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Joined: 30 Jul 2011
Posts: 107
Location: United States
Concentration: General Management
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Re: Cornell (Johnson) 2012 - Calling All Applicants
[#permalink]
01 Nov 2011, 15:47
Hey Folks,
I figured I oughtta do a debrief of my interview at Cornell.
Overall, it was very straight forward and conversational, and I really enjoyed my visit.
Interview Questions
I interviewed on campus with a member of the admissions team. (S)he asked typical interview questions:
Walk me through your resume
Why MBA?
Why Cornell?
Tell me about a time when you...
...[engaged in various team work scenarios]
Impressions of Cornell
Again, I was really impressed with what I saw of Johnson. Every student I spoke with for 30 seconds made me write down their name and email address just in case I had any questions. They were just normal students too, not people who the admissions office had scheduled to participate in an admissions day event. The class I sat in on was very engaging and involved a lot of discussion, even though it wasn't conducted in a "case study" format. I thought Ithaca was beautiful, but that's obviously my personal opinion. I’d put it on par with Charlottesville, except for the climate, of course. Everyone sounded very happy with their internship/job prospects too.
Do's and Do Not's
I'm sure I committed a Faux Pas or two, so I don't intend to sound like a pr*ck when I write this, but I thought I'd share some observations from the other prospectives who were there that day.
-Don't sit in the admissions office if you have free time during your visit day. This indicates that you have no interest in engaging with current students. Hang out in the Atrium, and you'll have a chance to have some great conversations with students.
-Don't repeatedly ask whether Cornell's distance from NYC will make it harder for you to get a job in banking. This makes it sound like you think you're an absolute lock for an IB job and the only thing that could possibly hold you back is the 4 hour drive. I'm sure it's fine to ask, but don't belabor the point.
-Use the Connect with Johnson portal to reach out to some students who are pursuing your field of interest before you interview. It will make you sound more knowledgeable in the interview, prevent you from asking redundant questions, and ideally provide you with people to talk to while you're on campus. This applies to any school, really.
-Pay attention to the email they send about parking arrangements. I didn't and was almost late to the admissions office.
Hopefully that was helpful. I’m not sure if there is any other information of value that I can share, but certainly let me know if you have any questions.