Thanks to all who participated in Cornell Adcom chat on Tuesday. It was a very nice session with many great questions and insightful answers to them by Eddie, Kim, and David (
). Here are select Q&As from the chat. If anyone wants the read complete chat transcript, the same is attached to this post.
Aditya: I am interested in the 1 year program. I wanted to ask if going to a 1yr program is of any disadvantage vis-a-vis 2 yr program?
Cornell_Eddie: Hi Aditay. When looking at the 1-Year and 2-Year program it is important to understand your goals. We see career enhancers in the 1-year and a lot of career switchers in the 2-year program. I would encourage you to reach out to current students to find out about their experiences.
naughtyninja: Hi kim! Can I start my application during round 1 but submit the same for round 2?
Cornell_Kim: You can start your application at any time. If you submit the application during round 1 (and after the deadline) then we will review it with the round 2 applications.
fleece316: What kind of differentiating factors do you look for in an applicant’s profile?
Cornell_Eddie: fleece316, we are looking for a candidate who is unique, motivated, and more. During the application, you should be able to highlight your experience, academic performance, and more. We want someone who understands our program and is a good fit.
chesterstreet: Hi david. Can you share your experience of the JOE? How do you think it benefited you before the core classes began? Can you also share the kind of activities you did?
Cornell_David: Sure, JOE was a great experience that helped bring the class closer together and my core team. I think there was a lot of value in the experience because it also allowed my core team to identify our strengths in weakness before getting into the core classes. I think we're stronger as a team now and closer as a result. It also gave me an opportunity to meet more of my classmates that I hadn't met prior to JOE.
We started off the day with some team building activities (low ropes courses), then had some free bonding time with the rest of the class (with activities such as soccer, volleyball, swimming, kayaking, etc), and then a large group event with skits. It was a fun, but exhausting day!
anandsuman1309: In general, what is the split of students admitted in round 1 & 2 and how good or bad is the opportunity for financial aid and scholarships in round 2 as compared to round 1.
Cornell_Eddie: it's hard to give you a split between round 1 and 2. Both rounds are competitive and at this point we are not sure of the competitiveness of this year’s applicant pool. Like most schools, we will see most scholarship offers in the beginning rounds
ChristinaFBrown: Hi Kim: could you tell us more about the Forte Fellowship Program at Cornell? What is the process like?
Cornell_Kim: The Forte Fellowship is evaluated like other scholarships. We look at each application along side of the other accepted applicants and determine eligibility for the fellowship.
Aditya: Hi Eddie.. What is the admission view on applications of 2nd MBA candidates? Are they at a disadvantage?
Cornell_Eddie: If you're applying with a 2nd MBA, it's important to articulate why you believe you need another one.
Ergenekon: Is it ok to send more than required recommendations?
Cornell_Eddie: I would encourage all candidates to stick to what is required/recommended in the application process.
vinayak237: I want to get into Business and Data Analysis after an MBA, how well suited is the Cornell MBA course for data analysis?
Cornell_Kim: We have recently launched a data analytics course and a Digital Technology Immersion. Check out our website for more information about this new immersion program.
bilal: I am older applicant with close to 9 years of experience and I am looking to remain in the same industry post graduation. Which of the two options would you suggest - one year mba or two year mba?
Cornell_Eddie: bilal, I hope all is well. Typically, a student looking to stay in their industry may consider the 1-Year program. But once again, you may want to connect with our students to learn more about the benefits of both programs
chesterstreet: Can you talk a bit about the leadership fellow? How many students in all are selected as leadership fellows? Any specific tangible selection criteria?
Cornell_David: I can't really say much about the leadership fellow program because I'm still a first year and leadership fellows are second years that were selected in their first year. I'm not sure how many of them are there in total, however I do know there is a nomination process and the faculty are involved with it. Besides that I do know that each core team is assigned a leadership fellow as a mentor and they help guide us throughout the core
Aditya: How is the supply chain program at Cornell?
Cornell_David: I can't really speak to the supply chain program at Cornell because at the moment I'm more interested in strategy consulting and I haven't gotten to explore too much beyond the core. I do know that in the second year, classes outside of Johnson are available to students and that Cornell Engineering has an excellent operations research department that can enhance your knowledge of supply chain management
kbs13: Does a candidate with a bad academic record but a good GMAT score and lot of co-curricular activities stand a chance getting in Cornell?
Cornell_Kim: We look at your application holistically. While a weak undergraduate record can be a concern, we do look at your work experience and standardized scores as well. In the end, your application will be reviewed along with all other applications in the round. The stronger your application is overall the better.
@Varsheeni: I'm working on a startup in Kenya! I was wondering how active is Cornell in the field of Entrepreneurship?
Cornell_Eddie: Cornell is very active in the entrepreneurial space. I would start by looking at our site:
https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/Entrepr ... -Institutegeneticsgene: Hi Kim, Eddie and David, Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. My query is on the Consulting Passport program - What are the kinds of activities that are part of this program, any specific examples? How do the students benefit from these activities?
Cornell_David: I'm currently going through the recommended consulting curriculum and I've found that there are a lot of resources available. These span from the CMC, to the Consulting Club, and finally into the curriculum (faculty). For the most part, everything is "optional" and you can attend classes and meetings as much as you'd like. There are career work groups as well and they're run by successful second years to help prepare you for the recruiting in the coming months. Overall the support for consulting has been great and I believe the conversion rate has been extremely high.
Sukant2010: Is location a disadvantage for students who want to pursue a finance career in major fin hubs..?
Cornell_Eddie: In my opinion, one of the biggest misconceptions is that location affects our students in the recruiting process. In the financial hub, our students do very well.
Cornell_David: To back up what Eddie has said, location is not a disadvantage at all. Cornell is located within a reasonably short distance from NYC and those interested in finance travel to the city quite often to network with Banks and IB firms.
prathmeshkhare: I am with 10 yrs experience and want to know entrepreneurship immersion program
Cornell_Kim: prathmeshkhare While we do not have an entrepreneurship immersion, we do have considerable resources available to you including the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute and BR Ventures. You can create a customized immersion to meet your curriculum needs.
chesterstreet: Since different media (ppt, video, doc file) can be used to answer the essay about the table of content of the life story, does the admission committee in any way have a preference over the media used? Is there something specific that the committee looks for in the answer for this essay
Cornell_Eddie: chesterstreet, No, the admissions committee does not have a preference. This essay gives you the opportunity to have you voice heard and to tell your story
@kapoormanas: Could you please talk about the available Analytics related courses, like on Big Data, at Cornell?
Cornell_David: The school has acknowledged the growing industry around data analytics and Big Data. They added a data analytics portion to our core and are starting to work fairly closely with the Information Sciences department here at Cornell. I believe there should be some big announcements coming soon regarding the new immersion in Digital Tech
Cornell_Eddie: This year, we updated our curriculum. Please review this link to learn more about our new Analytic course:
https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/About/N ... University@Leelaprasad: I saw that you do accept students who took the GRE. Is there any data on the average score range?
Cornell_Kim: If you submit a GRE we will convert the score to a GMAT equivalent. We are therefore looking for a median converted score of 700
@Leelaprasad: Does coming from a family business put me at an advantage/disadvantage? Considering that I do come from a family business, who would you suggest I get a letter of recommendation from?
Cornell_Kim: We have numerous resources for students in family business including the Smith Family Business Initiative. We have a conference coming up in Ithaca on October 8-9 called Families in Business across Cornell. For letter of recommendation I would suggest using a client or supplier as a rec.
Doctorhm: Could you please speak a bit about your MHA/MBA program? If a candidate gets accepted to the Johnson MBA and not to the Sloan MHA or vice versa, then can he or she join the course where he or she has been accepted and try for the other program whilst in it? Thank you for your time and consideration.
Cornell_Eddie: The MBA/MHA program is a 2 year program. You must start at Johnson with the summer core (beginning in May) and then at MHA in the fall. It would be tough to complete in two years if you do not get admitted to both programs
Doctorhm: Thank you Eddie, so can we defer the admission in case we are accepted in one and not in the other? Thank you.
Cornell_Eddie: Unfortunately no. We do not grant deferrals for that reason
Narenn: David, apart from Cornell, you were also accepted to another top MBA program. What encouraged you to choose Cornell over that other business school?
Cornell_David: Great question! I chose Cornell for a few reasons. Firstly, I knew that a large part of the MBA experience was learning from your classmates and so to get the richest experience I'd want the most diverse class. I felt that Cornell offered the most diverse class between my choices. Secondly, I enjoy outdoor activities and Ithaca offers a great variety of fun activities to keep me active outside of the classroom. Lastly, from a personal point, my wife could not relocate with me to Ithaca and so we'll have to travel back and forth from each other's locations. She'll remain in the NYC area and so frequent trips back and forth from Ithaca were much easier than my other option (Tepper).
Narenn: Thanks David. What is your best class and who is your best Professor at Johnson?
Cornell_David: right now I've only just begun and so the verdict's still out... But I'll preface this by saying that I've been extremely impressed with the teaching faculty here. Alan Filipowicz was a great and energetic professor for our Leadership class, but I'm eager to take a class with Maureen O'Hara. She teaches a second year elective that's extremely popular. She also spoke at our Fall Rally and you can tell that she's extremely intelligent and friendly. I can't wait until I get the opportunity to take her class
Doctorhm: Hello David, what roles do first years get to play in clubs? On an average, students are members of how many clubs? Last question, how the usual weekday like for a first year MBA is. Thank you.
Cornell_David: Doctorhm, for established clubs, First years are participants in the beginning of the semester, however elections for leadership positions come up quickly (late October/early November). But there is also opportunity to take leadership roles early as well. My year has started a large number of clubs and so there are a large number of First Years that are officers in these new clubs. Also, you can join and lead as many clubs as you'd like but time management becomes much harder the more that you do.
I'm not sure what the average is, but right now I'm involved in 3 clubs and it's pretty busy. FOMO is real! Lol
fall15applicant: In regards to academic achievement--I am at the lower end of your 80% GPA range. Would this require me to be at the upper end of your 80% GMAT range in order to be a "competitive" applicant?
Cornell_Kim: We do look at each application holistically and if you had a weaker GPA but stronger GMAT then we will take that into account. The stronger the application the better your chances.
chesterstreet: Does taking up any specific concentrations help in recruiting for consulting? And when does recruiting for summer internship starts? Thanks
Cornell_David: chesterstreet, there is no specific concentration for consulting and we've been encouraged to take an immersion that interests us the most. Consulting is broad enough where there are skills that can be learned and used in the internship from any immersion program (although they recommend that you take the Management Cases course regardless).
For consulting, internship recruiting starts as soon as the first firms show up on campus which has already started. Formal resume drops however are due in mid-December and interviews begin in mid-January
Chat TranscriptAttachment:
17 Aug 2015, 04:37
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