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If you want to get the most out of your Cornell SC Johnson Graduate School of Management MBA program, then networking needs to play a key role in your experience. The good news is that the school offers a range of opportunities and advice for making the making the most of every person you meet. From attending multi-school events to participating in partner organizations, there are a multitude of ways to network with a highly diverse group of people.
Judi Byers, the Executive Director of Admissions & Financial Aid, talks about how Cornell Johnson prepares and helps its students with their MBA network.
How does attending a multi-school event open up networking opportunities and how can an MBA candidate take advantage?
Attending a multi-school event gives you the opportunity to network with admissions staff, program alumni, and other prospective applicants. All three are valuable as they can provide you with insights about what you are looking for (or don’t know that you might be looking for) and help to facilitate introductions to others that can inform, and sometimes further, your next steps. ]
As you’re making new connections, think about ways to stay in touch such a sending a note after, scheduling a meet up/visit, or connecting via LinkedIn. You never know whether the person you connected with at an event will turn into a classmate or core team member, lifelong friend, or future colleague.
How does your program promote candidate diversity and why is it important to your students’ success and network?
Cornell was founded on the principle of “… any person … any study.” The idea of “…any person” means that individuals from all walks of life and backgrounds—regardless of income, race, religion, and gender—can attend Cornell University. As well, “…any study” refers to the choice our students have to pursue academic interests wherever they lead.
As an MBA program and community, the principle of “… any person … any study.” can be found in many facets of the educational experience, each with the underlying objective of educating, training, and preparing our students to lead with ambition and impact.
Johnson was the first top-tier MBA program to have its own dedicated Office of Diversity & Inclusion, focused on supporting the rising generation of women, underrepresented minority (URM), and LGBTQ leaders.
Are there any unique opportunities that your school offers to expand an MBA candidate’s network?
Johnson partners with several organizations and foundations to expand opportunities for diverse MBA students including The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, Forté Foundation, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA), and the Toigo Foundation. Additional information regarding our partnerships and support for diverse students is available on our Office of Diversity & Inclusion website.
Given our continued emphasis on diversity and inclusion, we have launched a new section on our website dedicated to Diversity Admissions Events, which includes our premier annual hosting events as well as new opportunities for diverse candidates to engage further with our community and be supported throughout their Cornell MBA experience, starting with the admissions process.
Cornell Johnson wasn’t the only school to answer these questions. If you’d like to see what the admissions teams at Berkeley Haas, Duke Fuqua, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, UVA Darden, and Yale SOM had to say, head here.
