Hey Puys, I have received my admit to the Class of 2012 of the Johnson School of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The school is one of the ivy league schools in the US and regularly features amongst the top 10 in the rankings lists o…
Hey Puys,
I have received my admit to the Class of 2012 of the Johnson School of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The school is one of the ivy league schools in the US and regularly features amongst the top 10 in the rankings lists of the world. The school enjoys great brand recall in India and allows you to take some of its courses in the other schools of Cornell University.
I am an R1 admit from Mumbai, and I also know a couple of admits from Bangalore who would be willing to help me answer your queries.
To get first things out of the way, let me introduce my profile:
BE - ExTC (Mumbai Univ)
Acads - okay
GMAT 720 (q49 v40) AWA 5.0
TOEFL 117/120
Extra Currics: Better than Okay but nothing awe-inspiring
Social Service: Have helped out weak students in my alma mater, take care of kids at an orphanage and work with an NGO
WorkEx - am an investment banker (front-office, am a Manager at my firm, actually) with specialisation in power finance and focus on green energy financing and am an infrastructure finance generalist.
I also manage the foreign funds (ECB) raising desk at my firm.
I have worked in the Non-Performing Portfolio, Asset & Structured Finance Division as well as the Project Debt Syndication divisions of the investment banking process.
I have 2.75 years of workex.
I hope to answer you guys' questions out here on the school, application process and any other info I've gleaned from my loads of research!
Cheers!
Hello puys!
I too have been accepted at the Johnson School. I am really excited to begin a new phase of my career at this Ivy League School. I can imagine myself trekking around the beautiful gorges at Ithaca, cycling along the Fingerlakes region, enjoying the weekend trips to the nearby gorges, sampling wines at the neighborhood vineyards, partying hard in Ithaca downtown or simply taking a day off and having Pasta at Olive Garden in Manhattan (though that would take me 4 hours to reach NYC). And I almost forgot - studying hard ;)
My profile:
BE Computers. GPA - 3.85 / 4
GMAT - 720 / 5.5
Work Experience:
1.5 year: Software Developer
2 years: IT Consultant
Recently gave up my 'safe' job of 3.5 years and took a risk of starting up as an independent consultant. Got my first contract as an implementation consultant for helping an export company with its business process re-engineering.
Extra Curriculars: Excellent - national level debates, four patents, creative writing, etc.
Looking forward to help fellow applicants with their questions about Cornell's application process. Would try my best to answer them based on my personal experiences. And I am excited to meet fellow classmates here.
Cheers!
Congratulations folks!
I am planning to apply in R3. I am sure R3 is typically very tough to get in. However, any tips you guys would recommend that I should certainly consider while applying?
I have a typical I/I/M profile. So I am more concerned about what aspects of my personality should I focus on personal or professional?
You Tube! youtube has some wonderful videos about the school - and nothing compares to seeing the school you wanna go to, on video. I've read tomes of info on the school - but seeing the videos, seeing the people talk about what matters the most to them - that gave me a whole different perspective altogether. I think this in-depth research really paid off, coz I got more and more excited the more I saw about the school... and I think it some showed itself in my apps too.
Congratulations folks!
I am planning to apply in R3. I am sure R3 is typically very tough to get in. However, any tips you guys would recommend that I should certainly consider while applying?
I have a typical I/I/M profile. So I am more concerned about what aspects of my personality should I focus on personal or professional?
Salute Soldier!
1. Make sure you have a clarity of your goals and have a strong story to tell the adcom. Would be nice if you could link your life events so far with your future goals and how an MBA will be a bridge to help you cross and reach the other end.
2. Get in touch with Cornell alumni. They are extremely helpful. Develop a rapport with them and request them to give you a feedback on your essays. R3 means you have some time to do some networking. In my case, alumni were extremely helpful - talking about the school, essay feedback and even mock interviews!
3. About focusing on particular aspects of your profile - if you think personal aspects of your life are interesting than professional (eg: family background, anecdotes, leadership, sports), make sure you bring that in too. The last essay i.e. the TOC essay gives you scope to do so. Just make sure you tell them what are the milestones in your life.
Take some time off, just stare at the wall, go back in retrospect and try to see the milestones in your life. Would also help you to probably develop a link in your 'why mba' story.
Cheers!
UD
Hey guys, great to see this thread. Have a different profile and did not know where to post! Hope it is okay. The entrepreneurship program and the alumni network is what attracts me to Cornell, but still not decided to apply. Based on your research, would my profile be competitive?
Age: 24
Graduated in: Electronics and Telecom 2007
GPA : 7.0/10 (Cannot be converted to 4 point scale)
GMAT : 680 (Q-44, V-3
TOEFL- 115
Work ex- 3 yrs at the time of joining
Work Experience: Joined my family business in 2007. Have exposure to fields of steel fabrication, import export and real estate and all are registered firms in the respective countries.
International Exposure- Working on a joint venture in Oman.
Short Term Career Interest: Joining a Private equity/ Venture capital firm to understand both sides of the capital raising- (VC point of view) How to invest in start up/ small companies and how to evaluate them and (entrepreneur point of view) What needs to be done for raising finance and how to present the projects.
Long Term Career Interest: Return to family business, expand the export company and raise structured financing for the real estate company.
Extra-curricular: Since highschool I work for the non profit trust that my family runs. Active in the fields of free health care, education, yoga and cultural outreach.(It has a history of 300 years and almost entire immediate family is involved)
My concerns are my GMAT score, non corporate work ex and less years of work experience.
Dear All - Johnson School first year MBA student here.
Admits - Shoot your queries on an email/PM me. I am in India for another 2-3 days
Applicants - Please post your queries here since they might be helpful to everyone. Please PM me only in case you have very specific questions.
Wish you all the best of luck !
- JGSM '11
Hey guys, great to see this thread. Have a different profile and did not know where to post! Hope it is okay. The entrepreneurship program and the alumni network is what attracts me to Cornell, but still not decided to apply. Based on your research, would my profile be competitive?
Age: 24
Graduated in: Electronics and Telecom 2007
GPA : 7.0/10 (Cannot be converted to 4 point scale)
GMAT : 680 (Q-44, V-3
TOEFL- 115
Work ex- 3 yrs at the time of joining
Work Experience: Joined my family business in 2007. Have exposure to fields of steel fabrication, import export and real estate and all are registered firms in the respective countries.
International Exposure- Working on a joint venture in Oman.
Short Term Career Interest: Joining a Private equity/ Venture capital firm to understand both sides of the capital raising- (VC point of view) How to invest in start up/ small companies and how to evaluate them and (entrepreneur point of view) What needs to be done for raising finance and how to present the projects.
Long Term Career Interest: Return to family business, expand the export company and raise structured financing for the real estate company.
Extra-curricular: Since highschool I work for the non profit trust that my family runs. Active in the fields of free health care, education, yoga and cultural outreach.(It has a history of 300 years and almost entire immediate family is involved)
My concerns are my GMAT score, non corporate work ex and less years of work experience.
Very competitive - except for the gmat. Seems like you could do much better on your gmat - so the question that comes to mind is why not rewrite ur gmat? (oddly enuff, there are some really great profiles in the community with gmat scores that are "not optimum". You're an (i hate to generalise, but) engineer, so pushing math to 48-49 shouldn't be difficult.
It would be a shame to stymie your app-profile just for a gmat score, right?
And if you like the school - apply! the application process teaches you, faster and better, about the school...
Hey guys,
First of all congrats on your admits. I knew I had to debut a first post, so here it goes!
Was wondering if you could give me some inputs on my profile:
Corporate planning, strategy, change management
Strategic sales & business development
Process definition & deployment
Channel management, stock acquisition and CRM
Leadership in operations, process engineering
Business / Project feasibility studies & knowledge building
I want to apply to colleges such as Cornell, Kellogs, INSEAD, ISB, Chicago Booth etc.... and since I am from consulting I want to remain in the sector.
Let me know, many cheers.
First of all congrats on your admits. I knew I had to debut a first post, so here it goes!
Was wondering if you could give me some inputs on my profile:
- Competencies: Development & facilitation of strategy, resource mobilization, change management & operationalization of start-ups
- Sector: Management Consulting (India, South East Asia) / Operations
- Work exp: Total 6.5 Years (2 Years in S'pore, HK, Bangkok)
- Industries: Global sporting events, government, tourism, manufacturing, Online Tourism & E-Commerce, IT & FMCG
- Current Position: Program Manager
- Key Skills Sets
Corporate planning, strategy, change management
Strategic sales & business development
Process definition & deployment
Channel management, stock acquisition and CRM
Leadership in operations, process engineering
Business / Project feasibility studies & knowledge building
- Education: 10/12/15 = 70% = 85% / 52%; Graduated in Commerce, SRCC, DU.
- ECs: Quite good till 12th.
- Social Work: None 😞
- GMAT: In 2006 got a 680, reapplying for GMAT in 2010, aiming for a 720.
I want to apply to colleges such as Cornell, Kellogs, INSEAD, ISB, Chicago Booth etc.... and since I am from consulting I want to remain in the sector.
- Do you think a profile like mine stands a decent chance in the B Schools?
- Incase i decide for a change in career to investment management, what are the chances?
- How much will my 52% in grads hurt me in my application?
Let me know, many cheers.
Hi Puys,
How should we go abt preparing for the interview?
Can you please share your interview experiences?
Cheers!
Hi Amirtha!
I can only speak for the alum interview with CJ Fonzi. I'm As I've mentioned - he's a really nice guy with a somewhat serious face. Here are a couple of tips:
(1) He's a nice guy, smile. He's not here to make your life hell. (He actually did tell me that it wasnt his job to make the candidates uncomfortable!). So before you walk in to meet him, put your worries aside and put that positive energy out - put your best foot forward!
(2) As before, I would advise you to be honest honest honest. There really isn't anything as effective in screwing up your interview as being caught on a lie.
Being honest also requires you to know what you're doing and why, before hand. This is R2, I know, but that doesn't mean you walk into an interview or apply to a school without substantial introspection with regard to your professional and career ambitions. You must understand what it is you want!
(3) Know and understand the course. Use previously rare sources like YouTube! I KNOW I sound like a YouTube advertiser, but I find that videos are the least exploited resource when it comes to learning about Johnson. Some of you have really checked out the courses and know what they're about. Understand the difference between an Immersion and a bunch of electives.
(4) The interviews are usually blind. Prepare your CV in the oral form. Know it by heart and be ready to walk the interviewer thru' it.
(5) Know that jobs that you find on graduation would mostly be thru power networking. It IS do-able! As Indians, we're not really used to it - but as an Indian, You will learn how - and you WILL learn how to do it WELL! State that you know AND understand this.
(6) Have a Plan B ready in case your Dream Career does not take off on graduation from college. Make sure it's a stead Plan B.
Am sure Mihir from Bangalore would be able to shed some light on the Bangalore alum for the south-based applicants!
I want to apply to colleges such as Cornell, Kellogs, INSEAD, ISB, Chicago Booth etc.... and since I am from consulting I want to remain in the sector.
-Do you think a profile like mine stands a decent chance in the B Schools?
-Incase i decide for a change in career to investment management, what are the chances?
-How much will my 52% in grads hurt me in my application?
Let me know, many cheers.
Hi Crooner - Mihir shall reply to this post in more detail. In the meantime, here are some of my comments:
1. Why the spectrum of Cornell, Kellogg, INSEAD, ISB, Chi, etc? Do you have more than 5 reasons for each of them that you can think of just right now? If you can't - you probably should re-evaluate your decision to apply to the ones you can't think of 5 reasons you'd wanna go to it.
2. Your social work is nil? Is there any particular reason you held service of the community as priority lower down in your scheme of things? Social work helps change the way people see things - I would recommend you try some - not to write in this year's app - but to experience the difference in joy that a little of your time and money can bring to you and to someone else!
3. Yes, you could change your career to Investment Management. In fact, the facilities that the school will give you will be fantastic for learning and specialising in IM. My question is, are you sure you want to move there? Why? Have you tried your hand at managing investments / do you follow the markets very regularly / do you feel you have the skill and the appetite for the risk?
4. Your low score in grads is a cause for concern, of course. The MBA application process is rigorous and looks to select only the best of students. Of course, you could make up for weak academic performance by demonstrating competence at your workplace (via your essays), scoring well on your GMAT (both sections!) amongst other things. Although your low score would be a cause for concern, it is mitigable; and you should explore the positives in your profile to demonstrate how!
Hi Amirtha!
I can only speak for the alum interview with CJ Fonzi. I'm As I've mentioned - he's a really nice guy with a somewhat serious face. Here are a couple of tips:
(1) He's a nice guy, smile. He's not here to make your life hell. (He actually did tell me that it wasnt his job to make the candidates uncomfortable!). So before you walk in to meet him, put your worries aside and put that positive energy out - put your best foot forward!
(2) As before, I would advise you to be honest honest honest. There really isn't anything as effective in screwing up your interview as being caught on a lie.
Being honest also requires you to know what you're doing and why, before hand. This is R2, I know, but that doesn't mean you walk into an interview or apply to a school without substantial introspection with regard to your professional and career ambitions. You must understand what it is you want!
(3) Know and understand the course. Use previously rare sources like YouTube! I KNOW I sound like a YouTube advertiser, but I find that videos are the least exploited resource when it comes to learning about Johnson. Some of you have really checked out the courses and know what they're about. Understand the difference between an Immersion and a bunch of electives.
(4) The interviews are usually blind. Prepare your CV in the oral form. Know it by heart and be ready to walk the interviewer thru' it.
(5) Know that jobs that you find on graduation would mostly be thru power networking. It IS do-able! As Indians, we're not really used to it - but as an Indian, You will learn how - and you WILL learn how to do it WELL! State that you know AND understand this.
(6) Have a Plan B ready in case your Dream Career does not take off on graduation from college. Make sure it's a stead Plan B.
Am sure Mihir from Bangalore would be able to shed some light on the Bangalore alum for the south-based applicants!
@The Bangalore alum. I interviewed with Sumanth Vepa. Very friendly guy - calm, composed and comforting. I understand he likes to meet at a CCD / Barista (I interviewed at a CCD with a bunch of other guys) for the interview. Initially I was skeptical about a formal meeting at an informal place, but I was wrong. In fact I found it extremely comfortable giving an MBA interview at an informal relaxed place. Interviewing with Sumanth was like two friends catching up.
Thanks Nikolai for the wonderful tips. Adding on to them ...
The interviewers are there not to REJECT you, but to let you through! I think once we ingrain that into our minds, life becomes a lot easier. At the cost of sounding repetitive - know your story well and let it be a genuine story. Do a thorough introspection of your 5 year plan - post 2 years at Cornell, which company / companies would you like to work for, which industry, which function, which geographical area, how will you go about it. Write it down on pen and paper. Discuss it with MBA alumni in your network - irrespective of whether they are from Johnson or not. This is about 60% of your work done.
The rest of the questions - you will get a whole lot of them from clearadmit / admissions411 and other sites. Take a print of those questions and write your answers down. I prefer using pen and paper because my concentration span on the laptop is very poor 😞 Pen and paper gives me a lot of time to think and write my story. Good ol' ways! Just get started.
Cheers!
A question for R1 admits.. How much importance do you think Cornell gives to interviews. The person who interviewed me sounded like that his interview comments would be the last thing Cornell will look at.. Any thoughts?
@puriassem... did u interview with Sumanth Vepa ?
M7MBA Says@puriassem... did u interview with Sumanth Vepa ?
..........
puriaseem SaysA question for R1 admits.. How much importance do you think Cornell gives to interviews. The person who interviewed me sounded like that his interview comments would be the last thing Cornell will look at.. Any thoughts?
I think that the purpose of the interview is dual:
(1) To ensure fit with the current student body and the envisioned culture of the school...
(2) To bring human interaction into play when deciding whether interview candidates are employable material...
+ one more: to ensure that you are who you say you are in the app. Thats the reason that the cornell interviews are blind.
My interviewer told me that his comments counted only as part of the application - but were not the be all and end all.
Hi guys...
This is Rahul and I am probably the latest entrant to this admission club at Johnson School. Got my call today although they had been trying my number since Friday I believe.
So great to find all of the people here. I am based out of Delhi but currently in the States for an official trip. Looking fwd to speak to you all when i am back in Delhi on the 25th.
C ya
Rahul 
Hi Guys.. Congratulations on your admits and thanks a ton for helping us out!! This is my first post on PG..
I am an applicant for Sep 2011. I dunno if this is the right thread to post, but since admitted students are here, I thought of posting here. I have some specific queries. Firstly, my profile,
BTech - ECE (Non-IIT) 71% (Distinction)
Intermediate - 92%
School - 83%
Mutual Fund Advisor - 1 Year
Equity Research - 3 Years (Power sector and been tracking equity markets in general)
CFA L1 Cleared, L2 candidate in June 2010.
GMAT 750 (Q51,V40), AWA 4.5
Extracurriculars Decent (1 foreign language, some awards in sports, part of family NGO for quite a while)
My queries are:
1. How would you rate my chances at Cornell?
2. I currently work in a not-so-well recognized stock brokerage, although the learning and exposure is good. Before I apply to any top school, (Cornell for eg.), should I shift to a well known US Fin MNC in a similar profile? Would working in a not so well known company be a significant disadvantage (especially since my i'm not an IIT grad)?
3. Should I be worried about my AWA score? I'm usually a god writer but ended with a below average score in the test.
Thanks a lot in advance!!
Hey!!
I am guessing you are all going to next weekend event- the DJ weekend, unfortunately I will not be able to come but I would be happy to hear how it went (:
Btw- is anybody looking for a roomate?
See you all on August!!!
Have a great week