Calling all Cornell (Johnson) Fall 2009 applicants!

*sigh*

Moth to flame = MBA applicants to tablecloth.

I wonder if a lot of top applicants will altogether forgo schools like H/S/W/Mit/Chi etc, in favor of schools like Yale, Cornell, Duke, Mich, UCLA because they think their chances will be better.

Nope, people swarmed the Cornell desk b/c it's a favorite of bschool applicants both as a backup and as a target school. People will not downgrade to elite level schools, if their credentials make them competitive for ultra elite schools.

Thanks for the clarification...I'm not a top applicant, so I wouldn't know haha

by the way, the tablecloth comment was in response to the below post from last year that generated a bit of discussion

https://gmatclub.com/forum/post372465.html#p372465

Hi Aceman,

I'm planning a trip to visit Cornell in Sept. Is that a good time?

How would you profile the type of candidates that Cornell strives to attract?

Also, I hear that Cornell will reject an application if one mentions either Columbia or NYU. Does this mean that for those applying to larger MBA programs, they should avoid answering the "What other schools are you applying to?" question?

Thanks,

-M

Hi, I would think Sept for visiting is fine since classes would've started, however you might want to check with admissions since I am not an expert in this, I haven't visited myself.

Cornell wants to attract smart and driven people but also collaborative and works well in teams. There is also an initiative within the program to increase diversity and % of females, something to think about.

It doesn't matter at all if you say you're applying to other competing schools, I myself told the interviewer some other schools I applied to (Wharton). If there's a good fit, they'll accept you. Keep in mind though that many schools are different (eg Cornell is very different from Columbia or NYU) so its best to have a good story why you're applying to whatever program, if it fits with your goals, the culture, bla bla.

Hope this helps.

I attented this info-session as well and got bumped up by the comments of the lady. She said this year the avg Gmat score is going to go up and its not the Bschools that are more concerned about the score but the recruiting companies. The finance and consulting companies are asking to send only the resumes with 700 and above. Does that mean cornell will screen out the applications with below 700 ?? I think so .......

I was there also and the comment regarding companies looking for only 700+ applicants is definitely something that stands out at the front of my mind as one of the most interesting facts I learned that day. The adcom rep also followed that comment with "If an applicant is admitted with a lower than 700 score, we will ask them to retake the GMAT. This is to help their career and not to help the school." This is the first time I have heard that from an adcom --- there was a thread on gmatclub a few months ago (please link if you guys know where it is) where someone reported on the rumor that certain schools will ask admitted students to retake the GMAT to raise their averages, and thus rankings. What do you guys think?

That is very interesting about the GMAT. Will Cornell be paying for these students to retake the GMAT as well?

I am a little surprised so much is made of the GMAT at recruiting, but even more surprised Cornell wants their students to retake.

I think it has already been well established than unless you have had solid, prior experience in banking/consulting, you are typically not going to make the closed lists for banking/consulting interviews with a GMAT score below 700. The bar is supposedly set as high as 730+ for McKinsey at certain schools.

And moreover, the average GMAT scores at the UE and E schools this year should all be in the 705-720 range (Tuck was 713 for last year's class), so a 680 already "marks" you as being below average to any recruiter who pays a lot of attention to the GMAT as a filtering criteria. It's unfortunate, but that's just how it seems to work.

Here's a link to a recent thread discussing more about this. I believe one of our peers on this board retook the GMAT, *after* getting admitted to Columbia, simply to cross the 700+ barrier because of its perceived advantage in recruiting.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/post425310.html#p425310

This GMAT info is very interesting. I actually posted earlier on this thread that I heard the relatively new director (Sawyer?) is GMAT obsessed. This seems to reconfirm that information. I REALLY hope it's true! Everyone says that once you cross 700, the GMAT is meaningless at UE/E schools. But if Cornell truly is putting extra emphasis on the GMAT, maybe my 740 will actually be worth something at one of the schools I'm applying to.

You'll have to change your name!

~Sam

Hi all,

I am admitted to the Johnson School for Fall '09. I applied this past year and deferred because I am in a dual-degree program. So I will be joining all of you at the start of the '09 school year.

Like aceman, I want to wish you good luck with the application process. Cornell was the very last application I took on, initially I dreaded the 400 word limit, but it wound up being my favorite essays by the time I was done. I saw that it has already been posted on here, but it is worth reiterating: Take advantage of the optional essay.

Once again, good luck with the applications. Feel free and send me a message, post here, or post in the B-school Ambassadors thread.

Can you expand on this a little? What types of things would be appropriate to talk about in the optional essay?

Dude, they wouldn't let us in the trading floor, but it looked sweeeeeeeeeet.