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Medium Strategy Formulation

Pay Me My Money, In Cash

#Education
ProHub Comment

This is an intentional "red herring" case designed to test candidate resilience, creativity under constraint, and willingness to deliver bad news. Every path forward systematically fails—legal action is expensive and unfeasible, direct appeals are stonewalled, media pressure backfires on the clients, alternative pressure mechanisms (strikes, petitions, alumni support) all prove ineffective. The core evaluation criterion is whether the candidate maintains enthusiasm and structured thinking as each avenue closes, rather than finding a magical solution.

Estimated Time 27 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source Columbia
10 / 100

COVID has fundamentally changed the MBA experience for students. Classes are mostly remote, travel has been eliminated, and the students are not happy. However, Columbia Business School (CBS) is still charging the same tuition as before COVID. Our client is a group of CBS students who feel that they are not getting the full value of their MBA.

In the view of our clients, the MBA is as much about the relationships built with classmates and the experiences gained as it is about the education. Some of our client’s were even placed on probation by the school for traveling. They are extremely unhappy. How do we approach pressuring the school into giving our clients a tuition reduction?

Clarifying Information

  1. What do we want to accomplish? “Our clients want at least 20% of tuition refunded or reduced, removal of the character probation they received, and an apology from the school for putting them on probation. These demands are absolute and non-negotiable.”
  2. Who is the decision-maker on reducing tuition? “Decisions on tuition reduction, removal of probation, and issuing an official apology are all made by the Office of the President of Columbia University.”
  3. Is there any particular time this needs to be accomplished by? “Since most of the students are in their 2nd year, they would like their refund before tuition is due at the end of January in the Spring Semester”
  4. What do the students intend to with the refund? “We don’t have any information around that”
  5. Does the school have a history of giving tuition refunds? “No”
  6. How does this year’s tuition compare with last year’s? “The school announced a tuition freeze last Spring Semester. It is the same as the year before”
  7. How much is tuition? “75k per year”
  8. Can you tell me more about the coalition of students? “Due to confidentiality, we can provide no details beyond that the client is a coalition of like-minded students.”
  9. Has the school responded to their initial demands? “Yes, Columbia University announced there will be no refunds”
Mock Interview
Interviewer

COVID has fundamentally changed the MBA experience for students. Classes are mostly remote, travel has been eliminated, and the students are not happy. However, Columbia Business School (CBS) is still charging the same tuition as before COVID. Our client is a group of CBS students who feel that they are not getting the full value of their MBA. In the view of our clients, the MBA is as much about the relationships built with classmates and the experiences gained as it is about the education. Some of our client's were even placed on probation by the school for traveling. They are extremely unhappy. How do we approach pressuring the school into giving our clients a tuition reduction?

You

Thanks. Before analyzing, I'd like to clarify a few key questions...

Interviewer

Good question. Let me provide some background information...

You

Based on this, I suggest analyzing from these dimensions...

AI Score
Structure Analysis Communication Business Sense Quantitative
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Practice this case with AI Mock Interview

A coalition of MBA students seeks a 20% tuition reduction, removal of probation, and an apology from Columbia Business School due to the diminished value of their MBA during COVID (remote classes, eliminated travel). The case is deliberately unsolvable; all negotiation tactics fail systematically, testing the candidate’s ability to maintain composure and ultimately recommend that clients accept the situation.

Key Insights:

  1. This is an ’exercise in futility’ case designed to test Endurance, Creativity, and Demeanor under repeated setbacks
  2. The interviewer should not help the candidate; each proposed solution should be blocked with a logical reason, requiring the candidate to move forward without getting frustrated
  3. The ultimate recommendation is counterintuitive: advise the client to stop fighting and move on—testing the candidate’s courage to deliver unfavorable counsel
  4. Peer school benchmarking, legal threats, media campaigns, and even tuition strikes all backfire or prove ineffective; the institution has institutional power
  5. Success is measured by consistent energy, structured brainstorming, and ability to accept unfavorable outcomes rather than finding a clever workaround