M7 MBA Success Story: Columbia Business School
(All personal identifiers have been anonymized. Certain institutional and geographic details have been changed to protect client confidentiality. This case reflects the narrative foundation work carried out during the application process.)
Applicant Background
26 years, male, 3.5 years of experience in climate research, GMAT – 760.
The applicant comes from a strong technical and research-driven background. He graduated from a top engineering institute with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering (CGPA – 9.2) and joined the research division of a large multinational technology organization, where he has worked at the intersection of AI, sustainability, and engineering. His work primarily focused on carbon capture technologies, an area of increasing importance globally, and has resulted in multiple patents, commercial prototypes, and tangible cost savings for the organization.
Beyond his professional credentials, the applicant had international exposure through an exchange program in Japan, leadership experiences in college clubs, and social impact through teaching and mentoring girls from underserved communities.
His short-term goal was transitioning into sustainability-focused product management roles in the US, while long-term aspiration is to lead sustainability strategy for a global organization.
What He Needed Help With
The applicant came to me with a profile that was objectively strong—strong academic performance, tangible research output, and a unconventional area of focus in sustainability. Hence, the challenge was not that he did not have a strong profile, but how to present it to a school like Columbia Business School.
Specifically, he needed help with:
- Translating a highly technical research profile into a MBA relevant narrative
- Avoiding the trap of sounding like a PhD applicant rather than an MBA candidate
- Clearly articulating why an MBA, why now, and why Columbia
- Highlighting his personal experiences that shaped his leadership, resilience, and values
In short, the task was to move from an impressive resume to a compelling MBA application story.
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Narrative Strategy We Built
During our brainstorming, we realized the main challenge with his profile: deep technical credibility, but an unclear business identity. The risk was that without a proper narrative strategy, he could come across as a researcher seeking an MBA as a credential, rather than a future leader using the MBA as a leverage point.
We identified a core arc to build his narrative around: Technical Depth → Market Awareness → Leadership at Scale.
Key elements we embedded into his story:
1. Identity & Core Motivation
We reframed his identity from that of a sustainability researcher to a technology-to-market translator. His motivation was positioned like so: while he could design and optimize climate solutions, he lacked the business judgment, market exposure, and leadership toolkit required to deploy them at global scale.
This way, we could present him as someone driven not just by climate concern, but by the frustration of seeing good solutions fail due to poor commercialization.
2. Leadership Philosophy
Since his job description did not entail formal authority, we highlighted a pattern of values-led and inclusive leadership across contexts. This included:
- Mentoring and teaching students from underserved communities
- Creating awareness platforms and workshops to broaden exposure for young girls
- Leading peer learning and community-building initiatives in academic and professional settings
These examples demonstrated empathy, initiative, and a long-term orientation toward impact, qualities that complemented his analytical strengths.
3. Translating Technical Work into Business Relevance
A major step was to reinterpret technical achievements through a business lens. Patents, prototypes, and research outputs were consistently tied to:
- Cost implications
- Scalability challenges
- Adoption barriers
- Stakeholder and ecosystem complexity
This ensured that the admissions committee saw his work not as research-oriented, but as the foundation for future product, strategy, and sustainability leadership.
4. Why MBA, Why Now
We built a clear progression in his story:
- Early mastery of sustainability technologies
- First-hand exposure to real-world deployment constraints
- Recognition of systemic business issues
- MBA as a necessary bridge, not a detour
This sequencing made the MBA decision feel timely, and intentional.
5. Dimensionality Through Personal Growth
Finally, we used the inclusive leadership and optional essays to showcase personal growth and vulnerability. His reflections on educational equity and personal challenges introduced resilience, self-awareness, and humility, ensuring the application felt balanced rather than overly analytical.
Narrative Summary (Final Story We Built)
- Identity: A sustainability-focused technologist seeking to translate innovation into scalable impact
- Leadership Style: Inclusive, values-driven, and community-oriented
- Impact Pattern: Bridging technical excellence with real-world adoption and social equity
- Career Vision: Leading sustainability and climate-tech initiatives at the intersection of product, strategy, and global markets
- Why the School Should Choose Him: Clear alignment between past experiences, personal values, realistic goals, and the school’s emphasis on leadership, innovation, and impact
Together, these elements helped Columbia see not just a researcher, but a future business leader who could meaningfully contribute to the CBS classroom and community.
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Essay From the Final Application
For the benefit of readers, one essay from his final applications is shared below. This is just one part of the full set of school-specific essays we developed; all aligned with the same core narrative. This essay responded to Columbia’s inclusive leadership prompt and highlighted a moment where the applicant actively fostered equity and inclusion beyond the workplace.
Columbia Essay
Growing up, I spent summers at my grandfather’s village in rural Punjab, where I witnessed girls dropping out of school due to a lack of opportunities and support from their families, as traditionally, boys are given preference over girls in India. As the Principal of a local school, my grandfather strived to educate families about the necessity of educating the girl child and even sponsored primary education for some disadvantaged students.
Embracing his legacy of using education as a transformative force, I have cultivated a lifelong commitment to learning and teaching. I mentored my peers and juniors in college in their academics and projects. Through the National Service Scheme of the Government of India, I volunteered for the VidyaDaan, teaching math and English to around 50 female students in a government school near IIT Hyderabad for a year.
Believing that education extends outside the classroom, I arranged awareness workshops in which I invited my female batchmates and friends from my professional network to speak to the female students, spreading awareness about how women are exploring and thriving in their careers. It was a proud moment when one of the girls I tutored informed me a few years later that, inspired by the women she met during our workshops, she had convinced her parents to let her pursue undergraduate studies instead of being married off.
This experience solidified my dedication to educational equity, and I am committed to championing equal opportunities for women through the Columbia Women in Business initiative.
Why This Essay Worked
This essay captures the applicant’s values, empathy, and long-term commitment to educational equity. By tracing the influence of his grandfather’s work in rural Punjab and his own efforts teaching and mentoring young girls, the essay demonstrates inclusive leadership in action. The closing reflection, where a former student chooses higher education over early marriage, provides an emotionally resonant and authentic outcome.
This essay complements his technical profile and shows who he is without his titles and achievements.
Lessons for Applicants
- Strong profiles still need strong storytelling. Credentials open the door, but narrative is what gets you in.
- Technical candidates must speak the language of impact. Admissions committees care less about complexity and more about relevance and scale.
- Leadership is not limited to job titles. Consistent community involvement and lived values matter, especially at schools like CBS.
- Vulnerability is a strength. The optional essay was not an afterthought; it added dimension and authenticity.
- ‘Why MBA’ must be clear. The applicant’s need for business education was demonstrated through gaps, not generic statements.
This journey is a reminder that the best MBA applications don’t try to impress, they try to connect in a personal and authentic way.
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