Experience during the program

Great program especially if you want to go into Investment Banking. Had the opportunity to interview with every firm. The preparation and alumni support exceeded my expectations. The immersion is the best part of the program. You receive constant feedback and preparation for your summer internship. As a result, you are able to hit the ground running over the summer.

The core is tough, to succeed you must have good time management skills as many people juggle recruiting, school and their personal life.

Being in Ithaca is great especially if you know you are going to a big city after graduation. You really get to know your classmates, and if you like the outdoors this is perfect for you.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Culture & Student Support
Facilities

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Experience during the program

The most important criteria for choosing business school to me were:
- small class
- strong brand identity and culture
- career opportunities

I am very happy that Johnson checked off all the requirements for me. I appreciate the small class that we have. It allows us to build strong friendships and to really get to know each other. We are all very committed to our school and very supportive of one another. Second years went out of their way to help the first years during the recruiting process. I would not have been able to change careers from media and entertainment into consulting post graduation without the support of my fellow classmates.

Johnson has a very distinct culture and is remotely located. Future applicants need to visit Ithaca to see the school's location for itself. Living in a small rural town, even if just for 2 years, is not for everybody. It is a great break from the big city life though.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Location

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Experience during the program

Overall, Johnson is a great school. However, the experience can vary depending on the career choice. This should be the main consideration. There are many recruiting options for IB, Consulting,, Marketing, Finance. Significantly less opportunities for Asset Management and Tech. The latter is partially the function of an industry where there are no structural recruiting processes and much of recruiting is just in time.

Student body has interesting backgrounds, down to earth personalities. The culture is very collaborative.

Curriculum is rigorous and can be great or not so great depending on recruiting schedule and background.

Lots of advantages from the wider Cornell network (classes, facilities, alumni)

About job placement process

Asset Management is tough. Alumni can be helpful but opportunities are scarce. Need to do a lot of individual work.

Preparation could be improved as well for investment management jobs.

Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
Schools contribution (2.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking
Management

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Location
Admissions Team

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Experience during the program

Overall, the 2-year full-time program at the Johnson School has been a great experience so far. Be warned that the fall of first year is an intense, fast-moving semester of 6 core courses (split into two half-semesters) that will really push you in terms of workload (7am quizzes, multiple deadlines in quick succession). But the advantage of this approach lies in Johnson's unique ability to offer self-selected Immersion coursework in the spring semester, which should give you a leg-up on your summer internship because you spend an entire semester taking a pre-defined set of courses relevant to your desired functional area. Being located where it is in rural upstate New York, diversity of talent can be an issue but the school continues to work on this and has done an admirable job recruiting underrepresented minorities, women, LGBT candidates, etc. Recently there has been increased attention on the newly-formed College of Business and the cross-pollination that allows between three previously separate schools (Johnson, Dyson, and Statler). The new Dean of Johnson is well-respected and makes every effort to be involved and engaged with the community.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Cornell professors are pretty top-notch and many will be involved in the Sage community via our weekly Sage Social happy hours. If there's one complaint I have, it's that administrators are somewhat slow in communicating important dates to students - for example, the academic calendar for the upcoming semester is released fairly late in the fall and doesn't leave much time to make travel arrangements far enough in advance.

About job placement process

Professional clubs are available to guide and facilitate the internship and full-time placement process. For Consulting and especially Banking, these clubs push you hard and have second-year officers who can sometimes come across (intentionally or not) as intimidating or overly strict. We also have Career Work Groups consisting of 2 second-years leaders and around 6 first-years that are geared towards recruiting for a particular function (i.e. Banking, Tech, Consulting, CPG Marketing, etc). Some groups are stronger than others depending on the composition of the second year class and their previous internship experiences.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Student body, diversity
Brand/Ranking
Culture & Student Support

Read More

Experience during the program

Let's get this out of the way: Ithaca is remote. If you're looking for the cosmopolitan MBA experience, this isn't the program for you. But if you're looking for a truly special culture built on collaboration, authenticity and a cohort of people who will take pride in the success of one another, Johnson is a great fit. The emphasis on leadership and sustainability is what brought me there; for others, it was the strength of the investment banking pipeline or the opportunities available through the practicum-based marketing immersion. Certainly Cornell's strengths in engineering are a big draw for b-school students interested in taking classes in other colleges in preparation for a career in tech product management. As an applicant to a number of schools, I spent a lot of time on the phone with alumni asking about how their schools prepared them for the jobs they landed afterward -- in one case, someone told me they could not have scripted a better experience. Having graduated a few months ago with a job beyond my wildest hopes in the beginning, I can say the same. I would suggest to any prospective b-school students that they undertake a similar effort to really get to know the programs, rather than relying on rankings.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Student body, diversity
Location

Read More

Experience during the program

- Understand that although Ithaca is pretty close to the middle of nowhere, recruiters still come to campus. Some companies provide overwhelming support (especially from alumni), while others not so much.
- As a transitioning military officer with no business background, I struggled with some of the core classes. Many of your classmates have at least a fundamental understanding of many concepts and you might have no understanding. Don't get discouraged by this. Your grades might suffer, but you'll end up having learned a lot.
- If you are a parent, be prepared to really spend time learning how to prioritize your time. I have a 10-month old son who I see usually no more than 2 hours a day, which means my wife takes care of him for the other 22 hours. It's hard, but ensure to spend some undivided quality time with your family. Remember that in the long-run, having a cohesive working family is far more important than getting good grades.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Very supportive professors. Professors and TAs are typically available whenever you need extra assistance.

About job placement process

I am recruiting for marketing and the majority of companies that come to campus are CPG. This school typically places marketers in CPG. You can find other routes to go, but you will be pushed by the Career Management Center to go CPG. All of the big players recruit here, so if you are interested in CPG, this is a good place to be.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Admissions Team
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance

Can be improved:

Culture & Student Support

Read More

Experience during the program

I think the culture at Johnson is amazingly diverse yet tight-knit. I know this sounds cliche, but I am being sincere. Within Cornell, Johnson is most integrated with the Baker Real Estate School and Law School. I was shocked when I took a class on the other side of campus (within the Policy Analysis & Mgmt) and discovered a whole community of talented individuals who congregated in a massive building with ultra-progressive facilities (MVR). I feel like I discover something new and exciting each day I walk onto campus.

To be honest, I was not prepared for the rigorous and fast-is paced curriculum at Johnson. With half semesters, there seems to come a point where tests and quizzes are non-stop and something clustered is devious arrangements. Initially recruiting for I-Banking, I quickly became immersed in recruiting (Corporate Briefings and universally loved crop circles; off-campus events; traveling to the city for interviews --> thank heaven for the Cornell Club; etc). The opportunities are there for Johnson students...if you make the cut, you will interviewing on Superdays right alongside H/S/W applicants). The one aspect that can improve a bit is the traditional procedures associated with club --> 2nd year --> bank interaction. A more progressive approach (which I believe is in the works) will go a long way.

The biggest draw for Johnson is the flexibility it provides for career switchers. There are loads of opportunity for every industry and job type; for example, I interviewed for traditional investment banking roles, managerial program roles, consulting roles, etc. Most were larger corporations and bulge bracket firms, but some were more boutique.

My classmates have been some of the most intellectual and genuine people I have met in my life.

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Investment Banking
Tech

Can be improved:

grade disclosure policy

Read More

Experience during the program

In overall, the program is good. Professors are top-notch, but competition is fierce as is expected in any top business school. It is really hard to get A's. You work too much on your class commitments and this alone hampers students' efforts towards recruiting.

Career Center is not as good. They are not very helpful even if the school size is not that much. I do not believe any member of career center has ever found any student something tangible.

Some companies such as FB, MSFT, Airbnb do not come to campus. Almost all IB companies come.

Make a wise selection, I would not have selected Cornell if I had been accepted by HBS and Stanford, even MIT and Berkeley. If you are not a US Citizen, you will not get any scholarships, however some other top schools at the caliber of Cornell provide such scholarships: Tuck, Darden are some of them.

Alumni are willing to help, but I do not believe that they will beat those of Tuck :)

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Facilities

Best fit at this program:

Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking

Read More

Experience during the program

I graduated a few years ago and am most likely getting ready to wrap up my stint as a consultant. Coming in to the program, I was looking for diversity in both student body and experiences. Johnson was perfect for this. Our strengths are notably in IB and consulting; many of my classmates and friends are enjoying successful careers at great firms.

Despite the relatively small size, there's ample opportunity to explore and be a part of various meaningful groups and organizations.

Student body is diverse, extremely smart and motivated, but most importantly fun and supportive. I was in the One year MBA, but have made life-long friends across all the programs.

I would highly recommend Johnson. I've been involved in recruiting and interviewing for my firm this past year, and I would say the talent pool is very strong.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Sometimes integration between 1 and 2 year MBAs isn't fluid. Its highly variable and depends on the class. I would recommend more cross-class interactions and project work to create a more cohesive group at Sage.

Go Big Red!

Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Alumni Network
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Investment Banking
Tech
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Location
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Read More

Experience during the program

I have to admit that I was extremely skeptical about what people were saying about the "close-knit" nature of Johnson and if one could really feel the difference. But the reality is that although ~280 classmates and a total of ~600+ overall full-time MBA students is quite a large number of people, the fact that everything happens in one place and that the students are so actively involved in everything, makes it feel much more like a family. And the "close-knit" nature really does affect the MBA experience in that there isn't much space to "hide" in the crowd and you really get to know your classmates well.

There has been a lot of criticism lately from both internal sources and external sources regarding the direction of the program and how the school is branding itself. Personally, I do believe the school realizes this gap and is doing a fairly good job at trying to listen to the constructive feedback and address these ongoing issues. And regardless of what the school ends up doing, no school is perfect and there will always be complaints.

With that all being said, I believe that if you remove all of the strengths that the school tries to promote (tech, entrepreneurship, IB, etc) its true core strength lies in the ethical leaders that the school produces. Strong ethics and leadership is something that I see consistently with all of my classmates and the alums. Because of the way the school is structured, I see those characteristics as the only truly salient factors that distinguish between those that succeed and those that fail. The school IS strong in all of these areas simply because it's a place that tries to offer its students an overly abundant number of resources to cater to anyone's potential desires. Really, everything you need to succeed is here and if it's not, it's very likely available in the greater Cornell University community where there are seemingly endless word-class resources at your fingertips. Therefore, in order to succeed at Johnson, one needs to be very proactive and decisive when determining how to spend their 2 short years here.

Sure, the school's not perfect and they can improve in many areas, but that doesn't happen without a proactive student body and a community that really has a large interest in it's overall success. I think that Johnson currently has all of the right pieces to produce a top 10 business school experience (great diverse student body and excellent faculty) and that it's on the verge of doing so. The reason that it's not quite there yet, is that the students and the administration need to work more effectively together to execute a coordinated effort to improve the school as a whole. Once they can accomplish that, the sky's the limit!

About professors, classes and curriculum

The overall quality of the professors has been extremely impressive and it has actually exceeded my expectations. They've added some great new core faculty members that I think will fundamentally improve the MBA curriculum. Although, it is still far from perfect and the school is behind its peers as far as being more forward looking into what both the students are looking for and what employers value from MBA's.

Like I said, the professors are excellent, however the overall curriculum and course offerings could use a new structure and potentially a total overhaul. They did add two new courses to the core, however I don't think they looked at how those additional courses effectively fit into the overall picture with the existing courses and to prevent overlap, they need to reassess the structure of each course in the core.

But, I do like the freedom of choice that the program allows and for the most part, one can select their own unique MBA experience once one completes the core (which for the most part is complete after the first semester). This flexibility is fairly unique to the school and offers its students the option to customize their education for what they believe their career needs are.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Alumni Network

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
Facilities

Read More