In addition to learning about your professional aspirations, the Admissions Committee hopes to gain an understanding of your interests, values and motivations through these essays. How you answer these essays is at your discretion, there are no right answers and we encourage you to answer each question thoughtfully.

Dual Degree applicants: Please address the following question within your response to Essay 1: How will the Dual Degree enhance your short-term or long-term goals?

Reapplicants: How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate your short-term and long-term goals. Explain how the tools of the Columbia Business School will help you to meet your goals and how you plan to participate in the Columbia community . (Recommended 750 word limit)

Essay 1

What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Recommended 750 word limit)

This is a forward-looking goals question. While you should include events and experiences that contributed to the development of your goals, the bulk of the essay should be about the future. What do you want to do immediately after completing your MBA? 5 years later? How will Columbia's program help you achieve your goals? Which of Columbia's strengths and programs are critical to your success? And be specific!

Essay 2

Please tell us about yourself and your personal interests. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Recommended 500 word limit)

What is important to you and distinctive about you? If you have one experience, characteristic, or value that addresses all three topics in the preceding question, you know what to write about. Even two out of three can contribute to a terrific answer to this question.

This is a great place to reveal the non-professional side of you. What do you do for fun? What do you do for satisfaction? How do you like to test yourself and stretch your limits (outside of work)? Where do you want to contribute?

Optional Essay

Is there any further information that you wish to provide to the Admissions Committee? (Please use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history.)

Obviously you could use this optional essay question to address a weakness in your application, but in my mind, it is also open-ended enough to allow you to discuss a diversity element in your personal background or simply some unique area of interest. Also, tucking a weakness explanation somewhere else would allow you to end the application with a strength and not a flaw.

If you would like help with your Columbia MBA application, please consider Accepted.com's MBA essay editing and admissions consulting or a Columbia School Package.

Columbia September 2011 MBA Deadlines

Columbia Business School using a rolling admissions process. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received, and decisions can be rendered at any time. All decisions are final. It is always to your benefit to apply before the posted deadline (11:59pm of the posted date).

* Applicants who wish to be considered for a merit-based fellowship must submit a complete application by 11:59PM EST on January 5, 2011.