Calling all Cornell (Johnson) Fall 2011 applicants!

hahaha.. wow.. I wonder if they stopped accepting cash after that incident!

Thanks staind and Jock4MBA for your encouragement. I will definitely put in my best in the interview today!

I will try asking my interviewer about this funding problem for internationals. Separately, I have also arranged for a chat with another Johnson alum in about a week's time. She was actually listed as a alum interviewer for me as well, but since I have accepted the offer for interview with another alum, she suggested a coffee chat instead. Great suggestion; I can learn more about the Johnson experience and also find out about options of funding from her. If i gather any information, I will share with everybody in this forum.

Good luck!

Has anyone interviewed on campus? If so what was the experience like? Thanks!

Had my alum interview today in Starbucks. My interviewer was a really nice lady, and she took time to share extensively on her Johnson experience. A variety of questions were asked, I guess mainly for her to understand me as a person to assess my fit with Johnson.

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why MBA? Why now? Why Johnson?
3. Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult decision.
4. Which other schools did you apply to? What is the overriding criteria in the choice of these schools?
5. So (blah blah blah) is your long-term aspiration. What do you want to do immediately after b-school?
6. Tell me 3 things which you think your friends will say about you.
7. What are the clubs you wanted to be involved in at Johnson?
8. What are the fun things you wanted to be involved in at Johnson?
9. What value do you think you can bring to Johnson?
10. Would you consider working in the US? Or do you want to return to Singapore right after graduation?

In the midst of my responses, there are many other related questions and probing. Overall, very casual, very conversational, very relaxed, and the whole interview lasted 2 hrs. And now I need to wait patiently for the decision.

kevintay

thanks for sharing your interview experience with us. Questions look fair without any curve balls, but very long at 2 hrs. Q2, 4, 7-9 really investigate your motives and fit with Johnson in depth. Should separate the true Johnson applicant from ranking groupies. Interesting that both alums are businesswomen. Does Johnson have a high profile in Singapore's business world?

Among completed interviews with other B-schools, which one was
a) toughest
b) has best vibe

Hi folks, I'm now prepping for my round 3 application and am curious about the third essay. Is there any tidbits that anyone can share about this essay? Or just be as creative, as crazy as possible?

I applied round 2, and at an info session I overheard one of the admissions reps say something about people submitting scrap-book themed essays and such. Not sure how this is perceived by the adcom, but he did stress the creativity bit. I would think this is similar to the Booth essay in that there isn't a set format to follow and that pictures, where applicable, could definitely add some color to the essay. That's just my opinion though.

Hi Guys,


Had my alum interview recently.

I was asked the same set of questions:

Why MBA
Why Johnson
What if you don't get an admit
What other schools have you applied to
Why Johnson with more emphasis
Resume Walk Through
More questions on my work
Leadership experience
Discuss conflict in a team
How did you handle a difficult situation

It went on well. Though at times, I felt I wanted to share more information but did not have enough time to do so. It lasted for around 35-40 minutes.

I am not trying to make any conclusions; just hoping things fall in place.

Good luck to guys next in pipleline.

Does anyone know if Johnson releases final decision before the decision date?

I was actually given the contact info of 3 Johnson alums to contact for my interview, and all 3 of them are ladies. Johnson does have a handful of alums in Singapore, but as the class size is small compared to many other top b-schools, the presence may not be as wide as the likes of Stanford or Wharton. Jock4MBA are you also from Singapore?

I have done interviews with Tuck, Johnson and INSEAD. Tuck was very casual, very friendly, and does not even feel like an interview. INSEAD's interview was also very long, about 2 hrs too, and went to great details on my work experience and career plans. Nonetheless, the interview from all 3 schools are casual and conversational, but I would probably name INSEAD as the toughest if I were to rank them. Best vibe would probably go to Tuck, partly because I interview on-campus.

Hope my sharing helps.

kevintay,

thanks for the other interview feedback. Confirms reputation that Tuck is friendly, emphasises fit and Insead drills career progression (evident from essay). Are you career changer or stay in finance candidate. You have a good mix of Bschools list.

I am from Europe and though a reasonable network of Cornell alums at unis or even expats, Johnson alums are very few and exclusively in the capitol. I attended a Johnson roadshow and those alums turned up were a small number of men in traditional industries compared to other big programmes. I came across one other European on this Johnson thread. According to class profile only 2% from entire Europe = 5 students. Each year, mostly 1 candidate from my country make it to Johnson, some years nil. The R2 alum interview would be small pool of local interviewer.

I am amazed that Singaporean students are so well educated and mobile given small city state. Prized education ethos and good results on OECD's Pisa ranking. The academic/capita ratio is high and I recall other impressive stats at an official ministry,EDB,MAS event. I have been to some target Bschools visits and literally there are always some bright Singaporean students in class with stellar profile. Also fair amount of women (gender equality)

Thanks for your compliments Jock4MBA! I will be most happy to share more about Singapore and this part of Asia with you if I can have the honour of being in the same class with you in b-school.

I would say I'm more of the stay in finance candidate. I will probably explore other options and geographies, but I want to return to banking in Asia eventually.

Good luck all!

Submitted on Oct 5. No interview invite Anyone in the same boat? I guess this is the end of the road. Disappointed.

Me!

Just got an interview invite, I submitted on november 6 for R2.

They offer on-campus, phone, or video conference interviews. I didn't realize they don't offer off campus interviews... Any advice? I'm guessing it is always best to go to campus.

Good luck to all still waiting!

Posted from my mobile device

So I guess they are done sending out R1 interview invitations?

All the best for evryone who got invites and I guess its high time I give up on cornell.

but surprisingly very few R1 invites this year in this forum atleast.....

well.. wow. EarlycareerMBA's profile simply deserves an early invitation. congrats.

now the question begs - where is mine !!! I'm Round 2 -er too.