cornell johnson mba essays

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Cornell MBA Essays: Tips for 2023-2024

If you are looking for guidance on how to write successful MBA essays for Cornell Johnson, you are in the right place. The Johnson MBA application can be difficult and time-consuming, but with these tips and tricks, you can be more confident about one of the biggest parts of your application: the MBA essays. This article will cover how to compose Cornell MBA essays that will fit the criteria for admissions and hopefully earn you a place in Cornell University’s graduating class of 2025. 

Cornell University Johnson School of Business is a prestigious MBA program with renowned faculty and a focus on academic success. Cornell wants to admit students who are intelligent, determined, and prepared to undertake a rigorous curriculum. In addition, Cornell prioritizes community and teamwork. Applicants should pay attention to the specific requirements and expectations set out by Cornell’s admissions committee when writing Cornell MBA essays. Through these Cornell Johnson MBA essays, applicants have a chance to demonstrate their skills, accomplishments, and personal interests.

At Menlo Coaching, we noticed that most MBA essays will fall into one of a number of categories: personal essays, career goals essays, behavioral essays, etc.. Read ahead for our expert guide on approaching these essays for Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business.

Career Goals Essay

• 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 and complete the following sentences and answering the short answer question below.

• In 5 years I want to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] in the [Industry].
• In 5-10 years post-MBA my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] in the [Industry].
• How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals?

Behavioral 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? (text box, 350 words maximum)

Optional Essay

• If you are applying for the first time and wish to submit an optional essay, please enter it here. You may use the optional essay to explain gaps in your resume, call attention to items needing clarification, or provide additional details about any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson. (text box, 350 words maximum)

Park Fellowship Essay

• Park Fellowship Leadership Essay (500-word limit). Describe a past formal or informal leadership experience and how it informs your goals for growth as a leader. How would the Park Leadership Fellowship assist with these goals? Please note that consideration for the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellowship is by invitation only. Upon completion of the admissions interview, those selected for further consideration will be required to submit a response to the Park Leadership Fellows Program essay in addition to participating in one of our Leadership Exploration and Assessment Day (L.E.A.D.) events.

Reapplicant Essay

• If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application. (text box, 350 words)

Johnson’s Career Goals Essay 

The Cornell career goals essay provides applicants with a place to let the Cornell admissions committee know how the MBA program you want to attend will help you achieve your professional goals. This Cornell MBA essay is a great place to explain why Cornell is truly the best fit for you. 

It is vital for Cornell applicants to have a solid plan for their post-MBA career aspirations. First and foremost, this is because Cornell wants its graduates to succeed. However, there are a few selfish motivations for the career goals essay, including the fact that Cornell wants to have an impressive employment report and produce graduates who will become donors someday. Further, the Cornell admissions committee wants to ensure that applicants have a career plan that plays on their past experiences and thus ensures success. They also want applicants with the foresight to develop an alternate career plan in case their first choice does not work out. 

Other things to keep in mind for this essay is the necessity to have a career goal that is both ambitious and practical. Applicants should have meaningful goals that fit with what is offered at Cornell’s MBA program. Along this vein, networking is extremely important when preparing to write your career goals essay. The more you know about the program and how it can help you achieve your personal goals, the better.

Johnson’s Behavioral Essay

Behavioral essays involve demonstrating how you have used your leadership skills in real-life situations. The Behavioral Cornell MBA essay gives you a space to identify your morality as a leader and how you might benefit from Cornell’s leadership development programs. Cornell’s MBA admissions committee wants assurance that you are self-reflective and able to identify a moment in which you have been a leader. 

In the Cornell behavioral essay, it is important to be truthful and sincere and to tell your personal story in a compelling manner. You should include as much detail as possible for this type of Cornell MBA essay, discussing your role in a situation that required a strong leader. You should reflect on what this situation taught you and how your leadership style might have changed after this experience. Cornell is looking for MBA candidates who can contemplate how they used leadership skills to solve a problem. 

In this Cornell MBA essay, you might want to reflect on your role on teams in your previous work experience. Further, rather than solely focusing on your leadership successes, it would also be beneficial to identify some failures and explain how you have learned from these less positive experiences. 

Johnson also offers each applicant the opportunity to apply for the Park Fellowship. You can read more about this program here .

Once you’ve completed your application, the optional Ross essay gives you an additional opportunity to provide the AdCom with any additional information or clarity that you feel would enhance your application.

One trap that MBA applicants fall into is using the additional space provided by this essay to write on a whole new topic. However, this is not always the best idea.

You should only make use of this essay if you what you write will provide context to an element of your application to improve your candidacy—you don’t want to jeopardize your chances by adding unnecessary noise to your application.

For reapplicants, Cornell Johnson requires a specific essay in which you can address how your application has improved since your last application.

In this essay, you can address any improvements to your test scores, promotions at work, additional volunteer or community work, or any significant professional development that you have undertaken since you last applied to the program.

Timing is key for reapplicants, and when you’re applying for an MBA program a second time around, you want to be sure that you are a more qualified and desirable client than you were a year ago—even if your application was stellar the first time.

Applicants to Cornell should pay close attention to the specific expectations for each type of Cornell MBA essay. Although it may be tempting to look up sample essays and draw from these formats, it is most important to let your personal background guide the construction of your Cornell Johnson MBA essays.

Menlo Coaching can help you throughout your Cornell MBA essay writing process, offering one-on-one coaching and exclusive preparation materials. 

Related Articles

• Cornell Johnson MBA Program Overview
• MBA Essay Tips From 3 Top Admissions Consultants
• How to Get Into MBA Programs at Top Business Schools

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• Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management Essay and Examples

July 4, 2023

Jeremy Shinewald

With its straightforward goals statement and single required essay, the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University seems interested in getting right to the heart of the issues it considers most valuable in evaluating its applicants. The admissions committee wants to first know your professional aspirations and motivations for pursuing an MBA degree and then how you see yourself being a contributing member of the Johnson community. An optional essay is available, if needed, to address the usual topics of problematic candidacy issues or any outstanding qualifications that are not represented elsewhere in one’s application. Read on for our full analysis of Cornell Johnson’s application essay questions for 2023–2024. 

Cornell Johnson 2023–2024 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:, in 5–10 years post-mba, my goal is to work as a(n) [role] at [company] within [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, Cornell Johnson is clearly conveying a desire for information only. The school states in the preamble to this prompt, “If you’re 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. 

That said, the inclusion of the mini essay prompt indicates that the admissions committee wants to have some context for your stated aspirations, so do your best within the 350-word allowance to be thorough and 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) recognize 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) understand why/how attaining an MBA from Cornell Johnson will move you further in the right direction. 

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. We encourage you to download your complimentary copy today.

Essay 1 – Impact Essay: This essay is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. 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 before submitting your application. 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. taking into consideration your background, how do you intend to make a meaningful impact on an elite mba community (350 words maximum) .

Note that with this essay prompt, the school is not asking you to discuss a time in the past when you have made an impact but rather about your expected impact going forward , and specifically as part of the Cornell Johnson community. We always encourage candidates to connect with students, alumni, and others in an MBA program’s greater community when preparing their application, but in this case, Cornell is essentially demanding that you do so with its rather forthright “encouragement” and direct link to the resources it offers to facilitate such connections. If you have not already been making these kinds of connections, now (immediately) is the time to get busy. The admissions committee undoubtedly expects your efforts to yield useful insights, so saying that you have merely contacted a few people will not suffice. You need to show that the insider information you subsequently received has further solidified your choice to pursue an MBA at Cornell Johnson by discussing the ways and areas in which you now feel you can contribute to it. 

The school’s specification that you reflect on your past as you determine your best way of adding to the Johnson community means that you need to provide some context for your proposed idea(s) that proves that you are equipped to follow through on your plans. If nothing in the rest of your application indicates that you have experience doing what you say you will do at Johnson, or that you possess the necessary capabilities or qualities, the admissions committee will have difficulty believing that you are being authentic—and might even suspect that you are offering a response you think “sounds good” rather than one rooted in reality and actual possibility. So, we recommend first familiarizing yourself with the Johnson MBA experience well beyond what the school offers in its promotional materials (e.g., read press releases, news stories, and student blogs; check out the Cornell Johnson YouTube channel) and identify elements that resonate with you. Then use that information and inspiration to prepare for thoughtful, productive conversations with multiple members of the Johnson community. And finally, use this essay to reveal what you have learned, the ideas you have developed as a result, and the reasons and ways you are prepared to put those ideas into action at Johnson. 

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).

If you are a Cornell 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 Cornell Johnson MBA is vital to you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We 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, Johnson’s optional essay prompt gives you the typical opportunity— if needed —to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer 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. Yet it is sufficiently broad to also allow you to emphasize or explain something that if omitted would render your application incomplete. We caution you against simply trying to fill this space because you fear that not doing so would somehow count against you. And of course, however tempted you might be, this is not the place to reuse a strong essay you wrote for another school or to offer a few anecdotes you were unable to include elsewhere in your application. Keep in mind that by submitting an optional essay, you are requiring the already overtaxed admissions readers to do additional work, so avoid being overly verbose or sharing more information than is truly necessary. You must ensure that the admissions committee’s extra time and effort are truly warranted, so write just a very brief piece to explain your troublesome issue or offer the essential (and otherwise uncommunicated) aspect of your profile. If you feel you might have a reason to submit this additional essay, we encourage you to download our free mbaMission Optional Essays Guide , in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay, along with multiple illustrative examples.

Park Leadership Fellows Program Essay Prompt: Describe a past formal or informal leadership experience and how it informs your goals for growth as a leader.  How would the Park Leadership Fellowship assist with these goals? (500-word limit)

This is a fairly straightforward essay prompt, and we recommend responding in an equally straightforward manner. Launch directly into the story of your leadership experience, and detail the specific actions you took in directing others in pursuit of a desired result. We recommend using a narrative approach to present your story, but be sure to also share the thought process and motivation(s) behind your actions. This way, the admissions committee will take away a clearer picture of the aspects of your character that inspired you and guided your actions and decisions. Note that Johnson recognizes that the leadership experience you share could have been a less formal one. Leadership does not need to have an official title attached to it, and it can be expressed in a community service or even family life setting just as much as in a workplace, so explore all the different areas of your life for possible stories. 

A particularly important element of this essay is showing that you recognize where your leadership skills can improve and why doing so is important for your long-term success. Although you are expected to discuss areas for development, take care not to deride your strengths. Rather than solely discussing the ways in which you are lacking as a leader, focus on the ways you could become a more complete and capable one. Equally important is tying your educational and experiential needs to the Park Leadership Fellows Program specifically, so of course, your first step (if you have not already done so) is to familiarize yourself thoroughly with what this program entails and provides. Then, in your response, you will need to draw clear connections between the areas you hope to strengthen and the offerings in this program that will enable you to do so. 

For a thorough exploration of Johnson’s academic offerings, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, community/environment, and other key facets of the program, please download your free copy of the  mbaMission Insider’s Guide to Samuel Curtis Johnson School of Management .

The Next Step: Mastering Your Cornell Johnson Interview

Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possible—the key is informed preparation. We therefore offer our free Interview Guides to spur you along! Download your  free  copy of the  Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management Interview Guide  today.

To learn more about the essays for other top business schools, visit our  MBA Essay Tips and Examples Resources Page .

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Advice, tips and insights from the admissions dream team., table of contents, cornell johnson mba essays: tips & strategy.

• By Silpa Sarma

Cornell’s Johnson school is known for its tight-knit community and culture of collaboration.

Learning to harness the power of a team to drive impact is a key component of the MBA experience at Johnson, and diversity among backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences is greatly valued.

To that end, Cornell’s essay prompts aim to uncover applicants who demonstrate EQ, self-awareness, a collaborative mindset, and a track record of impact across the spaces they inhabit. For the 2022-2023 cycle, Cornell asks that you respond to a Goals Statement and one required essay (a second essay is optional).

As a Fortuna Admissions coach, Cornell Johnson alum, and former Stanford GSB Admissions Reader, I’m seasoned in helping candidates position their candidacy to the MBA admissions committee. Your essays are an opportunity to connect the dots for Cornell between who you are, where you’re going, and what you hope to bring to the community.

The following are some tips to keep in mind as you approach each essay:

Goals Statement: How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals? (approx. 350 words)

Cornell prefaces this essay question with a fill-in-the-blank goals statement that brings laser focus to both your short-term (immediately post-MBA) and long-term goal (five to ten years post-MBA). They ask for some specificity (role, company, industry). While there’s no word count given, in the past there was a hard cutoff of 350 words, which is a useful benchmark.

To make an impression, share the inspiration behind your goals by providing the context of how your passions, academic background, and professional experiences have solidified your desire to achieve these goals. Think about what you’ve learned throughout your career and how each role inspired you and prepared you to take the next step. This will help convey your motivation to make an impact and effect change. To demonstrate that your career vision is ambitious but still realistic, select two or three past experiences that highlight your existing skills and/or expertise that you will leverage, and then articulate how the offerings at the school will take you the rest of the way toward achieving your goals.

While the essay prompt focuses on your experience as it pertains to your goals, you can include a quick sentence or two about how Cornell’s Johnson School will bridge the gap to your short-term goals, and ultimately, your long-term goals.

(View this insightful article by Fortuna’s Heidi Hillis for more advice on how to create your short- and long-term MBA goals .)

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, hard cut-ff)

This question requires applicants to do their research. While reviewing the school’s website, student blogs, and YouTube videos might be good initial steps, it would be helpful to connect with current students, alumni, and other members of the Cornell Johnson community to gain a more in-depth understanding of the experience. Once you have a better idea of the Johnson ecosystem and offerings, think about how you’d like to leverage your unique background, skill sets, strengths, and interests to contribute to the community and consequently, enhance the experience of your classmates. Consider how you might share your sector expertise or industry connections with your peers, be it in a class discussion, during the recruiting cycle, or through a guest speaker series at Johnson. Find ways to continue your favorite extracurricular or community pursuits on campus, and if the avenue doesn’t exist, consider how you might create the opportunity and generate interest and engagement among your fellow students.

Through specific examples, demonstrate an understanding of the close-knit community feel and spirit of collaboration at Johnson and convey how much you’d like to contribute to it if given the opportunity. It’s also an invitation to get personal and speak to how you see yourself fitting into the culture at Cornell. As my Fortuna colleague Randall Sawyer, former Assistant Dean of Admissions at Cornell Johnson, says: “The challenge – and opportunity – is to unveil what you’re truly passionate about, something interesting about you and/or what you’re interested in. Get introspective about who you are as a person.”

Optional Essay (required for reapplicants): You may use the optional essay to explain gaps in your resume, call attention to items needing clarification, or provide additional details about any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson.  (350 words max)

For first-time applicants, this is a good place to cover any contextual information that’s relevant for the Admissions team to know. This might include reasons for a gap in your employment history, issues that impacted academic performance, or a career trajectory that isn’t quite intuitive or linear. Try to be as concise as possible in discussing this information, and if applicable, articulate how you resolved the issue and suggest a more appropriate indicator of your potential for success at Johnson. For example, if your undergraduate grades were somewhat weak, you could explain the context behind your performance and inspire increased confidence in your abilities with a strong GMAT/GRE score or a commendable performance in MBA math courses or other graduate studies.

For reapplicants, this space is intended for covering what’s changed since you last applied.  Discuss the most significant ways in which you’ve strengthened your candidacy. This might include earning a promotion, a more competitive GMAT/GRE score, a higher-profile position at work, or increased community engagement. This would also be the space to mention any clarity you may have gained regarding your MBA career vision , including how the Johnson School fits into achieving your goals. Whichever aspects of your candidacy you’re covering, make it quite clear that you’ve elevated your profile and you’re well-prepared to join the Johnson community and thrive within it.

Want More Advice?

View related articles and video strategy sessions on Cornell Johnson from our Fortuna Admissions expert coaches.

• B-school Profile for Cornell Johnson
• Request a copy of our team’s  Insider Tips Report for Applying to  Cornell Johnson
• View our video strategy session:  Behind the MBA Admissions Curtain with The Committee from HBS, Cornell & LBS .   

Let’s Get You In.

Fortuna Admissions is a dream team of former MBA Admissions Directors and Officers from 18 of the top 20 business schools, including Cornell Johnson. With our unparalleled collective expertise, we coach you to develop a clear vision of your goals for business school and beyond. We work closely with you throughout the application process and provide expert guidance at every stage to maximize your chances of admission to a top school.

Our free consultations are consistently rated as the best in the industry. To learn more about Fortuna and assess your chances of admission to a top business school, request a  free consultation .

Updated October 2022

Fortuna Admissions Expert Coach Silpa Sarma is a Cornell Johnson MBA alum and former Stanford GSB Admissions reader. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, essay   tips, and more,   sign up for a   free consultation .

• Posted on November 14, 2022

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2023-2024 Cornell Johnson MBA Essay Analysis and Tips

Admit expert.

• July 13, 2023

An international orientation and an emphasis on teamwork are hallmarks of Cornell Johnson’s small, amicable community and amiable culture. The business school seeks students who will have a lasting impact on the program both during their time in school and after they have graduated. The admissions committee is looking for leadership, collaborative skills, the capacity to evaluate challenges, and excellent interpersonal skills.

If this sounds like the kind of environment in which you would feel completely at home, the first thing you’ll need to do is demonstrate that you have what it takes by effectively answering the essay questions that Cornell asks for admission.

In this article, we’ll look at the Cornell Johnson essay prompts for the 2023 intake and present their analysis to help you write essays that impress the Berkeley Haas MBA admissions committee.

Short essay tips

Impact essay, optional essay (required for reapplicants), reapplicant essay, let us help you get into cornell johnson, cornell mba essay for 2023 intake.

Goals Statement:

Use this short-answer section to succinctly share your short- and long-term goals. If you’re invited to interview, you will have the opportunity to elaborate on your statement further, and you should be prepared to connect your prior experience with your future aspirations.

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:

In 5–10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry].

The first part of this question can be answered without any difficulty. The admissions committee wants to know both the short-term and long-term goals you have for yourself, as well as whether or not you are able to outline a specific plan. Be specific. Your comments should be succinct and clear at all times.

For the text boxes, be concise and to the point. Inform them precisely of your intentions.

You have slightly more space for the larger essay, but not much!

Therefore, we recommend that you do not recapitulate 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 answer the question, you must demonstrate how you have prepared and what has encouraged you to pursue your goals).

First, let’s discuss your preparation. Remember that objectives without context frequently lack clarity and impact. You may wish to include one or more brief stories or anecdotes to provide context.

Don’t list everything you’ve ever done (we already have your resume!) However, carefully create a summary of your career path that demonstrates you have acquired appropriate skills and expertise.

Second, explain why you are so enthusiastic about your personal ambitions. Though you may be seeking an MBA to earn more money or add a touch of prominence to your résumé, the admissions committee does not find these objectives fascinating. Rather, discuss your passions.

Provide examples of two or three formative events (professional and maybe personal) and elaborate on how these experiences have influenced your career choices. This is a retrospective essay that requires you to explain prior events; hence, you should not discuss how Johnson will prepare you for your future career.

You may opt to conclude with a single statement describing how your ambitions connect with Cornell Johnson’s mission, but avoid turning this into a “Why Cornell” essay.

Do you want to impress the Cornell Johnson Adcom?

At Admit Expert, we have helped hundreds of students get into top MBA programs around the world. We would be happy to help you too. Schedule a free call with us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your goals.

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This essay is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. 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 before submitting your application. 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. Taking into consideration your background, how do you intend to make a meaningful impact on an elite MBA community? (350 words maximum)

This question is about the future, which is different from the short-answer question. Cornell Johnson is looking for people who can start right away and make the most of their time on campus. 

Even though the prompt asks how you will interact with and change the community, you can connect your goals to the things you plan to do on campus if you choose your examples carefully. 

This essay is your chance to show that you’ve learned as much as you can about the program. The school wants you to reach out to people in the community, and when you do, don’t just give a long list of the students and alumni you talked to. 

If you mention a student or alum in your essay, be sure to explain how they influenced your decision to apply to Johnson and/or what you learned about the program from them. Look for information that isn’t on the school’s website or in blogs. 

Think about how you will interact with your classmates in and out of class, both as a student and after you graduate.

Give a very brief summary of how you have helped an organization in the past, whether it was a professional group or a group of people in your neighborhood. 

Even though this is an essay about the future, you should talk about your past experiences to show how you plan to make a bigger difference at Cornell Johnson.

In other words, the best answers to this essay question don’t just talk about the change you want to make at Cornell Johnson and beyond. Instead, they talk about how your background and past changes have prepared you to make this change in the future.

To show that you will be an active member of the Ithaca community and your future career, you will need to show how you have been an active member of other communities in the past. Use this essay to show how much you know about Cornell and how you plan to become a part of it.

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 not a repeat applicant, Johnson’s optional essay prompt gives you the chance to answer any questions an admissions officer might still have about your application, such as a low grade or GPA, a low GMAT or GRE score, or a gap in your work experience. 

Still, it is broad enough to let you highlight or explain something that, if left out, would make your application less than perfect. 

We don’t want you to just fill this space because you’re afraid that not doing so will hurt you in some way. 

Even if you’re tempted, this is not the place to use a good essay you wrote for another school or tell a few stories you couldn’t include anywhere else in your application. 

Keep in mind that if you send in an optional essay, you’re giving the people in charge of admissions more work to do, so don’t be too wordy or give more information than is really needed. 

You need to make sure that the admissions committee’s extra time and effort are really worth it, so write a very short piece to explain your troublesome issue or the most important thing about your profile that you haven’t mentioned anywhere else.

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)

If you have already applied to Cornell Johnson before, this essay should be pretty easy for you. Whether you have improved your grades, gotten a promotion, started a new and exciting project, gotten more involved in your community, or taken on a personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is showing a clear path to success. 

The school wants to know that you have been working hard to improve yourself and your profile and that you have taken advantage of opportunities to do so in the past year because you need a Cornell Johnson MBA. 

Each candidate’s answer to this essay question will be very different because each person has different needs and life experiences. We are more than happy to help you with this very personal essay one-on-one to make sure that your hard work over the past year is shown in the best possible light.

We will help you write essays that portray your unique strengths and experiences in the most favorable light so that your application shines above the rest. We have helped hundreds of students get into top US business schools. Let us help you too.

Do you want to get into your dream business school?

Take the first step towards your MBA dream and schedule a free 1 on 1 application strategy call with us.

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