mbaMission’s Insider’s Guide Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management Cornell University Ithaca, IL
2019–2020
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 4 Introduction from mbaMission
After more than a decade helping MBA applicants get into top business schools, we have learned what can compel an admissions committee to send that coveted letter of acceptance. Selecting the right MBA program for your needs and developing a true understanding of and familiarity with that program are crucial in crafting a successful application. We have therefore invested hundreds of hours into researching and examining the leading business schools—including speaking with students, alumni, and other representatives—to construct these guides, with the express goal of helping applicants like you make informed decisions about this important step in your education and career.
We hope you enjoy this guide and encourage you to visit us at www.mbamission.com for complete and detailed analysis of the leading schools’ essay questions, weekly essay-writing tips, MBA news and trends, and other valuable free in- formation and resources. And for any advice you may need on applying to business school, please contact us for a free 30-minute consultation. Our consultants are extensively trained to help applicants present themselves in the most inter- esting and compelling way and take advantage of every opportunity that might increase their chances of being admitted to their target MBA program.
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 5 Introduction from Poets&Quants
Over the past ten years, Poets&Quants has become the foremost authority on the top business schools. Our mission has always been to help young professionals with one of the most important—and potentially most expensive—decisions of their lives: whether to pursue an MBA.
We are pleased to offer these guides to our readers as part of our editorial partnership between Poets&Quants and mbaMission, the world’s leading MBA admissions consulting firm. We closely evaluated all such guides currently on the market, and are confident that you will not find a more thorough analysis of an MBA program than mbaMission’s. These in-depth reports are well researched and well written, offering the detail and examination applicants need to really under- stand a school’s culture, offerings, and outcomes. We are thrilled to offer these guides to our readers for free, thanks to our new partnership.
Moreover, the guides are a great complement to the daily coverage of MBA news, students, programs, and admissions practices on PoetsandQuants.com. We hope you will visit our site often to stay informed about the programs that interest you and the one you ultimately attend. We will continue to provide the most relevant and current resources on the MBA world to help you make the best possible decisions on your path from school selection to career advancement.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey to what will undoubtedly be a transformational experience.
John A. Byrne Founder & Editor-In-Chief Poets&Quants
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 6 Free Resources from mbaMission
The following guides are also available from mbaMission (online at www.mbamission.com/guides), and more are being added regularly:
Admissions Guides Insider’s Guides
Complete Start-to-Finish MBA Admissions Guide Insider’s Guide to Columbia Business School Brainstorming Guide Insider’s Guide to Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Essay Writing Guide Graduate School of Management Fundamentals of an MBA Candidacy Guide Insider’s Guide to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Interview Guide Insider’s Guide to the Haas School of Business at the University Letters of Recommendation Guide of California-Berkeley Long-Term Planning Guide Insider’s Guide to Harvard Business School Optional Essays Guide Insider’s Guide to INSEAD Personal Statement Guide Insider’s Guide to the Kellogg School of Management at Resume Guide Northwestern University Selecting Your Target MBA Program E-Book Insider’s Guide to the MIT Sloan School of Management Social Media Guide Insider’s Guide to New York University’s Leonard N. Stern Waitlist Guide School of Business MBA Student Loan Reduction Guide Insider’s Guide to the Stanford Graduate School of Business Insider’s Guide to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan International Program Guides Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Insider’s Guide to the UCLA Anderson School of Management Cambridge Judge Business School Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the University of Chicago Booth School of ESADE Program Guide Business HEC Paris Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of HKUST Program Guide Business Administration IE Business School Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the Wharton School of the University of IESE Business School Program Guide Pennsylvania INSEAD Program Guide Insider’s Guide to the Yale School of Management Ivey Business School Program Guide London Business School Program Guide Rotman School of Management Program Guide Saïd Business School Program Guide
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 7 Interview Guides Career Guides
Chicago Booth School of Business Interview Guide Asset Management Career Guide Columbia Business School Interview Guide Consulting Career Guide Dartmouth Tuck Interview Guide Hedge Fund Career Guide Duke Fuqua Interview Guide Investment Banking Career Guide Haas School of Business Interview Guide Marketing Career Guide Harvard Business School Interview Guide Private Equity Career Guide INSEAD Interview Guide Real Estate Investment & Development Career Guide London Business School Interview Guide Tech Career Guide Michigan Ross Interview Guide Venture Capital Career Guide MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide Northwestern Kellogg Interview Guide NYU Stern School of Business Interview Guide Stanford GSB Interview Guide Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Interview Guide UCLA Anderson Interview Guide UVA Darden Interview Guide Yale School of Management Interview Guide
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 8 Table of Contents
10 The MBA Program in Context: Choosing Cornell Johnson 11 Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town 13 Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger 15 Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core 18 Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method 20 Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers 22 Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage 23 Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience 24 Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
28 Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management 28 Summary 28 The Dean 30 Professional Specializations 30 Consulting 31 Finance 32 General Management 32 International Business 33 Marketing 34 Technology 35 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes 35 Social/Community Life 36 Academic Summary 38 Admissions Basics 39 Cornell University (Johnson) Essay Analysis, 2019–2020 43 B-School Insider Interview: First-Year Student, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University
49 Appendix: Cornell Johnson Facts and Figures 49 Basics 49 Class Profile (Class of 2020) 49 Employment Statistics (Class of 2018)
51 Bibliography The MBA Program in Context: Choosing Cornell Johnson
Over the years, we have met many aspiring MBA students who have tried to identify their target schools and quickly become overwhelmed, wondering, “How are the top MBA programs really differ- ent?” and “How do I choose the one that is right for me?” You may not find a single program that Frustrated, some applicants ultimately choose schools based simply on rankings or the opinions of friends or alumni. Although these inputs have a place in your evaluative process, you should also do meets all your needs the necessary research to find the program that is truly best for your personality and professional and preferences, but needs. In doing so, you will find significant differences between, for example, programs that have you should be able to a class size in the low 200s and those that have classes of more than 900 students. As you are un- identify ones that fulfill doubtedly already aware, an MBA is a significant investment in the short term and a lifetime connec- the factors that are tion to an institution in the long term. We therefore strongly encourage you to take time now to think most important to you. long and hard about this decision and thoroughly consider your options. We hope this guide will prove helpful to you in doing just that.
At mbaMission, we advise candidates evaluating their potential target schools to consider the following eight specific characteristics (in no particular order) that shape MBA programs:
1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town 2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger 3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core 4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method 5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers 6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage 7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience 8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
You will not likely find a single MBA program that meets all your needs and preferences across these eight criteria, but you should be able to identify schools that fulfill the factors that are most important to you. Although this guide is in- tended to familiarize you on a deeper level with this particular school, nothing will prove more valuable in your decision making than visiting the programs that appeal to you and experiencing them firsthand. Inevitably, no matter what your research may reveal, some schools will simply “click” with you, and others will not.
Note: The authors and editors at mbaMission have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the informa- tion included in this guide. However, some discrepancies may exist or develop over time between what is presented here and what appears in the school’s official materials, as well as what may be offered by other content providers in print or online. For the most up-to-date information, always check with your target school directly. The opinions expressed by the people
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 10 interviewed are those of the attributed individuals only and may not necessarily represent the opinion of mbaMission or any of its affiliates.
We also wish to thank the students, alumni, faculty members, and administrators who gave generously of their time to pro- vide valuable input for this guide.
1. Location: Urban Campus Versus College Town
Pursuing an MBA can be quite intense, and the environment and community surrounding the campus can profoundly affect and even shape your MBA experience. For example, imagine stepping out of a class at New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business and into the energetic bustle of New The environment York City’s West Village. Now imagine walking outside after a course at the Tuck School of Business and community at Dartmouth and being surrounded by the tranquility and natural beauty of New Hampshire’s Upper surrounding your Valley. Neither scenario is necessarily “better” than the other, but one might appeal to you more. chosen school can profoundly affect An urban campus can undoubtedly offer social and cultural opportunities that a college town simply cannot match. This is not to suggest, however, that college towns are devoid of culture—indeed, in- and shape your MBA tense intellectual and cultural programs exist in college towns precisely because the academic insti- experience. tution is at the core of the community.
While schools in college towns tout their close-knit atmosphere and the tight bonds classmates form in such a setting, this environment can be welcoming for some students and overwhelming for others. In contrast, urban campuses are more decentralized, with students often living in various parts of a city and even in the surrounding suburbs. Someone who has a greater need for privacy or personal space might therefore prefer an urban environment. In addition, in major urban centers, some students—particularly those who lived in the city before enrolling in business school—may already have well-developed social groups, and this scenario may again be better for those who find an academically and socially all-encompassing environment less attractive.
One aspect of the MBA experience that candidates often fail to consider when evaluating their school options is weather. Although factoring climate into your school choice may initially seem superficial, if you know you cannot comfortably manage frigid conditions or soaring temperatures, certain programs should be stricken from your list. We encounter many applicants each year who wisely stave off a potentially miserable experience by choosing to not apply to certain schools in locations they just do not feel are “livable” for them.
In addition, housing costs are one expense that Urban Campus Schools Urban/College Hybrid Schools College Town Schools many applicants do not stop to consider before Chicago Booth Northwestern Kellogg Cornell Johnson choosing a school to target. By researching real Columbia Business School Stanford GSB Dartmouth Tuck estate prices at the top programs, we found that Harvard Business School UC Berkeley Haas Duke Fuqua the cost differential between renting a one-bed- MIT Sloan UCLA Anderson Michigan Ross NYU Stern Yale SOM UVA Darden room apartment in a Midwestern college town UPenn Wharton and renting one in New York City, for example,
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 11 can be quite significant—adding up to tens Average Monthly Rent for a One-Bedroom Apartment of thousands of dollars on a cumulative ba- NYU Stern New York, NY $3,259 within .33 mile radius of campus sis across two years. This is an important factor to include as you weigh your options MIT Sloan Cambridge, MA $3,219 within .50 mile radius of campus and calculate your projected budget. Columbia Business School New York, NY $2,767 within .50 mile radius of campus
Stanford GSB Stanford, CA $2,655 within 1.50 mile radius of campus In summary, a college town can be appeal- ing for some candidates because its small- UCLA Anderson Los Angeles, CA $2,555 within .75 mile radius of campus er size tends to create strong bonds within Harvard Business School Cambridge, MA $2,378 within .33 mile radius of campus the business school’s community, though UC Berkeley Haas Berkeley, CA $2,191 within .75 mile radius of campus for others, the lack of privacy could be un- UPenn Wharton Philadelphia, PA $1,681 within .50 mile radius of campus desired or overwhelming. Furthermore, some find a slower pace of life calming and Yale SOM New Haven, CT $1,494 within .50 mile radius of campus comfortable, whereas others crave the Dartmouth Tuck Hanover, NH $1,397 within 5.0 mile radius of campus energy and bustle of a city. If you strongly Northwestern Kellogg Evanston, IL $1,291 within 1.0 mile radius of campus prefer one or the other, you should be able to quickly eliminate certain schools from Chicago Booth Chicago, IL $1,228 within 1.0 mile radius of campus your list. Michigan Ross Ann Arbor, MI $1,14 4 within .50 mile radius of campus
Cornell Johnson Ithaca, NY $1,042 within .75 mile radius of campus Ithaca, New York, is “gorges,” as the bumper sticker says. Recently UVA Darden Charlottesville, VA $995 within 1.0 mile radius of campus
named by the American Institute Duke Fuqua Durham, NC $921 within 1.5 mile radius of campus for Economic Research as the best
college town in the United States According to Rentometer.com, accessed June 2019. and by Men’s Journal as the sec- ond-best city in the country to live, Ithaca appears to have much to recommend it. Boasting a population of just over 104,000 in the greater metro area, the city can claim urban delights from fine dining to a vibrant arts and entertainment scene. Moreover, the area offers significant natural beauty. The aforementioned gorges are a popular sight to behold, as are Ithaca’s many waterfalls. This corner of New York’s Finger Lakes Region draws urbanites from New York City, Syracuse, and Boston for hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and exploring.
Students from all over the world will likely find the Downtown Ithaca Commons charming. This four-block pe- destrian mall, which was redesigned in 2015 after 40 years of business, is a sliver of big-city living, with more than 100 shops, top restaurants—including the well-known vegetarian eatery Moosewood Restaurant—and numerous street vendors and entertainers. And according to the Visit Ithaca website, Ithaca bests even New York City for the number of restaurants per capita.
Even Ithaca’s bars seem to reflect the dual nature of the city. Rulloff’s on College Avenue is a small-town res- taurant by day, but at night, it morphs into a city bar where Johnson students hang out with friends and class- mates. Manhattanites concerned they may miss the Meatpacking District should fear not: housed beneath In- dian restaurant Mehak, bar and lounge Level B has a swank setting and a professional staff pouring cocktails.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 12 Johnson students generally live in apartments and houses near campus. Although John- son offers some on-campus graduate housing, the best bet seems to be renting a place off campus. The Collegetown neighborhood is a short walk to campus, but some students with I spoke with the Cornell whom we spoke complained about density (in the form of limited parking space) and noise Johnson director of (in the form of undergraduates). admissions once and was so impressed that According to a 2018 student survey available on the school’s website, titled “Destination she knew every single Johnson Guide to Ithaca Housing,” the largest concentration of Johnson students—33% of respondents—can be found at apartment complex Collegetown Terrace. Rent, which student in the class and includes most utilities, at Collegetown Terrace ranges from $1,050 to $1,560 for a studio had worked very hard up to $3,345 for a three-bedroom apartment. We learned that East Hill and Belle Sherman to build a community. are neighborhoods just east of Collegetown that offer relative quiet without adding much I think they have to the walk to campus. Apartments in the Coal Yards building, located in East Hill, rent for turned their location $2,025 to $2,620 for a two-bedroom and from $3,045 to $3,380 for a three-bedroom. The into an advantage housing survey notes that renting private homes—either alone or in a group—is very com- by developing an mon within the Ithaca housing market, but those hoping to stay closer to campus tend to incredibly tight-knit opt for newer apartment complexes. social group.
A first year with whom we spoke assessed the general feel of Ithaca by saying, “The town is very small, but this unique environment actually creates a really good sense of community Jessica Shklar, mbaMission Senior Consultant for business students.”
2. Class Size: Smaller Versus Larger
Another element that affects the character of a school’s MBA experience is class size. You might want to reflect on your high school, college, and work environments to help you determine whether you would be more comfortable in a larger class or a smaller one—or whether this is even a consider- ation for you at all. Reflect on your past academic and work Students at smaller schools (which we define as having approximately 350 students or fewer per environments to class) tend to interact with most of their peers and professors at some point during the typical two- determine whether year MBA period. Thus, the smaller schools are generally considered more “knowable,” and their com- you would be more munities tend to be quite closely knit. Also, consider that assuming a leadership position is easier in a smaller environment, because, for example, the Finance Club may have only one president at both comfortable in a larger a small school and a large school, but competition for such a position would obviously be greater in or smaller class—or the larger program. whether this is a consideration for you Some individuals might prefer to be at a larger school where they can better maintain their anonymity at all. if they so choose. A student at a school with close to 900 people or more in each class will not likely get to know each and every one of their classmates by the end of the program, and some people might prefer this. Further, advocates of larger classes tout the advantage of being able to interact
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 13 Most Common Undergraduate Major for Incoming Students (Class of 2020) Class Size
Chicago Booth Economics 25% 900 to 1,000 Harvard Business School
Columbia Business School Business 29% 800 to 900 UPenn Wharton
Cornell Johnson Business 29% 700 to 800 Columbia Business School1
Dartmouth Tuck Arts / Humanities / Social Sciences 51% 500 to 600 Chicago Booth
Duke Fuqua NA NA 400 to 500 Northwestern Kellogg Duke Fuqua Harvard Business School Economics / Business 46% Michigan Ross Michigan Ross Economics / Business 42% Stanford GSB MIT Sloan MIT Sloan Engineering 31% 300 to 400 NYU Stern Northwestern Kellogg Economics / Business 50% UCLA Anderson NYU Stern Business 27% Yale SOM UVA Darden Stanford GSB Humanities / Social Sciences 48% 200 to 300 UC Berkeley Haas UC Berkeley Haas Economics 21% Dartmouth Tuck UCLA Anderson Business 26% Cornell Johnson
UPenn Wharton Humanities 45% Schools are listed in order from largest class to smallest within UVA Darden NA NA each category.
Yale SOM Humanities and Social Sciences 29% 1 Includes J-Term students.
Year-Over-Year Class Profile Data: Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Cornell Johnson 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Number Enrolled 280 277 279 274 284 279
GMAT Average 699 700 700 700 700 700
GPA Average 3.40 3.36 3.39 3.37 3.34 3.30
Average Years Worked 5 5 5 5 4.7 5.0
Women 33% 27% 31% 26% 28% 30%
Underrepresented Minorities1 15% 12% 15% 10% 14% 12%
U.S. Minorities2 32% 31% 26% 26% 27% 34%
Countries Represented 40 38 38 28 33 31
International Origin 27% 34% 33% 35% 30% 28%
U.S. Military 7% 11% 11% 7% 7% 5%
1 Black/African American, Native American, Hispanic American
2 Asian American, Black/African American, Native American, Hispanic American
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 14 with more people during one’s MBA experience—and School (Class of 2020) Women International Minorities to thereby develop a broader and more robust network Chicago Booth 42% 30% 31% of peers. Note that many schools divide students into Columbia Business School 39% 42% 33%1 smaller groups—called “sections,” “clusters,” “cohorts,” or even “oceans”—in which approximately 60–90 stu- Cornell Johnson 33% 27% 32%1 dents take certain classes together, and this approach Dartmouth Tuck 45% 36%2,3 20%1 can help foster a stronger sense of community within Duke Fuqua 42% 38% 16% the larger programs. Harvard Business School 41% 37%2 26%1,2
Johnson’s traditional two-year MBA program is Michigan Ross 43% 32% 23%1 relatively small, with the typical incoming class MIT Sloan 42% 38% NA for this program numbers numbering just under 1 300 students. The school’s one-year program Northwestern Kellogg 46% 34% 27%
graduates approximately 60–75 students each NYU Stern 35% 39%2,3 29%1,2 year. Still other students pursue the Cornell Stanford GSB 41% 42%2,3 27%1 Tech MBA in Manhattan, and the school’s overall UC Berkeley Haas 43% 43%2,3 38%1,2 numbers are expected to swell further follow- ing the advent of the Cornell-Tsinghua MBA/ UCLA Anderson 34% 33% 29% FMBA program in China (the first class matricu- UPenn Wharton 43% 33% 33%1 lated in May 2015). UVA Darden 38% 31% 18%1
Johnson’s environment is a relatively intimate Yale SOM 43% 45%2,3 27%1,2 one, and this can offer a certain academic ad-
vantage. Larger schools tend to use the division 1 Specified as U.S. minorities.
of students into sections as a way of forging 2 Includes permanent U.S. residents.
intimacy among classmates, but Johnson ap- 3 Includes dual citizens. pears unburdened by such concerns. Beginning with two weeks of orientation activities and culminating in breadth/depth electives, students come to know one another through the natural course of the program.
In a comment on Bloomberg Businessweek’s most recent profile of the school, a recent graduate noted that “Johnson is a hugely collaborative community.” Similarly, a first-year student we interviewed described the Johnson community as “definitely close-knit” and added that this creates a strong sense of community, say- ing, “Everyone knows everyone and really cares about each other.”
3. Curriculum: Flexible Versus Mandatory Core
Many business schools have a “core” curriculum—a standard series of courses that all students must take. However, these core requirements can vary tremendously from one program to the next. For example, one school may teach its required curriculum for the entire first year, meaning that students will not take any elective courses until their second year, whereas another MBA program may stipulate only one or two required courses.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 15 The rigidity or flexibility of a school’s required curriculum affects students’ education and socializa- tion. Regardless of their professional experience, students at a school with a rigid core curriculum must all take the same classes. At some schools, for example, even CPAs must take the required The rigidity or flexibility foundational accounting course, whereas at others, students can waive selected classes if they can of a school’s first-year prove a certain level of proficiency. Again, both approaches have pros and cons, and what those are curriculum affects depends on your perspective. students’ education and socialization. Proponents of a rigid core curriculum would argue that academics understand what skills students need to become true managers and that when students “overspecialize” in one area, their overall business education can ultimately suffer. A significant body of academic writing has been devoted to critiquing programs that give students a narrow view of business, notably Henry Mintzberg’s Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development (Berrett-Koehler, 2004) and Rakesh Khurana’s From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession (Princeton University Press, 2007).
Advocates of the core curriculum approach would also argue that Can Waive/ Cannot Waive/ having all students take the same classes creates a common lan- Test Out of Classes Test Out of Classes guage and discussion among the classmates because of the shared Chicago Booth Harvard Business School experience. In addition, proponents contend that a rigid core curric- Cornell Johnson MIT Sloan ulum facilitates learning, because students who have applicable di- Columbia Business School Stanford GSB Dartmouth Tuck UVA Darden rect experience bring that knowledge and insight into the classroom Duke Fuqua Yale SOM and can thereby help teach others. Finally, schools with mandatory Michigan Ross cores generally keep students together in their sections for several Northwestern Kellogg months, if not an entire academic year, and students who interact ev- NYU Stern ery day in this way ultimately forge strong bonds. This sustained con- UC Berkeley Haas tact and connection can create a deep sense of community among UCLA Anderson the students. UPenn Wharton
In contrast, those who would argue in favor of a more flexible curriculum feel that students benefit from the op- portunity to specialize immediately—that time is short, and students need power and choice in preparing for their desired careers. So if, for example, a student intended to enter the world of finance, an advocate of flex- ibility would argue that the student should be able to study finance in depth throughout the MBA program, pos- sibly even from day one, so as to gain as much experience as possible in this area—especially before interviewing for a summer internship. Furthermore, proponents for flexible curricula caution that experienced students could end up “wasting” hours taking courses in subjects in which they already have expertise. Finally, they would as- sert that a flexible schedule allows students the opportunity to meet a greater number and wider variety of their classmates.
Johnson’s two-year program provides students the opportunity to explore a variety of interests. Over a span of 21 months—including a summer internship between the first and second years—Johnson students study a range of subjects. The focus is on the general development of leadership and management expertise, and Johnson distills this into three principles, presented on the program’s website:
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 16 1. The value of a solid education in all key business functions, including marketing, Average GMAT of Incoming Students (Class of 2020) finance, human resources, and production 2. The importance of strong analytical and decision-making skills Chicago Booth 731 3. A focus on offering the greatest flexibility in tailoring individual curricula Columbia Business School 732
Cornell Johnson 699 In the fall of the first year, students take the following mandatory core courses: • “Critical and Strategic Thinking” Dartmouth Tuck 722
• “Financial Accounting” Duke Fuqua NA • “Leading Teams” Harvard Business School1 730 • “Managerial Finance” • “Marketing Management” Michigan Ross 720
• “Microeconomics for Management” MIT Sloan 728 • “Strategy” Northwestern Kellogg 732
In the spring, students must choose to pursue either an existing immersion program or a NYU Stern 716 customized program. Both options also require the completion of “Managing Operations” Stanford GSB 732 and “Data Analytics and Modeling.” Depending on a student’s choice of immersion, other UC Berkeley Haas 726 classes may also be available during the spring semester. UCLA Anderson 719
The immersion program is an intensive, hands-on semester involving both course work and UPenn Wharton 732 fieldwork. Students may choose one of the following “immersions”: UVA Darden 717 • Corporate Finance 1 • Digital Technology Yale SOM 730 • Investment Banking
• Investment Research and Asset Management 1 Represents median rather than average. • Semester in Strategic Operations • Strategic Product and Marketing • Sustainable Global Enterprise
Or, if a student finds none of the proffered immersion fields a good match, they can customize a program. Examples of past customized programs include global business, health care, human resource management, technology management, and hospitality. A combination of electives, site visits, and live cases brings stu- dents as up-to-speed in the field of their choice as is possible in mere months. A Johnson second year told mbaMission, “The bankers and the CPG [consumer packaged goods] marketers swear by their immersions since they provide a lot of very topical practice in the sorts of things they’ll be doing in their jobs.”
Students in the one-year program can also participate in this process. They complete the bulk of their core coursework by the end of the fall semester, and in the spring, they have the option of undertaking a truncated version of the immersion program, choosing from “Corporate Finance,” “Digital Technology,” “Investment Re- search and Asset Management,” “Semester in Strategic Operations,” “Strategic Marketing,” and “Sustainable Global Enterprise.”
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 17 In addition to the immersion program, two-year MBA students have the option of choosing a concentration for their studies. The concentrations are divided into five “breadth” op- tions and seven “depth” options, and students can choose up to two but are not required to Cornell [Johnson] is a choose any. “We believe you should focus in a few specific areas, but also take a broad set great option for those of courses during your second year to position yourself for both immediate as well as long- going into many fields, term success. This means you will need to think about what’s right for you—which might not including investment be a concentration at all,” the school’s website states. The concentrations are as follows: banking. For my clients
Breadth Concentrations: applying to the most • Consulting competitive programs, • Entrepreneurship I often suggest adding • Leadership and Ethics Cornell to the mix. • Global Business Management They are thrilled as • Sustainable Global Enterprise they learn about the curriculum, recruiting, Depth Concentrations: and community of the • Corporate Finance • Financial Investing program. • Financial Analysis • Marketing Analytics Susan Kaplan, mbaMission Senior Consultant • Marketing Management • Private Equity • Strategy
4. Pedagogy: Lecture Versus Case Method
Students will likely encounter multiple styles of learning while in business school—including partici- pating in simulations, listening to guest speakers, and partaking in hands-on projects—but the two most common MBA learning styles are case method and lecture. Students will encounter many different styles Pioneered by HBS, the case method, or case-based learning, requires students to read the story of learning during (called a “case”) of either a hypothetical or a real protagonist who is facing a managerial dilemma. As their time at business the student reads, the student explores the protagonist’s dilemma and has access to various quan- school, but the two titative and qualitative data points meant to facilitate further analysis. (Cases can vary in length but are typically 10–20 pages long.) After reading and studying the entire case, the student generally un- most common are case derstands the profundity of the problem and is typically asked a simple question: “What would you method and lecture. do?” In other words, how would the student act or react if they were in the protagonist’s place? What decision(s) would the student make?
After completing their independent analysis of the case, the student typically meets with the members of their study group or learning team (if the school in question assigns such teams) for further evaluation. Together, the group/team
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 18 members explore and critique one another’s ideas and help those students who may have had diffi- Average GPA of Incoming Students culty understanding particular aspects of the issue or progressing as far on their own. Often, though (Class of 2020) not always, the team will establish a consensus regarding the actions they would take in the protago- Chicago Booth 3.60 nist’s place. Then, in class, the professor acts as facilitator and manages a discussion of the case. Class discussions can often become quite lively, and the professor will guide students toward resolv- Columbia Business School 3.60 ing the dilemma. Sometimes, the professor will ultimately reveal the protagonist’s decision and the Cornell Johnson 3.40 subsequent results—or even bring the actual protagonist into the classroom to share and discuss the Dartmouth Tuck 3.49 case’s progression and outcomes in person. Duke Fuqua NA In short, the case method focuses primarily on the analytical process and illustrates that the problems Harvard Business School 3.71 presented have no clear-cut right or wrong responses. For a student to disagree with the protagonist’s Michigan Ross 3.50 chosen path—even after it has proved to be successful—is not unusual. After all, another approach (or even inaction) may have produced an even better result. MIT Sloan 3.48
Northwestern Kellogg 3.60 Note that case-based learning is not specific to one academic discipline. Cases are available in fi- NYU Stern 3.45 nance, strategy, operations, accounting, marketing, and still other areas. Further, many cases are interdisciplinary, meaning that they address more than one area at a time, such as requiring students Stanford GSB1 3.73 to think about how a financial decision might affect the operations of a manufacturing company or UC Berkeley Haas 3.66 the ways in which a marketing decision might involve significant financial considerations. Impor- UCLA Anderson NA tantly, students in case environments are often graded on their “contribution” to the class discus- sion (measured by the level of one’s participation in discussions and analysis, not on the frequency UPenn Wharton 3.60 with which one offers “correct” answers), so the case method is not for those who are uncomfortable UVA Darden 3.50 speaking in class. However, it can be incredibly helpful for those who want or need to practice and Yale SOM2 3.71 build confidence speaking publicly.
1 U.S. schools, 4.0 scale only.
Lecture is the method of learning that is familiar to most people—the professor stands in front of 2 Median GPA listed. the class and explores a theory or event, facilitating discussion and emphasizing and explaining key learning points. Often, students have read chapters of a textbook beforehand and have come to class with a foundation in the specific area to be examined that day. Although the case method gives students a context for a problem, those who favor lecture tend to believe that the case method is too situation specific and therefore prefer a methodical exploration of theory that they feel can be broadly applied across situations. In lecture classes, the professor and their research or theory are technically paramount, though students still participate, challenge ideas, and debate issues.
Note that at some schools, professors may alternate between cases and lectures within a single semester of classes.
Johnson utilizes different teaching methods, including case study, lectures, and team projects. A second year told mbaMission, “Most classes are lecture based, but we have many in-class discussions and group assign- ments.” Indeed, all indications are that Johnson’s courses are nicely split between lecture and case method, the school’s environment is small and intimate, and students pride themselves on group learning.
If an aspiring MBA is intent on individual work or removed academic study, Johnson might not be the best fit. With its plethora of joint enterprises, social learning, group projects, Johnson is a cauldron of business think-
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 19 ing, and students are expected to add their own special ingredients to the mix. A second year we interviewed explained, “We’re not a huge school, and Ithaca is a pretty insular place, so playing well with others is a high priority for admissions.” Another second year praised this aspect of the program in a January 2017 post on the school’s student blog, stating, “The emphasis on teamwork in the classroom has been crucial to my personal and professional development in business school. The collaborative nature of the MBA program allows stu- dents to learn to be engaging team leaders as well as effective team members, both of which are critical roles in any corporate setting, including that of start-ups.”
5. Academic Specializations/Recruitment Focus: Resources and Employers
Schools’ brands and reputations develop over time and tend to endure, even when the programs make efforts to change them. For example, many applicants still feel that Kellogg is only a marketing school and that Chicago Booth is only for people interested in finance, even though both programs boast strengths in many other areas. Indeed, this is the exact reason mbaMission started producing Do not merely accept these guides in 2008—we wanted applicants to see beyond these superficial “market” perceptions. stereotypes but truly Make sure you are not merely accepting stereotypes but are truly considering the breadth and depth consider the breadth of resources available at each school. and depth of resources available at each We have dedicated the majority of this guide to exploring the principal professional specializations for which resources are available at this particular school, and we encourage you to fully consider school. whether the MBA program meets your personal academic needs by supplementing the information here with additional context from the school’s career services office, by connecting with the heads of relevant clubs on campus, and perhaps even by reaching out to alumni in your target industry.
Johnson may likely be best known for its emphasis on consulting, yet the list of firms hiring Johnson MBAs re- veals a much more diverse school. Financial services, marketing, technology, and consumer products are all popular areas. While McKinsey & Company, Deloitte Consulting, and Bain & Company are listed as major employ- ers of Johnson MBAs in 2018, Amazon, Citigroup, IBM Corporation, and Liberty Mutual are as well.
“Johnson has students that are seeking a wide variety of careers,” a second-year student told mbaMission. “Out- side of the consulting and finance immersions, Johnson also offers an operations, sustainable global enterprise, marketing, and customized options. The school also has a very strong entrepreneur program. In addition, there are a number students that are seeking dual degrees in labor relations, public administration, and law that are seeking employment outside of finance and consulting.”
Of the 256 members of Johnson’s Class of 2018 who were seeking full-time employment after completing the program, 94% had received a job offer within three months of graduation. The most popular function for this most recent class was finance (32%), and the most popular industry was financial services (29%). These were the most popular function and industry the previous year as well, at 38% and 33%, respectively.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 20 Most Common Pre-MBA Industry (Class of 2020) School Top Industry for % Entering 2018 Graduates the Industry Chicago Booth Consulting 24% Chicago Booth Financial Services 31.6% Columbia Business School Financial Services 25% Columbia Business School Consulting 33.6% Cornell Johnson Finance 23% Cornell Johnson Financial Services 29.0% Dartmouth Tuck Financial Services 26% Dartmouth Tuck Consulting 30.0% Duke Fuqua Consulting 24% Duke Fuqua Consulting 32.0% Harvard Business School Tie: Consulting; High Tech / 16% Communications; Venture Harvard Business School Financial Services 29.0% Capital / Private Equity Michigan Ross Consulting 30.1% Michigan Ross Tie: Finance, Consulting 16% MIT Sloan Consulting 31.6% MIT Sloan Consulting 21% Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 30.1% Northwestern Kellogg Consulting 24% NYU Stern Consulting 28.4% NYU Stern Financial Services 25% Stanford GSB Technology 33.0% Stanford GSB Investment Management / 21% UC Berkeley Haas Technology 31.7% Private Equity / Venture Capital UCLA Anderson Technology 29.5%
UC Berkeley Haas Consulting 24% UPenn Wharton Financial Services 36.9%
UCLA Anderson Finance 26% UVA Darden Consulting 32.0%
UPenn Wharton Consulting 27% Yale SOM Consulting 34.9%
UVA Darden NA NA
Yale SOM Consulting 20%
Top Industries: Cornell Johnson 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Financial Services 29% 33% 32% 34% 30% 30% 40% 32%
Consulting 22% 25% 25% 24% 21% 22% 26% 28%
Technology/Telecommunications 18% 12% 12% 16% 14% 12% 7% 12%
Consumer Products 10% 7% 6% 6% 10% 10% 9%3 11%3
Biotech, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices 6%1 3%1 NA 4% 5%2 NA NA NA
Manufacturing 6% 5% 6% 4% 5% 4% NA NA
1 Listed in Johnson’s report as “Health Care.”
2 Listed in Johnson’s report as “Pharmaceuticals.”
3 Listed in Johnson’s report as “Consumer Goods and Pharmaceuticals.”
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 21 6. Alumni Base: Opportunities to Engage
The size and depth of a school’s alumni base may be important to you as you seek to break into a specific field or region/country. Some MBA programs have had large classes for many years and can therefore boast sizeable alumni networks, whereas other schools may have pockets of strength in Some schools boast particular parts of the world or in certain industries—or can claim a smaller but tighter-knit and more sizeable alumni dedicated alumni network overall. For example, Dartmouth Tuck has a smaller absolute number of networks, while others alumni than most top U.S. schools but has repeatedly been touted as having the highest rate of an- have pockets of nual alumni giving, thanks to its very dedicated graduates. strength in particular
Although acquiring detailed breakdowns of a school’s alumni base is sometimes difficult, you may regions or industries. want to consider whether the school you are targeting has alumni clubs in your chosen professional area (i.e., some schools have industry-specific alumni groups) or preferred post-MBA location. Fur- thermore, if you are determined to live in a particular city/country/region after graduating, then earning your MBA in or near that area, if possible, may be a good idea, so that you can more easily connect with local alumni while you are in school—particularly if you want to pursue a niche professional area and do not expect to participate in on-grounds re- cruiting. Of course, technological developments have greatly facilitated outreach, meaning that alumni are no longer a flight or long drive away, but are now just a phone call, email, text, or even Skype session away.
Alumni Base Schools are listed in order from largest alumni base to smallest within each category.
NYU Stern, UPenn Wharton, Harvard Business School 75,000 to 110,000
Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth 50,000 to 75,000
Michigan Ross, Columbia, UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas, Stanford GSB 25,000 to 50,000
MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua Cornell Johnson, UVA Darden 10,000 to 25,000 Dartmouth Tuck
Yale SOM 10,000 or fewer
0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000
Note: Some schools include MBA program graduates only in their alumni total; other schools may also include alumni from their part-time, executive, doctoral, and/or other programs, so totals may not be directly comparable.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 22 The broader Cornell community includes more than 250,000 alumni worldwide, and Johnson is a significant part of this, boasting more than 15,200 alumni of its own. Johnson graduates participate in more than 40 re- gional clubs and special interest groups. Domestic iterations can be found in 26 U.S. locations—four clubs in California alone. International groups are almost as numerous as domestic ones, from Mexico City to Milan, the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates, and Israel to India. In addition, Johnson alumni can join Latino, gay and lesbian, black, Native American, and Asian alumni associations under the larger university umbrella.
With namesake H. Fisk Johnson (MBA ’84), the CEO and chairman of SC Johnson, as an example, the school’s alumni do not just donate and disengage. This is an active community, one that appears to pull together both financially and socially to forge a lasting relationship with both one another and the institution. Johnson’s alumni have a long-standing tradition called the Predictions Dinner, in which graduates from the school gath- er annually in different locations around the world for an evening of networking and socializing. The event’s name originates from the tradition of asking participants to predict the state of the U.S. economy in years to follow—at the end of each dinner, those who predicted correctly the previous year receive an award!
The dinners, which typically take place early in the year and to which a number of recently accepted students are often invited, are hosted in numerous cities, including Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, and London. Each event features a notable alumni speaker—in 2019, they included the head of groups and community at Face- book and the co-founder of GeneWEAVE Biosciences. In 2018, speakers included the chairman and executive vice president of strategic planning and business development at Charter Manufacturing and the senior vice president and general manager for data center infrastructure at Lenovo. Speakers in 2017 included the CEO of Ocean Spray, the CEO of HotelPlanner, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the CEO of Abcam. In 2016, speakers included the founder of Priceline.com, the deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the National Basketball Association, and the co-founders of Wayfair.com.
7. Facilities: Shaping the Academic/Social Experience
When contemplating an MBA program, do not overlook the school’s facilities. Renovations, upgrades, and new construction are all regular occurrences on school campuses these days, as some programs increase their square footage while others unify disparate areas or refresh existing spaces. Some If a school has not schools boast on-campus housing or elite athletic facilities, others have established new green updated its facilities in spaces and meeting rooms, and still others have refurbished or added classrooms, theaters, librar- recent years, perhaps ies, and other such resources. none were needed or the school has invested Keep in mind, though, that just because a school has not updated or added to its facilities in recent years, this does not mean that its offerings are outdated or subpar; the lack of updates may simply be in other aspects of its because none have been needed or the school has invested in other aspects of its program instead. A program instead. campus visit is always the best way to evaluate firsthand what a school has to offer, but we nonethe- less dedicate this space to a discussion of the facilities available at this particular program.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 23 Johnson’s Sage Hall, named after Ithaca businessman Henry W. Sage, who financed the erection of the building in 1875, was originally a women’s dormitory. In April 1996, Cornell undertook an ambitious plan to convert the building into the primary home of the Johnson Graduate School of Management. At a cost of $38M, the struc- ture’s iconic spire was rebuilt and the inner courtyard transformed into a glass atrium reminiscent of the main exhibition hall at Oxford University Museum. Observed a first-year student with whom we spoke, “The whole Cornell campus is beautiful, and Sage, besides this quality, is very well equipped and convenient for the class size.” A second year we interviewed indicated that Cornell pays special attention to ensuring that Sage remains progressive. “The building itself has a long history, but the equipment inside is always being renewed. As an ex- ample, there is now a big new common study area on the third floor with modular furniture. Very high-tech style.”
A second-year student wrote on the Cornell Johnson BusinessFeed site in March 2018: “Coming to Johnson for your MBA is like setting up your basecamp at Sage Hall and looking in all directions for opportunities to venture. Don’t get me wrong, Sage Hall can be very consuming and there is more than enough to do there—you could spend all your time moving between the basement, the atrium, and the breakout rooms. You should, however, look out- ward and use your time at Cornell University to explore everything it has to offer. The larger university commu- nity gives you the opportunity and resources to multiply your MBA experience.”
Cornell Tech was initially located in Google’s landmark building in Manhattan. During August 2017, however, stu- dents moved to a new campus on Roosevelt Island. Located on the historic East River redoubt, Cornell Tech pro- vides housing for 2,000 students and 280 faculty. The facility, which will encompass two million square feet at its final completion in 2043, will be centered on a pedestrian walkway, bounded by river walks, enlivened by a public café and meeting area, and rooted by a Corporate Co-Location Building that will provide space for firms on campus. The academic buildings will be “cutting-edge” and designed for the information age, asserts the pro- gram’s website, with classrooms possessing state-of-the-art technology and high-level academic amenities.
“The campus is very well thought out,” a Cornell Tech MBA student commented in a September 2017 article on the Cornell Johnson BusinessFeed site. “Everything from the lighting to the layout has been thought through specifi- cally for facilitating interaction among Cornell Tech’s seven programs. I see students from computer science, health tech, the law program, and Johnson all mingling throughout the entire campus, and there is a lot of energy and mixing of ideas. I’m very excited to see what comes from that,” the student said.
8. Rankings and Reputation: Important Metrics or Arbitrary Measures?
MBA rankings should always be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that they can fluctuate dramatically from year to year and from publication to publication. For example, if you had relied on the Financial Times’ rankings to choose the Yale School of Management as your business school in 2011 because of the program’s position at number seven, you probably would have been disappointed to see the school then slide down to number 12 just one year later before re- bounding to number nine the following year. Similarly, if you had selected UC Berkeley Haas in 2004, when it was number 17 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking, you would have been delighted to see the program rise to number eight in 2010 before it slipped out of the top ten again to number 13 in 2012.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 24 Can an MBA program—which is made up of so many moving parts—really change so much in just one or two years? Furthermore, how can one reconcile that MIT Sloan is ranked in the top five on the most recent Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, and U.S. News & World Report rankings but is listed The various surveys at 14th by The Economist? Or that Stanford GSB holds the fifth position in The Economist survey but should and will provide is ranked first by Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial Times? Or that Northwestern Kellogg is some context for your ranked number eight by Bloomberg Businessweek and nine by the Financial Times but holds the num- decision, but resist the ber two slot in The Economist’s survey? temptation to choose
An MBA ranking that appears to be gaining in popularity, according to feedback we have received a school based on from candidates in recent years, is from Poets&Quants, which aggregates what it considers the top rankings alone. five MBA surveys—Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, and Forbes—to create a composite ranking.
Of course, the various surveys should and likely will provide some context for your decision, but resist the temptation to choose a school based on rankings alone, because rankings may ultimately betray you—possibly even before you graduate.
One thing to keep in mind, particularly for international students, is that a school’s reputation domestically can be quite different from its reputation abroad. Years ago, mbaMission worked with an international candidate who was accepted into the MBA programs at Cornell Johnson and Dartmouth Tuck. When this individual shared the good news with his man- ager, his manager said, “I thought you would have gone to an Ivy League school like Princeton!” Of course, Dartmouth and Cornell are in fact Ivy League institutions, and Princeton does not even have an MBA program—the manager’s reaction illustrates how possible misconceptions can arise. So, after considering an MBA program’s strengths, you might factor in that some schools have greater brand power in certain parts of the world, especially if you plan to live and work abroad after you complete your studies.
We advise you to consider your MBA a long-term investment that will pay dividends throughout your life, and such an in- vestment should be based on more than a one-time ranking. In fact, most MBAs who are five to ten years out of school are not even aware of what their school is now ranked. Perhaps more importantly, if you were to ask one whether the school’s position in the rankings has any effect on their career, the response would certainly be an impassioned “No!”
U.S. Ranking: Cornell Johnson 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Poets&Quants NA NA 13 14 14 14 15 11 11 13
U.S. News & World Report 15 15 16 14 16 17 16 16 16 18
Bloomberg Businessweek1 NA NA 10 13 16 16 13 [7] 7 [13]
Financial Times NA 15 11 14 15 15 15 14 13 14
The Economist NA NA 16 20 18 15 17 11 11 15
1 Until 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek released rankings every two years (in November), so numbers in brackets represent carryover from the previous year’s ranking.
Although Johnson may not have the global brand recognition of Harvard or Wharton, for example, by no means is it undistinguished. Cornell is an Ivy League university, a designation that wields cachet internationally. And
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 25 since at least 2008, Johnson has been rated among the country’s top 20 business schools in the four most recognized MBA rankings.
The program currently stands at 10th in the nation according to the 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek rankings, up from 13th in 2017 and 16th in 2016 and 2015; Bloomberg ranked Johnson 11th in their 2018 international rank- ing. U.S. News & World Report also rated Johnson 15th domestically in their 2020 listing, unchanged from the previous year. In its specialty rankings, U.S. News rated Johnson among the top 25 business schools in the country for executive MBA (11); products and operations (13); entrepreneurship (15, tied with the University of San Francisco); management (17); marketing (20, tied with Arizona W.P. Carey and Loyola Quinlan); and finance (23, tied with Boston Carroll).
For 2018, The Economist ranked the program 16th in the United States and 20th internationally, up from its placement the previous year at 20th and 26th, respectively. The Financial Times placed Johnson at 15th do- mestically and 27th internationally in its 2019 rankings, down four spot domestically and ten internationally from the previous year. In the Princeton Review’s evaluation of 251 MBA programs in 2019, the publication named Johnson number two for Best Green MBA and Best MBA for Management, and number five for Best Ca- reer Prospects and Best MBA for Finance. In 2018, Poets&Quants ranked the program 13th in the country, up one spot from the previous year.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 26 Poets&Quants (2018) U.S. News & World Report (2020) Bloomberg Businessweek (2018)1 Financial Times (2019)2,3 The Economist (2018)2,4
1 Harvard Business School 1 UPenn Wharton 1 Stanford GSB 1 Stanford GSB 1 Chicago Booth
1 UPenn Wharton 2 Stanford GSB 2 UPenn Wharton 2 Harvard Business School 2 Northwestern Kellogg
3 Stanford GSB 3 Chicago Booth 3 Harvard Business School 3 UPenn Wharton 3 Harvard Business School
4 Chicago Booth 3 Harvard Business School 4 MIT Sloan 4 Chicago Booth 4 UPenn Wharton
5 Northwestern Kellogg 3 MIT Sloan 5 Chicago Booth 5 MIT Sloan 5 Stanford GSB
6 MIT Sloan 6 Columbia Business School 6 UC Berkeley Haas 6 Columbia Business School 6 Michigan Ross
7 Columbia Business School 6 Northwestern Kellogg 7 Columbia Business School 7 UC Berkeley Haas 7 UCLA Anderson
8 UC Berkeley Haas 6 UC Berkeley Haas 8 Northwestern Kellogg 8 Yale SOM 8 UVA Darden
9 Dartmouth Tuck 9 Yale SOM 9 UVA Darden 9 Northwestern Kellogg 9 Columbia Business School
10 Michigan Ross 10 Duke Fuqua 10 Cornell Johnson 10 Dartmouth Tuck 10 UC Berkeley Haas
11 Yale SOM 10 Michigan Ross 11 Yale SOM 11 Duke Fuqua 11 Dartmouth Tuck
12 UVA Darden 12 Dartmouth Tuck 12 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 12 UVA Darden 12 Yale SOM
13 Cornell Johnson 12 NYU Stern 13 NYU Stern 13 NYU Stern 13 Duke Fuqua
14 Duke Fuqua 12 UVA Darden 13 USC Marshall 14 UCLA Anderson 14 MIT Sloan
15 UCLA Anderson 15 Cornell Johnson 15 Duke Fuqua 15 Cornell Johnson 15 NYU Stern
16 NYU Stern 16 UCLA Anderson 16 Washington Foster 16 Michigan Ross 16 Cornell Johnson
17 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 17 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 17 UCLA Anderson 17 Georgetown McDonough 17 UF Warrington
18 UT Austin McCombs 17 USC Marshall 18 Michigan Ross 18 Carnegie Mellon Tepper 18 UW Foster
19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 19 UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan- 19 Dartmouth Tuck 19 UTA McCombs 19 UTA McCombs Flagler Flagler 20 Georgetown McDonough 20 Emory Goizueta 20 Vanderbilt Owen 20 Emory Goizueta 19 UT Austin McCombs
1 Bloomberg Businessweek ranks Cornell Johnson 11 internationally.
2 This list reranks U.S. schools from international ranking.
3 Financial Times ranks Cornell Johnson 27 internationally.
4 The Economist ranks Cornell Johnson 20 internationally.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 27 Cornell University Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Summary
Primarily located in Ithaca, New York, and part of one of the largest Ivy League universities, the Johnson Graduate School of Management has an additional location in Manhattan. Since May 2013, students have been able to pursue the school’s one-year tech MBA at Google’s Chelsea campus. During late summer 2017, Johnson students moved into a $2B Roosevelt Island campus that was the brainchild of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg—a location for which The New Yorker has already begun using the moniker “Silicon Island.”
The tech-intensive center will be a joint effort between Cornell University and The Technion–Israel Institute of Tech- nology, expanding Johnson’s reach into the heart of New York City and to the cutting edge of technological innovation. Students will be able to study business in the context of technology and innovation and will, according to the Cornell Tech website, reshape “the competitive landscape worldwide.” From community integration to on-campus corporate space, and from state-of-the-art classrooms to a melding of technology, innovation, and business, Johnson seems to be striv- ing to become the business school.
As then-Dean Soumitra Dutta told the Financial Times in a 2013 article about Cornell Tech, “We can play the technology card with MIT and Stanford and the New York card with Columbia and NYU.” The school appears poised to offer a collegial atmosphere and a traditional two-year MBA as well as academic innovation and next-generation impact.
Founded more than 70 years ago, Johnson is a comparatively small business school—the typical class size is just under 300—whose website boasts that the school “is, by design, an intense, collaborative community—one in which relation- ships are formed quickly and last a lifetime. We choose to remain a small school so that all of our students and faculty can work closely together.” An alumnus quoted as part of Bloomberg Businessweek’s most recent profile of the school notes, “There’s a real sense of collaboration and mutual respect amongst the classmates. While I’ve learned an immense amount from the courses, I have learned even more from my peers.” Johnson’s numerous student clubs, of which more than 80 are listed on the school’s website, may be a testament to this.
The Dean
In July 2016, Mark Nelson entered his current role as dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, replacing Soumitra Dutta, who stepped down from the position after five years. Nelson originally joined Cornell in 1990 and served as an accounting professor, teaching both undergraduate and MBA courses, before stepping into the position of the 12th dean in Johnson’s history.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 28 Nelson began his teaching career as a teaching associate at Ohio State University, where he earned his Master’s and PhD degrees. In addition to his teaching at Cornell, Nelson also served as the university’s associate dean for academic affairs from 2007 to 2010. “I learned a lot about Johnson and how we position ourselves with respect to competitor business schools,” Nelson said of his time as the associate dean in a July 2016 interview with Cornell Enterprise. “All of that experi- ence is useful background in my new position as Johnson’s dean,” he said.
During his time as a professor, Nelson earned the award for teaching excellence at Johnson five times, most recently in 2015, in addition to receiving the university’s Russell Distinguished Teaching Award three times. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous publications, including Accounting Horizons, The Accounting Review, and Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. “I’ve been [at Cornell] a long time—26 years,” Nelson told Cornell Enterprise in July 2016, shortly after stepping in as the dean. “I know a lot of people here, and a lot of alumni. We all share an appreciation for the culture that makes Johnson so special. Frankly, that culture is one of the defining characteristics of the school, and preserving it is a focus of mine,” Nelson said.
Soumitra Dutta left behind the role of dean at Johnson to accept the same role at the Johnson College of Business, which was created after the merger of Johnson, the School of Administration, and the Charles H. Dyson School of Ap- plied Economics. “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,” Dutta said in the announcement of Nelson’s appointment on the Cornell Chronicle. Provost Michael Kotlikoff was equally pleased to have Nelson step in. “The selection committee and I have been extraordinarily impressed by the depth, sophistication and comprehensive- ness of his thinking regarding all aspects of the deanship, Johnson, and the College of Business,” Kotlikoff said in the announcement. “We are extremely pleased and enthusiastic about his acceptance of this post.” In January 2018, Dutta resigned from his role of dean at the Johnson College of Business; in February 2018, L. Joseph Thomas, a former dean of Cornell Johnson, stepped in as the interim dean and in December 2018, current dean Kevin F. Hallock took over the role.
On a past version of his faculty page on the school’s website, Nelson mentioned the Cornell Tech project and the school’s collaborations with Tsinghua University in China and Queen’s University in Canada as highlights of Johnson’s recent his- tory and near future. “All of this activity solidifies our position as a world-class center of business teaching and research,” Nelson wrote, also referencing the establishment of the Cornell College of Business. He expressed similar thoughts in the interview with Cornell Enterprise, saying, “It’s also a really exciting time at Johnson and at Cornell. When you take on a dean’s role, it’s wonderful to have opportunities to make use of new facilities, offer new programs, and interact with faculty you weren’t able to access previously.”
In a 2018 Dean’s Welcome post on the school’s site, Nelson noted the new Executive MBA/MBS in Healthcare Leadership collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine as a highlight of his year, in addition to celebrating new faculty hires. “We hired new top faculty in entrepreneurial finance, strategy, business-process innovation, and operations, technology, and in- formation management,” Nelson wrote. “And we’re not stopping there. We continue to grow and innovate every day. In my almost 30 years at Johnson, there has never been a more exciting time to be a member of the Johnson community.”
In his years as the business school’s dean, Soumitra Dutta helped raise more than $350M toward the billion-dollar adven- ture that is Cornell Tech. If the project is ultimately a success, Johnson will find itself, according to a 2013Financial Times article on the new campus, a catalyst in “the regeneration not of a region, but of a whole city’s economy.”
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 29 Professional Specializations
Consulting
In 2018, consulting was the second most popular industry choice for Johnson graduates (behind financial services), claiming a robust 22% of the class (25% for the Classes of 2017 and 2016). The school notes on its site that the consulting program provides students with “a combination of both breadth and depth of knowledge related to the myriad business problems consultants will solve throughout their careers” and that the program aims to develop certain capabilities in its MBAs, including clear and logical communication, a strategic manner of thinking, and the ability to bring order to dis- ordered environments. In addition, some of Johnson’s faculty members hail from consulting backgrounds and can claim success as turnaround leaders with large firms.
The Johnson Consulting Club, reportedly the largest club at the school, works to help aspiring consultants better un- derstand and find their place in the field as well as to establish valuable relationships with leading consulting groups. To this end, the group offers its members events and resources such as weekly club meetings, mock interviews, case boot camps, networking receptions, job treks to such locations as Boston and New York City, guest speakers, and panel discussions. Events in 2018–2019 included a case interview workshop with a Johnson professor, a presentation titled “How to Be a Great Consultant” by a consulting partner, and a Q&A session regarding Deloitte’s diversity conferences with representatives from the company. The club’s Career Work Groups, which meet weekly and are designed to help students navigate the intense recruiting cycle, feature two second-year students and approximately six first years in each group.
Remarking that “the Consulting Program is embedded throughout Johnson in various channels,” a recent Johnson alum- na and former Consulting Club president explained on the school’s site that the MBA program’s suite of offerings in this study area easily made Johnson her number-one choice for her degree. “It helped me succeed in my internship,” she noted, “and has positioned me well to crack any future business problems and think like a CEO.”
Similarly, a first year we interviewed claimed that choosing Johnson as the program through which to pursue a career in consulting was “actually a no-brainer.” She added, “My career goal was to work in human capital strategy or consulting, and Cornell has one of the best industrial and labor relations departments in the world.”
Another group based at Johnson for students interested in this field is BR Consulting, a nonprofit, student-run con- sulting firm. With a stated dual mission of “providing lasting impact for clients and strong learning opportunities for students,” BR Consulting connects with organizations local to Johnson and, through these firms, provides hands-on, real-world opportunities for its members to apply what they have learned thus far in the program. BR Consulting func- tions on an application-only basis, and accepts applications at the beginning of each academic year. Before acceptance, each applicant must go through a rigorous interview process. In a past article on the group’s website, an alumnus who worked with a titanium manufacturer states, “Cases are nice, but this has given me the opportunity to actually create something that has value in the marketplace. The most valuable part of this has been ... the project management skills and the opportunity to interface with a client.” Similarly, he remarks on the satisfaction the collaborative opportunity provided, saying, “I feel like I am presenting them [the company] with ideas that they have never thought of before, and that I am making a difference in their business.”
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 30 EY (Ernst & Young), McKinsey & Company, and Deloitte Consulting were some of the top employers of Johnson’s 2018 graduates in this industry. Companies that have been known to recruit at Johnson in the past include the Boston Con- sulting Company, Bain & Company, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), A.T. Kearney, and L.E.K. Consulting LLC.
Finance
In 2018, 29% of Johnson’s graduates accepted positions in the financial services industry (with an average salary of $133,126 and an average signing bonus of $46,688), making it the most popular industry. Financial services were also the most popular the previous year, when 33% of the class entered the industry. The school boasts 18 faculty members in the study area of finance and 17, including Dean Nelson, in the area of accounting.
Class offerings may be one reason so many Johnson students pursue careers in the specialization. For example, “Emerg- ing Markets Finance,” taught by Professor Andrew Karolyi, allows students to explore the kind of financial decision making that is unique to emerging economies and to understand how opportunity and risk work together in these markets. Other finance electives include “Behavioral Finance,” “Managerial Accounting and Reporting,” and “Corporate Financial Policy.”
Students aspiring to finance careers can further delve into this field via Johnson’s Investment Management Club (IMC), which provides “a forum for the discussion of investment-related topics and opportunities available in investment man- agement,” declares the group’s website. To this end, the club organizes a number of events and resources, including a morning call each week during which members posit both large- and small-scale investment ideas, opportunities to practice stock pitches and to compete in such contests, and workshops. The IMC also spearheads job treks to both Bos- ton and New York City so that members can learn more about who the big players in the field are and what kinds of career options may be available. During the October 2018 treks, participants visited the offices of such companies as Fidelity Investment, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Eaton Vance.
The Old Ezra Finance Club—reportedly the oldest and one of the largest student groups at Johnson—owes its name to one of the university’s co-founders, the late Ezra Cornell. The club states on its website that it is “committed to enhanc- ing Johnson’s presence in the finance industry while providing its members with educational, recruiting and career de- velopment opportunities within investment banking, corporate finance, capital markets, and private wealth industries.” First-year student members are prepped for possible careers in finance via seminars, town halls, club meetings, weekly roundtable discussions, and mock interviews covering both the behavioral and technical aspects of interviewing. In ad- dition, Old Ezra members can enjoy the club’s regular social events, including happy hours.
With respect to finance functions, the largest percentage of the 2018 class entered investment banking (19%), with cor- porate finance being the second most popular choice (6%). Other 2018 graduates accepted functional finance positions in “other” finance (5%, includes asset management, private wealth real estate, and risk management) and equity debt research (2%). Listed among the school’s top recruiters for 2018 are Barclays, Citigroup, M&T Bank Corporation, and Deutsche Bank. Other recruiting companies in recent years include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group, and Mastercard Incorporated.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 31 General Management
Of Cornell Johnson’s Class of 2018, 24% accepted roles with a general management function (up from 17% in 2017, 22% in 2016, and 7% in 2015 and 2014). Nearly 30 professors are listed as teaching within the management and organizations area, and dozens of others are designated as instructors in the area of marketing and management communication and the area of operations, technology, and information management. In the 2018–2019 academic year, approximately 20 different courses were available related to management. Cornell Johnson appears to be set on educating well-rounded leaders, stating on its website that one of the core principles of its MBA program is “The value of a solid education in all key business functions, including marketing, finance, human resources, and production.”
Students who wish to pursue a career in this area or to simply learn more about it can look to the Executive Management Association (XMA; formerly the General Management Association) at Johnson, whose stated mission is “to provide real- world essential resources to its members to aid in their career development and to educate the Johnson community on the many career opportunities available in general management.” The group organizes general meetings throughout the academic year, in addition to hosting guest speakers and coordinating networking events.
The XMA also regularly invites Johnson professors to make themed presentations to its members, with topics in 2018– 2019 including “How to Succeed in Your Summer Internship,” while other past topics have included “The CEO Perspective” and “Recruiting Etiquette.” Other events in 2018–2019 included a case boot camp, a “speed dating” happy hour, and a trek to the offices of the technology company Corning. Events in in 2017–2018 included a breakfast with representatives from Liberty Mutual Group and a panel on general management, consulting, and high technology. In spring 2016, the club also hosted a workshop titled “Managing the Human Capital Challenges of a Large Merger” with the chief human resources officer of Cigna. In conjunction with Johnson’s Women’s Management Council, the XMA organized a New York City career trek in the fall of 2014, allowing participants to visit such companies as Citi and Amex.
International Business
Via a number of region-specific student clubs, internationally themed courses, and other related resources and oppor- tunities, Cornell Johnson works to prepare its aspiring MBAs for the global business landscape. Students can choose to participate, for example, in an international study-trip course. Typically, these classes take students to Japan/South Korea in late spring, to Colombia in early spring, and to India during the winter, though additional trips to other destina- tions are also offered each year. More than 200 students participate in these trips each year, according to the school’s website. Students can also choose to spend a semester abroad at any of Johnson’s 29 partner schools in the Americas, Asia and Asia Pacific, and Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition, Johnson offers a joint international degree in conjunction with two schools in Belgium (the Universite Catholiqué de Louvain and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), for which students spend one year abroad, ultimately receiving a degree from both institutions.
The Asia Business Association at Johnson offers various career development resources, social events, and cultural education opportunities as it “seeks to unify and create more synergy among not only Asian related clubs, but with the Johnson community as a whole,” the club’s website states. “We look to leverage [all relevant clubs] and their members to create more activities and events throughout the year in the hopes of developing more meaningful relationships through the promotion of Asian culture,” the site reads. The club hosted such events in 2018–2019 as a karaoke night, an inter-
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 32 national snack food event (co-hosted with numerous other Johnson clubs), and a sushi and kimbap workshop. Events in 2017–2018 included a barbeque for members and Asia Night 2018, which featured an Asian food festival, a Macau game night, an introduction to the world of Asian spirits, and a Mario Kart tournament.
The goal of the Johnson Japan Club is to “develop an open network to help deepen the understanding of the Japanese economy, business, culture, job market, language, and genuine cuisine,” declares the group’s site. Each year, the orga- nization arranges a number of both professional and social events, from presentations by alumni active in the Japanese business world to an evening of playing Mario Kart and enjoying Japanese snack foods. Specific events in 2018–2019 included a meet and greet and a sake tasting. The club joined forces with several other Johnson student groups after the devastating 2011 Japan earthquake to raise relief funds via such events as Asia Morning Tea; in the end, the groups’ combined efforts raised more than $8,000.
The Greater China Business Club at Johnson caters to students interested in eventually working in China as well as those who just wish learn more about the country and its culture. The group organizes events such as dinners with Chinese alumni from prominent companies, coffee chats with company representatives, a Chinese New Year’s party, ski trips, picnics, and career treks to the country. In October 2018, the club joined forces with the Columbia Business School Asian Business Association and the NYU Stern Asia Business Society to co-host an inter-MBA mixer in New York City. The weekend-long event featured networking opportunities, an after-party with a DJ in Koreatown, and a dim sum brunch. The club’s 2019 Lunar New Year celebration event offered calligraphy, paper cutting, and dumpling making workshops, as well as ancient Chinese clothing for photo shoots and authentic Chinese food and music.
During the 2017 treks, participants traveled Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai to visit companies. Club members also vis- ited Beijing and Shanghai on the 2016 trek. The 2015 trek took place in Hong Kong and China, while the 2014 China Career Trek allowed the participating students to visit such prestigious firms as Johnson & Johnson, Deloitte, and Amazon in Shanghai and Beijing. The trip, which had a special focus on consulting and multinational companies, also involved net- working events with alumni in the area, in addition to internship and career networking possibilities.
Numerous other internationally themed clubs are available at Johnson for students wishing to pursue career opportuni- ties in specific areas or simply familiarize themselves with cultures other than their own. Among these organizations are the Korean Business Association, the Latin American Business Association, the Hispanic American Business Leaders Association, the Southeast Asia Club, the European Club, and the South Asian Business Club. Events within these clubs range from joint barbecues hosted by the Latin American Business Association and the Hispanic American Business Leaders Association to a speaker series hosted by the South Asian Business Club. Of the school’s 2018 graduates, 10% entered positions outside the United States (9% in 2017, and 8% in 2016 and 2015), with the overall majority of those (6%) accepting roles in Asia.
Marketing
Johnson has nearly 20 professors in its marketing and management communication area, and 12% of the Class of 2018 accepted positions with a marketing function (as did 8% of the Class of 2017, 11% of the Class of 2016, and 15% of both the Class of 2015 and the Class of 2014, although product management was also included in the figure the latter two years).
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 33 Companies known to hire for such roles that recruited heavily at Johnson in 2018 include such well-known names as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Wayfair.
Cornell Johnson’s Marketing Association aims to help its members prepare for employment within the marketing field— in fact, the association’s website declares that 100% of its first-year members received marketing internship offers in 2015. The group’s offerings include interview preparation, participation in such case competitions as the annual Kenan- Flagler Business School Marketing Case Challenge at the University of North Carolina, and a two-day career trek to New York City, where students have visited such companies as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and American Express. Other events in 2018–2019 included bowling with representatives from Colgate-Palmolive, an alumni mixer, and a digital mar- keting information session with the head of the digital marketing intensive at Cornell Tech.
A point of pride for the group appears to be the school’s own annual marketing challenge, called the Battle of the Brands— a two-week, marketing-plan-creation competition for teams of first-year students led by a second-year advisor. The Marketing Association also organizes a number of opportunities for its members to socialize and network, such as trivia nights and an annual Super Bowl ad review event.
“For marketing, a lot of people want to go to Kellogg,” said a first-year student we interviewed, talking about applicants who are interested in this career path, “but you should definitely look at Cornell.”
Technology
A full 18% of Johnson’s graduates entered positions in the technology industry in 2018 (12% did so in 2017 and 2016, 16% in 2015, and 14% in 2014). The establishment of the Cornell Tech MBA program seems to underscore the school’s focus on and commitment to this area.
The school’s High Tech Club (HTC)—reportedly one of the most active and popular student groups at Johnson—offers a community for aspiring MBAs interested in pursuing a career in technology. In addition to job search resources, mock interviews, and a tech speaker series, the club organizes annual career treks to Seattle, Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York City. The club’s largest 2018 trek was a four-day trip to Seattle and the Bay Area and featured happy hour events with alumni in addition to company visits at such firms as Airbnb, Cisco, PayPal, and Uber. Another 2018 trek took place in Bos- ton and provided participants with the opportunity of visiting the offices of Amazon Robotics and TripAdvisor.
The 2017 trek also took place in Seattle and the Bay Area, where students were able to visit such companies as Google, Amazon, Workday, and Salesforce. A 2017 trek also took place in Boston and included visits to such companies as TripAd- visor, HubSpot, Wayfair, and Masschallenge. On the 2016 and 2015 New York City treks, members visited the offices of such companies as LinkedIn, Verizon, Uber, and Yelp.
Other highlights from the 2018–2019 academic season included a tech talk with the chief operating officer of Fundbox, a tech marketing interview workshop, and a panel on start-ups and entrepreneurship. Among the events in 2017–2018 were a fireside chat with a representative from SoFi, a happy hour with Mareana representatives, and a meet and greet with the CEO of Xallent. Events in 2016–2017 included a presentation by the founder and CEO of Produce Pay, a case study “boot camp,” and tech talks on such subjects as data analytics, ecommerce, cloud services, and financial technology.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 34 Notable Professors and Unsung Heroes
General George W. Casey, Jr. (www.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty-research/faculty/gwc65/): Retired from the U.S. Army since 2011 following a 41-year career, General George W. Casey, Jr., is now a senior lecturer and a distinguished senior lecturer of leadership at Johnson. A leadership expert, General Casey helps students identify the volatile, complex, and ambiguous nature of the modern world and understand how these characteristics lend themselves to the dynamism of leaders. After four decades in the military, General Casey knows that leaders are most effective when they are open to change and growth—especially in their own leadership skills. “It’s not every day you get a chance to learn from a four-star general,” a first year wrote in a contribution to Business Insider, continuing, “As a first-year MBA student seeking a trans- formative learning experience, I was fascinated with his stories and advice.” A second year commented similarly on one of Casey’s blog posts: “It is an honor to have the opportunity to learn from you, General Casey. … I thoroughly enjoyed the class and am excited to continue implementing our learnings into my leadership style.” Remarked another student com- menter, “We get a lot of great instruction from academics here at Johnson, but it is refreshing to learn from such a great practitioner as General Casey. His class took me beyond theory into application, and it made me consider new dimen- sions of leadership I hadn’t considered before.” General Casey is also a published author; his book, Strategic Reflections: Operation Iraqi Freedom, July 2004–2007 (National Defense University Press, 2012) explores his experiences in Iraq.
Lourdes S. Casanova (www.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty/lc683): Now a senior lecturer at Cornell Johnson, Lourdes S. Casanova joined the school in 2012 following a lengthy international career. Casanova taught at IN- SEAD in France for nearly 25 years and served as a visiting professor at such schools as ESADE, University of Oxford, and University of Zurich. At Johnson, she is also the director of the school’s Emerging Markets Institute. Casanova teaches such courses as “Leaders in Emerging Markets,” which brings executives from companies in emerging markets to speak on campus, and “Experience in International Management,” which combines classroom sessions with international trips where students meet with local companies, government officials, and business school students. She has been chosen as one of the most influential Ibero-American women by Esglobal three times, most recently in 2017.
Social/Community Life
Asia Night: Each spring, the Johnson Asia Business Association (ABA) hosts a night filled with Asian food, games, spirits, and other cultural aspects. The 2018 Asia Night, described on the event invitation as “a feast of Asian culture both new and old,” offered a selection of casino games intended to replicate the “Vegas of Asia,” an Asian food festival, and a Mario Kart tournament. ABA describes the event as an opportunity to see how “we blend the unique aspects of modern Asia and how it has transformed traditional cultural aspect for consumers of the 21st century.”
Diwali Night: In the fall, the school’s South Asian Business Club (SABC) hosts an annual celebration for Diwali, the Indian festival of lights. The Johnson Diwali Night, funded by Cornell and described by the SABC as “one of the biggest events of the year,” is open to the entire university community and features dancing, food, stage performances, and an after-party. The Cornell Bhangra, reportedly one of the most famous Bhangra dance groups in the world, often performs at the event. The 2018 event featured performances, an Indian buffet, an open bar, and an after party. One first year who attended the 2016 Diwali Night called the event “one of the hallmark festivities on our Ithaca campus,” continuing: “It was not just the
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 35 students who were enjoying the [music], but also Dean Nelson and other members of faculty, too—their Indian charisma had bubbled up.”
Follies: Like many business schools, Cornell Johnson coordinates and presents an annual Follies show, allowing students to showcase their talents—and have some fun riffing on the MBA experience—via creative skits and performances. The production typically takes place in May at the State Theater of Ithaca. The 2019 invitation described the event as a “tra- ditional end-of-the-year, senior goodbye roast [with] speeches, skits and short clips produced by the students.” Skits in 2018 included “It’s Always Sunny at Johnson,” a play on the television show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and “Bodak Red,” the students’ take on the hit song Bodak Yellow. Other highlights in recent years have included the 2015 skit “Types of People at Johnson,” which poked fun at business school stereotypes, and 2016’s “2nd Years vs. 1st Years,” a play on the difference between the two years of study.
Grad Week: As their time at Johnson nears its end, students who are about to graduate each spring are treated to one last hurrah—a week of hurrahs, in fact. Ranging from picnics at nearby Stewart Park and bar crawls at local drinking establish- ments to a themed Grad Ball, nearly graduated students are offered a plethora of events by which to remember their com- mencement week. The Grad Ball, which in 2018 was hosted at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca with the theme “The Land Before Time,” is a formal event, allowing participants to show off their finest suits and ball gowns. The 2017 Grad Ball was hosted at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca and was themed “Botanical Gardens,” while in 2016, the sold-out event carried the theme “A Starry Affair.”
Sage Socials: Sage Socials are informal gatherings at which Johnson’s students and faculty members mingle and cele- brate the end of the academic week. They take place every Thursday afternoon in the Dyson Atrium of Cornell University’s famous Sage Hall. The very first Sage Socials were held in the fall of 2007, and their popularity continues today. Some Socials even have special themes; in April 2019, for example, one concentrated on gay pride with the title “Gaypril” and another featured a “battle of the brews.” In March 2019, one Social featured a charity auction, while another was hosted by the school’s Cannabusiness Club.
Academic Summary
Curriculum: Johnson’s core curriculum, completed during the first year, which is the same for all students during the fall semester, is as follows:
“Critical and Strategic Thinking” “Financial Accounting” “Leading Teams” “Managerial Finance” “Marketing Management” “Microeconomics for Management” “Strategy”
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 36 However, in the spring, students may choose one of the following options: Option A • An Immersion • “Managing Operations” • “Data Analytics and Modeling” Option B • A Customized Immersion • “Managing Operations” • “Data Analytics and Modeling”
The two types of immersions involve a semester of real-world problem solving, often entailing visits to and work with active firms. Students choosing the customized immersion option can tailor an immersion to fit their specific needs and interests. Depending on a student’s choice of immersion, other classes may also be available during the spring semester.
Students must complete 60 credits to graduate.
Grading Policy: Students typically receive grades of A or B, while C grades are less frequent. The grading system is based on a four-point scale, in which an A equals 4.0. Johnson students must have a 2.7 overall GPA or higher to graduate (2.5 in core courses).
Majors: Johnson does not offer majors, but students have the option of choosing a concentration during their second year. Students can pursue one, two, or no concentrations, depending on their specific educational goals. Concentrations are divided into two categories—breadth and depth—as follows.
Breadth Concentrations Consulting Entrepreneurship Global Business Management Leadership & Ethics Sustainable Global Enterprise
Depth Concentrations Corporate Finance Financial Analysis Financial Investing Marketing Analytics Marketing Management Private Equity Strategy
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 37 Research Centers and Initiatives: Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise Emerging Markets Institute If you're interested in Parker Center for Investment Research sustainability-related The Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell careers, Johnson should be on your Admissions Basics list. Their Center for Sustainable Global
Note: Any specifics discussed in this section related to application requirements were valid for the Enterprise has 2018–2019 admissions season (unless otherwise noted). Be aware that requirements for any subsequent impressive resources admissions cycles may differ. Always check with the school directly to confirm all application details. and experiential opportunities for Application Requirements: Candidates must submit, in addition to the main application and tran- students interested in scripts from all post-secondary course work, a resume, a goals statement plus at least two essays, at making a social impact. least one recommendation, and a list of activities.
Kate Richardson, mbaMission Admissions Rounds: Johnson has four application rounds, with separate deadlines for each. The Senior Consultant one-year and two-year program deadlines do not always align, so candidates should carefully check these dates. Interview invitations are sent throughout each round. Candidates are notified of final decisions on preannounced notification dates.
GMAT/GRE: Johnson requires GMAT or GRE scores for admission. In recent years, the median GMAT score has been ap- proximately 700. Although the Admissions Office asks that candidates who have taken the GMAT multiple times submit scores from the exam on which they earned their highest total score, the office also reserves the right to review scores from candidates’ other exams and, in fact, encourages taking the test multiple times if needed: “If you have identified that your GMAT/GRE score is a potential outlier within your application, then we encourage you to consider a retake of the exam, especially if you have only taken the exam once. While not required, having two or more scores gives us a more informed understanding of your performance relative to this admissions requirement,” the school’s admissions website states.
TOEFL/IELTS: All non-native English speakers must submit their scores for the TOEFL or IELTS. On the TOEFL, the Ad- missions Office requires a minimum score of 100, with a minimum of 25 in each section on the Internet exam. On the IELTS, a minimum band score of 7.0 is required, with a minimum of 7.0 in the speaking and writing modules. The school also considers the quality of a candidate’s interview and essays.
Interviews: Interviews are by invitation only and are required for admission. Applicants are encouraged to interview on campus, but if travel to Ithaca is impossible, a Skype interview may be conducted. Most interviews are conducted by second-year students who are members of the Johnson Admissions Group. Alumni and admissions staff may also conduct interviews, especially Skype interviews. Johnson states that all interviews are evaluated equally, regardless of location or interviewer.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 38 In a 2014 blog post on mastering the Johnson interview, then Admissions Director Ann Richards of- fered applicants the following five guidelines: One of my clients, 1. Always be on time, no matter what. who had a low GMAT 2. Dress professionally. but a very high GPA 3. Be prepared. and stellar work 4. Know your goals. experience, brought his 5. Pick three examples of your achievements or leadership to highlight during the interview. MBAMath transcripts
She also recommended that applicants do an online search for questions that have been asked in pre- to his interview at vious Johnson interviews and practice via mock interviews with an MBA graduate or fellow applicant. Cornell Johnson to demonstrate that he Waitlist: The Johnson waitlist is unranked. At the end of each round, waitlisted applicants’ files are could do the work. The reviewed, and applicants may be invited to interview. The Admissions Office encourages application interviewer, who was updates and is responsive to applicants’ waitlist questions. from the admissions office, said that since Campus Visits: Applicants are encouraged to visit Johnson and sit in on a class. Candidates may arrange such a visit on the school’s website, where visit opportunities are listed according to the they use MBAMath as subject of the class. Moreover, applicants have access to the Johnson Admissions Portal, where they their pre-term boot can connect with students and recent alumni. Throughout the admissions season, Johnson hosts camp, he had already invitation-only events for potential scholarship recipients. The culmination of the admissions season shown them that he is Destination Johnson, the school’s admitted students’ weekend, which takes place in the spring. could succeed there. I liked how transparent During Destination Johnson, candidates are given student hosts, tour Sage Hall and the wider cam- that was. pus, and meet with housing and financial aid administrators. Visitors can even have dinner with a current student at their house. At the career information sessions, alumni are on hand to field candi- Jessica Shklar, mbaMission dates’ career-related questions. Senior Consultant
Feedback: Cornell Johnson states on its site that the Admissions Office is unable to provide feed- back on applications due to their high volume.
Reapplicants: All reapplicants are required to submit a new application with all the required materials. The school asks reapplicants to use the optional essay to explain how they have strengthened their application.
Cornell University (Johnson) Essay Analysis, 2019–2020
This MBA application season, the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University is tight- ening up the parameters within which its candidates can share their story with the admissions committee. Although the school has expanded the word limit for its goal statement mini essay from 250 to 350, it has cut back the allowances for all its other submissions. Each of the written essays (including the optional/reapplicant essay) has been shortened from 500 words to 350, and the video option truncated from five minutes to three. Also, the admissions committee is now
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 39 requesting just one representative story for its “back of the resume” essay, rather than allowing applicants the leeway to include as many as they wish (or could reasonably fit) in that piece. Clearly, Johnson has little interest in lengthy, highly detailed discussions of its applicants’ candidacies and wants to get right to the heart of the issues it considers most valuable in its evaluations. So if you are ready to deliver the information Johnson is seeking, read on for our full essay analysis of the program’s latest prompts.
Goals Statement: A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout [the] admissions pro- cess 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 an- swer question (350 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, Johnson is clearly conveying a desire for information only. The school states in the Application Requirements section of its website, “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 additional explanation for another time.
The inclusion of the mini essay prompt indicates, however, that the admissions committee wants to have some context for your stated aspirations. And the expansion of the word count for this submission to 350 (from 250 last year) suggests that the school may not have been getting quite enough context from earlier applicants, so do your best to be thorough and to clearly connect the dots between where you have been and where you are striving to go. An effective response will provide evidence that you (1) have done your research as to what is required to attain your goals, (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.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 40 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 at https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-statement-guide.
Essay 1 – 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, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. How do you intend to make an impact during the next several years of your education/career? (350 words maximum)
Note that with this essay prompt, the school is not asking about times when you have made an impact in the past but rather about your expected impact going forward, which would theoretically include your time as part of the Johnson community. The rather less-than-subtle hint in the intro about “engag[ing] with our students, alumni, faculty, and pro- fessional staff” conveys that the admissions committee expects you to actively reach out to and communicate with in- dividuals at or associated with Johnson to learn more about it before you begin writing this essay. If you have not already been making these kinds of connections, now (immediately) is the time to get busy. The suggestion also implies that the admissions committee expects your efforts to yield some useful insight, so saying that you have merely contacted 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 Johnson by discussing the ways and areas in which you now feel you can contribute to it and how you expect the experience will position you to attain your professional goals after graduation.
Although we believe this submission should undoubtedly be written with the expectation of ultimately becoming a John- son MBA student (and later graduate), you may want to very briefly touch on what you would do to continue advancing and making an impact should you not be accepted to the program. Showing—succinctly!—that you have a Plan B in mind could demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have thoroughly considered all your options and are committed to following through on your path despite such a setback. Dedication and thoughtful ambition are characteristics often valued by MBA admissions committees.
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 350 words or fewer. Multimedia submissions should be under 3 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
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 41 help us get to know you better by sharing ONE example of a life experience, achievement, or passion that will give us a sense of who you are as a potential community member.
This essay prompt is merely a creative way of asking you to reveal who you are as an individual, apart from what all the basic elements of your application already convey about your job, your education, and your activities and interests out- side of work. Identifying the approach that will best help you tell your personal story is an important first step, so do not automatically restrict yourself and think too narrowly. The intro to the prompt explicitly states, “We value creativity and authenticity,” so keep this in mind as you mine your background and current life for the most fitting content and then decide how to 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 thereby provide a more dynamic image of yourself. We suggest you start by grabbing some paper and making an old-fashioned list of your key “experiences, achievements, … [and] passions.” Then, consider what information the admissions committee already has about you from your other essay(s) and elements of your application, and strive to choose the item from your list that best complements that information to create a well-rounded picture of you. With an allowance of only 350 words or three minutes, you will need to be succinct, so be sure not to spend too much time or space on unnecessary buildup or repetition. You want your story to have life and sufficient context so the admissions committee can fully understand and appreciate it, but you also want to give yourself enough room to share details that will imbue your message with color and individuality.
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. Op- portunities 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 an important moment in or aspect of 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 addi- tional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (350 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. (350 words maximum)
If you are a 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 Johnson MBA is vital to you. The responses to this es- say question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 42 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 of- ficer 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 (https://shop.mbamis- sion.com/products/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 respect- ful 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.
B-School Insider Interview: First-Year Student, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University
We spoke with a student at Cornell Johnson who is entering the second half of her first year in the school’s two-year MBA program. After studying international affairs and political science as an undergraduate, she began her career by working in nonprofits and retail management before taking a position at a human resource solution provider doing business develop- ment, client management, and recruiting. A decision to pursue human resources/human capital consulting led her to busi- ness school, where she has since developed an interest in the tech industry and landed a summer internship doing human capital strategy for operations for a multinational semiconductor chip maker. mbaMission: Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your experience thus far at Cornell Johnson. What led you to choose the school for your MBA?
Johnson First Year: For me, it was actually a no-brainer. My career goal was to work in human capital strategy or con- sulting, and Cornell has one of the best industrial and labor relations departments in the world. As a Johnson student, I can take advantage of classes, student clubs, libraries, and recruiting events there [at Cornell]. The department’s quite large, and it brings in large numbers of corporate sponsors, which host different events, like case competitions, work- shops, and lunches. Being able to take advantage of great resources within the human resources field while being an MBA student makes Johnson the perfect match for me. mbaMission: Sure. And how do you feel it’s worked out so far? Do you feel like you made the right choice for you?
JFY: Yeah, absolutely. Everything I wanted for business school, whatever I expected for Cornell, is here, and I enjoy it. mbaMission: Where were you living before you moved to Ithaca?
JFY: I was living in New York City. mbaMission: Okay. So how has the transition to a smaller town been?
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 43 JFY: That’s a good question. It’s definitely not New York City. It’s very different. We have, I would say, maybe less than 20 restaurants to go to, and less than eight bars. The town is very small, but this unique environment actually creates a really good sense of community for business students. mbaMission: Sure.
JFY: I really like that part, and also, I went to undergrad in a really small town, so I’m sort of used to this kind of environ- ment. My peer students who have never lived in a small town before seemed to have a hard time adjusting initially, but the majority of them started to feel comfortable right away. Also, if we want to go to New York City, it’s very easily done. Cornell has a bus service called Campus to Campus that goes from Ithaca to New York City every day. So I feel that I can enjoy both worlds. If I want to enjoy the city, I can go to New York City very easily, and if I stay in Ithaca, I can enjoy a small town, good community feel. mbaMission: Sure. I could see that. So where do students typically live? Is it mostly apartments, or are there student dorms?
JFY: A lot of Johnson students live in apartments around campus. I live in one of the large apartment complexes that a lot of Johnson students live in, and this is just one year old. It’s really clean, very close to campus, and it has a gym and a shuttle service to campus. Students with a family typically live a little bit outside of the town, and they commute by car. They have larger houses with yards and plenty of parks around. mbaMission: That sounds great.
JFY: Yeah, it’s quite nice. mbaMission: What are three words you would use to characterize your Johnson classmates?
JFY: I would say supportive, very friendly, and extremely motivated. Those were very important to me when I was apply- ing for business schools. mbaMission: Definitely. And how would you describe the overall community or atmosphere at the school?
JFY: Definitely close-knit. We only have 273 students in my year. I think typically, Johnson takes 275 students per year, so everyone knows everyone and really cares about each other. Second-year students also want to help first-year students, and that creates a really close-knit community. mbaMission: When you first got to the school, did you have any kind of orientation as an incoming class?
JFY: There was a two-week orientation for incoming students for the two-year program, and I think for the one-year pro- gram, there’s maybe only four or five days. It focused on learning about the program and definitely learning about each other. Orientation consisted of classes, team discussions, and social events. To top it off, there was one event called Johnson Outdoor Activity. All the students went to a camping site by a lake, and that whole day, we participated in team-
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 44 building activities. It was a lot of fun, and definitely, I think by the end of two weeks, a lot of us knew each other. Also, at the end of orientation, we find out who is on the same core team. Then, there was a case competition among all the core teams, sponsored by a CPG [consumer packaged goods] company. mbaMission: That sounds great. It seems like a good idea to have everybody come together like that to connect and learn a little bit about one another before diving into classes.
JFY: Yeah, that’s true. mbaMission: So which resources at the school would you say have been the most impressive or helpful to you so far?
JFY: That’s a good question. I would say some of the clubs are really impressive. Old Ezra [Finance Club] and the Consult- ing Club are very good examples. Students in those clubs meet every single week, sometimes multiple times a week, and the clubs teach you everything from how to dress for an interview, how to network, to how to do well on cases, or how to answer technical finance questions. They are very intense programs and very successful at placing students in the fi- nancial industry and consulting. So these two clubs are really helpful professional resources. Also, I’ve found the classes to be very exciting and engaging, and the professors are always there to help. mbaMission: Have you had any interaction with Johnson alumni as part of your job search, or maybe when you were de- ciding on the school, before you even enrolled?
JFY: Yeah, absolutely. Actually, I had interactions with many alumni. While I was applying for school, I met a couple of alumni through events, and they were really helpful. They contacted me continuously to just check up on me to see if my application was going okay and if I got in. It was really nice to know that they actually cared. I also reached out to the Cornell Club of Japan, and I just sent an email just for inquiry, general inquiry. And the head of the Japan Club—he’s the top of 3M in Japan; he’s really busy, I know—but he took the time out of his busy day to contact me to see if I wanted to join a dinner held at the Cornell Club of Japan. I was really surprised that he decided to take his time to help me.
And after I got in, I reached out to a lot of alumni for recruiting, and they were very helpful also. A lot of them contacted me back right away, trying to help. I set up a lot of informational interviews, and even after those interviews, they were willing to help. Some of them spoke to recruiters for me and set up interviews. mbaMission: That’s great to hear. We always like to learn who students consider the “rock star” or “must take” professors at the different schools. Have you had any professors so far that you thought were really great?
JFY: Every single person that went to Johnson would talk about this professor named Roni Michaely. He teaches a core managerial finance class. And he is very good—he’s great at teaching, but more than anything, he really, really cares about students learning the material. For example, we had TA [teaching assistant] sessions every single day after each class, and there also were special sessions for students who needed extra help. Before the final exam, we had about 24 hours’ worth of TA sessions to review the entire class material. mbaMission: Wow.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 45 JFY: It’s from 9 [a.m.] to 9 p.m. for a couple days, and it’s really, really helpful. I learned so much about finance that I didn’t know before. His class was very impressive. mbaMission: That’s great.
JFY: Yeah. mbaMission: As far as the facilities at Johnson, what would you say are some of the strong points and maybe not so great areas that could probably be improved?
JFY: Yes. The facilities themselves—I would not say this is one of the best things at Johnson. mbaMission: Okay.
JFY: All the classrooms are underground. So sometimes I wish that there was some sort of light or, you know, that we could see outside. I wish that, but that’s one of the things that you notice in the beginning, but then you sort of get used to it. mbaMission: Sure.
JFY: Other than that, I do not see any disadvantages. We have a great library that is open 24 hours with great librarians. But to be honest, I visited different schools, and I would not think Johnson’s one of the top as far as facilities are concerned. mbaMission: That’s fair. How is the wireless access across campus? Do you feel you can get your work done efficiently, no matter you need to work?
JFY: Oh yeah, absolutely. Internet access is great, but when it comes to phones, some people do have problems getting a signal because Ithaca is such a small town. mbaMission: Sure. How would you say social life is at the school? Have you taken part in any really fun events yet?
JFY: Yeah. Every single Thursday, we have a social event called Sage Social. The school sets up alcohol and food for us, and we all get together and enjoy each other’s company. All the partners are welcome, so a lot of children are involved as well. And for each Sage Social, they have different themes. Like yesterday, it was the Chinese New Year, so we had Chinese food. And last year, one of the main events was called Pie in the Face. It’s a charity event where the students will nominate a couple of people that we want to see get pie in their face.
There are about 20 people who get nominated, and the nominations are presented at the atrium. So we see pictures of the people who got nominated. And then from that point, we basically pay money to each one of the nominees, and who- ever gets the most money, like ten people, I think, will actually get pie in their face. That way, we raise money, and then on the day of, we do an auction for who actually gets to throw pie. Roni Michaely, the professor, was one of the guys who was nominated to get pie in the face. The event was really fun and for a great cause.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 46 mbaMission: That sounds pretty unique. I have heard about a lot of charity events at the different schools, but I’ve never heard of anything like that. Is it for a different charity every year, or is it always the same recipient, do you know?
JFY: I actually don’t know, but I know the pie in the face is an annual thing. As far as the organization that gets the money, I don’t know. I think it changes every year. mbaMission: Do the professors tend to go to the Sage Social events? And does the dean ever show up?
JFY: Yeah, sometimes I see the dean, probably once or twice a month. That’s pretty frequent. The professors definitely attend, and we get to talk to professors there. They are always willing to share their thoughts and ideas. mbaMission: That’s cool. Is the dean pretty involved in student life? Do people have office hours with him, or is he gener- ally visible around campus?
JFY: Yeah. He’s actually new. I think he started maybe this year or last year, I can’t remember, probably last year. [Sou- mitra Dutta was named dean July 1, 2012.] And he’s around a lot, walking around campus, trying to talk to people, and he’s very, very friendly. Sometimes he even invites students to come to his house for dinner. I see him at a lot of different student events. He’s very accessible, available and willing to talk to people. mbaMission: That’s fantastic.
JFY: Yeah. mbaMission: Is where Johnson stands in the rankings kind of a big deal on campus? Do people talk about the rankings at all?
JFY: I don’t think they care as much. Before coming here, I cared a lot about the school’s ranking. But then when I came here, people do talk about, “Oh, the new ranking is out. We are this in this magazine, this in that magazine,” but it’s not as big of a deal, I would say. You would just call us around the top 15. I don’t think people care as much as I thought. mbaMission: That’s fair. Well, my final question is kind of an overarching one. What would you like more people to know about Cornell that they probably don’t?
JFY: Right. So I knew Cornell was going to have a close-knit community, and that’s why I chose it, but I didn’t know it was this much of a supportive community. Once you are in this community, it opens up so many different opportunities, and you get connected to impressive alumni quickly. Career-wise, I didn’t even know that the school is really that strong in investment banking and marketing. I wasn’t aware, but we really place a lot of people in investment banking and market- ing. So I know that people who want banking look at Columbia or, you know, Wharton, but Cornell is a really good choice as well. And for marketing, a lot of people want to go to Kellogg, but you should definitely look at Cornell. So if you’re inter- ested in those areas, take a look, because you might be surprised just how good the program is at Cornell.
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 47 mbaMission: That’s great. Thank you again so much.
JFY: Sure. Thank you!
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 48 Appendix: Cornell Johnson Facts and Figures
Note: Facts and figures in this section are prone to change. Occasionally, conflicts may exist between the school’s publications and its web pages. Applicants are urged to recheck facts and figures for the most up-to-date information.
Basics Average Years Worked: 5 Average Age: 28 Year Established: 1946 Women: 33% Location: Ithaca, New York U.S. Minorities (Asian American, Black/African American, Native Dean: Mark W. Nelson (2016) American, and Hispanic American): 32% Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid: Judi Byers (2015) Underrepresented Minorities (Black/African American, Native Amer- Programs: ican, and Hispanic American): 15% Two-Year MBA Countries Represented: 40 One-Year MBA International Origin: 27% Cornell Tech MBA U.S. Military: 7% Cornell-Tsinghua MBA/FMBA MPS in Management MPS in Management (Accounting) Employment Statistics (Class of 2018) Executive Education Executive MBA (Americas) Mean Graduating Salary: $126,353 Executive MBA (Metro New York) Mean Graduating Bonus: $33,503 Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership PhD Graduates accepted positions in the following industries: Joint Degrees: Financial Services: 29% Cornell-Tsinghua MBA/FMBA Consulting: 22% MBA/JD (Law) Technology: 18% One-Year MBA/MEng (Engineering) Consumer Products: 10% MBA/MILR (Industrial and Labor Relations) Health Care: 6% MBA/MHA (Health Administration) Manufacturing: 6% MBA/MD (Weill Medicine) Legal Services: 4% MBA/MPS (Real Estate) Other Industries (Includes Entertainment/Media, Government/ Nonprofit, Human Resources, Retail, and Transportation/Lo- Class Profile (Class of 2020) gistics): 2% Real Estate: 2% Number Enrolled: 280 Energy and Utilities: 1% GMAT Average: 699 GPA Average: 3.4
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 49 Graduates accepted positions in the following functions: Procter & Gamble Finance: 32% Verizon Communications • Investment Banking: 19% Wayfair • Corporate Finance: 6% • Other (Includes Asset Management, Private Wealth Real Estate, and Risk Management): 5% • Equity Debt Research: 2% Consulting: 25% General Management: 24% Marketing: 12% Legal: 4% Human Resources: 2% Other: 1%
Graduates accepted positions in the following locations: United States: 90% • Northeast: 55% • Midwest: 12% • West: 12% • Southwest: 5% • Mid-Atlantic: 3% • South: 3% International: 10% • Asia: 6% • Latin America and the Caribbean: 2% • Africa: 1% • Europe: 1%
Top Recruiting Companies: Amazon Barclays Citigroup Deloitte Consulting Deutsche Bank EY (Ernst & Young) Guggenheim Securities IBM Corporation Johnson & Johnson Liberty Mutual M&T Bank Corporation McKinsey & Company PricewaterhouseCoopers
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 50 Bibliography
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mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 51 “Best Business Schools 2018” Bloomberg Businessweek. December 11, “Global MBA Rankings 2012.” Financial Times. January 30, 2012. 2018. www.bloomberg.com/business-schools/2018/ http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Best Business Schools 2018.” U.S. News & World Report. March 14, rankings-2012 2017. www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business- “Global MBA Rankings 2013.” Financial Times. January 28, 2013. schools/mba-rankings http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- “Best Business Schools 2019.” U.S. News & World Report. March 20, ranking-2013 2018. www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business- “Global MBA Rankings 2014.” Financial Times. January 26, 2014. schools/mba-rankings http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- “Best Business Schools 2020.” U.S. News & World Report. March 12, ranking-2014 2019. www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business- “Global MBA Rankings 2015.” Financial Times. January 26, 2015. schools/mba-rankings http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- “The Best U.S. Business Schools 2010.” Bloomberg Businessweek. ranking-2015 November 11, 2010. www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/ “Global MBA Rankings 2016.” Financial Times. January 25, 2016. nov2010/bs20101110_255552.htm http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Bradshaw, Della. “Cornell Tech—Technology and Business in the Heart ranking-2016 of New York.” Financial Times. July 21, 2013. www.ft.com/intl/cms/ “Global MBA Rankings 2017.” Financial Times. January 29, 2017. s/2/8b073048-e981-11e2-9f11-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3HOit3qkt http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Byrne, John A. “Harvard and Wharton in a Draw for First in P&Q’s ranking-2017 2018 MBA Ranking.” Poets&Quants. November 14, 2018. https:// “Global MBA Rankings 2018.” Financial Times. January 28, 2018. poetsandquants.com/2018/11/14/2018-mba-ranking/3/ http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Byrne, John A. “Wharton Dislodges Harvard to Top 2017 P&Q ranking-2018 MBA Ranking.” Poets&Quants. November 27, 2017. https:// “Global MBA Rankings 2019.” Financial Times. January 27, 2019. poetsandquants.com/2017/11/27/wharton-dislodges-harvard- http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- from-top-of-pq-mba-ranking/3/ ranking-2019 Casey, Jr., General George W. “We can all grow as leaders.” Cornell Hendrix, Michael. “Exploring Johnson’s Marketing Association for SMI Johnson Leadership Blog. November 5, 2014. www.johnson. Students.” Johnson at Cornell University: Immersion Learning. cornell.edu/Two-Year-MBA/Curriculum/Leadership/Leadership- December 7, 2012. www.johnson.cornell.edu/Two-Year-MBA/ Blog/Post/202747/We-can-all-grow-as-leaders Curriculum/Immersion-Learning/Immersion-Article-View/ Cleland, Jennifer and Robert P. Stundtner. Sage Hall: Experiments in ArticleId/30567/Exploring-Johnson-s-Marketing-Association- Coeducation and Preservation at Cornell University. Ithaca, NY: PhG for-SMI-Students Publishing, 2011. Hogge, Tyler. “What I Learned About Leadership from a 4-Star “The Complete 2014 Business School Ranking.” Bloomberg General.” Financial Times. November 19, 2014. www. Businessweek. November 11, 2014. www.businessweek.com/ businessinsider.com/leadership-lessons-from-a-4-star- articles/2014-11-11/best-business-schools-2014-the-complete- general-2014-11 rankings-table Hua, Jonathan. “Young and Inexperienced: Taking the Road Less “Cornell University: Johnson Graduate School of Management.” Traveled to Business School.” Johnson student blog. January Bloomberg Businessweek. Full-Time MBA Program Profile. 10, 2017. www.johnson.cornell.edu/About/Student-Blogs/ Accessed January 6, 2015. www.businessweek.com/bschools/ Post/214998/Young-and-Inexperienced-Taking-the-Road-Less- rankings/full_time_mba_profiles/cornell.html# Traveled-to-Business-School “Global MBA Rankings 2011.” Financial Times. January 31, 2011. Johnson School Annual Report: Class of 2011 Employment http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba- Stats. August 30, 2011. www2.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/ rankings-2011 annualreport/2010-2011/Class_of_2011_Employment_Stats.cfm
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 52 Johnson School Annual Report: Class of 2012 Employment “Soumitra Dutta Brings a Global Perspective to Cornell’s Johnson Stats. August 27, 2012. www2.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/ Graduate School of Management as the First Major U.S. Business annualreport/2011-2012/Class_of_2012_Employment_Stats.cfm School Dean Appointed from an International Academic “Johnson Welcomes Dean Mark Nelson.” Cornell Enterprise. July Institution.” Cornell University Press Release. January 9, 2012. 24, 2016. www.johnson.cornell.edu/CornellEnterprise/Article/ http://coyneclients.com/cornell/dean_smpr/pdf/Press_Release_ ArticleId/44528/Johnson-Welcomes-Dean-Mark-Nelson Cornell_Dutta.pdf Kelley, Susan. “Accounting Scholar Mark Nelson Named Dean of Stayman, Doug. “Johnson Cornell Tech MBAs Settle into New Johnson.” Cornell Chronicle. June 7, 2016. www.news.cornell.edu/ Roosevelt Island Home.” Cornell Johnson BusinessFeed. stories/2016/06/accounting-scholar-mark-nelson-named-dean- September 20, 2017. www.johnson.cornell.edu/ johnson businessfeed/2017/09/20/johnson-cornell-tech-mbas-settle- Lange, Alexandra. “Silicon Island.” The New Yorker. October 15, 2012. new-roosevelt-island-home/ www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/silicon-island Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2010.” Poets&Quants. December 14, Le, Jennifer. “Why the Consulting Program Made Johnson My Top 2010. http://poetsandquants.com/2010/12/14/poetsquants-top- Business School Choice.” Johnson Website: Immersion Learning. 100-mba-programs-in-the-u-s March 26, 2013. www.johnson.cornell.edu/Two-Year-MBA/ “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2011.” Poets&Quants. December 8, 2011. Curriculum/Immersion-Learning/Immersion-Article-View/ http://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/08/the-top-100-u-s-mba- ArticleId/29221/Why-the-Consulting-Program-Made-Johnson- programs-of-2011 my-Top-Business-School-Choice “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2012.” Poets&Quants. December 7, “Meet the Dean: Soumitra Dutta, Johnson at Cornell.” Financial Times. 2012. http://poetsandquants.com/2012/12/07/the-top-100-u-s- March 18, 2013. www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0bdc094c-7136-11e2-9d5c- mba-programs-of-2012 00144feab49a.html#axzz3LPsH7kRV “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2013.” Poets&Quants. December 2, Nelson, Lisa A. and Michael B. Sauter. “The 10 Best Cities for 2013. http://poetsandquants.com/2013/12/02/poetsquants-top- Millenials.” 24/7 Wall St. July 9, 2012. http://247wallst.com/ 100-u-s-mba-programs-of-2013 special-report/2012/07/09/the-10-best-cities-for-millennials/ “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2014.” Poets&Quants. November 26, Nelson, Mark W. “Dean’s Welcome.” Cornell Johnson website. www. 2014. http://poetsandquants.com/2014/11/26/poetsquants-2014- johnson.cornell.edu/About/Leadership-Vision/Deans-Welcome best-business-school-ranking Nikhar, Shiril Sunil. “True Life: Management Cases.” Johnson student “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2015.” Poets&Quants. November 18, blog. April 18, 2016. www.johnson.cornell.edu/About/Student- 2015. http://poetsandquants.com/2015/11/18/harvard-business- Blogs/Post/210994/True-Life-Management-Cases school-tops-new-2015-poetsquants-mba-ranking Perez-Pena, Richard. “Cornell Alumnus Is Behind $350 Million Gift to “Top 100 U.S. MBA Programs of 2016.” Poets&Quants. November 21, Build Science School in City.” New York Times. December 19, 2011. 2016. http://poetsandquants.com/2016/11/21/2016-poetsquants- www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/nyregion/cornell-and-technion- mba-ranking/ israel-chosen-to-build-science-school-in-new-york-city.html?_ “Which MBA? 2011 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 13, r=0 2011. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking Ray, Abhinav. “Using Sage Hall as Your Gateway to Cornell.” Cornell “Which MBA? 2012 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 4, Johnson BusinessFeed. March 21, 2018. www.johnson.cornell.edu/ 2012. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking businessfeed/2018/03/21/using-sage-hall-gateway-cornell/ “Which MBA? 2013 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October Richards, Ann. “Five tips on how to ace the in person MBA interview.” 12, 2013. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- Cornell Johnson Student Blogs. November 11, 2014. www.johnson. ranking?term_node_tid_depth=All cornell.edu/About/Student-Blogs/post/202859 “Which MBA? 2014 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 11, 2014. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba- ranking?year=2014&term_node_tid_depth=All
mbaMission Insider’s Guide: Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management · 2019–2020 53 “Which MBA? 2015 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 15, 2015. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking?year=2015 “Which MBA? 2016 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 13, 2016. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking?year=2016 “Which MBA? 2017 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 27, 2017. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking?year=2017 “Which MBA? 2018 Full-Time MBA Ranking.” The Economist. October 27, 2018. www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking
Websites
BR Consulting: http://www.consultbrc.com Cornell Tech: http://tech.cornell.edu/nyc-campus/ Cornell University Alumni: http://alumni.cornell.edu/participate/international/ Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management: http://www.johnson.cornell.edu Visit Ithaca.com: http://www.visitithaca.com
Interviews and Other
Anonymous. Johnson First Year. Personal Interview. December 4, 2014. Anonymous. Johnson Second Year. Personal Interview. December 3, 2014. Anonymous. Johnson Second Year. Personal Interview. December 3, 2014. Anonymous. Johnson Second Year. Personal Interview. December 4, 2014. Anonymous. Johnson Second Year. Personal Interview. December 4, 2014.
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