MSRED at Columbia

[jarycurl]

Also, I just came across the following piece of info on Colombia's placement from a NY times article:

“It is extremely competitive,” said Mr. Chakrabarti, who left his position as an executive vice president of design and planning at the Related Companies 18 months ago to lead the Columbia program. Of the 94 students who graduated in May, 87 percent are now employed, he said.

(This excerpt is from the following article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/re...ss&emc=dlbka22

Given the date the article was published, I am guessing the 87% employment rate is for 6 months after the program in 2010

[Colonel]

Hey guys, I also got my acceptance into Columbia. I was also accepted at MIT and NYU.

I am leaning heavily towards Columbia but did want to see placement stats and had a question on the internship/class format. Does anyone know if it is even possible to do the internship during the program or is it just a partial internship? I thought I saw something on my research that you can do an internship during fall or spring. Thanks!

[rscott]

Congrats on the acceptance! I think it's certainly possible to do an internship during the studies and encouraged. The program will also try to help set you up with one. I spoke with a student for about 30 minutes the other day and he was extremely high on the program. He thought that it gave a great amount of access to upper level players with a number of major companies and that it has certainly improved his abilities/helped him land a job. He did say that many of his classmates had not found jobs yet, but he thought they likely would either before the program ends or soon after. It seemed like he had done quite a bit more networking during the program than some others so that probably helped. He also held an internship in each semester of the program, so I wouldn't worry about the program being too intensive to allow that.

[Colonel]

Great info., thanks!

Has anyone been able to get a hold of a course syllabus or anything that goes into detail of the courses Columbia offers (Core or Elective)? Thanks!

[jamesrouse]

Columbia is one of the best Master of Real Estate Development Programs, but be careful. The networking powerhouse in New York City is the NYU Real Estate Program.

If you are considering the DC/Chesapeake Region, think about Georgetown or Maryland. Johns Hopkins is also an option which splits time between Baltimore and DC.

In the south, the best programs are probably Clemson (master of real estate development) or Florida (for aspiring brokers).

[jarycurl]

Admitted students day. Did anyone go to this? I was planning on going, but had to be in LA on business. If so, how was it? What was the turnout like? How did the other current and prospective students seem? Also, did you learn anything about the program? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Simple]

Admitted students day. Did anyone go to this? I was planning on going, but had to be in LA on business. If so, how was it? What was the turnout like? How did the other current and prospective students seem? Also, did you learn anything about the program? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Did anyone attend? I'm an admitted student but couldn't make it as well. I'd also like to know how it turned out. Thanks.

[xerxes]

Congrats rscott. I'm in at Columbia & NYU. Time to make up my mind... Tilting towards Columbia though given its 1 yr program and its large nbr of elective courses.
All the best!!

Hello, I recently joined this forum..

I got accepted at Columbia, and am planning to join. Hey.. 'Redrain' saw from your profile that you are also from Dubai. Have you decided to attend Columbia?

[Redrain]

Columbia it is... Congrats to all
For what it's worth, a good friend of mind did Columbia's MSRED in 2008 and he raves about the program and the school's network... He's now high up at Goldman (Real Estate) based out of Europe. Columbia brand had a big role to play in his career boost he says.
@xerxes, I leave Dubai on 26th... let's connect if you're around.
@rscott/jarycurl. Thanks for the info/links! great stuff.

[xerxes]

Columbia it is... Congrats to all
For what it's worth, a good friend of mind did Columbia's MSRED in 2008 and he raves about the program and the school's network... He's now high up at Goldman (Real Estate) based out of Europe. Columbia brand had a big role to play in his career boost he says.
@xerxes, I leave Dubai on 26th... let's connect if you're around.
@rscott/jarycurl. Thanks for the info/links! great stuff.

@redrain, sorry I will be coming to Dubai only on 28th, will meet you in Columbia then..
And, what about accommodation, did you get the university housing or will you be staying off campus? Please let us know.

[xerxes]

Columbia it is... Congrats to all
For what it's worth, a good friend of mind did Columbia's MSRED in 2008 and he raves about the program and the school's network... He's now high up at Goldman (Real Estate) based out of Europe. Columbia brand had a big role to play in his career boost he says.
@xerxes, I leave Dubai on 26th... let's connect if you're around.
@rscott/jarycurl. Thanks for the info/links! great stuff.

@redrain, sorry I will be coming to Dubai only on 28th, will meet you in Columbia then..
And, what about accommodation, did you get the university housing or will you be staying off campus? Please let us know.

[tussa]

Hi!
I am plan on applying to a MRED Program, my top choices are Columbia, Harvard, MIT
But find little information on the web! can someone give me some advise, should I retake the GMAT?
How hard is to get into those programs, I know they are really competitive.

GPA 3.9
Bachelor in Architecture
2 years work experience
GMAT 600

Anything would help

[MSRED]

Hi!
I am plan on applying to a MRED Program, my top choices are Columbia, Harvard, MIT
But find little information on the web! can someone give me some advise, should I retake the GMAT?
How hard is to get into those programs, I know they are really competitive.

GPA 3.9
Bachelor in Architecture
2 years work experience
GMAT 600

Anything would help

I would retake the GMAT. It is a bit low to me. It shouldn't be hard to improve with some study either. You don't probably need a 750 like for some top MBA but having a high 600 would certainly look better. It is still 6 months to the deadline of most (or all) of the programs you want to apply. Plenty of time ahead.

As for competitiveness, it will depend on many factors: the number of people applying in your year, your background (architecture, financial/real estate, others), your nationality (being foreigner should not hurt but Mexico is probably already well represented in most of those programs) and the typical stats (rec. letters, statement of purpose - you want to build resorts in Cancun or work for PE in NYC?, GPA - good -, which kind of experience you have...)

[realestate101]

Hey guys- I am new to this forum and it looks awesome so far. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

I am currently graduating college and have been working in real estate for 2 years. I bought a house with fam and friend money, fixed it up and resold. Did this to 3 other houses and really enjoyed the experience. Last year I joined a real estate investment group and worked full time while in school. So I have one year of full time experience at a firm and another year through personal experience. I am now in the process of purchasing a 10 condo unit.

My goal is to start an investment group in the future and so I would like to go for a masters in real estate before I start my career. I have been focusing on particular markets and I need a formal education on how to analyze any property in all areas- to make a diversified portfolio. Because I am so young and don't have capital, I had to start with very cheap houses- which I am completely fine with.

I am looking to apply to a masters in real estate at Columbia, MIT, USC and Harvard.

1) 3 years of experience- 2 professional, one personal.
2) 3.8 gpa economics
3) 610 GMAT 38/35

I know my gmat is low. I have an A and A+ in two math classes in college- if that helps. My quant ability is defenitely not that low. My question is would I have a reasonable shot or am I not what those schools are looking for?

Thanks for the help.

[RExplorer]

Columbia it is... Congrats to all
For what it's worth, a good friend of mind did Columbia's MSRED in 2008 and he raves about the program and the school's network... He's now high up at Goldman (Real Estate) based out of Europe. Columbia brand had a big role to play in his career boost he says.
@xerxes, I leave Dubai on 26th... let's connect if you're around.
@rscott/jarycurl. Thanks for the info/links! great stuff.

Hi Redrain, Congrats! a bit late though but I hope that this has been the right decision for you.

I have experience in real estate investment and am currently evaluating whether MSRED is the the right course for me. Would be great if I could get in touch with you directly. Would really appreciate any help on this.

[zachw]

I'm a little late to the thread...

I see lots of GMAT scores but no GRE. Has anyone been accepted with only a GRE score? I see that most programs accept it. Or at least they say they do.

[NYC2121]

I am currently a student in the Columbia program, I only submitted a GRE score. I will say that Columbia has a cut off. You need to score above a certain number or you will not go to the next round of review period. If anyone wants to ask me some questions, I know how stressful the process is, shoot. The only issue is though I took the old GRE. Also, the schools are quite honest, if you call and ask if your score is good enough, they will tell you.

[hippy]

GMAT 710, GPA 3.5 (at Yale College), 3 years of experience at family firm.

Applied to Columbia, so far it's my top choice! Who else has applied? Let's revive this thread, decisions to come in the next 2-3 weeks!

[hippy]

Heard last night that I'm in at Columbia

Any other applicants who heard back?

[hippy]

Existing students of MSRED and anyone who has some thoughts on the subject - I have started a thread discussing MSRED vs MBA. I've been incredibly confused about this for the last year, and now I need to make up my mind! If you could please check out my thread and offer some thoughts here:

http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...638#post669638