How to Approach the Columbia Business School Favorite Book/Movie/Song Essay

There are three main issues I see when reviewing the Columbia Favorite Book/Movie/Song essay.

The first is when someone chooses a business-themed book/movie/song, and they end up wasting the essay reiterating their career goals or reasons for pursuing an MBA. Don’t do this. Those things are covered in the other essays, and you’ll be wasting an opportunity to tell Columbia Business School something important about you.

The second is when the writer spends all or most of the essay summarizing the book/movie/song. Don’t do this. You’ll be wasting an opportunity to tell Columbia Business School something important about you.

The third is when the writer does not connect the book/movie/song closely enough to their life or they make a cliché statement about how their favorite choice opened their eyes in some vague way. Again, a wasted opportunity.

For a better approach, I advise my clients to make a direct connection between their choice and a personal – not professional – aspect of their life. More specifically, I tell them to look for a book/movie/song that inspired them to take action in some meaningful way. It could be volunteering, starting a new organization, group, or campaign, getting in shape, or pursuing a new creative outlet or interest. I recommend the action be personal to balance the other two essays which are purely professional. Of course, there can be an element of “reverse engineering” involved, i.e., choosing a book/movie/song that allows you to write about the episode most beneficial to your application.

Does it have to be personal? No. I’ve had clients write professional topics successfully too, but they had a compelling reason to do so, and we made sure they weren’t simply repeating their Goals/Why MBA/Why Columbia essays.

So far this year, I’ve had 10 clients apply in E.D. and 7 have been invited to interview with Columbia Business School, so I’m confident this approach works.