Cornell / Johnson MBA Deadlines 2025-2026
The Cornell MBA deadlines at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management for the 2025-2026 admissions season are below.
The Johnson MBA admissions committee is conducting its admissions process in three rounds this season. The adcom provides two notification dates for each round. The Initial Decision will be one of three possible outcomes: an interview invitation, waitlist without interview, or denial of admission. Candidates who complete an interview will receive an admit, deny, or waitlist decision by the final notification date.
For the upcoming season, Cornell notes that all application materials should be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
| Round | Application Deadline | Initial Notification | Final Notification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | September 17, 2025 | October 31, 2025 | December 5, 2025 |
| Round 2 | January 8, 2026 | March 13, 2026 | March 27, 2026 |
| Round 3 | April 7, 2026 | May 8, 2026 | May 22, 2026 |
For candidates planning to apply through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, the 2025-2026 Johnson MBA deadlines are October 15, 2025 and January 5, 2026.
Admission Requirements
Johnson provides both one- and two-year MBA programs, applicants may apply to only one. Full-time work experience is not required, however, at least two to five years of full-time work prior to enrolling is the norm. A small number of outstanding applicants with less than one year of full-time experience are admitted. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree.
The completed online application form must include a Goals Statement and responses to essay questions, resume, list of activities, GMAT or GRE scores (test waiver request available), one professional letter of recommendation (second optional), and a non-refundable $250 application fee. Fee waivers can be granted to candidates who meet specific criteria. Non-native English speakers must submit either TOEFL or IELTS exams to demonstrate proficiency.
Applicants must provide transcripts from all coursework and proof of graduation. Unofficial copies are accepted with the application, official copies of transcripts and test scores from enrollees must be received by the official documentation deadline for that round.
How does Cornell / Johnson Conduct Interviews?
Interviews are required for admission and are by invitation only. After the initial application review, candidates will receive either an invitation to interview, an invitation to join the waitlist, or a denial of admission. Interviews should be scheduled within seven days of receiving the invitation and must be completed by the interview deadline for that round. Admissions interviews are conducted by staff and/or trained second-year MBA students. Interviews may be in person in Ithaca, NY, or via Skype. Some interviews may be conducted in the applicant’s local area. The adcom does not have a preference for interview format.
MBA Applywire
Applying to deferred programs this year, would love to hear thoughts on my application.
675 GMAT Focus, 3.723 at Non Target Undergraduate, Finance Major. Decent extra curricular on-campus, for internship experience started college with internship at a small ABL shop, interned sophomore summer/junior school year at a large publicly traded mortgage company doing Risk, interned after junior year at a Big4 doing Risk Consulting for FSOs. Returning FT to same B4 in Deals practice.
Would love to hear thoughts. Thanks.
Orthopaedic surgeon with cross-border training/work exposure i.e. UK, HK & Pakistan
• Strong involvement in research, publications, and innovation-related work
• Interested in the intersection of clinical medicine, healthcare systems, digital health, and business
• Long-term goal is to move from being a clinician to a broader leadership role where I can help build, scale, or evaluate healthcare solutions
African female - after 7 years at an international engineering consultancy and 3 in public sector, looking to get into infrastructure finance through an infrastructure focused MBA and internship pipeline. Certified PPP practitioner but not ao much leadership experience. Hoping to join a big 4 infrastructure advisory or infrastructure fund post MBA.
Only applying to Wharton "Deferred" Program (Due to eligibility)
Demographic: Asian Male, 26
Academic Background: B.S. & M.S. in Nuclear Engineering @ Top school in S.Korea
GPA: B.S.(3.76/4.30), M.S.(3.93/4.30)
GMAT Focus: 675 (Q-96th, DI-95th, V-56th)
Pre-MBA Employer: Recieved FT Offer @ Bain (expected start: July 2026)
Post-MBA Goal:
- Short: Banking
- Long: Infrastructure PE
Internships: Internship @ BCG
Research Experience:
4 conferences and several papers under review about Nuclear Fuel Materials, Nuclear Plant Economics & EPC, Nuclear Reactor Core Design
Extracurricular Activities/Leadership:
- Led a consulting project for a nuclear energy company in S.Korea
- Honor Society, College of Engineering
- VP of the student council @ UG department
- Soccer/Baseball team(non-varsity)
Awards:
- 2 x Minister's Award (1st place in Nationwide competition in Energy Sector)
- 5~10 x Minor Awards mostly in Energy & Nuclear Engineering
Honors:
- U.S. Army Commendation Medal
- Presidential Science Scholarship(Awarded by the President of the Korea, one of 25 recipients nationwide) - Fully funded during UG
- Korea Defense Veteran's Association (KDVA) Scholarship
- Honor Society of the College of Engineering
Hi All,
Location: India YOE:2.8 yrs Industry: Software Role: Senior software developer
I have been working in a software Mnc and recently got fired. I had initially planned to apply for MBA programs for 2027 intake. But given the recent layoff I'm not sure what to do next. I didn't yet take the gmat. And confused if I should do a job hunt now or prepare for gmat, since I wanted to apply for round 1s by sep.
I definitely want to go for a good International MBA for 2027 intake.
What should I do next, follow are the choices I can think of-
1. Prepare for a good gmat score, finish it in next 2-3 months, I also have a small startup idea that I would like to in parallel experiment/try out, not sure how far it will succeed.
2. Prepare for gmat, complete in next 2-3 months then do job hunt(might or might not be able to get a job by the time I apply for round 1s)
Please suggest what is better for my mba applications.
MBA LiveWire
I submitted multiple updates but the main one was an EA score of 163. Also visited for a class visit and had 2 student letters of endorsement as well as 2 letters of recs from former colleagues. I’m so excited!!
Just got the call, it's a dream come true!