Meet Cornell Johnson’s MBA Class Of 2023

APPLICATIONS CONTINUE TO CLIMB

The trendline has certainly been positive for Cornell Johnson in recent years. Two years ago, the school received 1.535 applications. That number climbed to 1,872 applications last year and 2,105 for a spot in the Class of 2023. That’s a 12.5% boost in the past year alone, a testament to Cornell increasing appeal to MBA applicants.

Overall, the Class of 2023 features 304 full-time MBA students, up from 292 a year earlier (and 282 in 2019). Over that two year span, median GMAT scores have risen from 700 to 710, though undergrad GPAs have slipped from 3.42 to 3.34. In the past year alone, the percentage of women at the Cornell Johnson MBA has risen from 31% to 39%, as the percentage of underrepresented minorities has nearly tripled to 25%. In addition, 35% of the class hails from overseas, with 30 countries represented overall.

Academically, over half of the class (54%) majored in Business as undergrads — 18 points higher than two years ago. Engineering and Sciences account for 18% and 9% of the class respectively. Combined, 16% of the class holds degrees in Social Sciences or Humanities. In terms of their pre-MBA careers, the numbers are relatively consistent with previous years. 31% last worked in Financial Services, with large segments also involved in Consulting (12%), Government and Non-Profit (11%), Technology (10%), Manufacturing (6%), and Healthcare (5%).

EMERGING ENTREPRENEURIAL MECCA

What is one potential reason for Johnson’s increased popularity? Think pay. Between base and bonus, Class of 2020 grads earned $166,315. That was good for 6th-best among American MBA programs and higher than either of Johnson’s New York cousins: Columbia Business School and NYU Stern. That number also outpaced the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, and Berkeley Haas. Finance has always been one of Johnson’s strengths, which is one reason for its high early returns. Last year, the school sent 34% of its class into the area, tying it for the second-highest percentage among top MBA programs.

Finance is just piece at Cornell. The MBA program also excels in entrepreneurship. Last year, Johnson ranked 6th in P&Q’s latest ranking of the top MBA programs for Entrepreneurship. Most notably, 11% of MBA graduates from the 2017-2019 classes started their own companies, one of the highest rates among Top 20 MBA programs. At the same time, 20% of electives and 25% of Johnson’s core coursework is devoted to entrepreneurship, with the school also boasting the highest percentage of accelerator space than any other business school. Each of these was a big boon to Marla Beyer, a 2020 grad who co-founded her healthtech startup, Hopscotch, as an MBA student.

“Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management provided me with the flexibility to tailor my experience so that I was able to focus my efforts on taking coursework, partaking in experiences and meeting individuals vital to helping the venture progress,” she told P&Q last year. “Beyond that, the student body and administration were extremely supportive and encouraging about our project. Our team was also able to participate in eLab, Cornell’s yearlong student accelerator program, which provided a wealth of knowledge, through mentorship, boot camps, and opportunities to present to investors.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DEAN

However, it is the school’s ‘Elite but Egalitarian’ culture that both fosters community and spurs innovation. That was one of the takeaways for Alina Everett, a 2020 grad who joined Microsoft.  “First, the relationships at Johnson are all about depth over breadth,” she tells P&Q. “All 280 of my classmates chose to move to Ithaca, weathering storms and steep (but stunning) hills, to be all-in on the experience. From the moment I arrived on campus to interview, I felt a serious level of personal investment between members of the Johnson community, something I still feel as an alumna. Second, Johnson’s role within the massive ecosystem of Cornell positioned us to find and pursue very individualized rabbit holes – experimenting with cutting-edge VR technology in the Computer Science School, for example, was a highlight of my second year and a prime example of the school’s interconnectivity.”

Programming is just one of the topics that Dean Mark Nelson discussed with P&Q in an August Q&A. From new developments to the school’s response to COVID, here are Dr. Nelson’s thoughts on the state of the MBA program.

P&Q: What are the two most exciting developments at your program and how will they enrich the MBA experience for current and future MBAs?

Nelson: “Johnson continues to invest in our tech and entrepreneurship programming, adding additional faculty (including established professors and seasoned practitioners) and deepening our activities at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City. Complementing our strengths in investment banking and consulting, this programming benefits all of our students.

Johnson’s success with virtual interaction led to strong applications, strong placements and unique teaching innovations. We will leverage everything we have learned to offer more opportunities to our students at our Ithaca and NYC campuses.”

P&Q: What are two biggest differentiating features of your MBA program? How do each of these enrich the learning of your MBA students?

Nelson: “Johnson’s immersion program is truly unique. In the second semester of their first year, students undertake an immersion that includes a set of related electives and a practicum in which they address actual business problems. Immersions position students for internship success as well as enabling them to pursue their specific interests early in their MBA program.

Johnson has a two-campus model, with the program based in Ithaca but with additional programming at the Cornell Tech campus in Manhattan. Students can have the best of both worlds – attending one of the world’s great universities in a beautiful college town as well as a newly constructed tech-focused campus in the heart of NYC.”

P&Q: In recent years, there have been several areas that have gained increased prominence in business school programming, including STEM, analytics, artificial intelligence and digital disruption. How does your full-time MBA program integrate these concepts across its curriculum?

Nelson: “All Johnson students take Data Analytics and Modeling as part of their core, and many select our Digital Technology Immersion as well as our FinTech or Digital Marketing Intensives. In addition, any Johnson student can select electives that qualify their program for STEM designation. With opportunities to engage with Cornell’s world-class Bower College of Computing and Information Systems and the Cornell Tech campus, Johnson students are well prepared to succeed in an age of digital disruption.”

P&Q: What have you learned during the pandemic and the shift to hybrid or remote learning and how will they impact the MBA experience going forward?

Nelson: “Johnson has excellent virtual-engagement capability, including state-of-the-art broadcast studios and newly constructed classrooms linking our Breazzano Center in Ithaca with the Tata Innovation Center at Cornell Tech. During the pandemic, all of our faculty honed their capabilities in this environment, developing pedagogy that also enhances in-person instruction. We also engaged with more prospective students, recruiters, and distinguished alumni than ever before. Going forward, we will complement in-person experiences with selective virtual engagement to maximize the opportunities available to our students.”

P&Q: What is your most popular course among MBAs? What makes it so unique and so attractive to MBAs?

Nelson: “I’ll answer with our most popular immersion – Digital Technology (DTI), which includes a practicum in which a successful tech alumnus collaborates with a tech-focused faculty member to guide teams of students on tech-focused consulting projects. One of the wonderful aspects of the DTI is the cross-functional learning environment whereby we pair MBAs with engineering students and have them work together on technically focused business problems for clients in the tech sector. DTI prepares students for success interning with tech firms as well as enhancing their capability to navigate in an increasingly digital business environment.”

10 REASONS TO CONSIDER CORNELL JOHNSON

1) Leadership: “Johnson’s leadership curriculum and myriad opportunities to practice leading were key factors in my decision to attend. Each Johnson student takes a turn leading their core team during the first semester; second year students can serve as Johnson Leadership Fellows, who mentor and coach these first-year core teams. You can also put yourself to the real test during a Leadership Expedition to the Adirondacks or even Patagonia at the southern-most tip of South America!”
Natalia Rovira Rodrigues (’23)

“Johnson’s emphasis on servant leadership and the formal leadership curriculum offered through the program’s academic courses and student organizations were critical to my decision. As a transitioning military service member, the Johnson 4Cs Leadership Framework really resonated with me in my early business school research. I did not find another MBA program that focused on individual leadership growth and reflection as clearly and directly as Johnson. Formal coursework like the Core Team Practicum and Critical and Strategic Thinking, combined with other formal leadership opportunities like the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program, Leadership Expeditions, and Leading Teams Case Competition, clearly set Johnson apart from other top MBA programs.”
Tommy Ott (’23)

2) Immersions: “One key aspect that drew me to Cornell Johnson was the immersions. Specifically, the Sustainable Global Enterprise, which perfectly matches my career path. To date, I have worked in non-renewable commodity finance. Post MBA, I’m looking to transition into the sustainability space. The fact that Johnson has invested resources and faculty into developing programming geared toward this area was very convincing. Having communicated further with staff in the dedicated Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise convinced me Johnson was the right choice.”
Chris Cartwright (’23)

“The immersion program. Coming from a non-traditional pre-MBA career background, and wanting to pivot into Agri-tech, Johnson’s customizable immersion program allows me to tailor the program to effectively fill my knowledge and skill gaps to successfully pivot into a new industry.”
Nicole de Ovin-Berenguer (’23)

Next Page: Profiles of 12 Cornell Johnson First-Year MBAs