I arrived at the Cornell Club where the event was held at 5:30. I was hoping to get there early enough to maybe get some extra face time with Randall Sawyer, the admissions rep. Sadly, I was too early. There was no one in the room. So I headed back down to the lobby to wait. I met Sgargiulo, a Johnson applicant and another fellow blogger a little later. We chatted briefly about how work and bschool applications are going.
Around 6, we headed up to the room where everyone was standing around mingling. Sgargiulo pointed out who Randall was, a tall guy with the red tie. After about half an hour waiting for everyone to arrive, we took our seats and got started. Just a quick note that most of the people there were dressed up – maybe they all came from work or maybe the occasion called for it. And no, I did not wear flip flops this time : ) – too cold for that – I had on business casual attire. Anyway, Randall and four alumni conducted the event. To my surprise, the four alumni are all in finance albeit they were in different areas. And I thought Randall sold the finance theme pretty well. I didn’t realize that Johnson was so heavily finance focused. The name “School of Management” is sort of misleading. I now kind of regret not looking at Johnson sooner.
The Information Session began with Randall and the alumni giving their take on the school. They all seem to be enthusiastic about the program and talked up the close-knit community. After about half an hour, it was then time for Q&A. I like the fact that every alumni gave their two-cents to the questions. One especial point I like to make is that the Johnson reps all said that if you’re not willing to get involve in Bschool, then Johnson is not the school for you. For me, that is a big selling point! After about an hour, it was more mingle and chat. I got to talk to Randall briefly. I told him that I plan on submitting in Round 3. He encouraged me to apply even before the deadline – as soon as my application is ready. So I will definitely kick it up a notch on the essays. Also got his business card and sent him a thank-you email last night. I also talked to one of the alumni who is in sales and trading. I asked him about his opinion about me wanting to continue in S&T. He was rather blunt and honest. He said if I can get ahead without an MBA, then I shouldn’t. The bottom line is what I eventually hope to accomplish with my MBA in the future. By the end of the night, Sgargiulo and I filled up on fruits and desert pastries before we left. Mmmm strawberries…
I was supposed to go to this wall-street recruiter holiday party afterwards, but it rained and I didn’t feel like getting drunk and wet. So I took the train down with Sgargiulo and said goodbye to him. I thought he seem like a good guy even though his age makes me feel like an old man : ). He even gave me some helpful tips about the essays. Anyway best of luck to him! And who knows, maybe we’ll end up classmates next years. As for Randall, I thought he was very funny and easy going. But he still knows his stuff and is passionate about what he is selling: Cornell Johnson.
Read the full article: Cornell Johnson NYC Information Session