Columbia: Free application fee to Chinese

dreambox

I got a email from Columbia. This year Chinese applicant can enjoy the free applicanttion fee. Hope the news will encourage more Chinese to apply Columbia although Columbia is not my target. Will more b-school will issue the same policy? Is that a sign of less Chinese applicants this year to Columbia?

Dear xxxxx:

Columbia Business School is pleased to announce the creation of the Board of Overseers Fellowship Program. Recognizing China's enormous role in the global economy, Columbia Business School is committed to increasing its presence in China. Over the past year, Chinese applicants have been adversely affected by the economic and geopolitical environment, more stringent visa requirements, and SARS concerns. We would therefore like to encourage Chinese students to apply to become part of the Columbia Business School Class of 2006.

We are offering Chinese citizens living in China or Hong Kong a waiver of the $180 application fee. In addition, the Columbia Business School Board of Overseers has established the Board of Overseers Fellowship to be given to up to 8 outstanding Chinese students matriculating in Fall 2004. The fellowship carries an award of $20,000 to be distributed evenly between the first and second years of study, provided good academic standing is maintained. You must complete the admissions application by the January 15, 2004 fellowship deadline in order to be considered for the Board of Overseers Fellowship. Please also indicate in General Information Part 2 of the application that you wish to be considered for fellowship aid. No other steps are required.

We encourage you to visit our web site at www.gsb.columbia.edu for more information about the opportunities available to you as a Columbia Business School student. For those of you in the Hong Kong area, you will have the opportunity to meet with Marc Aquila, Assistant Manager of Admissions, and alumni of Columbia Business School during the upcoming reception in Hong Kong on November 19. You may RSVP for this event at www.gsb.columbia.edu/mba/admissions/infosessions.

Please feel free to contact the Admissions Office at apply@gsb.columbia.edu with any questions.

Sincerely,
Linda B. Meehan
Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

thinkpador

great news for all chinese applicants!

chipmunk

Maybe I am just too suspicious. My take is: Columbia didn't get enough application in ED round. B-school is business school. When Columbia saw 6600 applications came in 2001, it would never think about waive any application fee.

From BW forum, someone says Wharton adcom has confirmed their first round application had dropped 30%, compared to last year's number. Since Wharton just climbs to the first place in several rankings recently, I will assume situation is even worse in other top schools.

Don't forget "selective rate" is also one factor that determines school's ranking. Columbia is notorious for trying everything to boost its ranking. It created ED round for its "yield" number couple of years ago, then admited many applicants with extremely high GMAT/GPA. Now again, another creative approach.

But, anyway, it's still a good news for all Chinese applicants.

thinkpador

I just received the email with the same infor.

atongmu

我收到这份信的时候，心情是一阵凄凉：本来竞争已经足够激烈了，现在也许那些本不准备申请的大牛有要过来分一杯羹，苦啊！

dreambox

这是对生活的态度。乐观的会认为是很少人申请，悲观的是以为会有更多人申请。如果是牛人，那就是爱谁谁！

Just joking!

Shuzhen

以下是引用dreambox在2003-11-18 13:42:00的发言：
Columbia Business School is committed to increasing its presence in China. Over the past year, Chinese applicants have been adversely affected by the economic and geopolitical environment, more stringent visa requirements, and SARS concerns. We would therefore like to encourage Chinese students to apply to become part of the Columbia Business School Class of 2006.

这证明了偶以前从朋友处得来的消息是确凿无误的，疙瘩真的要增加大陆生的比例了。

jdxf

but why? i mean why this year the number of the applicants droped so much?
does it mean that the competition this year is not as severe??

[此贴子已经被作者于2003-11-18 14:49:45编辑过]

baobaobear

以下是引用chipmunk在2003-11-18 14:20:00的发言：
From BW forum, someone says Wharton adcom has confirmed their first round application had dropped 30%, compared to last year's number. Since Wharton just climbs to the first place in several rankings recently, I will assume situation is even worse in other top schools.

Could you all confirm it is a common case in all top school?
I dont think UMBS, Duke, Chicargo will see a drop in application this year. I have learned that there are so many application scheduling their interviews that they have no enough vacancies. It is a sign for application situation.

atongmu

以下是引用dreambox在2003-11-18 14:43:00的发言：
这是对生活的态度。乐观的会认为是很少人申请，悲观的是以为会有更多人申请。如果是牛人，那就是爱谁谁！
Just joking!

呵呵，分析得很有意思。
我不是悲观的人。只不过昨天刚刚参加了columbia的宣传会，对竞争的残酷心有余悸。但是Columbia一向是我的目标，无论如何我也不会放弃的说。