Expert advice for Johnson from Admissions Consultant blogs

The Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University has appointed Mark Nelson, an internationally recognized scholar and member of the Johnson faculty since 1990, as its 12th dean, effective July 1st. Nelson succeeds Soumitra Dutta, who will continue to serve as dean of the newly formed College of Business.

An expert in accounting, Nelson has conducted research examining psychological and economic factors that influence how people make decisions; interpret and apply accounting, auditing and tax regulations; and trade in financial markets.

Nelson’s teaching has focused on intermediate accounting, including MBA courses at Johnson as well as undergraduate courses at Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

“I’m excited to help Johnson and the College of Business flourish,” Nelson said in a statement announcing the news. “We’re all in this together for the long term, and by supporting each other and collaborating on teaching and research, we can do more collectively than any of us could do on our own.”

Nelson will report to Dutta, who said he will make an excellent dean and has the support and respect of the Johnson faculty. “Mark is not only ideally equipped to lead Johnson at this complicated and exciting time, but it is clear that he will contribute tremendously to the success of the College of Business, as well,” said Dutta.

Nelson served as associate dean for academic affairs from 2007 to 2010, overseeing the school’s tenure-track faculty and research.

“I’m enormously grateful for the opportunities that were given to me when I joined this campus and in the last 26 years as a member of this community,” Nelson said. “When you have the opportunity to give back and make a difference at a place that you love, you take it.”
You may also be interested in:
Cornell to Establish Integrated College of Business

Cornell Receives $25 Million to Expand MBA Program

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University has posted the following MBA application deadlines for the 2016-2017 admissions season.
Round 1
Application due: October 5, 2016
Initial notification: November 15, 2016
Round 2
Application due: November 15, 2016
Initial notification: January 10, 2017
Round 3
Application due: January 10, 2017
Initial notification: March 15, 2017
Round 4*
Application due: March 15, 2017
Initial notification: April 5, 2017

*After Round 4, applications will be received and reviewed on a space available basis.

Applications should be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Applicants will receive one of three initial notifications following a preliminary review of your application and materials: invitation to interview, waitlist without interview or denial of admission. Final decisions are released on a rolling basis.

For more information, please visit the Cornell Johnson MBA admissions website.



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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management is a flexible MBA program housed within an Ivy League campus. Cornell Johnson offers multiple full-time options, including a one-year MBA, executive programs and a tech focused program.

Cornell Johnson has multiple joint degree programs as well from a JD-MBA to MBA-MD. Whatever your goals and background Cornell has a program that can help you achieve your goals.

When approaching this set of Cornell essays it will be useful to set an application strategy. Identify the program you are most interested in and do substantial school research. Then examine your background and goals to see what is most important to explain as part of your story.

Next, add the layer of personal background and experiences – consider what makes you truly unique. Finally, make sure you have solid academics, work experience and extracurriculars. If you identify any holes in your profile or story, take the time to fill them prior to starting your application.

CREATING IMPACT
At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you have identified through engagement with our community and describe how these interactions have influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. (500 words or fewer)

This year Cornell has replaced a standard careers goals question with a question about your fit with Johnson. The framing of the question brings in a core value of the program, creating impact, and asks you to imagine how you might create impact at Johnson based on your research into the program.

The first step in answering this question is to do your research. Ideally you will have an opportunity to either visit Johnson or to attend an admissions event in your city. If neither option is available to you, reach out to your network to see if you can meet current students or alumni of the program.

When you meet members of the Johnson community, make sure you ask about the unique opportunities on campus to contribute, whether through social clubs, volunteering, professional clubs or academics. Johnson offers groups for interests ranging from cooking to ice hockey, and has professional clubs for every possible career path.

Once you have identified opportunities for you to contribute to campus life at Johnson, ideally you can support your story with evidence from your past experiences.

For example, if you want to bring new speakers to the Johnson Marketing Association because you have contributed to your young professionals group at work, explain that you have successfully organized events featuring major speakers for a large group of people and can bring that skill to create impact for your peers at Johnson.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
You are the author of your Life Story. Please create the Table of Contents for the book in the space provided or upload it as an attachment. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions.

Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written Table of Contents, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Please limit multimedia submissions to under 5 minutes

This essay is an opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are on a personal level. Think about highlighting areas you may not have been able to touch in the previous career focused essays, and demonstrate your unique personal attributes or community involvement.

If you have a consistent theme of involvement in a charity or activity this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate why you became involved and what you have done over the years.

When structuring the story, think of this essay as a way to communicate a narrative theme of your life to the admissions committee. What are the key moments that are meaningful to you? Were there pivotal experiences with your friends, family, hobbies or interests that led you to become the person you are today?

This essay can be delivered in any of the media specified above (video, slide presentation, website) and you should tailor the format you use to the message you want to send. Though a creative format can impress the admissions committee, substance is always the most important part of the essay. Make sure you are highlighting unique, individual qualities that will make the case for admission to Cornell.

OPTIONAL ESSAY
Complete this essay if you would like to add additional details regarding your candidacy. For instance, if you believe one or more aspects of your application (e.g., undergraduate record or test scores) do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson.

If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application since the last time you applied.

This optional essay allows for either an explanation of any weaknesses in your application or additional information that may bolster your application. If you have a poor GPA or GMAT, concerns with your undergraduate record, or were unable to provide a recommendation from a current supervisor, this is the place to offer explanations, not excuses.

Quickly describe the situation and what may have contributed to the issue (illness, family difficulties, etc.) without editorializing. Focus the balance of your essay on looking forward: what have you done in the recent past to demonstrate your skills and intelligence?

If you are a reapplicant this is the ideal place to explain what you have done since your last application to strengthen your case for admission. If you have a new GMAT score or took classes in calculus or statistics you have a solid case for improved academics. A promotion could signal career development and leadership.

Even if you don’t have a clear cut development to describe you can use this space to explain how you have improved your thinking, career goals, or fit with Cornell.

Stuck on the Johnson Cornell essay questions? Contact Stacy Blackman Consulting to learn how we can help.

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

The application for the full-time MBA program at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management is now live, and within you’ll find the essay questions for the 2016-2017 MBA admissions season. The Table of Contents essay appears again this year, as well as a new, second required essay.
Creating Impact
At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you have identified through engagement with our community and describe how these interactions have influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. (500 words or fewer)
Table of Contents
You are the author of your Life Story. Please create the Table of Contents for the book in the space provided or upload it as an attachment. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions.

Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written Table of Contents, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Please limit multimedia submissions to under 5 minutes
Optional Essay
Complete this essay if you would like to add additional details regarding your candidacy. For instance, if you believe one or more aspects of your application (e.g., undergraduate record or test scores) do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson.

If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application since the last time you applied.

For more information, please visit the Johnson School MBA admissions website.
You may also be interested in:
Fall 2017 MBA Application Deadlines at Cornell’s Johnson School

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Cornell University’s Samuel Johnson Graduate School of Management and the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences have announced a new dual-degree program that will provide the next generation of health care leaders with a broad set of skills for success in a rapidly changing environment.

The program will focus on health care throughout the United States, in particular health care systems that are experiencing vast changes in structure, payment and regulatory requirements.

Designed to satisfy the evolving professional needs of the U.S. health care industry, the program will educate leaders of academic medical centers, community hospitals, large group multi-specialty or single-specialty practices, health insurers, health care consultants, pharmaceutical professionals and health care innovators, among others.

“Succeeding in today’s rapidly changing health care market requires an advanced understanding of business management, health care economics and health care policy,” says Johnson Dean Mark Nelson. “We’ve developed this program to meet these critical needs.”

Students participating in the two-year Executive MBA/M.S. Healthcare Leadership program will receive a Master of Science degree from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and an MBA from Johnson.

The program will begin accepting applications in October for fall of 2017.  Applicants will be evaluated on their academic record, communication and leadership skills, management experience, career progression, health care area of expertise, experience in research or evaluation, and ethical values in health care.

Strong candidates for the program should be able to clearly articulate their career goals, add a unique perspective to the classroom environment, be willing and able to work effectively in teams and show a demonstrated ability to master quantitative material.

Enrolled students will take all core courses required for each of the degrees and have an opportunity to take specialized electives. Courses will cover such topics as managing and leading organizations, managerial finance, health policy, health informatics and business strategy.

Students will meet in Weill Cornell Medicine facilities in New York City and will participate in two weeklong residential sessions during each of the program’s two years – one in the spring in the New York City area and one on Cornell’s Ithaca campus in the summer.

Students will be required to complete a capstone project intended to help them manage and work with stakeholders in the health care sector. The capstone project is a six-month intensive team engagement with a health care organization facing specific management challenges. At the conclusion of the engagement, the student teams will provide the organizations with a detailed plan recommending strategies for resolving their challenges.

“As our health care landscape continues to evolve, it is increasingly important that we cultivate leaders in the field who can drive national dialogue and spearhead new initiatives in health care policy and delivery,” said Dr. Gary Koretzky, dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

“Our unique collaboration with Johnson will equip aspiring health care leaders with a keen grasp of health policy and informatics – specialized skills that will lead to further innovation and ensure that patients receive the finest care at the greatest value.”



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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

In the second of our new series of guest posts directed at military applicants, army veteran and Cornell MBA Peter Sukits shares candid, actionable advice for military veterans considering a transition to a full-time MBA program.
Pete is an aspiring career coach, author and finance professional living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served for five years as a commissioned officer in the United States Army, and deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. After separating from active duty, he earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
Through the process of transitioning, he learned many valuable lessons in the areas of expectations, mindset and preparation when undertaking the shift from military to academic and civilian life. We look forward to sharing his advice with you here.
With service in any branch of the military comes several unwritten rules. Many of us former commissioned and noncommissioned officers especially, know this – it’s just part of the culture.

• On a training exercise, you don’t eat until all your soldiers have eaten.

• You give credit to your soldiers at all opportunity when you are praised for doing a good job.

• You don’t talk about money. You don’t talk about medals. Period.

All of these rules have a common theme – it’s not about you and your accomplishments. It’s about the unit. It’s about the mission. It’s about your soldiers. In your evaluation reports, your main successes are predicated upon how your team accomplishes its mission. If the team fails, you fail.

Former Army officer and Rhodes Scholar, Craig Mullaney put it very succinctly in his book The Unforgiving Minute about his experience in Ranger School. It was stressed to him that he wasn’t there for an award or a career booster. The skills he was learning, and the experience he was going through was for the benefit of his future soldiers.

In the military realm, you’re rewarded for selflessness and ostracized for self-promotion.



In my humble opinion, this is one of the single most difficult concepts with which newly separated veterans must come to grips. Once you have made the decision to enter an MBA program, you’ve shed the weight of your subordinate unit off of your shoulders, and are focused on improving yourself and beginning a new career. To do that, it’s going to take a lot more than great academic performance and experiences to achieve your new goals.

You need to make sure people know about your great academic performance and experiences.

Maybe it’s because a career path in the military is structured and almost preset, or maybe it’s because everybody wears their “resume” on their uniform. For better or for worse, there is no need to sell yourself while serving. So naturally, this will be an area where at best you will need some practice, and at worst…an area that will make you cringe in your desert boots.

As I found out very quickly, the art form, or “soft skill”, of selling myself, which flies in the face of the environment I had just left, is essential for success in business school and the business world. You need to be able to communicate your experiences to your classmates, your recruiters, your interviewers, your mentors etc. Anyone that has a vested interest in seeing you succeed needs to know what makes you, you.

No, it’s not what your team did. It’s what you brought to the table personally that ensured mission success. For the first time in a long time, it’s about you.

Your opportunities to practice and implement this skill will come in many forms. Primarily, job and admissions interviews will require to literally trace your career for the past several years – that famous “walk me through your resume” question, among others. These will often be the “make or break” events that will secure you admission or the position.

Likewise, networking is key in your MBA journey (more specifics on that topic later). Often times, the people you are looking to connect with at a career event, at a cocktail reception or at a company visit, won’t know you at all and they will not have seen your resume. This is not to say that you need to blow your horn so loudly that security needs to escort you out. But they need to get a picture of what you’ve done and what your intentions are.

Where to start? It’s going to be uncomfortable at first. One of the best things that my colleagues and I have done is literally write down what you are going to say to someone. Write down your answers to interview questions. Write down how you’ll introduce yourself to a recruiter. Write down the words you will say to a 2nd year you’re looking to meet. Then, say it. Then, say it again. Practice with people. It’s going to sound awkward at first, but eventually you’ll get used to it. By the time the real thing comes around, you should be in a position where you’re able to effectively market yourself without coming across as rehearsed, and without feeling arrogant.

Tasks to Prospective Students:

• Take every opportunity to interact with potential classmates. If you know any veterans that are already in business school or have gone, reach out to them for mentorship. They can help you navigate this challenge and coach you along.
• Immerse yourself as much as you can in the culture of the school you’ll be attending (if you’ve decided on it). What is the reputation of the student body among companies? Learn how you can position yourself for success among your future classmates.
• Take your Officer Evaluation Report (OER), or NCOER and rewrite out all the things you accomplished in your most recent rating period. You can also do this with your academic record. Even if it is just a simply list of statements. Frame the statements entirely in terms of what you have done, nobody else. Practice getting used to telling folks about this. The idea is to get comfortable in this frame of mind.

It’s about you now, and that’s a great thing, because you have a lot to bring to the table. All you need to do is embrace the new challenge.

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Looking for the best possible admissions advice?

How about admissions advice from the admission committee members themselves?

Linda Abraham, founder of Accepted and host of the Admissions Straight Talk podcast has a collection of highly enlightening interviews with directors of admissions and adcom members of top business schools!

Listen in as Linda asks her adcom guests pointed and to-the-point questions about the school, the admissions process, how to get in, and…how to get rejected.

Listen, enjoy, and apply successfully!

Columbia Business School
Emily French Thomas, Director of Admissions

Yale School of Management
Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions

USC Marshall
Keith Vaughn, Former Assistant Dean of Admissions

Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business
Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions and Doreen Amorosa, Associate Dean and Managing Director of Career Management


UCLA Anderson
Jessica Chung, Associate Director of Admissions 

MIT Sloan
Dawna Levenson, Director of Admissions

Rotman School of Management
Niki da Silva, Recruitment & Admissions Director

Tuck School of Business
Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions

Univ. of Michigan’s Ross School of Business
Diana Economy, Senior Associate Director of Admissions, and Terry Nelidov, Managing Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

The Fuqua School of Business
Liz Riley Hargrove, Associate Dean for Admissions

HEC Paris
Philippe Oster, Director of Communication, Development and Admissions

Johnson at Cornell University
Ann Richards, Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid

For a varied menu of thought-provoking and informative conversations with business leaders, entrepreneurs, MBA students, and more, check out the Admissions Straight Talk Podcast:

Subscribe:







This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help you get accepted!

Hey everybody! We’re back with another installment of “Ask the AdCom,” where we share a wide range of tips and advice from admissions team members from a dozen top business schools. Since AdCom members are human, too, we know our readers will enjoy seeing  a different side of what makes these guys tick.

This fun space is not really about the application process but more about real-life topics, like what’s a good book to read, what mobile apps are amazeballs, where you can find a killer meal near campus, and all the fun stuff happening at b-school that makes lifelong memories for students.

We hope you enjoy their insights!



The A.D. White Reading Room within Uris Library, Cornell University

Today’s question is: Where is good place to study?
 John Roeder, Assistant Dean Graduate Admissions at SMU Cox School of Business, says the Collins Center for Executive Education is where most of our MBAs can be found.  The building has plenty of study rooms, is solely for graduate students, and is the newest addition to the Cox School of Business.

Morgan Bernstein, Executive Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions  at UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business, says the Thomas J.  Long Library is nice. Under a redwood tree or on the lawn outside Memorial Stadium is even nicer.

Kelly R. Wilson, Executive Director of Admissions  at CMU Tepper School of Business, recommends the third-floor meeting rooms (but reserve early).

Isser Gallogly, Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions  at NYU Stern School of Business, says for study time, Stern has quiet study lounges, and NYU’s Bobst library is a couple of blocks away.  Students can also use dedicated collaboration spaces around the school for group study.

Allison Jamison, Admissions Director  at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, says it depends on how you like to study.  If you like to be around classmates and near food and beverage, the Fox Center is a popular choice.  The hub of Fuqua, the Fox Center is where you can find a quiet place (try the outdoor seating just outside the Fox Center enjoying the NC weather), or settle in the hub of activity and find a study partner.

For those who want a quieter space, the Ford Library is a popular choice.  Library fans suggest the chairs under the stairs on the first floor.  Still others prefer the team rooms, which can be reserved, and have write-on walls for you to organize your thoughts.

Melissa Fogerty, Director of Admissions  at Yale School of Management, notes that in 2014, Yale SOM moved to its new home, Edward P. Evans Hall, which you can tour on our website. One of my favorite places in the building is theKenney Reading Room that floats 24 feet above the Ross Library, with views through the glass façade of Yale campus and the Evans Hall courtyard. The ample study spaces within Evans Hall make it easy for students to enjoy classes, club meetings, gym workouts, meals, and study groups all within the same space.

Judi Byers, the Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid  at Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, went straight to the source and asked current and recently graduated students for their vote.

• Peter Su, MBA ’17: Study room in Sage Hall, Uris Library or Libe Slope.
• Sydney Chernish, MBA ‘ 16: One of the great things about Sage Hall is that there are a wide variety of spaces to use depending on your study need or style. For group projects or casual work, 301 is my favorite room. For serious studying, I like the quiet study space in the second floor library. When I want to socialize I usually head to the Atrium.
• Najeen Riazi, MBA ’17: When I’m with a group, I prefer the study rooms.  When I’m on my own, I usually choose one of the impressive libraries on campus.
• Daniel Greenhaw, MBA ’16: 301 Sage Hall

Virginie Fougea, Associate Director of Admissions  at INSEAD, says the libraries on the Asia campus in Singapore and Europe campus in Fontainebleau are very welcoming and accessible 24hrs. We can also see participants working in groups everywhere on campus or in down town pizzerias in Fontainebleau for instance or within the park of the Château de Fontainebleau.

Rodrigo Malta, Director of Admissions  at the UT McCombs School of Business, recommends the quiet study rooms on the fourth or fifth floor of McCombs on campus, and says off-campus favorites include local coffee shops like Thunderbirdor Mozart’s.
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Look out for the #AskAdCom in our social media channels, and we’ll see you again next week when we check in to Ask the AdCom to share their favorite inspirational quotes.

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Cornell University’sJohnson Graduate School of Management is a flexible MBA program housed within an Ivy League campus. Cornell Johnson offers multiple full-time options, including a one-year MBA, executive programs and a tech-focused program. Whatever your goals and background Cornell has a program that can help you achieve your goals. In terms of culture, Cornell has a close-knit community, which is facilitated by a small class size. Cornell also has a dedicated office of diversity and inclusion, which shows dedication to a diverse community.

When approaching this set of Cornell essays it will be useful to set your application strategy before you start working. Identify the program you are most interested in and do substantial school research. Then examine your background and goals to see what is most important to explain as part of your story.

Next, add the layer of personal background and experiences – consider what makes you truly unique. Finally, make sure you have solid academics, work experience and extracurriculars covered in your essays, resume or recommendations. If you identify any holes in your profile or story, take the time to fill them prior to starting your application and explain anything necessary in the optional essay.

GOALS STATEMENT
Use this short answer question to succinctly share your short and long term goals. If invited to interview, you will have the opportunity to elaborate further and should be prepared to connect your prior experience with your future aspirations.


A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences:


Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.
Targeted Job Role:
Target Job Company:
Industry:
In 5 – 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.
Targeted Job Role:
Target Job Company:
Industry:

This short answer question is succinct and covers most of the relevant career goals questions an MBA program would have. Make sure that your answers are logical in the context of your overall application and are mirrored by your recommenders. Your resume should show any transferable skills you may need to accomplish your goals, and you can get more into how Johnson will assist your aspirations in the essays below.

CREATING IMPACT
At Cornell we value, students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. Please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer.

The Cornell Johnson admissions committee advises you to use this “to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve.

To help you explore your potential for impact, we encourage you to engage with our students, alumni, faculty, and professional staff. You may choose to connect with them via email or phone or in person during one of our on campus or off campus events. As you seek their input and insight, please be respectful of their time and prepare a few discussion points or questions in advance.”

The first step in answering this question is to do your research. Ideally you will have an opportunity to either visit Johnson or to attend an admissions event in your city, or, as Johnson suggests, connect via phone or email. Another way to find a personal connection is to reach out friends, family and work colleagues to see if anyone knows a current or future member of the Johnson community.

As you prepare for conversations to learn more about Cornell Johnson, think about programs, extracurricular activities and the informal ways that students might interact. Johnson offers groups for interests ranging from cooking to ice hockey, and has professional clubs for every possible career path. Those formal groups or connecting in a classroom or party may be ways you make connections at Johnson.

Once you have identified opportunities for you to contribute to campus life at Johnson, ideally you support your story with evidence from your past experiences. For example, if you want to bring new speakers to the Johnson Marketing Association because you have contributed to your young professionals group at work, explain that you have successfully organized events featuring major speakers for a large group of people and can bring that skill to create impact for your peers at Johnson.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
You are the author of your Life Story. Please create the table of contents for the book in the space provided or upload it as an attachment. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style.

Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions.
Maximum file size is 5 MB.

If you choose to submit a written Table of Contents, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Multimedia submissions should be under 5 minutes.

This essay is an opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are on a personal level. Think about highlighting areas you may not have been able to touch in the previous essays, and demonstrate your unique personal attributes or community involvement.

If you have a consistent theme of involvement in a charity or activity this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate why you became involved and what you have done over the years.

When structuring the story, think of this essay as a way to communicate a narrative theme of your life to the admissions committee. What are the key moments that are meaningful to you? Were there pivotal experiences with your friends, family, hobbies or interests that led you to become the person you are today?

This essay can be delivered in any of the media specified above (slide presentation, website, digital portfolio, YouTube) and you should tailor the format you use to the message you want to send. Though a creative format can impress the admissions committee, substance is always the most important part of the essay.

Make sure you are highlighting unique, individual qualities that will make the case for admission to Cornell and supplementing with other media when it makes sense to the story.

OPTIONAL ESSAY
This essay is required for applicants seeking re-admission and should call attention to the steps taken to strengthen one’s candidacy. Candidates may also use the optional essay to call attention to items needing clarification or to address any gaps in experience.

This optional essay allows for either an explanation of any weaknesses in your application or additional information that may bolster your application. If you have a poor GPA or GMAT, concerns with your undergraduate record, or were unable to provide a recommendation from a current supervisor, this is the place to offer explanations, not excuses.

Quickly describe the situation and what may have contributed to the issue (illness, family difficulties, etc.) without editorializing. Focus the balance of your essay on looking forward: what have you done in the recent past to demonstrate your skills and intelligence?

If you are a re-applicant this is the ideal place to explain what you have done since your last application to strengthen your case for admission. If you have a new GMAT score or took classes in calculus or statistics you have a solid case for improved academics. A promotion could signal career development and leadership.

Even if you don’t have a clear-cut or quantitative update to describe you can use this space to explain how you have improved your thinking, career goals, or fit with Cornell.

Stuck on the Johnson Cornell essay questions? Contact Stacy Blackman Consulting to learn how we can help.

 
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

The Johnson School of Management at Cornell University has announced a unique twist to the updated essay prompts for the 2017-2018 admissions season. Candidates are required to complete a Goals Statement as well as two essays: 1) Impact Essay and 2) Table of Contents Essay.
Goals Statement
Use this short answer question to succinctly share your short and long term goals. If invited to interview, you will have the opportunity to elaborate further and should be prepared to connect your prior experience with your future aspirations.

A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences:

Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:

In 5 – 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:
Impact Essay
This essay is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. To help you explore your potential for impact, we encourage you to engage with our students, alumni, faculty, and professional staff.

You may choose to connect with them via email or phone or in person during one of our on campus or off campus events. As you seek their input and insight, please be respectful of their time and prepare a few discussion points or questions in advance.

At Cornell we value, students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. Please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer.
Table of Contents Essay
This essay is an opportunity to present yourself as an individual. We encourage you to think about your proudest accomplishments, moments of adversity that have been overcome, and interesting personal highlights that will help us to get to know you as a person and potential community member.

You are the author of your Life Story. Please create the table of contents for the book in the space provided or upload it as an attachment. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions.

Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written Table of Contents, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Multimedia submissions should be under 5 minutes.
Optional Essay
This essay is required for applicants seeking re-admission and should call attention to the steps taken to strengthen one’s candidacy. Candidates may also use the optional essay to call attention to items needing clarification or to address any gaps in experience.

For additional information, please visit the Johnson School admissions website.

 
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Having the opportunity to learn from the best and brightest minds in business is one of the top motivators for many applicants considering an MBA degree at an elite business school. The professors and lecturers you’ll encounter have worked in the trenches, and bring an incredible wealth of real-world experiences into the classroom setting.

Today, we’re introducing a limited series of interviews on the SBC blog that will allow readers to get to know a bit more about these brilliant professors, what fields most excite them, the trends they foresee, what they enjoy most about teaching at their respective universities, and how it all comes together with their students.


Let’s kick things off by meeting Drew Pascarella, Lecturer of Finance at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Pascarella is also Managing Director and Head of East Coast Banking of Vista Point Advisors.

Education: MBA, Johnson at Cornell University
Courses Taught: Faculty Director, Fintech Intensive. Investment Banking Immersion Practicum. Investment Banking Essentials.
What triggered your interest in your subject matter?
I’ve spent over twenty years on Wall Street. Throughout my career, I’ve seen multiple boom and bust cycles, the democratization and digitization of trading, and the consistent redevelopment of one of America’s great export industries: finance. That said, over the past 3-4 years, the pace of change – the revolution we call FinTech – has been unprecedented.

Further, unlike many revolutions, or disruptions, which begin in the labs of the great research universities, FinTech really began on the outside. In garages. In coffee shops. It was started by customers who were untrusting of the current system, and unsatisfied by the products and services they were being offered by the financial services firms I knew so well.

These frustrated customers-turned-founders could also build upon a technology trend that was decades in the making: ubiquitously-distributed, handheld, connected, portable devices with ridiculous processing power and intuitive usability. I had to know more.
What’s changed since you entered the field?
The early disruptions were made by outsiders. Paypal is the classic example. Frustrated customers who were not satisfied by the current suite of products offered to make non-cash payments. In the area of wealth management, Betterment is a great story of a newcomer taking on an entire established industry.

Now, in addition to outsiders marching on the the turf of the establishment, traditional financial services firms are disrupting themselves. They are focused on the customer as never before. Wall Street is not known to lie down when it is challenged; the response has been fascinating to watch.
What do you like about the school you are teaching at?
I love the fact that Johnson chooses to lead. If you think about FinTech, very few MBA programs are currently teaching it. There are student FinTech clubs at many programs, but only a handful of schools have decided to dive in and make FinTech an academic focus. Johnson decided to lead in this area, which, as an alumnus of the school, makes me very proud.
What are you most excited about that’s happening in your field?
The next area to watch is insurance; Insurtech. If you think about how insurance works, large, established insurance companies, with hundreds of years of data, can pretty accurately tell you when you’re going to die, the probability of your house burning down, the chance you’ll crash your car.

But AI is introducing a new set of challenges. What’s the probability that a driverless car will crash and seriously injure a passenger? We have no idea, but there are big data companies that are in the process of building capabilities to figure this out and calculate how much that premium should cost.

Traditional insurance companies have had the benefit of watching their cousins in banking get disrupted; you can be sure they’re doing everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen to them.
Can you speak to interesting trends in your field?
I think it’s safe to say that any repetitive decision that involves a discrete number of choices will become software in the next 10 years. If you think about that, there are very few job functions, inside or outside of financial services, that won’t be impacted. So, where does that leave us?

In many ways, it’s too early to tell, but there will no doubt be great opportunity available both to companies and employees to adapt, evolve, and attack new markets. In my function, the key, then, will be to develop MBA talent that will envisage, understand, and lead the changes as they happen.
Best advice for an aspiring business mogul?
Returning to the conversation about the digitization of repetitive decision making, MBA students need to be more agile and comfortable with change than ever before. Alternatively, they can focus on areas which are likely immune to digitization, such as strategy consulting or M&A.
What can you do in the classroom to best prepare students for the real world?
We hear pretty consistently that our FinTech employers expect our students to be cross-functional, fluent in the language of FinTech, and able to hit the ground running on day one. Our FinTech program was built to meet these expectations.

In addition to the great classroom content we provide, we send our students out to a FinTech client for a field project. We want them to be a part of the disruption from the inside. This field project gives them experience, relevance, and a great story to tell in interviews.
How can business leaders make better decisions?
One of the keys of effective business decisions is empathy. We hear that theme over and over from the FinTech industry leaders we have partnered with for the FinTech Intensive. The historical lack of empathy within the big financial services firms led to poor decision making, which created an opening for smaller, nimbler, more empathetic startups.

The good news is that it’s never to late to learn how to be empathetic; traditional financial services firms have made enormous strides in this regard over the past few years.

Thank you Professor Pascarella for sharing your time and insights with our readers!
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

As you think about every possible way to strengthen your MBA application, you might be considering asking an influential person in your life to submit a supplemental recommendation. A supplemental recommendation is typically an informal letter, email or call from a mentor of yours who is associated with your target school.

In our experience here at SBC, this strategy rarely hurts, and, according to empirical studies conducted by researchers at Cornell University, “Personal endorsements give applicants a leg up on the competition, both in getting interviewed and admitted, according to their study of applicants to a university MBA program.”

In “Best in Class: The Returns on Application Endorsements in Higher Education,” published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Ben A. Rissing, assistant professor of organizational behavior in Cornell’s ILR School, and his co-author, Emilio J. Castilla of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that endorsed applicants were interviewed about 82 percent of the time, while those without endorsements scored an interview only 34 percent of the time.

Among those who interviewed, endorsed applicants received offers to join the program 64 percent of the time, while those without endorsements got offers only 52 percent of the time. “These are big differences,” Rissing said.

Endorsed applicants also tend to support the university at higher rates by taking on leadership roles as students and giving more generous monetary donations as alumni. However, colleges and companies may be missing out on valuable talent if they accept only endorsed applicants, the researchers note.

First-generation students, immigrants, and students without financial resources might not yet have contacts who are willing or able endorse them, Rissing said. “There are smart, qualified and community-minded individuals in all of these groups. Is their potential lack of awareness of these endorsement channels going to limit their opportunities?” he said. “Decision-makers must be attentive to the reality that access to these types of social connections, such as endorsements, are not ubiquitous.”
An SBC Client Case Study
Our client Jerry was applying to a highly competitive selection of schools—HBS, Wharton and Stanford. With an impressive resume and significant career progression at an energy firm, Jerry had several influential mentors. In fact, Jerry had a mentor who had attended each of his target MBA schools.

Jerry’s three mentors had the following circumstances:

1. Lisa: A Harvard MBA with ten years of post MBA experience at Jerry’s firm, Lisa was his former supervisor and knew his work extremely well. Lisa was a volunteer with her local HBS alumni group and retained some relationships at the school.
2. Seth: The SVP of Jerry’s department was a Stanford grad with sixteen years of post-MBA experience. He donated a significant amount of money to the school and his daughter was currently a freshman at the university.
3. Vipul: A graduate of the Wharton EMBA program, Vipul had gotten to know the director of admissions at Wharton fairly well, and had close ties to professors and the local alumni group.

We knew that Wharton was the most receptive to community endorsements of the three schools, and decided to ask Vipul to write a letter and submit it through those official channels. Seth’s deep connections to Stanford could be an asset to Jerry’s application, but we decided to ask him to call a former professor and talk to him about Jerry. Finally, because HBS requires three recommendations and Lisa wasn’t sure how to put in an informal endorsement, Jerry asked her to write his third HBS reference letter.

Jerry was admitted to Wharton and HBS, and though we couldn’t determine whether the supplemental recommendation made a significant difference in his application, Jerry approached the idea strategically and was ultimately successful.
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

The Johnson School of Management at Cornell University has posted the following MBA application deadlines for the 2018-19 admissions season.
Two Year MBA Program
October Round
Application due: October 10, 2018
Final Decision released: December 20, 2018

November Round
Application due: November 15, 2018
Final Decision released: February 20, 2019

January Round
Application due: January 3, 2019
Final Decision released: April 10, 2019

April Round
Application due: April 10, 2019
Final Decision released: May 30, 2019

Following your interview, final decisions, including invitations to join the waitlist, will be released on a rolling basis and posted no later than the date noted for the round in which you submitted your application.
One Year MBA Program
Early Action Round
Application due: September 10, 2018
Final Decision released: November 20, 2018

October Round
Application due: October 10, 2018
Final Decision released: December 20, 2018

November Round
Application due: November 15, 2018
Final Decision released: February 20, 2019

January Round
Application due: January 3, 2019
Final Decision released: March 20, 2019

Rolling
March 15, 2019*

*After January 3rd, applications will be received and reviewed on a space available basis with a final submission deadline of March 15, 2019. International students requiring F-1 visa sponsorship must apply by the January 3rd deadline.

Applications should be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

For more information, please visit the Johnson School MBA admissions website.

 
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management is a flexible MBA program housed within an Ivy League campus. Cornell Johnson offers multiple full-time options, including a one-year MBA, specialized executive programs and the Cornell Tech MBA in Ithaca and NYC.

Whatever your goals and background, Cornell has a program that can help you achieve your goals. Johnson also works to integrate the MBA experience into the larger Cornell community and to leverage coursework at the other top-ranked graduate programs to provide more opportunity to Johnson students.

When approaching this set of Cornell essays it will be useful to set your application strategy before you start working. Identify the program at Cornell you are most interested in and do substantial school research into the faculty, coursework and career opportunities. Then examine your background and goals to see what is most important to explain as part of your story.

Next, add the layer of personal background and experiences – consider what makes you truly unique. Finally, make sure you have solid academics, work experience and extracurriculars covered in your essays, resume or recommendations. If you identify any holes in your profile or story, take the time to fill them prior to starting your application and explain anything necessary in the optional essay.

GOALS STATEMENT
A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (250 words maximum):
Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.
Targeted Job Role:
Target Job Company:
Industry:
In 5 – 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.
Targeted Job Role:
Target Job Company:
Industry:
How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals?

This short answer question is a succinct way to cover the relevant career goals questions any admissions officer would have. Make sure that your answers are logical in the context of your overall application and are mirrored by your recommenders.

Once you have identified your industry, company, and role in both the short- and long-term you can briefly answer how your past experiences have led you to your goals. Think about the pivotal moments in your career and how they have prepared you for the next step or have helped to crystalize your passions and goals. Pick a very brief example to cover here and then you can use your resume and recommendations to showcase any other transferable skills you need to accomplish your goals. If you need to explain more about your accomplishments and leadership, that can be covered in the Impact Essay.

IMPACT ESSAY
At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson.

The Cornell Johnson admissions committee advises you to use this essay “to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve.”

The first step in answering this question is to do your research. Ideally you will have an opportunity to either visit Johnson or to attend an admissions event in your city, or, as Johnson suggests, connect via phone or email. Another way to find a personal connection is to reach out friends, family and work colleagues to see if anyone knows a current or future member of the Johnson community.

As you prepare for conversations to learn more about Cornell Johnson, think about programs, extracurricular activities and the informal ways that students might interact. Johnson offers groups for interests ranging from cooking to ice hockey, and has professional clubs for every possible career path. Those formal groups or connecting in a classroom or party may be ways you make connections at Johnson.

Once you have identified opportunities to contribute to campus life at Johnson, ideally you support your story with evidence from your past experiences. For example, if you want to bring new speakers to the Johnson Marketing Association because you have contributed to your young professionals group at work, explain that you have successfully organized events featuring major speakers for a large group of people and can bring that skill to create impact for your peers at Johnson.

BACK OF YOUR RESUME ESSAY
The front page of your resume has given us a sense of your professional experience and accomplishments as well as your academic summary and extracurricular involvement. If the back page reflects “the rest of your story,” please help us get to know you better by sharing the experiences that will give us insight into your character, values, and interests.

This essay is an opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are on a personal level. Think about highlighting areas you may not have been able to touch in the previous essays, and demonstrate your unique personal attributes or community involvement. If you have a consistent theme of involvement in a charity or activity this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate why you became involved and what you have done over the years.

As the Admissions Committee suggests: “We encourage you to think about your proudest accomplishments, interests and passions, and personal highlights that will help us to get to know you as a person and potential community member. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style.“

This essay can be written as a 500-word essay, or delivered in one of the alternative submission formats: a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), or visually enhanced written submissions.
If you use an alternative format, you should tailor the format you use to the message you want to send.

If you decide to discuss your involvement in a cultural activity perhaps a YouTube video is a good way to show that experience. If you have a start-up idea you may want to showcase it on a website or through a slide presentation. Don’t be too distracted by format, because while a creative format might impress the admissions committee, substance is the most important part of the essay.

OPTIONAL ESSAY
You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (500 words maximum).

If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application and candidacy since the last time you applied for admission. Please also review our Admissions Policy for additional information about re-applying (500 words maximum).

This optional essay allows for either an explanation of any weaknesses in your application or additional information that may bolster your application. If you have a poor GPA or GMAT, concerns with your undergraduate record, or were unable to provide a recommendation from a current supervisor, this is the place to offer explanations, not excuses.

Quickly describe the situation and what may have contributed to the issue (illness, family difficulties, etc.) without editorializing. Focus the balance of your essay on looking forward: what have you done in the recent past to demonstrate your skills and intelligence?

If you are a re-applicant this is the ideal place to explain what you have done since your last application to strengthen your case for admission. If you have a new GMAT score or took classes in calculus or statistics you have a solid case for improved academics. A promotion could signal career development and leadership.

Even if you don’t have a clear-cut or quantitative update to describe you can use this space to explain how you have improved your thinking, career goals, or fit with Cornell.
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

We can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from many of this year’s applicants to the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University as they realize that the program’s well-known (and often dreaded) Table of Contents essay prompt is gone. The “impact” essay question first added two years ago, which asks candidates to envision how they will contribute to the MBA experience, is still in place, as is the school’s straightforward approach to the standard goals statement, though a mini essay has been tacked on to that one. In place of the Table of Contents essay is one Cornell Johnson is calling its “Back of Resume” essay, for which applicants may submit a traditional written composition or a multimedia file/link. Despite the changes, the school’s suite of prompts still covers where candidates want to go and what they want to do after they graduate, their anticipated student experience, and what they feel are the most important facets of their lives, thereby allowing applicants to create a nicely rounded impression of themselves for the admissions committee to evaluate. Our more detailed analysis follows…

Goals Statement: A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout [the] admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (250 words maximum):

Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:

 

In 5–10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___.

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:

How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals?

With this incredibly direct approach to gathering information about candidates’ professional goals, Cornell Johnson is clearly conveying a desire for information only. The school states in the Application Requirements section of its Web site, “If invited to interview, you will have the opportunity to elaborate further,” signaling to us that the admissions committee really wants just the facts here. So, respect both the format and the school and be as direct and clear as possible, saving any embellishment or further explanation for another time.

The addition of the mini essay prompt implies to us that the admissions committee wants to have some context for your stated goals. An effective response will provide evidence that you (1) have done your research as to what is required to attain them, (2) understand where you are on that trajectory (what skills and experience you already possess that are key to success in your desired roles and field), and, to some degree, (3) why/how attaining an MBA will move you further in the right direction.

Although this prompt is not a request for a full-length personal essay, we offer a number of tips and examples in our free mbaMission Personal Statement Guide that could be helpful in crafting your responses. Download your complimentary copy today.

Essay 1 – Impact Essay: Impact Essay: This essay is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. To help you explore your potential for impact, we encourage you to engage with our students, alumni, faculty, and professional staff. You may choose to connect with them via email or phone or in person during one of our on campus or off campus events. As you seek their input and insight, please be respectful of their time and prepare a few discussion points or questions in advance.

At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you have learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. (500 words maximum)

Note that with this essay prompt, the school is not asking about an impact you made at some point in the past but rather about your expected impact within the Cornell Johnson community. The phrase “you’ve identified through engagement with our community” conveys a very clear assumption on the school’s part that you have already been actively reaching out to and communicating with individuals at or associated with Cornell Johnson to learn more about it—so if you have not been doing so, now (immediately) is the time to start. Moreover, the school’s reference to “what you have learned” implies that the admissions committee expects that your efforts have yielded some useful insight, so saying that you have merely made contact with a few people will not suffice. You will have to show that the insider information you subsequently received has further solidified your choice to pursue an MBA at Cornell Johnson by discussing the ways and areas in which you now feel you can contribute to it in a meaningful way.

The best way to accomplish this is to first research the school to educate yourself on what it offers that directly pertains to you, your academic and professional needs, and your personal interests. Then, engage with students, alumni, and/or other representatives of the school who you feel could offer additional insight into these relevant resources and use your conversations to inform your ideas as to how you might enrich these aspects of the Cornell Johnson experience. Note that the prompt clearly requests examples of “opportunities”—plural—so be sure to identify more than just one area or endeavor. You want to convey that you are a multidimensional individual who can add value to the school’s community in multiple ways.

Essay 2 – Back of Resume Essay: This essay is an opportunity to present yourself as an individual. We encourage you to think about your proudest accomplishments, interests and passions, and personal highlights that will help us to get to know you as a person and potential community member. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions. Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written essay, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Multimedia submissions should be under 5 minutes.

The front page of your resume has given us a sense of your professional experience and accomplishments as well as your academic summary and extracurricular involvement. If the back page reflects “the rest of your story,” please help us get to know you better by sharing the experiences that will give us insight into your character, values, and interests.

At first glance, you may think that Cornell Johnson has taken a totally new approach with this essay prompt, but in essence, this one is very much like the Table of Contents one it replaced in that it asks for a creative and thorough presentation of your non-professional and non-academic life. The school has merely given you a broader expanse within which to express yourself by removing the rigid table of contents structure. This is a good thing! The key is identifying the approach that will best help you tell your personal story, so do not automatically restrict yourself and think too narrowly. Although Cornell Johnson did not explicitly state “We value creativity and authenticity” in its prompt as it has done in years past, we have no doubt that the sentiment still holds true, so keep this in mind as you mine your background and current life for content and decide how you might present it.

Take care to not get gimmicky. Your goal is not to seem “cute” or even more creative than the next applicant but really just to tell your personal story, albeit in a brief way, and provide a fuller picture of yourself. We suggest you start by grabbing some paper and making an old-fashioned list of your key stories—ones that demonstrate “your character, values, and interests.” Then, make sure that your final essay/submission includes as many of the items on that list as possible. With an allowance of only 500 words or five minutes, you will need to be somewhat succinct, so be sure not to spend too much time or space on unnecessary buildup or repetition. You want your stories to have life and sufficient context, so the admissions committee can fully understand and appreciate them, but you also want to give yourself enough room to share as many as possible while adhering to the school’s stipulated limitations.

Cornell Johnson states that you may use an alternate (multimedia) format for this submission. We offer no recommendation with respect to whether a written essay, a PowerPoint presentation, a video, or any other approach is “best” in this case. Opportunities are certainly available in both traditional and creative approaches, depending on where your strengths lie, so do not feel that you must use some form of multimedia. Again, start by brainstorming to determine what you want to say as an applicant—what you feel the admissions committee really needs to learn about you—and then decide which format most appropriately matches your personality and message. Your ultimate goal here is to effectively convey information that showcases your personality and important highlights from your life, not to win an Oscar.

Optional/Reapplicant Essay: You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (500 words maximum).

If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application since the last time you applied for admission. Please also review our Admission Policy for additional information about re-applying. (500 words maximum)

If you are a Cornell Johnson reapplicant, this essay should be pretty straightforward. Whether you have improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is conveying a very deliberate path of achievement. The school wants to know that you have been actively striving to improve yourself and your profile, and that you have seized opportunities during the previous year to do so, because a Cornell Johnson MBA is vital to you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We are more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly personal essay to ensure that your efforts over the past year are presented in the best light possible.

If you are not a reapplicant, this is your opportunity—if needed—to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer might have about your candidacy, such as a poor grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT or GRE score, or a gap in your work experience. We encourage you to download a free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, in which we offer detailed advice on deciding whether to take advantage of the optional essay and how best to do so, along with multiple illustrative examples. Be mindful and respectful of the admissions committee’s time and remember that each additional file you submit requires more resources on behalf of the admissions office, so whatever you write must be truly worthwhile and clearly reveal that you made good use of this opportunity to provide further insight into your candidacy.

For a thorough exploration of Cornell Johnson’s academic offerings, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, community/environment, and other key facets of the program, please download your free copy of the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to Cornell Johnson.