Cornell / Johnson MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Skype

I did my interview via Skype with a member of the adcom. She stated that she had my resume and while she hadn’t reviewed my application, she had notes and questions from others who did. First she asked me to go over my job positions since graduating college and specifically asked me to include my reasons for promotions and moves (I had worked for one org. but had held 4 different positions with a promotion each year). This took about 7-10 minutes, with her asking a few clarifying questions – but mostly just me talking. Second, she asked “What other schools are you applying?” Based on previous interview reports, I was super ready for this question – and had my reasons (small school, community) tied back to Johnson. Next she asked “Why MBA?,” which allowed me to tie in my short/long term goals and led into the “Why Johnson?” I talked about the immersion program, specifically the program I wanted to pursue, small/close community, and proximity to NYC, which is where I want to end up. She asked me if I had visited campus (had not as I am overseas), but I went into all the students I had talked to and their international recruiter that I met at a Johnson MBA Fair. Finally, she asked about my job as it relates to leadership and team opportunities, she specifically noted that I had applied to be a Park Fellow. After that, it was more of a conversation; I asked her a few questions, talked about more hobby/activities type stuff. Again tied everything I could back to Johnson or Ithaca. Interview was 45 minutes. Overall, thought it went well – for me, it’s really about having your few examples (work experience, leadership/team) that tie back to your main attributes that you want them to remember. Lastly, it’s all about being enthusiastic about the school!