Cambridge Judge Admissions Webinar for Japanese Applicants to be held on November 27, 2015

I was informed by a former client that three current Japanese students in the Cambridge Judge MBA program will be hosting a webinar (conducted in Japanese) for applicants on November 27, 2015.

Those who are interested in participating in this event can register here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

MBA Applicant/Graduate Survey

Please find below a short survey for applicants to Japan-based MBAs or MBA holders currently working in Japan. It is for a project conducted by students and sponsored by an MBA-granting institution in Japan.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

MBA Questionnaire - win a free Personal Effectiveness coaching session

We are students participating in this year’s Japan Market Expansion Competition.  For our project we are doing some research about MBA programs in Japan.  If you are considering applying to an MBA program or already have an MBA degree, you can help us by answering a short questionnaire.

Win a one hour Personal Effectiveness Coaching session including a free Lumina Spark psychometric profile (normally worth Y30,000).  We will choose one lucky winner for each questionnaire.  For more information about Lumina Spark, visit www.luminalearning.com.

Questionnaire for prospective MBA students

If you are considering applying to an MBA program in Japan that is taught in English, please answer this questionnaire:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1513429/f47994b22384

Questionnaire for MBA graduates

If you are an MBA holder and currently work in Japan please answer this questionnaire:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1530845/Questionnaire-for-MBA-holders-working-in-Japan

Using an English teacher for MBA Interview Practice

This is something I do NOT recommend, primarily because the feedback you are receiving is not coming from someone with ample experience preparing applicants to gain admittance to the school you are applying for. This kind of perspective is important, and is what you should be aiming for when it coms to live practice.

Having said that, I am aware that a lot of my clients do use a regular English teacher (in most cases RareJob.com) for general English communication practice. This is great! Some use their teacher for interview practice. This is less than great, especially if the English teacher does not have relevant experience or is aware of the MBA interview (and entire application) process.

Here is a way you CAN use your English teacher when rehearsing for an interview:

(1) Give your teacher a bunch of questions that your target school has asked in the past.

(2) Ask them to ask you these questions. Ask your teacher to listen carefully to your answers, but not to give you any feedback on any of them.

(3) After doing a few of them, go back and ask the teacher to recall for you the key details of your answers to a previous question (ideally core content like your career goals or why you need an MBA).

(4) Listen to what kind of information you get back and decide how effectively you are getting across your message. If what they say back to you is not what you are intending to get across, ask questions as to what might have been clear, and what detail may be lacking or where further explanation is warranted.

What you are doing here is practicing. Of course, before practice you need to devise contents. What stories are best? What details show the best fit with a program? What's the right balance of work and non-work content? Such strategic planning is something you should do with someone familiar with the process, and experienced at advising as to what strategies are effective for you when it comes to answering interview questions.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) to Host MBA Information Session and Master Class in Tokyo on February 19, 2014

The Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) will be hosting an event in Tokyo to give potential applicants the chance to learn a bit more about RSM and their programs. The Master class will also help potential applicants get a feel for their curriculum.

The event will be on February 19, 2014 (a Wednesday). Sign up here!

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Wharton Events in Tokyo: September 7th and October 2nd, 2013

I have learned from a former client that Wharton alums and 2nd years are going to have an informal info session in September, followed by the official information session in October in Tokyo. Details follow (and note at the bottom that a reservation in advance is now required for the alum event due to the popularity of the session.)

=================================================================

来月、再来月と、Whartonのアドミッション関連のイベントを以下の通り開催させて頂きます。お時間があれば是非足を運んで頂ければと思っております。公式イベントはアドミのHPからRegisterが必要で席に限りがあるようなので、お早めにサインアップ頂ければと思います。どうぞ宜しくお願い致します。

【若手アルムナイによる非公式説明】

10月に開催されるアドミッションによる説明会の前に、来月、若手卒業生による説明会を急遽開催する運びとなりました。当日は若手卒業生によるパネルディスカッションの後、自由に懇談する時間も長く設ける予定です。この機会に是非ウォートン卒業生の生の声をお聞きください！

Date & time : Sat, Sep. 7th 2:00pm-4:00pm (1:30受付開始)

Venue : Conference Square M plus 1F Success (Mitsubishi Bldg. 10th fl.2-5-2 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Tel.03-3282-7777)

【アドミッションオフィスによる公式説明】

今年度の公式説明会は、10月2日（水）にコンファレンススクウェアMプラス（東京駅 丸の内南口徒歩2分)にて実施予致します。下記AdmissoinのHPからRegister頂きますよう、何卒宜しくお願い致します。

https://upenngsb.askadmissions.net/Portal/EI/ViewDetails?gid=623577a2c9df7432ca48a190bdea3475680c29

Date & time : Wednesday, Oct. 2nd 7:00pm-8:45 pm

Venue : Conference Square M plus (Mitsubishi Bldg. 10th fl.2-5-2 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Tel.03-3282-7777)

＊コンファレンススクウェアMプラス

http://www.marunouchi-hc.jp/emplus/access.html

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Note: the alums have decided to take reservations

beforehand. 

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

受験生のみなさま、

ウォートン・スクール若手卒業生による非公式説明会について、予想以上に反響いただきましてありがとうございます。恐れ入りますが、現在予定している会場のキャパシティ上、事前申し込み制とさせていただきたいと思います。こちらのURLを通じてお申し込みください。先着100名程度となる予定です。

なお、パネラーのご紹介等随時ウォートン・ジャパン・ウェブサイトで公表して参ります。是非ご参考になさってください。みなさまのご参加を心よりお待ちしております。

ウォートン・スクール卒業生一同

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Mary Miller on the EMBA-Global (Asia) Program offered by Columbia, HKU and London Business School

I am pleased to present the following interview with Mary Miller, Program Director of the EMBA-Global Asia program offered by Columbia Business School, HKU Business School and London Business School.  

Career Impact

1. Have any of your students attempted a career change (changing their function, or even moving to a new company) after completing the program?

Yes, many of our students don’t wait to graduate before they change positions in their current company, accepted a new position with a different company or started their own business.  EMBA-Global Asia gives students confidence in their ability to take on new challenges and opportunities in addition to the support, knowledge and skills to do so.  While our program is still young, it is difficult to keep track of all the employment changes that happen during and after the program. These individuals are truly global citizens who are talented and sought after by international companies.

Admissions

2. What kind of TOEFL or IELTS score are you hoping to see? Is there a minimum for either test?

An important component of the program is the lively discussions that occur in and out of the classroom, so English fluency is critical to get the most out of the program.  However, we have no minimum score for either test.  All of our candidates are interviewed, so this offers an additional opportunity to demonstrate their English language ability. If we think candidates need to improve their English language skills, we encourage them to obtain this in various ways prior to the beginning of the program.

3. In some countries like Japan only very senior employees get management experience. How do you factor this in when weighing the managerial experience of applicants to the program? 

We are aware that the countries have different business practices and we think it is important to have diversity in the classroom.  An individual’s management experience is important, but so is his or her attitude and reasons for pursuing an EMBA degree.  Even a candidate without a lot of management experience can be a leader and have much to share and contribute.

4. I assume that company support makes it easier for students in the program to manage the scheduling and travel. However is company support a necessary component of an application?

We want students to get the most out of the program and think it is important for them to have the support of their employer in terms of time out of the office, and so this is required.  While financial support by the company is also encouraged, it is not required.  When a company gives a candidate time away from the office, this demonstrates a commitment to the individual’s professional development and is a very positive influence.

5. The academic background of applicants is mentioned on the admissions website - how important is the undergraduate GPA? What can applicants do if their GPA is relatively low (for instance below 3.0 on a 4.0 scale)?

While the academic background is important, the GPA is also the only aspect of the application that can’t be changed.  Most people have matured 5+ years after they were undergraduates.  They are business managers and leaders and we’ve found that their attitude and commitment is a critical component to their success in the classroom.  That said, it is always helpful to prepare for the rigors of the course work by reviewing material that may have been forgotten or not used for a long time. We have a pre-MBA online course that we encourage candidates to complete once they are admitted. They can do this at their own pace and this helps them determine areas where they may need to expend extra effort.

6. What range of GMAT scores are represented in the current class?

The GMAT seems to be the requirement that causes the most anxiety for applicants. We have no minimum score and only ask that candidates do their best.  Many EMBA programs don’t require the GMAT, but we do.  One of the unique features of the EMBA-Global Asia program is that our students take electives courses with students in other MBA programs at all the three schools (CBS, LBS and HKU).  We hold all students to the same high standard.  While applicants don’t like taking the GMAT as part of the admission process, after they are admitted they are proud of their accomplishment and are glad that it was required.  As you might expect with such a diverse group of candidates, the scores also vary widely.

The EMBA-Global Experience

7. Is all learning conducted in the classroom? A lot of people have the impression that EMBA programs mix short bursts of in-class learning with online-based assignments. How about your program?

All courses are taught in the classroom with lively discussion and interaction, but learning takes place in and out of the classroom.  What is so wonderful about EMBA programs is that you learn something in the class that you can apply the next day in at work. Students learn from each other all the time – in and out of the classroom. Since our students come from all over the world and work in teams across time zones outside of class, a lot of team projects and assignments are completed using a variety of tools – email, Skype, video-conferencing. 

8. Can you give an example as to how students can grow their network by meeting students from other programs in elective courses? From what programs are these students coming from?

This is one of the unique aspects of the program. In July, three CBS faculty members (one being Dean Hubbard) taught an elective course in Hong Kong at HKU.  The class included some EMBA-Global Asia students, but full-time and other executive MBA students from CBS and LBS also enrolled.  It was amazing how easily they connected with each other, and by the end of the week they all had new friends and colleagues.

Thank you Mary for your time!

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

IESE MBA Students Hosting Information Session in Tokyo on July 20, 2013

There will be an event in Tokyo on Saturday, July 20 2013 for those interested in the IESE MBA program.  Details:

日程：7月20日（土）
時間：11:30～ or 13:30～　の2 回、各回1.5時間程度を予定
会場：Affinity 英語学院 （〒101-0047 東京都千代田区内神田1-5-16 アルテ大手町 2階）
　　　最寄：JR神田駅　東京メトロ大手町駅
内容：学校紹介、IESE 卒業生/現役生とのInteractive talk session
申込：以下のリンクからお申込をお願い致します。

Here is the registration link.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Hitotsubashi ICS MBA Program to Host Open Campus Event on July 11, 2013 in Tokyo

Hitotsubashi ICS, a Tokyo-based MBA program, will be hosting an Open Campus event on Thursday July 11, 2013.  Details can be found here. This is a great chance to learn about this program - which in my (biased) opinion is the best MBA you'll find in Japan.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Naoki Kamimaeda, current student in the Cambridge Judge MBA program

Naoki Kamimaeda is a current student at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, and was gracious enough to spend some of his busy time answering my questions below.  Read his own blog here (in Japanese only).

Your Life at Cambridge

1. What's a typical day in the life of an MBA student at Cambridge?

The Cambridge MBA has four terms during the academic year: Michaelmas, Lent, Easter and Summer Activity. In the first two terms (Michaelmas and Lent) students mainly take core MBA courses such as Corporate Finance, Strategy and Marketing. A typical day during these terms looks like this:

9:00 – 12:30                 Classes

12:30 – 14:00               Lunch, group work, projects or extracurricular activities

14:00 – 17:30               Classes

18:00 – 19:30               Career Sessions or some talks from guest speakers

19:30 – 22:30               Social activities like formal dinners or dinners and drinks with friends

22:30 – 2:00 (or 3:00)    Preparation for the next day’s classes

In the Easter and Summer Activity terms, students mainly take electives or complete a self-project. So, students can have more free time than the two terms above.

2. Where are you living now?

I am living in a college accommodation. The University of Cambridge has a unique college system.

When students get an admission from the school, students are allocated to a college. Most foreign students can have an accommodation within or near to a college, if they wish to.

The Classes and the School

3. If you could recommend just one class to prospective applicants, what would it be and why?

It would be hard to choose one class. But, if I had to, the class would be in an area such as Strategy or Marketing. These classes are core courses in other MBA programs as well. As far as my own experience at Cambridge, I found these classes were very interesting, interactive and engaging. 


One thing I want to mention about the Cambridge MBA is that it focuses more on projects than classes.
 I think this is a strength of the program. In one year, it is possible to join four projects: the Cambridge Venture Project, the Global Consulting Project, the Capstone Project and the IndividualProject. 
As far as I’m concerned these four projects are incredibly fruitful, because we can test our takeaways from classes in real world experiences immediately.

4. What kind of clubs or student activities are you involved with?

I am involved in a football club and some study groups organized by students. I am putting a lot of my time and effort into the Intrapreneurship Study Group at Cambridge. I founded this study group with some MBAs and other students at the university so we could have opportunities,to discuss how to foster an Intrapreneurship mentality within large organizations. I believe, especially for Japanese companies, this way of thinking is crucial, because still most great employees work for large organizations.

5. Have you collaborated with any students outside of the MBA program, and in the greater Cambridge community?

As I mentioned above, I am discussing Intrapreneurship issues with not only MBAs but also other students like Ph.D. students at Cambridge. 
There are so many opportunities to do something with other students outside of the MBA program, if students are willing to be proactive. Which opportunities students can get involved in is totally up to them.

Your Advice for Others

6. Do you wish you had prepared for the MBA program any more or any differently? What's your advice for someone already accepted and waiting to start their MBA?

I wish I had studied core MBA courses like Corporate Finance, Accounting, Strategy and Marketing before coming to Cambridge so that I could have had more time to be involved in extracurricular activities. In my opinion, we can learn more from extracurricular activities than classes, especially in the case of the Cambridge MBA, because there are plenty of opportunities such as creating new businesses with other students and having lectures or talks from famous people like nobel prize winners and CEOs of large companies.

Thanks very much for your time Kamimaeda-san!

John Couke

John.couke@gmail.com

Are MBA Applicants from Japan Trending Upward?

A recent survey posted by GMAC shows the number of GMAT tests taken by Japanese citizens during TY2012 (meaning 7/1/2011 to 6/31/2012) increased over the previous year. Here are the numbers:

TY2012 - 2,835 GMAT tests taken by Japanese citizens
TY2011 - 2,518
TY2010 - 2,680
TY2009 - 2,938
TY2008 - 2,935

TY2012 represented a 12% increase over the previous year, and the first increase since TY2009 (which only had 3 most tests taken than 2008). There are, to me, numerous reasons why this is the case. Of them all a growing realization amongst Japanese firms and their staff that new business = global business has got to rank near the top. This doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities in the domestic market - Japan remains the 3rd largest economy in the world. But it does show that the "outward gaze" is taking hold amongst those in their late 20s or early 30s for whom b-school is an option.

Of course, the big question is how the number of GMAT tests taken will impact the number of applications to MBA programs amongst Japanese citizens for programs starting in 2013. It is too early to tell. One thing we do know however is that whatever that volume is, it will most likely be to an increasingly diverse range of programs. From the same GMAC survey, the percentage of those GMAT reports coming from Japanese to US programs went from 77.23% in TY2008 to only 67.31% in TY2012. On the other hand, GMAT reports sent to Singapore, Spain and Hong Kong collectively went from about 3% of the total in TY2008 to about 9% in TY2012, a threefold increase.

So - more Japanese are sitting for the GMAT, and they're tending to apply to a more diverse range of programs. Both to me are good signs for the future.

Read the GMAC survey here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Mary Granger, Regional Director for Asia at ESADE Business School

I am pleased to present an interview with Mary Granger, the Regional Director for Asia of ESADE Business School, a top-ranked MBA program based in Spain. The interview is organized into three parts - the school and curriculum, admissions, and life after the MBA. Read on for more insights into ESADE.

The School and Curriculum

1. An MBA is perhaps the most significant investment a young professional can make in themselves and their future. Can you briefly describe the value proposition ESADE offers to students?

Our value proposition can be summed up in three words: Diversity, Collaboration, and Flexibility. 

• Diversity is not only in terms of having 95% international students from 50 countries – it also refers to the diversity of educational and professional backgrounds; we have about 1/3 of the class every year coming from non-traditional MBA backgrounds such as law, sciences, and the humanities.
• Collaboration is not the same as just being put into teams to work together; our methodology foments the collaboration by not forcing a bell curve, where by definition some students are destined to fail. Grading puts an emphasis on the teamwork, and the team is expected to present conclusions as a team, not as individual team members. We feel this leads to a lot of long-term networking and collaboration.
• The flexibility of our program enables our students to make the decision as to length once they have all the relevant information, and to adapt to quickly changing macro- and microeconomic changes. This is a characteristic we look for also when interviewing applicants, and we also try to foment it in the program itself, by creating teams which are as diverse as possible to permit students to learn multiple ways of looking at the same challenge. 

Not only do we feel these three qualities are part of ESADE’s value proposition, we also receive feedback from our partner companies that this is what they value in our graduates. 

2. Can you highlight one or two areas of strengths in terms of the curriculum of the ESADE MBA?

ESADE is considered to have a generalist MBA, but with a strength in Strategy and Marketing.

3. When do applicants choose between the 12-month, 15-month and 18-month options? Can they change their mind at a later time?

Applicants don’t have to choose! Participants will have 9 months from the start of the program to decide on the length of their program (i.e. students starting in August/September 2013 would choose the length in May/June 2013). They will hence have input from Career Services, companies, peers, professors and even their own experience to help them decide. Given this late decision date, they will quickly start electives, internships and/or exchanges so we do not expect them to change their minds once they choose the length.

4. ESADE is an extremely diverse program with about 50 nationalities represented despite having a class of under 200 students.  Can you give an example of an extra-curricular activity that allows students to experience and learn about other cultures?

We have a great event called “Gastrofest”. Students prepare their local cuisine to share with classmates and there is a competition to see which is voted the best food. There are other categories such as the variety of food available, decoration of the booth, etc. Generally this is one of the most popular events on campus.

5. Can you tell us a bit about your new campus and the benefits it offers to your students?

We share a building with over 60 companies. Many are start-ups but there are also the innovation centers for such companies as HP and Xerox. The key is that this is a center for Open and Cross Innovation. This leads to interesting cooperations between companies and students, bringing industry experience to the students and business expertise to the companies.

The campus is very close (5-minute walk) to downtown Sant Cugat (a suburb of Barcelona, within the metropolitan area). Services, restaurants, etc. are all within walking distance of the campus. The new campus provides much more space than the downtown campus, and in addition the design is innovative, with plenty of light and large open balconies to enjoy the view.

Admissions

6. Is there a minimum TOEFL score you hope to see? How about on the listening and speaking subsections?

We have a “soft minimum” of 100 and make the final decision through direct interview with the applicants. If an applicant has a score of 90+ then I would encourage them to apply and we will evaluate their potential to fully benefit from the MBA class discussions via the interview.

7. Obviously you consider an applicant's "fit" with you program when evaluating them, and so "why ESADE" is, I imagine, an important question. How about "why Spain?" Do you consider your program a Spanish business school, or an international business school in Spain?

We are a global business school in Spain! 95% of our participants this year are international and we have an ever-increasing number of international faculty and staff. Our alumni value the opportunity to learn such an important language and often choose ESADE because they know Spain is a bridge which can open opportunities in Latin America, but as a global business school, we have alumni working in over 100 countries worldwide! 

8. How strict is admissions on the minimum of 2 years of full-time employment?  Have you made exceptions, and if so why?

This is a strict requirement! We have even suggested some applicants wait even an additional year, if they are still consolidating a position and haven’t worked there very long. Our students learn as much from each other as they do from the professors, so we are looking for all participants to be able to contribute significantly from their work experience.

Life After the MBA

9. ESADE has been enjoying an excellent placement rate. What is the secret of your success?

ESADE is not only looking for flexible candidates and building flexibility into our curriculum – we also incorporate this into our way of doing business. Perhaps we can do this because we are so small...since we are constantly in touch with top companies around the world, we can identify recruitment trends, such as growing industries, regional shifts... and adapt our corporate outreach accordingly.

10. Do you have an active alumni group in Japan? How can a prospective applicant reach out to them? (note: a majority of the readership of this blog is based in Japan)

Our alumni in Japan are GREAT! They are always participative, reaching out to applicants who want more information, participating in recruiting events, and suggesting ways for ESADE to grow in Japan. They have designed a Japanese website (not a translation of the official one, but rather a student-generated website that they maintain and pass down to the following classes). They have an ESADE Japan Group on Facebook which we can use to schedule meetings or generate more suggestions. If anyone is interested in reaching out to alumni, they can just email me at mary.granger@esade.edu with an overview of their profile, so I can try to match them with a current student or alumnus with a similar profile.

Thanks Mary for your time!

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

RSM Information Session and Master Class in Tokyo on February 25th 2013

The Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) will be hosting an information session and Masterclass on February 25th, 2013 at 19:00 in Tokyo, Japan.

The Associate Dean of the program, Dr. Dianne Bevelander, will be leading a mini-MBA class titled "Organizational Behavior and Leadership" that will "give you a taste of life in an MBA Programme. The mini-MBA class will focus on choosing the right job given your own situation and show how you can apply that decision making process to choosing the right MBA Programme."

To register for this event click here.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Michigan Ross MBA Information Session in Tokyo on December 27th, 2012

I was told by current students of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan that students and alumni of their program will be hosting an information session in Shibuya, Tokyo on Thursday, December 27, 2012 from 7:30pm to 9pm (the session will likely be conducted in Japanese).  More information and a sign up form can be found here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Darden Admissions Event and Alumni Reception in Tokyo on December 6, 2012

The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will be hosting an admissions event and alumni reception in Tokyo on Thursday, December 6, 2012. Register for this event here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Interview with Yasuhiro Karakawa, Cornell Johnson MBA Alumnus and Admissions Committee Member

This is the first of what I plan to be a semi-regular feature: interviews with people in the world of higher education, with an emphasis on admissions. This first interview features Yasuhiro Karakawa of the Cornell Johnson MBA program and I would very much like to thank Karakawa-san for his generously detailed answers to my questions about Cornell Johnson.

Yasuhiro Karakawa (Cornell ’12) currently has two titles. He is the Representative Program Manager of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and in addition to this he is an Admissions Officer focused on the Asia region for Johnson’s Full-Time MBA program.  Karakawa-san was kind enough to answer my questions about Cornell Johnson admissions, as well as his own experiences as a student there.  As Karakawa-san notes at the end of this interview, he will be participating in an official Cornell admissions event in Tokyo on September 24, 2012. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about Cornell Johnson and I strongly encourage readers to attend and ask their questions. Details and registration is available here. More info about life at the Cornell MBA is available here. 

The Cornell MBA

Why in the end did you choose to do your MBA at Cornell?

For me, the Three Ps of the Johnson school made me decide to join.

The first P is the Program. I had a strong interest in learning about Sustainability. Sustainability means dealing with social and environmental issues while creating new business opportunities for global enterprises. Johnson had a very strong Sustainability program in that it had opinion leaders such as Professor Stu Hart who contributed to the development of the concept of BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) and Professor Mark Milstein who directs the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise. Also, at the

Johnson school, we have the Immersion program in the second semester of the first year during which students choose their interest from amongst areas such as Sustainability, Investment Banking, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, or Strategic Operations and get involved with their projects for 4 months. This is a great opportunity for students to apply what they learn at school to real-world issues and this would be extremely helpful for students who want to get meaningful internship opportunities during the summer after their first year with the aim towards changing their careers after graduation.

The second P is the People.  Throughout the process of applying, I found students at Johnson were tight-knit and collaborative. Since we have a relatively small student body of 280 students and also spend our time together in the small community of Ithaca, when I was a student we got to know each other well and build great relationships that will last even after graduation. I could feel this great culture among students when I visited the campus and participated in the class. And this was not limited to the relationships among students. At Johnson, the professors are very approachable. For example, when I visited the campus to learn more about Johnson, I happened to attend Sage Social, a casual get-together held every Thursday. While enjoying casual food and drink provided by the school,  the students, professors, and school staffs mingled and spent time together with lots of smiles. I met Professors Stu Hart and Mark Milstein there and had a short but great conversation with both of them. That was definitely a key moment where I experienced the great culture of Johnson and enhanced my aspiration to join.

The third P is the Place. I have a daughter who was 3 years old when I enrolled. Choosing a great living environment was one of the highest priorities for me when it came to selecting a program. Of course, the definition of ‘great’ depends on the sense of values of each different person.  But for me, Ithaca was an ideal community in that it was safe, friendly, and offered lots of both natural and cultural richness. My two-year stay in Ithaca proved that this was the best community for us. Though away from New York city, Ithaca was not a prototypical rural community. People were open-minded, intelligent and liberal. My family enjoyed gorges and lakes in summer and skiing in the winter. And since I was self-sponsored, the high quality of life regardless of the affordable living cost was amazing.

Your Experience as a Student at Johnson

Can you tell us about one class which had an impact on you, and that you would recommend to future Johnson students?

One of the challenging things at Johnson is that it’s so difficult to prioritize your interests and choose classes among lots of great interesting programs, especially since we are allowed to take classes from other schools at Cornell. But let me dare to pick up one program. My most memorable class was the Immersion Program that took place in the second semester of the first year.

I chose Sustainable Global Enterprise immersion. From January to May, students form up a team of 3 to 4 members and work on real projects to deal with social and environmental issues by collaborating with companies. In my case, since I was interested in learning about how to develop practical solutions for BOP business, I chose a project in which we were asked to develop a solution for a Danish renewable energy company so that they could successfully launch their clean cooking energy in the Mozambique market. They aimed to replace the widespread usage of charcoal there used among 80% of all households.

We worked as a real consulting team. In the initial phase, we clarified the goals and real issues of the project with the client and developed a hypothesis while applying the theory and knowledge we had gained in the classroom. Then, during Spring break, we visited Mozambique to analyze the market (a trip sponsored by the client). This gave us an invaluable opportunity to observe the local consumers lifestyles and the market environment in an ethnographical way, and also allowed us chances to talk with key players including distributors and communication agencies. With those on-hands local insights, we refined the short-term and middle-term marketing strategy to launch and scale out the clients business and made a final presentation to the client executive at the end of the project in May.

The fact that I could go through all the practical process to develop the solution itself was definitely a great experience. But what was more meaningful to me was that this was not a class in which we were ‘taught’ the technical ABC. Instead, this class was definitely challenging and stressful in some phases because what we tried to do was develop a new solution that hadn’t existed in the market until then. In other words, we could not follow successful cases.  Instead, we needed to discuss, create, try, and refine the solution. This experience nurtured in me the mindset that I would not be afraid of creating the new solution with an out-of-the-box approach, and this will be a meaningful basis for my professional career.

What was your life like outside of classes? How much did you get involved in student clubs?

At Johnson, I could see many students enjoy being members of the approximately 100 professional and cultural clubs at the school. This allowed them to get the necessary knowledge and network for the careers they aspired to and helped me enrich their lives through hobbies and sports.

As far as I’m concerned, since I was prioritizing time with my family, I have to confess that I was not so active in student clubs. I belonged to the Sustainable Global Enterprise (SGE) club in which I played a role as a group leader for ‘Sustainable Marketing’. For example, I organized on-campus seminars with professional consultants or marketers who had done great projects in Sustainability. Also, I was the President of the Johnson Japan Club, organizing a donation event for the Tohoku earthquake and also I organized the Japan-Korea trip during the springtime.

Transitioning to Your New Career

Why did you decide to become a member of the admissions team at Cornell?

There has been only 1 -2 Japanese students every year for the last 5 or 6 years while the number of students from Korea, China, and India has been rapidly increasing. And I felt one of the main reasons why we could not secure a certain number of Japanese students was that we could not successfully convey in Japan the differentiated values of Johnson. It’s true that Cornell itself is a very well-known name, but when it comes to the content of the MBA program, it’s not well enough known at all. Since I used to work as a marketing and branding strategist before going to MBA program, I felt that I could contribute to this great community of which I truly enjoyed being a member as a MBA student.

In addition, as I learned from the SGE immersion class, I was interested in creating new value. In this case, what I mean is that I wanted to create a unique professional career that others could not develop. This motivation drove me to make a proposal to the school to establish a new executive education and consulting program named the SGE Asia Program. This program aims to help Asian companies (Japanese and Korean companies in the short term) develop new markets by utilizing the expertise and network of the Johnson school as well as other Cornell schools. That’s why I get to work both as a representative program manager at the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and an admission officer for the Japan market.

How would you describe Cornell's strengths as a business school?

After spending two years here in Ithaca, I have learned that the 3Ps are truly Johnson’s strengths and are relevant to other students who choose Johnson.  So, let me repeat that Program, People, and Place combined make Johnson unique.

Another strength is the wide network of Cornell alumni all over the world. Since Johnson is the business school of Cornell, this means you can reach out to the greater network of faculties and professionals of Cornell as a whole. The solid Cornell network can help students in building a network for their job search, new business planning, and so on. And this will be available as a great resource in both professional and personal contexts even after the graduation.

In addition, if you want to maximize your learning curve during the limited time of MBA program, I recommend you to put yourself in an environment where you are the minority and therefore have to learn how to manage. I found this particularly important to me as a Japanese applicant to the program. Different from the schools where you have a large number of Japanese peers and tend to behave in a group, you can’t depend on other Japanese at Johnson because of the limited number of Japanese there. In classes, for example, you have to expect to get cold calls when the topic is related to Japanese companies and their recent struggles regardless of their great success in the past. This should be challenging. But looking back, I’m sure that this environment gave me the great opportunity to get the survival skills such as being bold in communicating with other students and building strong relationships actively with professors. In this sense, the fact that we don’t have a large Japanese student body is another strength of Johnson, I believe.

What advice would you give to applicants to the program?

Whether it’s a 1-year or 2-year program, you have to sacrifice lots of time and money if you decide to come to a business school. These days we can easily access information. If you want to get just the technical skill and knowledge of MBA, there are lots of books and Japanese-based schools and online classes that are available to you. So, you first need to ask yourself why you’ll dare to go to business schools overseas. What is the ultimate reason why you need to go to business school?  What kind of professional and personal career you want to pursue and how can each program fit to your goals?

Also, I want you to think about how you want to contribute to the global community as a leader in your professional and personal community. I know it’s important to get a well-paying job practically, but at the same time, as a person who will create new values to future generations, I want you to think about what is your raison d'être and how you want to utilize knowledge, experience, and network through your MBA in order to realize it.

Last but not least, I want you to be bold and creative for your own life. It’s true that many MBA students think going to world famous strategic consulting firms or investment banks is a golden path as a professional career of MBA students. That is fine if it’s aligned with your raison d'être. But don’t take the majority voice as yours since the true value of the MBA is to get the mindset, knowledge, and network to realize your own ideas.  This applies to your MBA selection process. Take your time to know about the differentiated values of each MBA program and find the one that truly fits you. I’m sure that you may feel attracted to applying for some programs without knowing so much about them just because you know they’re famous MBA programs many students strive to join. But what’s really important is whether you can envision a clear image that you play a role as an irreplaceable member of that community and create your own meaningful and unique story during and after that MBA program.  How you spend your time during and after that MBA program matters much more than how you get into the program.

With those things in mind, I hope that all of you can enjoy the challenging but rewarding journey to apply for and gain admission to the MBA program that is best for you and also that Johnson can be meaningful to some of you. Feel free to contact me here with your questions. Thank you.

Yasuhiro Karakawa

MBA 12’, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University

Representative Program Manager of Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise / Admissions Officer

Please note:  We will be holding the information session on Sept 24 (2012) in Tokyo and providing the opportunity for you to mingle with alumni in a casual manner. If you want to know more about our program, personality and culture, please register from the URL below. Hope to see you there!

http://tokyo2012.eventbrite.com/

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com