MBA Insider: Admissions Q&A November 4, 2010, 1:10PM EST

Admissions Q&A: Columbia University

Columbia's Mary Miller shares some MBA application dos and don'ts and explains what sets her school's culture apart

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Applying to Columbia Business School (Columbia Full-Time MBA Profile) can be a daunting prospect, considering that only about 15 percent of applicants are accepted. Mary Miller, assistant dean of admissions, doesn't want that statistic to keep prospective students from applying, as decisions are made on an applicant-by-applicant basis.

Miller has been at Columbia for little over a year, though she's been working in admissions for a decade and a half. Having read "way more than 10,000 applications," she says: "It's pretty easy to pick out who really shares themselves." Sincerity is part of what makes an effective impression on the admissions council, which also favors applicants who demonstrate that they're "participants rather than spectators."

In a recent interview with Bloomberg's Sommer Saadi, Miller gave some specific examples of just how applicants can make themselves stand out. She also spoke about the importance of GMAT scores and work experience and she described the unique culture of Columbia Business School. Here are edited excerpts from their conversation.

Have there been any major changes to the application process that students should be aware of, or is everything familiar territory?

One of the new developments at Columbia Business School was to integrate and combine the full-time and the executive MBA admission process. In the past, there were two separate portals and the applications were different. To make it easy for our applicants and also to make them aware of how diverse Columbia really is, we took the best from both and combined them. And so when someone is applying to Columbia Business School, whether it's an executive MBA student or as a full-time student, they now enter through the same portal and basically fill out the same application.

Do you have any tips or guidance for students when they're applying? Is there anything specific that makes a student more attractive to the admissions council?

One of the things that Columbia prides itself on is the student involvement. What I tell prospective students is that we are looking for participants rather than spectators. While we have many, many terrific, well-qualified candidates, if someone is going to sit at the back of the room and maybe set the curve on the exam—but not contribute any of her expertise, background, knowledge with classmates—that's really not the kind of person we want in the classroom or as part of the Columbia community.

When you talk about wanting a student that participates, what is the easiest way for applicants to express to you that they are that sort of student?

There are many ways they can demonstrate that they are participants. Certainly extracurricular activities [is one]. We're looking for long-term commitment, somebody who was actively involved in some community service activity, some organization, some social or sports [activity]. Whatever it is, we want that long-term involvement, which would demonstrate loyalty as well as being a participant. Most companies have certain organizations that complement the work environment. There are a whole bunch of different ways applicants can demonstrate that they really are actively engaged in their life and they're going to bring that same commitment, enthusiasm, passion to Columbia Business School.

Do you have any tips on how they can better portray what sort of participant they are through their resume?

We have a special part that asks them to specify what they do outside their resume, this is actually in the application. So this would be their opportunity to elaborate. Let me give you an example of someone I was talking to yesterday. On his resume it indicated that he played the cello and the violin and has done so for 19 years. Pretty impressive, but that's all it said. So when I had a chance to talk to him I said, "What does this mean? Are you still playing? Are you taking lessons? Or is it just that you've played and it's now in the back of the closet?" And he said, "Oh no, I jam on a regular basis with a group of friends." That shows a real passion, you know, even though he has a very demanding job, he finds at least some time. And while that may not be appropriate for a resume—it could be—but in our application, we have a special section that asks about extracurriculars and that would have been a perfect place for him to share that with me.