Essay  question for 2011

Essay 1 Required (400 words max)
Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you were able to add value to your organization.

We suggest that start this essay by talking to friend or a close peer and evaluate 2-3 experiences which you would consider good professional achievements.Weigh the pros and cons for each one of them and zero in for two and then make a rough draft of each one of those then finally choose the best.

• Take care of the following points while writing this essay

• The write up has element of team working in it

• The answer should manifest a leadership aspect

• It will be good if it follows a problem-solution framework

• Give it a personal touch by mentioning behavioural aspect of the team/stakeholders involved

• Always take the ethical stand

Essay 2 Required (400 words max)
What career do you plan to pursue upon completion of an MBA degree and why? How will the Johnson School help you achieve this goal?

The following things should be in line while you write the response:

• Your work experience till now

• The specialization or the courses which you want to focus at Cornell

• Your post MBA goals.

If you can seam all of these and produce that you will leverage your previous work experience and focus on a particular study area during the course and then launch yourself to a particular goal – half of the job is done – the structure has been out in place. Focusing on studies as well as people during your stay at Cornell will add a flavour to your essay and will help you differentiate when you add a personal touch to it.

Essay 3 Required (400 words max)
You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. Please write the table of contents for the book.

Note: Approach this essay with your unique style. We value creativity and authenticity.

The following things should be in line while you write the response:

• Your work experience till now

Optional Essay (400 words max)
Complete this essay if there is other information you would like to add regarding your candidacy. For instance, if you believe one or more aspects of your application (e.g., undergraduate GPA or test scores) does not accurately reflect your potential for success at the Johnson School.

As asked in the question, you should approach this essay only if you think you are missing something crucial in the above two essays. Especially in Cornell application students tend to write this essay to showcase “something extra”. Please make sure this “something” passes “so what?” test very well.   If you are answering this, do not forget that how have you improved upon your failures and what have you learnt from your mistakes and leveraged that learning for being successful later in life.