Undergraduate Admissions Office
Admissions Bulletin
Beyond Cornell: Career Services
The Cornell Advantage
As a Cornell student, you’ll be at a distinct advantage when planning for your
future. Cornell offers four thousand courses, as well as internship, research,
and field-study opportunities that help you find and prepare for a work life
that is challenging and rewarding. The university hosts recruiters from more
than 700 nationally prominent employers and 200 graduate and professional
schools each year, and is committed to using information technologies to
ensure your access to jobs in the United States and around the world.
Cornell’s extensive network of advisors will help you chart your course. Your
faculty advisor can assist you in selecting a course of study that works for
you; and experts in the central and college career services offices will help
you discover, explore, and choose a career or find your first job. Cornell
Career Services is dedicated to providing outstanding career-development
services that help students apply their education and experiences toward
advancing their career goals over a lifetime. Cornell Career Services educates
students about career planning and the job-search process, and promotes
linkages between students and employers, or graduate and professional
schools. In line with this mission, Cornell Career Services focuses its efforts in
several major areas:
• Career exploration—interest assessment, counseling on decisions with
majors and careers, externships, and networking opportunities
• Career information—career library with an extensive collection of print,
audio, and video reference materials on careers and career decision-
making; internships; graduate and professional schools; employment;
fellowships; and international opportunities
• Job-search strategies—job-search seminars, employer career fairs,
employer information sessions, and on-campus interviews
• Employment services—up-to-the-minute information via the Internet on
summer jobs, internships, and full-time jobs after Cornell
• Graduate and professional school advising, including health and law
careers and fellowships—individual advising and seminars on the ap-
plication process, information resources, and Graduate and Professional
School Days
In other words, you’ll be able to begin a job search or the graduate/profes-
sional school application process with the support and skills to succeed!
State-of-the-Art Access to Jobs and Information
Cornell uses information technologies to provide students and alumni
access to information and job openings, and to expedite communication
between job seekers and potential employers. Here are some examples of the
technological assistance you’ll find as a Cornell student:
Cornell Career Services Web Site provides access to up-to-date
information about career services at Cornell, a calendar of events, career
resources, summer jobs and internships, full-time jobs, links to selected
career sites and online resources, electronic versions of some workshops,
online tutorials, and more.
Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions Office Beyond Cornell: Career Services
Internships and Summer Jobs are listed through CCNET, an online
service that provides listings of internships and career-related summer jobs
nationwide. Internships and summer jobs offer excellent opportunities for
exploring your interests and determining your “fit” with a career field.
CCNET also provides descriptions and application information for full-time
positions with regional, national, and international employers. This database
is used exclusively by Cornell students and alumni, and is updated daily with
positions for entry-level candidates and recent graduates in a wide range of
career fields.
A Helping Hand from Alumni
Cornell alumni are especially interested in helping you put your dreams into
action. More than 200,000 alumni are scattered across the globe. Chances are
someone is doing just what you’re considering and would be happy to hear
from a Cornellian. At last count, professions of Cornell alumni included almost
everything from astronaut to zoologist.
One of our most popular career-exploration programs is the Cornell Extern
Program, which gives sophomores, juniors, and seniors a chance to gain an
insider’s view of a career field and experience the work environment firsthand.
Each year during winter break, several hundred students spend from one day
to one week shadowing alumni in dozens of career fields, everywhere from
Atlanta to San Francisco. They see what it’s actually like to be a bank vice
president, an environmental lawyer, a museum curator, or a science teacher. A
similar program—FRESH—enables first-year students to explore their career
interests during spring break. Incidentally, many of the participants tell us
they’ve arranged a summer or permanent job through contacts they made as
externs!
Highlights—The Graduating Class
You might be interested to know what members of a typical Cornell class
chose to do the year after graduation. In 2008 about 55 percent entered the
workforce, 32 percent were attending graduate or professional school, and
13 percent were pursuing other endeavors. Graduates went to work in all
sectors of the economy in a wide variety of career fields, nationwide and
internationally. Engineering, medicine, law, and biological sciences were the
most frequently selected fields for further study, and graduates enrolled in
top programs around the country.
Students’ postgraduate activities vary depending on their undergraduate
college at Cornell. For example, nearly 67 percent of our ILR graduates went
directly to the workforce and 27 percent to further schooling. Of arts and
sciences graduates, 48 percent started their first jobs and 35 percent entered
graduate or professional schools. Of agriculture and life sciences graduates,
about 55 percent went directly into the workforce and 30 percent entered
graduate programs.
The Cornell experience is highly regarded by professional schools. Nation-
ally, 43 percent of the applicants to allopathic medical schools in 2008 were
accepted; while 70 percent of the applicants from Cornell were accepted by
at least one school—and 80 percent of Cornell students with a grade-point
average of 3.4 or above were accepted. Of students in the Class of 2008
applying to law school, 90 percent were admitted to at least one law school,
compared to a national average of 66 percent. For Further Information
Undergraduate Admissions Office
Cornell University
410 Thurston Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850-2488
Postgraduate Activities of a Typical Cornell Graduating Class
Telephone: 607 255-5241
Web: admissions.cornell.edu
Other Endeavors 13%

Employed 55%

Graduate/
Professional
Schools 32%

Produced by the Office of Publications and Marketing at Cornell University

9/09 Web 100088

Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions Office Beyond Cornell: Career Services