Cornell Class of 2029 Essay Analysis

Cornell has released its essays for the 2026-27 application cycle, with a change in one of the essay prompts vs. last year.

2026/27 essay questions

Goals statement: A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout the admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (350 words maximum):

Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry].

• Targeted Job Role:

• Target Job Company:

• Industry:

In 5–10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry].

• Targeted Job Role:

• Target Job Company:

• Industry:

Please share how you plan to utilize the resources available to you at Johnson as well as any existing resources you bring to the program to help you secure your post-MBA career goal.

Choose from one of the following two essays:

Essay 1: Impact essay

At Cornell, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. How do you intend to make a meaningful impact on the Johnson community? (350 words maximum)

or

Essay 2: Table of Contents essay

You are the author of your Life Story. Please create the table of contents for the book in the space provided or upload it as an attachment. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions.

Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written Table of Contents, please limit your submission to 350 words. Multimedia submissions should be under 3 minutes.

2026/27 essay question analysis

Goals statement:

The statement of your goals will be straightforward, and will mirror what you write for other schools. Keep in mind to signal some broadness to your goal. For example, you may want to be Commissioner of the NBA, but there is only one job in the world, and setting that as your goal risks positioning you as a potential disappointed alumni if you don’t get that job.

Most of your goals statement should explain how your experience and background positions you to succeed at your stated goal. Aim for unique experiences that align to important skills needed to succeed. For instance, a passion for personal investing often drives people to want to join buy-side investing firms, but it is something many people do, and the skills needed at an institutional level are often different than your personal trading. While word limits are tight, also try to weave in what motivates you to pursue this goal.

Impact Essay:

If you choose this option, aim to articulate a compelling contribution, especially one that drives more collaboration and community. The more specific and tangible you can make the contribution, the better. Organizing seminars tied to your unique experiences or creating new partnerships between disparate clubs are great starting points, whereas committing to passionately contribute in class won’t differentiate you sufficiently, as any applicant could credibly commit to doing that.

Some clients are wary of specialized contributions, for fear of appearing elitist and/or exclusionary. However, centering a contribution around a specialized activity (i.e. fencing, football, Middle Eastern cuisine) can be powerful if you structure it to be inclusive. For instance, starting a fencing club doesn’t have to involve including only (or even, mainly) people who already know how to fence. If you’re good at fencing, you can offer to teach, or find another teacher. Organize socializing around the event (i.e. a potluck meal after practice), and soon the event will be about bringing diverse people together around a common interest and passion for self-improvement!

Table of Contents Essay:

The wording of this prompt changed slightly from last year, as it now focuses on getting to know who you are, rather than looking for achievements, etc. Their approach is similar to NYU's "Pick Six" essay, where they value creativity and authenticity to learn about you. One potential trap in this essay format is applicants thinking they cannot refer to experiences/examples, and instead relying on more generic descriptions given the space limitations of a typical Table of Contents. However, we believe applicants can use creative descriptions to reference known facts about them (i.e. referencing experiences already on their resume), thus using this essay to connect the dots between different parts of the candidate's application, rather than introducing new examples that would take more space to explain. The same advice applies if other submission formats are chosen.

Optional essays

Similar to other schools, the optional and reapplicant questions are available for you to explain any additional information that you may not have had the space to clarify in other parts of your application.

Other application details

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