Cornell (Johnson) 2012 - Calling All Applicants

Sorry, but I don't have any additional information on this. The blog posting has a link that is supposed to direct the readers to a page with more details, but the link is dead.

On a different note, I just had my interview earlier today. It was a Skype interview with a member of the AdCom. She made sure to let me know that it's a blind interview, although she did have some notes that were given to her by those who have reviewed my application. See below for my recap.

- Walk me through your resume.
- What are your short and long-term goals?
- Why Cornell?
- Which other schools have you applied to?
- Tell me about a time when you had to settle a conflict within a team setting.
- Tell me about a time when you took the initiative to go beyond what was expected of you.

My interviewer told me that the interview was supposed to take about 30 minutes to complete. We spoke for about 36 minutes, although she was definitely open to answering more questions. I asked her a couple of Ithaca-specific questions, and then I decided to let her off the hook by telling her that the current students/alums, with whom I have spoken, have been tremendously helpful in answering all of my questions. She agreed based on how I answered the "Why Cornell?" question.

She had some follow-up questions for me when I shared my short-term goal with her. I'm in a non-traditional industry, and intend to return to this industry after my MBA. Networking is king in this business, so she wanted to know if I had done anything to help me get back in. I did not prepare for this question, but I was fortunate enough to be able to think on my feet and have an answer for it (examples included).

When I was asked to enumerate all the schools to which I have applied, I simply gave the names of the other schools. I did not bother to explain why I chose them. I think my answer to "Why Cornell?" gave her enough information to prove that I have done my research and really want to go there.

Before she started with the behavioral questions, she let me know that my list of extracurricular activities is strong and that I seem to have already had extensive leadership and team experience. That definitely made me feel more confident as we tackled the last couple of questions.

This is the third of three interviews that I have for this round. I am fortunate to have been given the opportunity to interview with all three schools that I applied to in the first round. Now that my interview season is over, I am crossing my fingers, hoping to get accepted to at least one of my top three schools. If not, I will have to work on my R2 apps soon.

All the best to the other Johnson applicants!