Hello prospective students,
Thanks for your feedback and questions. I love answering your emails. However, sometimes I am not sure if my emails are reaching you, because the addresses where I get emails from seem very generic such as "no-reply.com." If you could include your email address in the email, then that would be fruitful at both ends.
Thanks. Keep your emails coming.
Ekta

Now that the first half of the core is done, I have to decide about the immersion I plan to take in the second semester. Johnson school is famous across the world for its immersion program- an intense, hands-on semester of integrated course and field work in a specific industry or career interest. Before coming to school I was keen on doing the Strategic Marketing immersion as I wanted to get into brand management later on. However, in the last eight weeks I have got a taste of accounting, finance, entrepreneurship and strategy. I now feel I can be equally good in all of them. As a result, there is sheer chaos in my head which is waiting to explode.
I have been talking to professors and a lot of second year students. Each discussion leaves me more confused than before. However, after doing SWOT analysis for myself I have decided that I am going to concurrently try marketing and consulting, simply because both these streams fit with my strengths and personality. This also means double the amount of work- going to twice as many briefings, joining two career work groups and working extra hard to keep up with the studies. I am not a super human, but I am getting to know how difficult it must be to be one.
For the prospective students, my advice is-never say never. You never know what you can become. I have discovered I can be Banker, Marketer, Social Worker, Consultant, Entrepreneur and Accountant. Johnson school can bring out multiple sides to you and I am kind of enjoying this journey of self exploration.
I also hope that applying and researching on business school is not too stressful for you all, because if it is then you need to think twice about getting into a BUSYness school!

Someone once dropped the pearls of wisdom that MBA teaches you to juggle multiple things without losing their grip. I am not sure if I have a strong grip, but I have definitely learnt to juggle.

In the core semester, you learn the balancing act of managing networking, extracurricular activities and academics. Though I like the stress and craziness around me, most days I float around the Sage hall like a zombie from one place to another. I have taken a mid-term assignment, attended two corporate briefings, volunteered for a club activity, gone for three core classes and partied with my classmates, all in ONE day! Coffee and Pepsi are providing me the much needed caffeinated energy required to survive. Core semester has pushed me to challenge my limits and that is an amazing process of self discovery.

Our core courses include Marketing, Accounting and Microeconomics. It has just been four weeks into the semester and mid terms are already over, not to mention we have final exams in two weeks. Every week there are at least two deliverables. It is not an unusual sight to see a fellow classmate in the Sage Hall at 3:00 am in the morning. We recently had the SC Johnson case competition and it was amazing to see Sage alive during the darkest hours of night. Also, working in core groups was a great experience.

All my classmates are highly accomplished individuals and each one brings a lot of intellectual capital to the table. It is fun to interact with a great bunch of handpicked students. But, this also means that you need to keep up. Classes are graded on a curve, so as in business, my performance is always measured relative to my peers. Many times I felt I did very well on my assignments, but sadly there were many others who did much better. All assignments are graded on the curve and sadly happiness (grading) in at the Johnson school (and in business) is relative.

Hopefully after the core semester, if nothing else works, I am sure I will be able to earn money as a juggler, business school experience will guarantee at least that!

My friends strictly warned me against wearing a T-shirt with the above tagline. They find it very corny when any Cornellian flaunts the famed T-shirt. Before moving to Ithaca, I was pretty sure I was not joining the bandwagon of all the other Cornellians. But guess what? I just bought my T-shirt which says it loud and clear- Ithaca is Gorges!

Ithaca is unique. Its summer beauty is beyond comparison. Among all the cities I have been to, Ithaca is one of the very few with a strong character. The simplicity, liberal attitude, and slow yet competent pace of the city are intriguing. It feels weird, but kind of humbling, when people do not honk at you when you try to cut into their lane, or when you see people expressing themselves in a hippy attire, or when you get a free lemonade even if you are short on cash.

The Johnson school recently organized a wine tour, which was absolutely beautiful. Everyone in the class is excited and curious to know each other and social events such as these are a perfect platform to bond with your classmates. We were also taken to a boat cruise which was equally amazing. And then came what I was looking forward to the most- Johnson Outdoor Experience (JOE). JOE is a weekend getaway at a summer camp near Ithaca. At JOE, we were divided into groups of people with varying personalities (trust me there was a scientific way to it!). We were involved in a lot of team building activities and learned not only to work with each other but also to enhance other's skills.

My favorite part at JOE was the skit. We were divided in groups of fifteen and we had to come up with a skit in 30 minutes. My teammates were oozing creativity and that resulted in a great end product. The skit was followed by JOE Olympics in the morning. Our entire class was divided in four teams and I was part of the Green team. Many of my teammates would agree that our team was the (actual) winner, but the red team won because they had the loudest cheer. That was when I learned my first lesson of business: no one will know how good you are till the time you shout it out loud (and market yourself).

Ithaca has perfect weather, awesome classmates and heavy socializing. With so much bliss, it is difficult to gear up for the core semester. Hope the title of my blog does not change to Ithaca is Torturous! by the time the core is done.

Though I was ecstatic when I got the acceptance call from the Johnson school, I was equally sad to leave Washington D.C. - a city I was so fond of. First two days in Ithaca were lonely and sad, but the situation changed soon when my encounter with numbers began.

Math Camp is a pre-term course for students with relatively lesser quantitative exposure. I have been scared of anything that is remotely connected to finance and it was extremely beneficial to be a part of this three day exercise with Professor Regan. He laid out everything in such simple terms that even a person like me is now open to exploring a career in finance!

During our week long orientation, no other thing was as emphasized as the importance of networking was. In this age, an MBA degree is not just about getting good grades, but it is about achieving the bottom line result- getting a job which makes you happy. Networking is important not only to know about possible job opportunities but also to understand which industry/company is right for you. I consider myself a social and outgoing person, but the idea of approaching industry personnel is intimidating. I hope I am more comfortable with it in the days to come. Well, I guess I have no choice.

Though professors drilled into us the importance of networking, I feel that there is one thing more even more essential than that, and that is your name tag. Meeting and remembering names of 300+ new people is not easy. For the last few weeks I have been wearing my nametag everywhere and I almost feel underdressed without it. After exchanging greetings with my new class mate my hand automatically points to my name tag. It becomes even more important when you have a tongue twisting name like that of mine. As basic as it may sound, but that is the first step to getting yourself noticed. No one would want to remember you if you do not want them to. I understand this perceivably trivial piece of paper will become all more the important when we start attending recruiting events, a few of which we have already started getting a taste of.

We have many fun things to look forward to in the coming few weeks- wine tasting, picnics, cruises and Johnson Outdoor Experience. I will write about them very soon. But soon after that, the much dreaded core semester will begin and I just hope that that bitter pill has blessed results!

My cocooned upbringing in a suburban Indian family has constantly fueled my desire to meet new people and explore the world. After my undergraduate degree in arts at the Lady Shriram College India, I decided to convert this curiosity into a career. I joined consumer research and worked with Nielsen Research, USAID and Synovate Research. My work provided me an opportunity to learn about the lifestyles and behaviors of people from different sections of society. It gave me the chance to travel around India, various parts of Southeast Asia and the U.S. I also undertook projects in countries across the five major continents. It is a cliche, but having lived in both eastern and the western worlds, I believe I can understand and write about a wide array of issues and topics. Although my eight-year long stint as a researcher has been extremely rewarding, I realize it is now time for me to dive into mainstream marketing. The Johnson School is the perfect launching pad for the new career I wish to seek. I am particularly interested in selling consumer goods in socially and economically challenged areas of Asia and Africa. I am looking at a combination of brand management and sustainable global entreprise as concentration areas for my MBA degree. On a more personal level, I am extremely passionate about Indian classical dance and Buddhism. It has been a week since I moved to Ithaca and each day has been an enriching experience. I see the Johnson School as a place to nurture three beacons of my career: creativity, curiosity and cohesiveness. As I embark on this new journey, I look forward to spending my time with wonderful classmates, esteemed faculty and amazingly friendly staff, and to sharing my experiences with you all.