As political tension rattles the U.S. visa system and high-profile schools like Harvard face international admissions delays, panic is setting in among global MBA applicants. But with 15 years in the field, I see this moment differently: not as a crisis, but as a strategic window. The fear is thinning out competitive applicant pools, creating rare opportunities for those willing to act decisively.
Columbia Business School has revised its 2025 MBA Essay 2 prompt, removing direct references to DEI and inclusive leadership frameworks. While the language is now broader, focusing on collaboration, inclusion, and community, the underlying goal remains the same: Columbia wants applicants who can lead with empathy and build effective teams across differences. Here’s why the change likely happened and how to approach the new essay with strategy and authenticity.
Learn how to define leadership for your MBA leadership essay using Stephen Covey’s principles. Stand out by writing compelling, values-driven stories.
Columbia Business School has revised its 2025 MBA Essay 2 prompt, removing direct references to DEI and inclusive leadership frameworks. While the language is now broader, focusing on collaboration, inclusion, and community, the underlying goal remains the same: Columbia wants applicants who can lead with empathy and build effective teams across differences. Here’s why the change likely happened and how to approach the new essay with strategy and authenticity.
The weight of imposter syndrome can be soul-crushing. Especially, when numerous MBA application deadlines are nearing. The overshadowing worry you feel that you are not worthy to be accepted into business school is real. The good news is that this feeling is temporary and is often accompanied by an achievement.
After submitting your MBA application, the most important thing you can do is to keep engaging your target business schools. After you’ve completed all your submissions, you should still keep reaching out to your target MBA schools with substantial updates. This will make you stand out and look more competitive.
Work on your MBA application resume last — within the last two or three weeks before the school deadline. Why? There are going to be things that you work on that come up at work, all recent updates you will need to capture and include in your resume. The resume is a living document that is constantly updated.
What happens if your current workplace does not support you going off to business school? If your current boss is unwilling to write you a letter of recommendation? Or you just can't ask them because it might jeopardize your current work situation? Well, this actually happens a lot. Luckily, we have five reasons and resolutions for this.
For one, it’s unethical. But even if you don’t care about that, you run the risk, of looking like a newb, as somebody who does not write a lot of recommendations. Secondly, you run the risk making your LOR's sound similar to each other. Thirdly, you run the risk of the LOR’s sounding very similar to your essays.
What MBA applicants should be doing right now (earlier on in the application process) and without letting the cat out of the bag, approach your boss. Only do this if you think your boss is going to be receptive to you applying to business school. Gage to see how supportive they are and if they would provide you an LOR.
The first school could take around eight to ten draft iterations, again this is at a bare minimum. You the MBA applicant are going to touch it around 5 times and the consultant is going to touch it another five times. Each week you work on a set of MBA application essays for days one to three, and then you flip it over.
Finding the energy, passion and confidence to embark upon this repeat journey can be tough. So, we hope this proves helpful and gives you a little wind at your back when you're reapplying for your MBA. Year after year, we receive a huge number of inquiries from applicants readying for the reapplication process.
How to make your MBA application package competitive in 2021? Engaging in virtual MBA events is crucial. If you have waived the standardized tests, demonstrating quantitative analysis skills is even more important. Showing resilience and growth during the pandemic is an opportunity to make your MBA application shine.
