MBA Admissions: Columbia Business School & Finance

A quick glance at Columbia Business School: Columbia currently ranks in eighth place as one of the best business schools, according to US News & World Report (March 2012). It was ranked #4 for finance.  

Columbia’s Class of 2013 and Finance

6669 people applied to Columbia Business School; 1062 applicants were accepted (16% acceptance rate). The middle 80% of accepted students had GMAT scores in the 680-760 range. The Columbia Business School class of 2013 has an average of four years of work experience and a median GMAT score of 720.

29% of class of 2013 students have undergraduate degrees in business.

The greatest number of students entered CBS with industry experience in financial services (28%). 7% had prior experience in private equity.

CBS Academics Related to Finance & Economics

Students are required to take two full core courses and 12 half-term core courses, three of which are chosen from the “flex-core” menu.

First Term Core Courses

• 2 Full courses: Corporate Finance and Financial Accounting
• 6 Half-term courses: Managerial Statistics, Managerial Economics, Strategy Formulation, Marketing Strategy, Operations Management, Leadership Development

Second Term Core Courses

• 2 Electives
• 3 Half-term courses: Global Economic Environment, Decision Models, Managing Marketing Programs
• 3 Flex-core classes, one from each category (see below)

“Flex-Core” Menu

• Organization: Organizational Change, Power and Influence, Social Networks and Social Capita
• Performance: Operations Strategy, Financial Planning and Analysis
• Markets: Game Theory and Business, Global Economic Environment II: Business Cycles and Financial Markets, Incentives and Performance

With more than half of Columbia Business School’s MBAs securing jobs in finance-related jobs, it’s no surprise that the Finance and Economics Division is CBS’s largest division. Students who wish to pursue careers in this industry would take their first year electives and second year courses from the courses listed below.

Courses Focused on Finance

• B6301-001 – Corporate Finance 3.0 credit hours
• B6302-001 – Capital Markets & Investments 3.0 credit hours
• B8301-002 – Advanced Corporate Finance 3.0 credit hours
• B8308-001 – Debt Markets 3.0 credit hours
• B8309-002 – Derivatives 3.0 credit hours
• B8313-001 – Security Analysis 3.0 credit hours
• B8314-001 – Real Estate Finance 3.0 credit hours
• B8323-001 – Asset Management 3.0 credit hours
• B8345-001 – Entrepreneurial Finance & Private Equity 3.0 credit hours
• B8358-001 – Banking Fundamentals: Value and Risk 3.0 credit hours
• B8399-004 – Emerging Financial Markets 3.0 credit hours
• B8399-005 – Real Estate Capital Markets 3.0 credit hours
• B8399-030 – Social Impact Real Estate Investing & Development 3.0 credit hours
• B8399-032 – Financial Crises and Regulatory Responses 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-001 – Finance & Sustainability 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-043 – Mergers & Acquisitions 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-057 – VC/Angel Deals: gut-driven tech investing 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-063 – Investment Banking Tax Factors 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-066 – Value & Special Situation Investment 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-077 – Applied Value Investing 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-111 – Private Equity: the asset class, its investments & its markets 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-116 – Hedge Funds 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-128 – Mental Models, Investment Frameworks 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-172 – Institutional Investing and Endowment Management 1.5 credit hours
• B9301-174 – Misunderstood Securities: Investing in Uncertainty and Change 3.0 credit hours
• B9377-003 – Mergers & Acquisitions in Media (Master Class) 3.0 credit hours
• B8201-003 – Economics of Strategic Behavior 3.0 credit hours
• B8313-001 – Security Analysis 3.0 credit hours
• B9301-173 – Valuation 3.0 credit hours

The table here shows which courses would be appropriate for specific finance-related careers. And this table shows a similar chart for PE/VC careers.

Columbia CaseWorks Cases that will be of interest to students pursuing careers in the finance sector include:

• Cash is King: Microsoft’s 2004 Cash Disbursement, with Professor Laurie Hodrick
• Drop the Debt? Dilemmas Confronting the Design of Development Aid and Debt Relief, with Professor Marc Giannoni
• Liquidating Harvard, with Professor Andrew Ang
• The Perfect Storm: Citigroup’s $7.5 Billion Mandatory Convertible Issue, with Professor Enrique Arzac
• Valuing Currency Management: TOM vs. U.S. Commerce Bank, with Professor Geert Bekaert
• Walgreen Company, 1990: The Cash Distribution Decision, with Professor Laurie Hodrick)

(See full list here.)

Financial Research Centers at Columbia Business School

• The Center for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis
• The Center for Pricing and Revenue Management
• The Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate
• The Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing

CBS Finance-Related Clubs

• Financial Education Society 
• Columbia Investment Management Association
• Investment Banking Club
• Private Equity and Venture Capital Club
• Real Estate Association
• Columbia Finance Organization
• Equity Research Club

Finance Hiring Stats at Columbia Business School

In 2011, 50.3% of CBS graduates accepted full-time job offers in the finance industry.

 

Industry	Percent	Base Salary Range
Commercial Banking	<1	114,500 – 125,000
Diversified Financial Services	2.6	90,000 – 130,000
Hedge Funds/Mutual Funds/Fund of Funds	5.5	95,000 – 300,000
Investment Banking/Brokerage	27.2	90,000 – 150,000
Investment Management	6.7	85,000 – 225,000
Private Equity/Venture Capital	5.7	90,000 – 180,000
Research and Ratings	<1	85,000 – 120,000
Other (including Insurance/Microfinance/ Public Finance/Treasury)	1.4	80,000 – 110,000

 

Industry	Percent	Base Salary Range
Diversified Financial Services	2.4	2,000 – 7,200
Hedge Funds/Fund of Funds/Mutual Funds	7.1	2,500 – 13,000
Investment Banking/Brokerage	28.8	1,923-12,000
Investment Management	5.5	3,000-9,616
Private Equity	5.7	2,000-18,000
Venture Capital	2.7	1,000-10,400
Other (including Commercial Banking/Insurance/Ratings)	1.8	5,120-10,000

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