Cornell R3 - Any one interviewed yet?

For those who have received invites, how long did your status say "Currently Under Review". Mine has been static in this status for about 2 weeks now. Just Curious.

Became 'currently under review':
1/17/2007

Became 'Interview/Hold' on:
1/30/2007

Interview set-up for:
2/08/2007

I wouldn't worry about it however. Johnson appears to be all over the place in regards to granting interviews. I waited for 2 weeks, and I think someone else only waited 4 days. My other friend, who was accepted, didnt hear anything for almost month last round.

Actually, I just called the office. They require official GMAT scores for international applicants only. For domestic fools, they need them only if an offer is extended.

Thanks. That makes me feel a bit better.

Became 'currently under review':
1/24/2007

I hope there is still hope!

Do they email in the morning or throughout the day? Knowing that would prevent me from checking my mail every 3 minutes

Thanks! Makes me feel much better now! Hopefully something will happen soon.

I have just been told the following:

The person interviewing you is a student that is part of our admissions team. She will have access to your resume and some comments that we took during the first review of your file, other than that.. it's done on a blind basis.

How might I need to adjust my strategy for a "blind interview"? Should I spend more time telling my story to give more background info? It seems hard to interview someone for bschool just based on a few comments.

What would the comments be like? "His GPA looks low, ask him about it?" or "his leadership exp sounds weak grill him about it!"

I think I need to go over my whole story and make sure I don't forget any crucial points. also make sure I can finish in the allotted time.

I'm in Ithaca now... horrible 6+ hour drive in.... totally exhausted... roads in this town sux.. no road signs...going to sleep now.

wish me luck...

GoodLuck Fluff!!!


You'll do fine.

You'll do great! Just relax and tell your story. I had lots of questions on "connecting the dots" of my resume. How'd you get from there to there? Why this? Why that?

Just got an invite! Anyone have any suggestions as where to stay and bars/restaurants and other things to do when in Ithica? Any input would be great! Thanks. Also does anyone know what percentage of applicants they interview? This would give a better idea of how much having an invite actually means.

If you don't mind blowing $250+, definitely stay at the Statler hotel on campus. It is a 1 min walk from Sage Hall. But if you are cheap like me, you can't beat the Super 8 motel at Meadow & Clinton - $49.99/night

Make sure you print out a detailed street map of the town. It's full of crazy bendy one-way streets and I got lost almost every time I drove somewhere.

Haha, at the beginning of this experience I didn't mind blowing th $250.00. However, this being the last of 5 school that I visited, I am now going to be "cheap like you" and prob opt for the best western. Did you get a chance to explore Ithaca or was it strictly on and off campus for you? How did the interview go? What type of questions did they ask? Best of luck to you.

I only drove around "downtown" Ithaca to find a place to eat lunch. There's a few Pub/Grill places around where the Hilton Garden Inn is. I went to a place called Ithaca Ale House. Great wings and a huge selection of beer on tap. It was just too COLD to do anything... it's been -30C for the last week or so.

The interview experience was very pleasant. Walk up the main entrance to Sage Hall and turn left. The admissions office is easy to find. They will offer to hang up your coat and give you a package and a bottle of "Cornell" water. Confirm your class visit and info session (lunch included) with the person at the desk.

You interviewer, a 2nd year student, will come in and bring you to an interview room. The interviewer does not get to see your application, only your resume and some comments made by adcom about your app. They stuck strictly to the 45min limit so don't get off track too much.

The questions during interview were on par with what Mark and Rhyme have posted... tho I did not get as many behavioural questions. Just why do I want to do this, or why do I like IBanking, etc.

Interview went smoothly for me, no awkward moments, nothing I had trouble answering... I hope that means I have a good chance. Unfortunately I had to skip my class visit (Portfolio Management!!) because I had a 6 hr drive ahead of me and the gf was getting impatient waiting for me...

Good luck to you too! And book asap. Monday is the most popular day for interviews. There was atleast 5 other candidates with me that day.

I'd really like to know how the interview selection is done too...
I heard someone say that Cornell interviews more % of ppl than other schools. I hope that is not true (or maybe true because of the small class size).

Does anybody have any hard data for Cornell? Looking at the fact sheet, it says that they received 1800+ applicants last year and admitted about 250.

I would (really really) like to think that each person they interview is atleast qualified on paper. With such a small class, I doubt they would bother interviewing "borderline" applicants in the first 3 rounds, right? I'm hoping that there is no need to "WOW" the interviewer.

Fluff, thanks for the info. I just wanted to correct the admission # you gave. They admitted almost 700 ppl last year, however just under 300 enrolled. I am looking on the net for some info on the % they interview. However my search hasnt had any luck. Thanks agin for the info. Also, I agree with you interms of interviewing everyone who is qualified. You would be surprised how many people that look on good on paper turn out to be busts. I am sure you have learned this through hiring/interviewing people in the past as well.

Was just hanging out on campus today, actually, meeting with some students who did a project for a nonprofit I work with.

Yes, Monday is the craziest day for them. Michael, the admissions admin guy, said that on other days of the week there are only a few, but yesterday there were 15.

You may get a student, or you could get someone from staff. I had staff.

According to the Montauk book, they interview 25% of applicants, but this year has been completely overwhelming in terms of application numbers, so it's hard to say what this year will look like. Michael said they're on track to get 2400 applicants - way up.

Also, my buddy Ryan (a first year at Johnson) told me that they have two initial readers. If either one wants to extend an interview, they do.

If anyone coming into town wants to get a beer, do PM me. And the wretchedly cold weather seems to have passed. We are solidly in the double digits for the next few days!

cheerio