UPDATE: This article was originally posted on September 4, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below.

With its focus on immersion learning and campuses in both Ithaca and New York City, Cornell is at the top of the list for an increasing number of applicants who seek to pursue high-impact business careers. 

However, with its unique 1-year MBA option and interface with leading tech companies, landing a spot at Cornell Johnson is more difficult than ever. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Cornell admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to Cornell Johnson MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Cornell application your best shot. 

 

1. Who is Cornell Johnson looking for?

(Photo courtesy of @cornellmba on Instagram)

“Innovation is fundamental to Johnson and to Cornell. Our emphasis on performance learning ensures that Johnson MBAs can make an immediate impact in business and society. That’s what they’re practicing, and that’s what they’re prepared to do.” Mark W. Nelson, PhD, Dean Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

Every year, Cornell recruits highly-talented individuals from across the globe to fill its 1-year and 2-year MBA programs. With a strong emphasis on diversity and there is no “typical” Cornell student, yet the average admitted student to the Class of 2024 (2-year MBA) had a 710 GMAT and 5.5 years of work experience.

Beyond the statistics, though, Cornell is looking for candidates who want to positively disrupt the world of business through outstanding leadership. That’s why, in addition to strong academic performance (demonstrated through the GMAT and university grades), Cornell also seeks candidates who demonstrate the following traits:

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering Cornell’s admissions essay questions. 

 

2. How should I answer the essay questions

Before starting to write your Cornell Johnson MBA essays, we suggest that you take a few moments to peruse the application guide the school offers on its website. Not only does this guide spell out exactly what you need to do in order to submit a complete application, but it also gives you some great tips along the way. 

Luckily, this year, Cornell has made no major changes to their essay questions, just a few minor tweaks! 

 

2.1. Short Essay Tips

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

Though a bit unorthodox in format, this is essentially a goals essay. For goals essays, the admissions committee wants to see that you have a clear, defined plan for the future that both makes sense based on your previous experience and that shows a clear connection between your short- and long-term goals.

For the text boxes, be brief and precise. Tell them exactly what you want to do. 

For the longer essay, you have a bit more room, but not much! 

That’s why we suggest not recapping your goals in this essay unless you need them to transition between the two parts I believe this essay should have: your previous experience and what motivates you to pursue the goals you’ve stated (to tie this to the question, you need to show how you’ve prepared and what has encouraged you to pursue your goals). 

First, let’s start with how you’ve prepared. Remember, goals without context often lack clarity or impact. You may want to include one mini-story or several small anecdotes to provide this context. 

Don’t write a list of everything you’ve ever done (we have your CV after all!) but carefully craft a description of your path that shows us you’ve built skills and experience that are relevant to your future job. 

Second, discuss why you are passionate about the goals you’ve set for yourself. Though you may be pursuing an MBA to earn more money or add a bit more prestige to your CV, these are not interesting motivations for an admissions committee. It’s like saying you want to be a brain surgeon to impress your friends. 

Rather, discuss your passions. Do you want to launch a social business to reduce waste? Tell us why sustainability is important to you and how you think your future work can make the world a better place. Want to go into private equity? Show us how your interest in investing in overlooked middle-market companies will help create a more robust economy in your home country. 

For example, our client Katherine wrote an essay about her goal to move into the operations area of a big tech company. You may be asking yourself, how do you show passion when it comes to operations? Here’s how she solved that dilemma: 

“Throughout my life, I’ve seen technology transform how we interact with our world. Most recently, at __________, I used technology to strengthen our business when tasked with creating and implementing a more comprehensive customer service solution. Previously, the competitive mobile POS market had been rapidly expanding, yet we struggled to capture market share. To reverse the trend, I led the development of an operational solution to create a targeted customer service channel and set the plan in motion by managing numerous service providers. Together, we increased mPOS usage by 20% in two months. 

More importantly, this experience showed me how complex and fundamental operations are within innovation-driven companies. Operations range from strategy to product design to management—it’s the beating heart of any company. After my MBA, I plan to lead an operations department in a technology company in LatAm to put innovative products and services into the hands of consumers. As I grow in my career, I seek to increasingly enhance the presence and influence of innovative companies in my region. Personally, I’m highly motivated to use technology and harness the change it can promote to positively impact the lives of real people.”

No matter what your goals are, show us the passion behind them!

You can also choose to end with one sentence about how your goals align with Cornell Johnson’s mission, but take great care not to turn this into a “Why Cornell” essay. 

Finally, writing a 350-word essay can be challenging, but we’ve prepared an in-depth post to help you maximize every word in short essays like this one.

TOP TIP: Cornell Johnson doesn’t give you space for fuzzy or less-than-defined goals in its application. As such, if you’re struggling to define what your goals are, check out this post, which we wrote specifically to help you self-reflect and define this all-important aspect of your profile. 

Need more guidance? 

Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of Cornell Johnson MBA essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning Cornell essay. 

Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. 

Click to join! 

 

2.2. Essay 1 Tips

Impact Essay: At Cornell, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. Taking into consideration your background, how do you intend to make a meaningful impact on an elite MBA community? (350 words maximum) 

This continues to be perhaps one of the most challenging MBA essays out there. 

First, the essay begins by essentially telling you that connecting with specific members of the Cornell community is considered something of a prerequisite for admission to Cornell. It’s little surprise that they state this, as they are stating very clearly that they want candidates who are applying to Johnson because they know and identify with the program instead of candidates who are applying to dozens of schools to see what happens. 

As such, if you haven’t spoken with anyone in the Cornell community, stop reading and go do that. For many international candidates, this can be a tough task. If this sounds like you, we have a few key suggestions. 

1) Attend an event. Despite the limitations caused by COVID-19, there are still a number of ways you can connect with Cornell Johnson. Perhaps one of the best ways to learn about the school right now is through one of their multiple webinars, which you can use this to enhance your knowledge of the program and make connections you can follow up with later. 

2) Use LinkedIn to your advantage. It’s ok to “cold call” contacts on LinkedIn and ask if they might be willing to chat with you about the school. Remember, alumni and students get many such requests, so be persistent until you get in touch with someone. At the end of that call, ask if they can introduce you to another student, professor, or alumni who might be willing to talk to you more about Cornell Johnson. 

Now that you’ve done your homework, time to write your essay! 

First, keep in mind that this essay should not be a list of everyone and everything you know about Cornell Johnson. It should focus on the impact you want to make in the world and, using your research, connect to how you think the Johnson MBA is best positioned to help you achieve that impact. 

We suggest first defining what impact you want to make after your career. This will be in some way related to your goals, but consider the impact you can make in your goals beyond reaching X or Y position. 

If you want to return to consulting to focus on digital transformation, for example, demonstrate why this is important to you and how you think you can help create a better world through digital transformation. 

After defining the impact you hope to make, consider thoughtfully how Cornell can help you grow. 

We suggest then showing how Cornell’s culture, clubs, classes, and people can help you reach this goal and how you plan to make an impact on campus.

 

2.4. Optional/Reapplicant Essay Tips

Optional Essay (required for reapplicants): You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (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 Application Guide for additional information about reapplying. (350 words maximum)

Though with such a short application you may be tempted to use this response to add additional stories and information you couldn’t quite squeeze in elsewhere, restraint is necessary here. Make sure you focus on explaining gaps in your application only, though you can use these explanations to highlight related achievements. 

For example, our client Fernando needed to explain his 6-month gap in work experience. As luck would have it, he spent these 6 months volunteering in Asia, so we not only addressed a “weakness” but were also able to include a new achievement in his application. 

We have written extensively on the issue of optional essays, giving tips and tricks for how to address issues like low GMAT scores or poor academic performance here. 

Looking for Cornell Johnson MBA essay examples? Check out our real sample essays that got our clients admitted here.

 

3. Make sure you get into Cornell Johnson

One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA essays is that candidates fail to tell compelling stories. This is important because if your stories are not compelling, they will not be persuasive. At the same time, they must be backed by strong examples that establish a track record of success and prove to the admissions committees why you belong at their school. 

Striking this balance between content and creativity can be tough, however, as succeeding means not only choosing the right stories but ensuring they are told in an optimal manner. 

This is why our iterative developmental feedback process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting helps you mold your message through the application of our storytelling expertise until it reflects exactly what makes your profile stand out and show fit with your target program. 

That’s the approach we took with Henrique, who was admitted to Cornell. In his words, “Ellin helped me in the application process from the beginning, helping me organize myself for the whole year. I truly believe that my interactions with her not only provided a foundation for the application creation, but also, and more importantly, structured my life at business school. I even got a scholarship. I really recommend her since she is really committed, hard-working and made me feel comfortable and confident during the entire process. Thanks for the phenomenal service, Ellin.”

Not only can you take advantage of our editing expertise through multiple edits – you can also benefit from it after a single review! If your budget is tight, our editors will be happy to help polish your text as much as possible and leave “bonus comments” so you can keep working on it on your own!

No matter how long we work with you, we will always ensure your essays shine. Sign up to work with our team of storytelling experts and get accepted.

 

4. Cornell Johnson Deadlines

Here are the deadlines for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. You can access the online application here. 

*Initial Notification Date: Following a preliminary review of your application and materials, you will receive one of three initial notifications by the posted date for the round in which you submitted your application: invitation to interview, waitlist without interview, or denial of admission.