to committee... and they can see that they've been invited to interview. They get the names of their interviewers online and can contact them online. The interview takes place. The person doing the interview fills out the interview evaluation form online, and e-mails it in. All of this reduces the amount of time that it used to take to send things out in the mail. It's also reduced phone calls to my office tremendously. Q: Given all the Darden system's benefits and the fact that prospective students have become increasingly comfortable with the Web medium, how long would you say it will be before CBS moves its application process completely online? A: It's a little hard to predict. Last year I predicted [we'd be totally online within] five years. And I felt that that was a comfortable prediction. One of the things that always needs to be considered is if we're looking at the demographics in the United States [or abroad]. Most people in the U.S. have computers, almost everybody has access to the Web, and [Web] connections stay up more than they fall down. When you go to emerging markets around the world, access to computers is not readily available. Telephone and electronic systems in these countries are not as good as what we have here in the U.S. And so it's not quite as easy for [international candidates] to apply online. There are a lot of issues that are still out there when you look at [the viability of applying through the Web] globally. So that's why I'm predicting that we won't be totally online until at least five years. Even then, I don't know whether the application will be completely paperless. Q: Right now, existing cyber application vendors such as Embark and GradAdvantage do not allow candidates to submit all the facets of their file electronically. For example, the recommendations must be sent separately through the mail. A: That's true if you're using Embark or MultiApp. If you're using our system, however, it can all be done online. Recommendations can be received online. The difficulty there is that you have people who are asking for recommendations from people who are not comfortable [working] online. So they would prefer to mail it in. And, as I said, we're trying to make it as easy for the applicant as possible, so we say, "yes, you can mail those in, but recognize that if you do, it will delay your reading process slightly." So I'm thinking that it will take five years before we're going to be totally online. Q: Well, the new online system sounds like it will certainly help your office handle the more than 6,400 applications that it's getting these days. A: We actually had a total of 7,200 applications for the year, which included our January class last year. Q: Columbia offers admission into two different MBA classes -- the traditional fall class and the January class. It recently eliminated its May class, however. Can you comment? A: The reason we eliminated the May class was because it was a one-cluster class. It was very small, and it was made up of summer MBAs and a few full-time MBAs. We felt that there was not a critical mass there and that it would be much better to move to two entry dates [from three]. We added a cluster to the executive MBA to take up the elimination of the summer MBA. It really did not affect the full-time program significantly at all. Q: So you've essentially merged the May class into either one of the January or September cohorts? Or the Executive MBA program? A: Yes, essentially that's it. Q: Let's talk about the January and September cohorts. The school is one of a handful in BW's Top 25 that actually separates its class into two distinct parts. What's the philosophy there? A: We've had the January program for well over 25 years. I think it was the first one of its kind that was developed. It was developed initially to offer flexibility for students who might want to enter in January versus entering in September. Over the years, we've redefined the program and what January [admission] really is about. Today, it's a straight-through program where people can get all the benefits of a full MBA program by going straight through in 16 months. So it's a program that's really designed for entrepreneurs. It's designed for people who are not changing careers, or people who have an existing network where they don't really need an internship in order to market themselves. It's also a program for people who are going into a family business. And that's really what it was designed for. So students start in January, they go straight through the summer, and then they graduate the next May with the entering September group. The program is identical [to the fall program], the only difference is it's not designed for an internship in the summer. Q: Do folks in the January cohort tend to have more work experience than their peers in the fall class? A: Yes, they do, because they've already laid the foundation which is why they feel they don't need the internship. So they do tend to have a little more work experience, they definitely tend to be more focused, and they've decided on doing this program because it's a straight-through program and they can get back to work sooner. Often times they're sponsored -- not always, but quite a few are. Q: Let's concentrate on the September cohort when discussing the ins and outs of CBS's application process... unless, of course, you feel there's something that you need to bring up that differentiates the two from one another... A: The process is the same between January and September. The deadlines are different. But other than that, it's the same process. Q: Does evaluating January and September cohorts make your position a full-year-round job? A: Yes, it does. Q: It seems like the demands made of both the time and efficiency of admissions officers at the top schools are really being stretched. A: Well, you know, it's been that way here forever. So I can't tell you that it's more or less; it's the job, that's what I accepted when I came here. As applications increase, whether they increase because of January or September or whatever -- and they have increased significantly here -- obviously it puts a strain on us. So we do pretty much go year round. There is a bit of a down period for a couple of weeks in late July and early August. But then orientation begins and we start recruiting all over again. There's not a lot of down time here and, yes, it's a pretty demanding place to work. Q: Schools are, of course, contributing to the increase in MBA application volume by, for example, upping their recruitment forums. What types of new recruiting tactics have you introduced over the course of your tenure? A: I don't know that we've introduced anything new or revolutionary. I think [that we're] doing significantly more than what we did in the past, though. In the six years that I've been here, we've increased our recruiting quite a bit. We recruit all over the world and all over the United States. Q: Have you increased Columbia's recruiting efforts in any particular part of the world? A: About six years ago, when I first got here, we started targeting Latin America and Europe, specifically. Our recruitment events in those areas have paid off dramatically. When I first got here, we pretty much relied on GMAC Forums as our way of recruiting. And today we probably do fewer GMAC Forums and many more [CBS-only] receptions where we can actually meet and talk to individuals. We do [CBS-only receptions] with our alumni, as well. And on occasion, whenever possible, we bring faculty in too. I'd like to be able to do that more, but our faculty have busy schedules. One of the significant things that we've noticed this year is that we've had a dramatic increase in our attendance at all of our receptions around the world, including here in New York. I'm talking about dramatic increases, where sometimes attendance has more than doubled. Q: Does that increase in CBS reception attendance surprise you, given the U.S.'s hot economy and the dot.com mentality espoused by many MBA-worthy candidates? A: Yes, it did surprise me. I was taken aback when I reviewed the numbers, because of the dramatic increase. I found myself asking what would cause that, especially given the dot.com thing and today's wonderful working environment. Then we started trying to analyze what we thought might have influenced this. And I do think that the Internet may be a contributing factor because people can now actually see where we are, what we're doing, and when we're doing it. Through our Web site, we have the ability to send out invitations [via] e-mail, as opposed to just putting them in the mail. That way applicants are reminded and they don't forget about doing what they used to forget about. So I think that that may have something to do with it. But even though our applications are up again over this time last year, it's very early for me to extrapolate that they will be up when we finish. Q: Columbia has built a reputation for having a female-friendly learning environment. The school has also increased the number of underrepresented minority students in its classrooms. What, if anything, have you been doing to increase minority applicants' knowledge of Columbia's offerings? A: I don't know that we've done anything significantly different than any of my colleagues have been doing. Columbia is a school that has really thrived on diversity and its heterogeneity. We love to talk about [the student who was a] zoo keeper here a couple of years ago. This year, we've enrolled a student who has a vineyard. We've always thrived on having people here that are different in their backgrounds and different in their ethnicities and sexual orientations and geographic locations. So I think what's happened here is that there are critical masses of people where the fact that you may be different is a good thing, not a bad thing. And it's a wonderful environment to thrive in, regardless of what or who you are. Part of that is due to the curriculum and the culture of the school, and part of it is this wonderful city that we live in. Students are involved and create community here. A lot of people see it in action and are really impressed. Our Columbia Women in Business is the largest student club on campus. It's active and powerful. And that's a wonderful thing, particularly if you're in a minority. Our Black Business Students Association (BBSA) is another of our more active groups here at the business school. I think that's really what it's about. Q: Once I've decided that CBS is one of the MBA programs that I'd like to study at, how should I approach the school's rolling admission deadlines? Does the old adage, the earlier the better, apply here? A: That kind of goes without saying. We developed our early decision model as a way of spreading out the applications. A lot of people don't understand that, but that's what we did. We developed the early decision candidacy to try and encourage those people who actually knew that they wanted to be at Columbia to apply early. The idea for rolling admissions is to apply early because we all start out with a clean slate. I have 485 spots. By April, I no longer have 485 spots left. So getting your application in earlier certainly improves your odds. I can't talk about what other schools do, but rolling admissions at Columbia means you should definitely apply early. Q: When talking about whether one qualifies for a particular business school, applicants tend to hone in on what I call their Big Three credentials: their GMAT scores, GPAs, and their amount and kind of work experience. While I know that your office considers an application holistically, do the Big Three criteria provide a foundation to work up from? A: I'm not sure I'd put it that way. One of the things that I always tell prospective applicants is if you don't have the business experience, it doesn't matter that you have an 800 GMAT and a 4.0 GPA from whatever you consider the most prestigious school around. It just doesn't matter. Here at Columbia, the work experience has to be there. It is very, very important. Q: Members of Columbia's September cohort (the Class of 2001) have an average of four years of work experience. Do you place more importance on an applicant's amount of professional experience, or the type of experience? A: That's a really good question, because it's not necessarily the amount of work experience that you have, it's what kind of work experience that you've got, and is it good work experience, and have you done well. Q: What do you consider to be "good" work experience? A: Somebody who has worked for a couple of years at a company, been promoted, gained additional responsibility, had an opportunity to manage in some way, or define, or be a leader, to assume some kind of role where they were able to take charge. If somebody's worked one year, the likelihood of all of what I just said of happening is not very great. So two years of work experience allows us to see at least some progression. The problem is that when you talk about number of years, if somebody had five years work experience, you'd say, "gee, they've got great experience." Well, five years worth of work experience in five different companies is not necessarily good work experience because it probably will indicate some other problems that are there. So it's the quality of what you do, and the opportunities that you're afforded while you're there, and how your supervisors perceive you in terms of potential in the future [which are the significant factors]. Q: At the same time, an applicant might have quality work experience but a low GMAT score and an average GPA. So those other two legs of the admissions triangle play a part too... A: Yes, they do. But, you know, the other part of it is that we don't have crystal balls here in my office. Every applicant is first evaluated on their own: they stand by themselves. Then they're looked at in terms of the pool. It's when you're looked at in terms of the pool that GMATs and GPAs become more significant. The GMAT, for example, is a common factor that everybody has in their application. Q: Do you evaluate an applicant's Big Three criteria differently depending on whether he or she is a United States citizen versus a citizen of, say, the People's Republic of China? A: To some degree, and that changes from year to year because the applicant pool changes and so do the numbers. Six years ago, the students that we admitted from certain parts of the world certainly did not have the same profile, academically, than other students did from other parts of the world. Those differences have gradually diminished since I've been here in the past five years. But there still are some subtle differences that you do see. Q: Such as? A: For example, we receive very high GMAT scores from applicants from one part of the world. Q: Dave Wilson, GMAT president, told me that folks in Asia tend to score, on average, much higher on the quantitative side of the GMAT than folks in the United States. A: And I would say that he's absolutely correct. Q: Do you take that into account when looking at GMAT scores? A: Well, remember what would happen is that those students are first looked at on their own, then they're looked at relative to the pool of applicants that are applying here from their area. So, in that sense, yes. Q: Earlier in our conversation, you mentioned the school's need to be diverse. A: We like the word "heterogenic" better. It took me years to pronounce it correctly. Q: It's becoming increasingly tough to stand out from Columbia's 6,400 application pack. Demonstrating one's "heterogenic" qualities can be quite challenging. What are the types of things that help a successful applicant grab your attention? A: I wish I could give you the magic formula, but what makes an application unique is that it isn't part of a magic formula. Individuals are each unique in different ways. Some of them [show uniqueness] by the kinds of activities they've been involved in, for instance. We constantly promote -- as do all the other schools in their literature -- the Olympic skier that we have or the ballet dancer that we've got or someone who's developed a most unusual kind of a business that we hadn't seen before. Those people are unique because they do something in their work that is different from what the majority of the people do. So they have that kind of uniqueness. Other people do community service or started clubs that previously didn't exist -- a soup kitchen club or something on their campus when they were in college. That kind of brings them out of the pack because they did something different than most of the other people. In addition, there are some extraordinary stories that people write about in their essays -- particulary their "failure essays" -- that I've seen, which really address their uniqueness in terms of what they've learned from a horrible situation. When I read well thought out ["failure essays"], I come away with a feeling that the applicant is extraordinary because most people go through their lives and don't even recognize [that particular "failure]. So it's really different for different people. But those people who can be introspective and can look at themselves and at what they've done and shed some light about that in an essay [are on the right track]. (Editor's note: Columbia's 1999-2000 application essays include: 1. "What are your career goals? How will an MBA help you achieve these goals? Why are you applying to Columbia Business School? (Limit 1000 Words)" 2. "In reviewing the last five years, describe one or two accomplishments in which you demonstrated leadership. (Limit 500 words)" 3. "Discuss a non-academic personal failure. In what ways were you disappointed in yourself? What did you learn from the experience? (Limit 500 words)" 4A. "(Answer 4A or 4B, not both) Discuss your involvement in a community or extracurricular organization. Include an explanation of how you became involved in the organization, and how you help(ed) the organization meet its goals. (Limit 250 words)" 4B. "(Answer 4A or 4B, not both) Columbia Business School is a diverse environment. Please discuss a life experience of yours that shows how you will contribute to the class. (Limit 250 words)" 5. "(Optional) Is there any additional information that you wish to provide to the Committee?") Q: Columbia has recently ratcheted up its efforts to interview the majority of its admitted candidates. Why is that? A: Well, I don't know if that was our motivation, actually, to interview most of our admitted students, but it seems to work that way. We started the interview process about seven years ago. And, at that point, it was a very small operation and we didn't interview many people. The idea was to grow that and interview everyone who was interested in coming to the school. We functioned in that mode for a couple of years until our applications started to grow so enormously that it became, we felt, impossible to do. Our alums were also not terribly happy about interviewing an awful lot of people who were not being admitted. They didn't understand it because they thought the kids were great. So we really took a close look at what we were doing and why were we interviewing, and decided to go to the invitation-only interview policy. That affords us the opportunity to have looked at an application, figured out what it is we need to know that we don't already know from it, have the candidate interviewed and get that information back. That's worked very successfully for us so far. And, yes, that policy has reduced the total number of people we interview. Q: An applicant can be interviewed by a student, by an admissions official such as yourself, or by an alum, in either a formal on-campus setting, a more informal off-campus spot, or over the telephone. Do you attach different weights to the interview evaluation depending on who fills it out or where the interview took place? A: If we do phone interviews, it's strictly because we're not able to reach the person to set up an individual person-to-person interview. In other words, we've tried to match the person with someone in their city, and we were unsuccessful. If we need an interview done quickly, and we can't go through the interview process, we do it by phone. The phone interview probably is a little different because you can't sit face-to-face with somebody. We recognize the difference of it. But the information that is gleaned from that interview is every bit as important as the information that we glean from the alumni or the student who's doing the interview face-to-face. Q: Are Columbia's interviews behavioral in nature? What's Columbia's approach? A: We treat these interviews as if you were applying for a job. That's what the purpose is, [evaluating] how a person conducts themselves, whether they're professional and well versed in what they've done, and whether they have good communication skills. Obviously, if someone's behavior is unprofessional, rude, arrogant, or whatever, that is certainly noted and becomes part of the interview [evaluation]. If they're done informally, the interviews are written up in such a way that [the interviewers] let us know it was a very informal meeting. But the interviews are more about what is being said and asked. There's no more weight given because I do the interview versus an alum in London doing an interview. Q: Is it detrimental for a candidate to decline to sit down for an interview? A: Oh, I would think that that's a loud and clear message, yes. Q: We've been talking a bit about how to approach the overall application. What types of things have you come across in an application that really show poor judgment... the types of red flags that applicants should avoid? A: For one, applicants should avoid sending us [another school's] essays. You know, I don't really enjoy reading Harvard's essays. I think that that's very poor judgment on somebody's part, that they didn't take the care they needed to, to make sure that we were getting what we asked for. Applicants should also do a spell check on their essays. This is a very common thing that people just don't do. Another red flag I've come across is people who may not be mature enough to be entering into the MBA world. For instance, when they talk about failures, they refer to experiences they had in high school or college. Saying, 'I wasn't elected captain of my hockey team in high school or college,' isn't going to cut it. [That signifies that] the candidate probably hasn't been in the work force long enough or hasn't really taken a good look at himself. Q: Linda, at the top of our conversation, you mentioned that electronic applications help your office to more efficiently make a decision on an application. What's the general turnaround time for letting a person know whether he or she should be jumping for joy or reapplying to CBS next year? A: If they interview, it's going to delay the decision. But generally, it takes us between 10-12 weeks to turnaround a decision to applicants. Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | JANUARY
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