My experience at Cornell was extremely positive. The 2nd year student was very friendly and easy to talk to. The interview was very conversational. She introduced herself and gave me her educational and professional history first. The interview was blind and she had my resume printed out and ready. I felt that it was very easy to direct the conversation myself by bringing up certain experiences as well as telling her that I would like to back up and explain such and such before so that she could better understand my decisions. She wanted to get a good feel of what I currently did and why I made the choices that I did – in undergrad as well as during my job search.
She definitely wanted to know WHY CORNELL and asked me to elaborate after I gave her my answer. And she asked Why MBA and Why now. There were no unexpected questions and no difficult questions, although another prospective did tell me that he got the “How would your friends describe you” question, which I did not get. It was definitely conversational and she chimed in with things about Cornell that matched up with my interests and goals.
I would tell you to know why you want to go to Cornell and to be specific about it. Don’t give the normal answers everyone else will give. Also, know what makes you unique and make sure to get that across to your interviewer.
After my visit, I have to say that Cornell is at the top of my list. The people were exceptional and the community truly is unique.
