Meet Cornell Johnson’s MBA Class Of 2024

A CLASS PROFILE

That’s what the 303 members of the Class of 2024 were saying in August. And there were more students than ever looking to get into the program. This past cycle, the school received 2,555 applications, up from 2,105 last year (and 1,872 applications the year before). Overall, the school accepted 31% of candidates during the 2021-2021 cycle.

The class also maintained the previous class’s 710 average GMAT, as scores ranged from 660-750 in the mid-80% range. Average GPA also remained relatively steady at 3.30. Like the previous class, 39% of the class are women. As a whole, international students make up 43% of the Class of 2024, with 43 countries represented. Underrepresented U.S. Minorities – African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans – account for 16% of the class, though a 43% share encompasses American minorities.

Professionally, the class averages 5.5 years of work experience. 30% of the class last worked in Financial Services, up two points from the previous class. Consulting rose 3 points to 15%, while Technology tacked on two points to 12%. In addition, 13% of the class possesses military experience. In terms of academic backgrounds, admissions clearly favors Business-related undergraduate majors. 46% of the class falls into this category, which is actually down eight points from the previous class. Engineering (18%) and Sciences (5%) also hold a substantive number of class seats, as does majors in the Social Sciences (20%) and the Humanities (5%).

A FRIENDLY CAMPUS

Applications isn’t the only measure of Johnson’s increasing popularity. Take placement and pay. In 2021, 97% of Johnson MBA graduates received job offers within three months of graduation – and another 95% had accepted jobs within that period. At the same time, between base and bonus, 2021 grads averaged $169,231 in total compensation – a number that topped counterparts from Harvard Business School, Northwestern Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, and Dartmouth Tuck.  That’s just the start. According to a recent study, Johnson grads can expect a $.2.56 million dollar lifetime return-on-investment from a Johnson degree – a number that’s higher than either Chicago Booth or Yale SOM. One reason? While Cornell Johnson has been dubbed a “banking school”, you’ll find some truth behind the myth. After all, it ranks among the top 5 MBA programs for feeding grads into the bulge bracket.

That’s not the only place where Cornell Johnson ranks high. In a 2021 student and administrator survey conducted by The Princeton Review, the school posted the 2nd-highest score for Teaching Excellence and 3rd-highest for Administration quality. To save the best for last, it ranked #1 for Family Friendliness and Campus Environment. Johnson’s ascension is also reflected in alumni enthusiasm. In February, the school received a $15 million dollar gift from Joanne Knight, whose husband earned his MBA at Cornell in 1959. Another MBA alum, Paul Rubacha, gifted the school $30 million dollars to build up its real estate program in June.

Come 2023, Cornell Johnson will face a transition. That’s when Dean Mark Nelson will leave his post to return to the faculty. His six-year tenure was highlighted by the launch of Cornell Tech and the opening of the Breazzano Family Center for Business Education. The investments made by Nelson will certainly propel the program in years to come. What can MBA candidates expect out of Johnson? This summer, Dean Nelson shared his thoughts with P&Q on the state of the program. From new developments to local hangouts to past experiential learning projects, here is an inside look on what makes the Johnson MBA such a unique experience.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEAN MARK NELSON

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

Nelson: “We have made significant investments in key career verticals, including Consulting, Tech, and Investment Banking, with faculty collaborating with senior industry execs and our career management center to maximize student internship and recruiting success.

We have added a new course, “The Entrepreneurial Mindset”, to the first-year fall curriculum, ensuring that all students approach their degree program with that perspective and accelerating the progression of startup founders who collaborate across Cornell.”

P&Q: If you were giving a campus tour, what is the first place you’d take an MBA applicant? Why is that so important to the MBA experience?

Nelson: “This one’s easy – I just took 40 students to Sage Chapel, my favorite spot on campus. Cornell University was established as a non-sectarian university (motto: “Any person, any study”), but created this stunning chapel under the conditions that all creeds and beliefs are welcome and that no one shall be compelled to attend. The interior is gorgeous and inspiring, with an alter featuring a mosaic depicting various muses associated with different fields of study, and stained-glass windows celebrating the founders of great universities. I think it beautifully captures Cornell’s tradition of broad and inclusive learning.”

P&Q: What is the most innovative thing you have introduced into the MBA program in recent years? How has it been a game changer for your program?

Nelson: “The Cornell Tech campus in NYC is truly unique and innovative.  Constructed from scratch to meet the needs of the digital economy, the campus features a curriculum in which MBAs team with graduate students in engineering and computer science to complete consulting projects and develop start-up ideas.  Our MBA students can spend from a weekend to an entire year at Cornell Tech, experiencing all that we have to offer at Cornell’s Ithaca campus as well as in the heart of Manhattan.”

P&Q: What have MBAs told you is the most memorable, signature experience they’ve had in your program? Why did it resonate so much with them?

Nelson: “Our students always highlight our immersion program, in which they spend the second semester of their first year focusing on an area of career interest like consulting, investment banking, tech, marketing or operations.  They appreciate the opportunity to engage with real companies under the supervision of an experienced practitioner, and they come back from their summer internships very grateful for the advantage their immersion gave them when competing with other interns for full-time offers.

P&Q: How does the MBA program leverage the resources of the large university? How does that create more opportunities for your students?

Nelson: “Cornell is a phenomenal resource for our students. MBAs can base a large part of their program on coursework from world-leading programs in law, sustainability, engineering, computer science, and other fields, and also access what Cornell Tech has to offer, fine-tuning their Johnson degree to meet their particular interests.  Also, Cornell researchers generate huge amounts of intellectual property, providing excellent opportunities for MBAs interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital activity.

P&Q: How does your MBA program infuse experiential learning into your curriculum? Give us a couple of examples of projects your students have done recently, including the company, scope, and results?

Nelson: “Experiential learning is a hallmark of a Cornell MBA.  Immersions and intensives feature practicum courses that include an experiential learning component, as do other courses within our MBA and EMBA programs. There are many examples to choose from, but here are a few:

SAP: Our MBA students worked with Retail, Wholesale and Consumer Goods vertical teams at SAP to understand the possible disruption and opportunities that the metaverse represented for these vertical markets for SAP. The team examined possible end-use cases in these verticals, competition, possible entry points, and strategies and approaches SAP could adopt with regard to its products. The project work is being used to inform further and deeper exploration of possible opportunities and investments at SAP.

Mondelez: An MBA team tackled a highly quantitative marketing question on behalf of Mondelez’s Biscuits category, which includes some of the most iconic consumer brands on grocery shelves. Mondelez wanted to understand creative wear-out (how quickly consumers tire of viewing the same advertisement) on social media platforms. Using internal data compiled by Mondelez, the team ran various statistical analyses and also recommended future experiments for Mondelez to conduct using ads for different brands on different social media platforms.

Boston Scientific: Two separate teams of MBA students took on go-to-market plans for two different proprietary technologies that Boston Scientific is currently developing for commercial use. Each team conducted secondary research on existing applications for the technology, surveyed the competition, and identified gaps in the market. The highlight of these projects was a series of interviews with leading physicians in the relevant medical fields, whose insight was invaluable in crafting the go-to-market plans.

Emerson: Given Emerson’s position as a global leader of automation solutions, an MBA team worked to develop a go-to-market strategy renewal for the company’s low-carbon-heating-technology heat pump business. The team identified business opportunities stemming from changes in policy and consumer preferences to reduce CO2 emissions.

Boeing:  A team of MBAs worked to analyze the evolving market for scaling worldwide Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production. The project focus was to support the airlines’ net-zero carbon emissions 2050 goals.

Microsoft: Our students worked with Microsoft to better understand how the future of work might change due to changing demographics and COCIS, and to consider what impact that may have on productivity and strategies their customers may follow for return to work/hybrid. Given Microsoft’s depth and breadth across productivity + security, the team considered how they are uniquely positioned to better serve their customer’s needs amidst these changing demographic and post-Covid trends, compared to other cloud providers. This work is being used to inform sales and positioning strategies.”

P&Q: Where are some of your students’ favorite hang-outs? What do they do and why do they gravitate there?

Nelson: “Libe Slope is a section of campus that overlooks Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. It is so named because it is located beside Cornell’s first library, Libe Slope offers stunning natural beauty and is adjacent to Cornell’s Arts Quadrangle. In Autumn, students might lounge there to watch the sunset while enjoying a picnic dinner with friends, listening to the bells in the nearby clock tower. In Winter, Libe Slope is a popular sledding hill, and it provides some of our students with their first sledding experience.  In Spring, it is the location of Cornell’s famous Slope Day, hosting bands and celebrating the end of classes each year. No matter what time of year, our students enjoy spending time there, looking out at the lake and hanging out with classmates.”

Next Page: Profiles of 12 Members of the Class of 2024