Columbia Business School, which recently released the 2013-2014 application deadlines, has now announced the essay prompts for the upcoming MBA admissions cycle. This year’s essay questions are:

Short Answer Question
What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (100 characters maximum)

Essay 1

Given your individual background, why are you pursuing a Columbia MBA at this time? (Maximum 500 words)

Essay 2

Columbia Business School is located in the heart of the world’s business capital – Manhattan. How do you anticipate that New York City will impact your experience at Columbia? (Maximum 250 words)

Please view the videos below:

 New York City – limitless possibilities

 New York City – fast paced and adaptable

Essay 3

What will the people in your Cluster be pleasantly surprised to learn about you? (Maximum 250 words)

Optional Essay

An optional third essay will allow you to discuss any issues that do not fall within the purview of the required essays.

For more information, please visit Columbia Business School’s admissions website.

Columbia Business School has posted the MBA application deadlines for the 2013-2014 admissions cycle. The upcoming deadlines are:

August 2014 Entry

Early Decision Deadline: October 2, 2013

Merit Fellowships Consideration Deadline: January 6, 2014

Regular Decision Deadline: April 9, 2014

January 2014 Entry

Deadline: October 2, 2013

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All applications are due at 11:59 p.m. EST on the day of the deadline. Applicants should note that the August entry has two review periods — early decision and regular decision. Because the School uses a rolling admissions process, it is always to your advantage to apply well before the deadline. For more information, visit Columbia’s admissions website.

Columbia Business School announced today that Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and CEO of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. and a member of the School’s Board of Overseers, has pledged $100 million to Columbia Business School.  The pledge matches the school’s largest gift ever, and will support the development of Columbia’s Manhattanville Campus.

In recognition of Mr. Perelman’s generosity, the business school will name one of its two buildings on the new campus the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Business Innovation.

Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said this gift would benefit future generations of Columbia Business School students as well as the wider university community.

“Our world has been changed by the global marketplace, so business schools and universities must respond with new thinking and new structures for learning about our economy and society,” Bollinger said.  “The Perelman Center will be part of an interdisciplinary and environmentally sustainable urban campus that will help define Columbia’s next century.”

Perelman has been a longtime member of the Columbia Business School community, serving on its Board of Overseers since 1994.  He is an active philanthropist who believes powerful results can be achieved when financial resources are leveraged with human resolve.

“Throughout the past four decades Ronald has proven himself to be one of the most accomplished investors and philanthropists of his time. He displays the type of instinct and insight that are hallmarks of a true leader — the very same traits that we seek to instill in our students here at Columbia Business School,” said Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School.

Hubbard noted that the new Perelman Center would allow Columbia to pioneer breakthroughs in management education and help create the classrooms of tomorrow.

The two new Business School buildings on the Manhattanville campus will be designed by renowned New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro and will reflect the fast-paced, high-tech, and highly social character of business in the 21st century.  The Ronald O. Perelman Center for Business Innovation will be situated opposite The Henry R. Kravis Building, which is named in recognition of a 2010 gift made by alumnus Henry R. Kravis ’69.

When announcing his generous gift, Perelman said, “The business landscape is changing rapidly and dramatically, and as such the principles that define strong business leadership — such as an entrepreneurial mindset and solving complex challenges — are more important now than ever before.”

“It is our responsibility to ensure that we are building a generation of great business leaders who drive success in an ever-changing, competitive global economy,” Perelman added, “and I believe Columbia Business School has its finger on the pulse of the changing nature of business education. I am extraordinarily pleased to pledge this gift to help them prepare the next generation of business leaders for 21st century challenges.”

Columbia Business School announced the launch today of a new online space called Notes to the Next Class. Here, current students as well as the 41,000-plus alumni around the world can pass along their knowledge to future MBA classes by sharing photos, videos, advice, favorite memories and other stories from their time at Columbia Business School.

With the new website, the idea is that generations of students can compare their experiences on campus, resulting in a shared celebration of history at the school. Community members are free to post notes and related media, and also to read what their colleagues from other eras have shared on the same topic.

The site is organized by major business school milestones, including everything from being accepted and attending orientation to graduating and starting a career. Through the series “Quick Quotes,” visitors get a feel for the Columbia Business School experience in a brief, text-only format. Whether offering inspiration, motivation or advice to future students, these bite-sized words of wisdom from alumni provide further proof of why Columbia Business School places as one of the top MBA programs in the United States.

If Columbia is one of your target schools, this is a great new resource you must check out.

On Friday, April 5th, MBA students from Yale School of Management, Columbia Business School, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School will come together for the second annual MBA Innovation Summit (MBAIS).

The student-organized MBAIS brings together innovation experts, innovative companies, and business students to discover how innovation can change, disrupt, and create value across industries. With the theme of “From Ideation to Implementation,” the event explores how ideas are formed, developed, and ultimately succeed or die out, and also seeks to examine the role of MBA students in the innovation space.

According to the Yale SOM news portal, the order of the summit sessions is intended to take participants through the stages of an idea. Bookended by an ideation workshop at the beginning of the day and a keynote debate at the end, the sessions will explore critical points in innovation: How do you recognize a good idea? How do you bring a good idea to life? Why do some good ideas fail?

Yale SOM student Deirdre Cerminaro ’13, a co-founder of the summit, had this to say about the philosophy behind the event: “We face a new state of business that requires the ability to see around corners, manage complexity, and work fluidly across disciplines and sectors. The MBA Innovation Summit is a forum for open dialog on how to identify, prioritize, and nurture innovation. These are critical skills for future business leaders.”

The new Voices blog at Columbia Business School recently reminded current and prospective applicants of the many ways Columbia is striving to connect with social media users to share both the student experience as well as insights into the MBA admission process.

Active on both Facebook and Twitter, Columbia has launched some interesting social media initiatives of late. During I<3 Columbia Business School week, first and second-year students made short videos to explain why they love the program, whether it’s because of their interactions with the community, class experiences, or life in New York City. You can see all of the video messages here.

Also, the MBA admissions department began posting “Tuesday Tips” videos leading up to yesterday’s merit fellowship deadline. Here, admissions officers share their expertise on topics ranging from work experience, rolling admissions, and letters of recommendation, and more.

Columbia Business School also hosts Twitter chats throughout the year, where Tweeters can get answers to their pressing admissions questions in real time. But you don’t have to wait for a Twitter chat to get connected. Admissions officer Matthew Moll encourages applicants to reach out anytime on Facebook, Twitter, or on any of the forums Columbia participates in.