Daphne, to start us off, Cornell's applications have been steadily rising over the past couple of years. They've gone from 1,469 in 1993 to 2,556 in 1996. This year, however, apps have tailed off, totalling, roughly 2,100. Why the sudden drop? Was 1996 an aberration or did Cornell make a conscious effort to keep its apps down?

No. I think that no one makes a conscious decision to keep applications down. And you're correct, we've seen an increasing trend over the last five years. But a more important issue is that overall quality has increased. Much more important than sheer volume is quality. This year we saw a dramatic increase of those that chose to come; we got a 50% yield, which is up from 35% from last year. That's a significant increase. And students, I think, recognize that this is an exciting time at Cornell. We've got a new builiding that is going to open in May, and we've become a lot more effective in communicating to prospective applicants. So I think there are a lot of things that have contributed to our increased yield.

Daphne, you earned an MBA from Johnson in 1990. Have you noticed any trends or changes in the application process or the applicants themselves since then?

Yes, there are some changes. One of most notable is that the average applicant is a little bit older than when I matriculated. My guess would be that the average age was probably around 25 - 26 in 1988, and today, the average is up to 28 -- up a year from last year. I think we preserved a lot of the same elements in the admissions process that made it a pleasurable experience for me and that is the personalized attention that we supply to people. Administrators, faculty, and students make themselves available in an unprecedented way and that's part of the way in Johnson: Close-knit, highly interactive, and collaborative.

Do you feel that the content or structure of the program has changed at all since your days there as a student? I know that Cornell has received some flack for not really integrating change into its program. While other schools, for example, have really pumped up their information technology program, Cornell has sorta let it slide a bit. Is the school making strides in turning this around?

I think you need to look at a number of things that we've worked on over the past couple of years. Notable changes we've made include some exciting new programs. For example, we had one immersion-learning experience semester in manufacturing, and to that we have added semesters in brand management, corporate finance, and investment banking. And these are all highly interactive, cross-disciplinary, full semester courses that give students the opportunity to delve very deeply into their individual subject areas.

Another addition is the Leadership Development Program that includes not only an academic component but an experiential component. We also now have the Parker Center for Investment Research which includes a trading room that came out this year. And we also are going into our fourth class of the 12-month option.

Let's flesh the 12-Month MBA Option out to a greater extent. It's my understanding that the option is custom-built for scientists who already hold a master's degree, is that right?

Mostly. It's designed not only for scientists, but for people who have a scientific and/or technical background -- such as statisticians, engineeers, computer science folks, etc. So the only requirement is that they have to hold an MS or PhD. It is a full MBA. The only difference is that it is accelerated in pace. And we feel that we can do that because these folks are coming into the MBA program with highly developed quant backgrounds and prior preparation. So they do the MBA Core over the summer, become second years in August, and they graduate in May

About how many students get into the 12-month MBA?

We typically look to bring to bring in 30 students per year. It's highly competitive and all candidates are interviewed. We tend to get in the range of about 300 applications. And this year (those applying for the Class of 2000) we've already received some 500 inquiries thus far. And the application deadline is Jan. 15. So the 12-month option is definitely becoming quite a popular item. We're happy with the level of interest we're receiving, especially since the program is only three years old.

Daphne, can you tell me a little bit more about the immersion learning?

We started with the Semester in Manufacturing three years ago, and it's the senior member of the immersion learning family -- the semesters in brand management, corporate finance, and investment banking are new this academic year (starting in the spring of 1998). They are all responses to the growing interest we're hearing from students and are designed to build off of the general management foundation given during the first semester (all of the immersion semesters are taken during the second semester of the first year).

And one of the exceptional things about the Semester in Manufacturing is the feedback that we have gotten from students and recruiters. Students find this kind of learning to give them a base of experience off of which to leverage their contacts with recruiters. They have an opportunity to do a lot of hands-on projects within companies. We also have executives come and speak to participants. Students also travel out to companies to look at the discipline in real time with real issues.

So this immersion learning experience is clearly something that springs from our commitment to corporate relevance. Through these immersion learning experiences, we feel that we're providing students with tools and a skill set that will make them competitive in the marketplace. And, by the way, it is the only course that they take during the semester (worth 15 credits). The Semester in Manufacturing, when it began in 1994, accommodated only 30 people, but because of unprecedented demand, it has been retooled for 60 people. And we expect the other immersions to accommodate first years.

How big is this year's class for the full-time MBA and how many people does the school need to admit to fill it?

We have an unprecedented number of people. We have a larger class than ever before because so many people accepted our offer this year. Our typical class size is about 240, but we're looking at 260 this year, and we matriculated 290.

Does it worry you that having more people participate in your program could diminish the learning experience due to overcrowding problems, etc?

No it doesn't. In accepting those folks the school has made the commitment to provide undiminished service and experience for these students. We are equipped to take them on. And given the fact that we will moving into a new facility soon, it should be no problem.

Can you give me a quick Class of '99 profile as far as a breakdown of minorities, women, internationals? (In 1996, Johnson garnered a class comprised of 10% minority, 32% women, 28% international).

This year, minority students comprise 9% of the class, while women make up 28%. Internationals who have citizenship outside the U.S. equal 28% of the class, and if you include "internationals" who have permanent U.S. residency (who were born outside the U.S., and have gained permanent residency within the U.S.) you should add another 5%.

Has Johnson committed itself to doing more recruitment?

I think that we have a definite commitment to having the most diverse student body we can. We were at 10% in minority class makeup last year, and the slight slippage in percentage is really a misperception. In absolute numbers, it's the same number of minorites, but the percentage is different because it's based on this year's bigger class. I think that we recognize the importance of attracting qualified students from diverse backgrounds. To us, that's very important because here you're learning in small groups that takes place between classes.

What are this year's application deadlines? I know you had four last year.

We have four again this year. The earliest one this year will be Nov. 15, then the next one is Jan. 16, 1998; after that it's Mar. 1 -- which is the final deadline for internationals; and then April 15. And I also need to call attention to two sub-deadlines: Jan. 15 is the final date for the 12-Month option, and Feb. 15 is the final deadline for those applying to the Park Leadership Fellow Program (a new, merit-based, scholarship program that awards 30 domestic students full-tuition aid plus a stipend).

What's the turnaround for response?

Well, we have published on the application that we deliver a six to eight week turnaround. Someone coming into the process in late November will expect to hear from us in late January. But depending on the volume, they could hear from us earlier. We do try to deliver our response in an efficient fashion.

Do you have an idea of how many seats or spots generally get filled per deadline?

No. We don't have a quota in terms of saying for the first deadline we'll take x people. Basically, we look to admit the most highly qualified candidates at each deadline. Earlier is better. My take is that at Nov. 15, I have 250 seats available. On April 15, I don't have 250 seats because people have already committed to matriculate with us. So that's why it's better to call us earlier.

What connotes a completed application? What are the different variables that are assessed?

We like to look at the application holistically. That means that none of the factors that I'll mention take any precedence over any others. We look at standardized test scores, work history, the academic background, evidence of leadership, and the extracurricular background -- all of which are important to us when reading the application.

How much weight does the GMAT carry for an application? For example, I know that many schools look at the different components of the GMAT, such as the AWA, separately.

We actually look at at all three components. We look at the vebal score, we look at the quantitative score, and we look at the AWA (Analytical Writing Assessment) as well. Our program has a decided quant aspect to it and we want to make sure that a student can handle that. So yes, we do look at the quant part of the GMAT. The danger is that the GMAT is a very easy anchor for prospective applicants. It's concrete, specific, and they anchor to it and tend to not put as much effort into the other things that are important with the application.

It's considered as a data element that is no different from any of the other data elements in the folder. And furthermore, it doesn't even try to represent itself of being representative or predictive of future success.

How many times is it "safe" to take the GMAT without losing credibility at your school?

Our posture on the GMAT is that we take the highest score. An applicant doesn't have to tell us that, we do that. One would hope that once would be enough and that if you feel you have a weakness that you address that before you sit for it for the first time. But I leave it to the applicants' good sense as to how many times to take the GMAT.

How much of a factor does the applicant's undergrad institution play in your evaluation of his or her file? Do you take into account the applicant's undergraduate school when assessing GPA?

Again, it's another data element that we look at closely. Obviously the futher an applicant is from the date of graduation, the less significant it may be, particularly if they have work accomplishments that may far outweigh their undergrad achievements. We accept people from a variety of disciplines and take into consideration the relative rigor of the discipline and rigor of the institution from which they received the degree.

What do you think about people who go back to undergrad to get a second degree, maybe to be able to demonstrate to MBA admissions staff that they're able to cope at a better undergrad institution than the first time around?

I think that's malarky. That makes no sense. Above all, applicants should be garnering work experience.

Should prospective applicants apply right out of undergrad?

We take a very small percentage right out of undergrad, but those are people who have demonstrated an exceptional academic record and exceptional leadership skills in extracurricular activities in the undergrad setting. We are very selective; less than 3% were accepted for this year. And that is simply reflective of the fact that in order to get the best impact of the MBA program, work experience is really crucial because again, in a program like ours that's highly interactive, not only are they learning in the classroom, but they're also learning from each other.

I understand that interviews are not required at Cornell. About how many people did your admissions staff interview this year (50% were interviewed last year)?

It was about 50% of the entire applicant pool. And we use interviews to gain additional insights into candidates that we can't get from merely reading the application.

Do applicants have to come to campus to interview, or are there alternatives?

No, there are plenty of alternatives. We have alumni interviewers who are part of a solid network of Johnson alums in domestic cities and abroad. I travel to MBA forums in the fall and plan my schedule to be in a city a couple of days before the forum to interview. But we have to have part one of the application and two copies of their resume before they can request one.

What is part one of the application comprised of?

Part one is simply for supplying us with biographical info.

How does the interview fit into your overall evaluation of an applicant?

We do a write-up of the interview results that becomes part of the file that is read for making the admissions decision.

What should applicants do to prepare themselves for the interview?

Actually it's fairly simple; they need to have done a lot of the introspective work that the application process really demands. They need to understand what it is that they're embarking on, what it is that they're about. He or she has to tell me a cogent story about where they've been and where they hope to go and how an MBA fits into that process.

Do you agree with the numerous guide books out there. I mean, do you endorse them?

I think there are a lot of people dispensing a lot of advice to applicants and there's no substitute beyond an applicant's own common sense and knowledge of themselves as people.

What do you generally ask during an interview?

What I look for is a person who can sell themselves effectively because, in essence, that's what they're going to be doing when they start the process of interviewing for summer internships and when they start looking for jobs. A solid, personal marketing program is essential.

What do you look for in the essays?

There are three required essays, and a fourth that is optional. And if an applicant is applying for the Park Leadership there is a 500-word personal statement that is also required.

What mistakes do people commonly make in essays? Or rather, what advice do you have for applicants to keep in mind while mulling over their essay responses?

The advice I give them is to follow the directions. That is the first and biggest piece of advice that I can bestow on them. And if they take it, they will be golden. Answer the question, that's the second thing. I would also make sure you spell check and edit your document. Make sure that you don't submit what is clearly a generic essay. Those are the things that I would really recommend for applicants to do.

How many recommendations do you require?

We require two. And we would like to see them from people who are familar with the applicant's work and work projects.

What type of recommendation should an applicant avoid -- besides the obvious? What are the big red flags?

Sometimes I think that applicants think that giving us a big name in their company to endorse them on a recommendation is worth their while. But in truth, these bigwigs can't say anything material about their (the applicants') accomplishments or role in the company.. That's a mistake. The person that an applicant gets is somone that should be intimately familiar with them in the work setting.

What's the ideal amount of work experience you're looking for? Unlike many of Cornell's top rivals, the Johnson School doesn't make work experience a requirement for admission. Still, more than 90% of the school's applicants boast some. What's your take on this situation? (Some 5% had none in 1996).

Well we have a range of work experience .. If I were to talk to you about desirable work expereince, we're looking for two to four years. This year the average is about 4.5. And that gives people enough time to get familiar and make a contribution in a work setting. It also gives us some insight into their career management. Furthermore it gives us a chance to discern a pattern of achievement.

3% do not have any work experience for Johnson's Class of '99?

Right. And as I indicated, we are highly selective. Most of these students are coming from other facets of Cornell. We have two programs that allow Cornell students to filter into the MBA program. The first is called the "Five Year Joint Degree Program," and is a five-year program that allows juniors to apply to the MBA. The second is called the "Six Year BS/MENG/MBA," and is a six-year program, that caters to students in the College of Engineering here at Cornell.

How important a variable are extracurricular activities?

I'll tell you, I think that it gives us a very good idea about an applicant's balance between work, school, and other activities. And I think that there's a definite trend toward people being much more diverse in their interests. And we welcome that.

Does it hurt an applicant if he or she doesn't have any?

Well I think that there should be some other things that we should see as a result of that. Sometimes peoples' work situations preclude a high level of involvement in extracurricular activities and we certainly take that into consideration.

Daphne, you earned your MBA from Cornell in 1990, and so you have experienced both sides of the coin -- both as an applicant and an evaluator. What did you do when applying? What kind of advice can you give to today's prospective applicants about how they should go about applying to MBA schools -- from the initial investigation stage to the actual applying?

I think that the first stage is the 'know thyself rule' because not all learning environments are ideal for all people. One of the critical pieces is understanding your own learning style and figuring out what kind of environment can give you the best bang for your buck. This is a tremendous investment and you need to make sure that when you're making your choice that it's the right place for you because MBA programs come in all shapes and sizes. That's the critical piece on the search end.

The second stage I'd say is collect the materials from schools that you're interested in. The materials are going to reflect the schools' character and emphasis.

And the third thing that a prospective applicant should do should probably is to visit some campuses. And all of this should really be done a year before applying. People generally underestimate how much information they are gathering because you're going to end up with an overload of data. So it's imperative to start the process early.

Did you apply to a number of schools?

Yes I did. I literally wrote and called everybody to look at material. And I really spent time to review that info. The reason why I chose Johnson is because I was looking for an intimate environment where you can interact with faculty and students on a regular basis. That was absolutely the key for me .. the size. I wanted to feel that the faculty that were teaching me would know who I was because I'm definitely not one for anonymity.

Do you allow accepted applicants to defer?

On a very highly selective basis, and it's usually a personal emergency that was unforseen. It was about 19 people that we granted deferal and roughly triple that that applied.

Do you utilize the wait list?

Yes we do.

About how many got taken off this year?

This year was an exception. On average we've taken 50 to 60 people from the waitlist in the last five years. This year we went into the summer with about 90 people on the waitlist. And unfortunately due to the extremely high yield, we were not able to take anybody off. But I want to add that that's atypical. We do usually take a handful off.

So the waitlisted shouldn't give up hope. There is a distinct possibility that you can be taken off.

There are many reasons why someone may be put on the waitlist. During the normal part of the cycle, November through May, we will sometimes receive apps for the Jan. 15 deadline, and may, in the interim, waitlist that person, and give a decision four weeks later. And we did admit off the interim waitlist.

There is a difference between the interim and final waitlist. Generally what has happened is that those people on the final waitlist tended to be people who came into the process late. And we simply didn't have space for them. And I realize that applicants may feel incredibly conflicted and somewhat confused by waitlist status, but it is not the kiss of death, and does not necessarily mean that they won't be admitted.

Do you provide counseling for the rejected applicants?

Our growth in volume has made individual counseling really out of the question. What we try to do is if the applicant writes us and requests some feedback, we will provide them with information about the class profile and their relative competitiveness in the class cycle. And this year, for those who were denied from final waitlist, we provided feedback over the phone (the denied applicant must call and request feedback and then can schedule an appointment with an assistant admissions director). We feel it's really important to make this as humane as possible because we understand that the process looks like a black box to the applicant.

What's this year's tuition?

$23,460, and that's a slight rise upward from last year. And the cost of living?

We project housing and food at about $7,300 for the year

What type of financial aid and scholarships does Cornell offer? You've mentioned the Park Fellowship a few times already. Let's talk about that a bit. It's my understanding that starting this year (fall of 1997), Cornell is awarding full-tuition Park Fellowships to 30 top MBA applicants. Can you tell me about them and what they cover?

The Park Leadership Fellowship is merit-based and it covers full tuition plus an $8,000 stipend. And we are looking for people that demonstrate solid accomplishments at work, have a strong academic record, and have demonstrated leadership. It's a little different from other scholarship programs because it does require a separate application. There is a requirement that the Park Fellowhsip is restricted to U.S. applicants.

Otherwise, we have Johnson School scholarships and corporate scholarships that are also merit-based. This year we awarded $700,000 in scholarships. The preponderance is for domestics, but we do have a limited amount available for internationals. The range for domestic students is from $5,000 to full tuition, and is $5,000 - $10,000 for international students.

About what percentage of the class took out a loan this year?

Well, first, let me say that we calculate indebtedness at the back end of the program, when students graduate. But I would estimate that 67% of our Ccass of '99 student body receives some sort of financial aid, be it merit scholarship, loans, or a combination of the two. I can accurately tell you, however, that 56% of our class of '99 has financial aid in the form of loans only, while 37% has received merit scholarships that range from $5,000 to full tuition plus a stipend.

Has Cornell found a permanent dean to replace Acting Dean Thomas Dyckman?

Yes we have. Our new dean is Robert Swieringa. He came on board with us July 1. He has spent the last 10 years at FASB (the Financial Accounting Standards Board), the organization that sets the financial standard for corporations across the board. Prior to his tenure at FASB, he spent time on the accounting faculty at Stanford (1968 - 1974) and then was part of the accounting faculty here at Johnson in the mid - 80s (1974 - 1985).

Ithaca is a beautiful area located in the finger lakes region, and made popular by its breathtaking gorges. However, many MBAs complained last year that the career services office left much to be desired. In other words, because Ithaca isn't in a metropolitan area, is it harder to lure corporate recruiters?

No, I don't think that our location is a liabilty. I think that what has to be clearly understood is that with technology, geography becomes a non-issue. Also, in addition to luring recruiters to our school, we also bring our students to recruiters. And I think the overwhelming majority our students tells us that the quality of life here is first-rate.

Has the Career Services Office made any changes or implemented any new programming over the past year to improve upon the situation?

There was an assistant director position in that office that was vacant and has now been filled. In the end, we can throw numbers around all we want, but the real issue is: Have the students gotten the jobs that they wanted? And the overwhelming response is yes.

Has the number of recruiting companies increased or decreased over the past year?

There has definitely been an increase in companies recruiting over the past year. And I think those increases can be attributed to a couple of different venues that we attend. We, for example, take part in East Coast and West Coast job fairs. And we also take part in three international job fairs. In addition, the finance club here takes part in an annual event called "Week on Wall Street" in January, and that gives our students an opportunity to network with alumni and firms on Wall Street. So there are a number of things that the school does that assists students in the placement process.

As an example of our growth in recruiting companies, there are six new companies coming to visit with our students this year: Alliance Consulting Group Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston, Enron Capital & Trade Resources, Clorox, Warner-Lambert, and Schroder & Company.

What type of programming is available to families or spouses of Johnson MBA students (40% married families in 1996)?

We don't have an organized program but what we do have is a group of students that has formed an organization called "Joint Ventures" that has been an inestimable resource to those coming here as spouses and with children. It's a great support network and contact network .. wonderful for job prospects, in terms of outreach. Ithaca is also a wonderful place for families and children. And the CSO also runs an introductory seminar during orientation for spouses.

How is the $38 million renovation of Sage Hall coming? Last time I heard, the school planned to move its entire MBA program into the refurbished building by next summer ['98].

Yes, it is on schedule and on time and we will get in there. And I think that again that's one of the tremendous draws of the school. People are really excited about the facility. It will have expanded classroom facilities, expanded networking opportunities -- it will be world class in terms of technology. And it will give us the space that is highly conducive to our culture. In addition to holding our MBAs, we will be able to house our exec ed folks under the same roof. And it's also, importantly, located at the center of the campus.

What do you feel are Cornell's strongest assets?

I think that we have an incredibly strong program in general management, finance, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing. I think that from a cross-disciplinary standpoint, that we have equal strengths in other areas as well. And what underscores that is our connection to the larger university. We permit quite a bit of flexiblity. For example, we allow students to take up to 25% of their electives outside the business school and that includes language study. And if you look at people who are focusing on international business, then the inclusion of language as part of their curriculum makes absolute and complete sense. And that's the tailoring aspect of what we do here.

Who do you feel are Johnson's toughest competitors?

Probably Wharton and Columbia, in that order.

Thanks Daphne, for all of your insights.