What is attending SHA like and what which (career and academic) path do the students take once graduated?
I find working for hotels or restaurant chains interesting which is why I put my interest in SHA. However I have 0 work experience but I want to show my strong knowledge and curiosity for such industries. I had to take care of my sick grandmother the entire summer that I could not get work opportunities. Will this affect me by a lot?
What experiences do you have with the hospitality field? Yes, they will be looking for that kind of experience and commitment. If you have had none you will be at a great disadvantage. Cornell is a very competitive university regardless of which school you apply to. Each of the schools looks for different types of achievement though. Naturally a school intended to train the best people in hotel management will be less concerned about whether you got A’s in calc2 but they will look for equally impressive evidence that you have the skills and commitment to be outstanding in hospitality related endeavors. So that means they look for evidence that you are knowledgable about the field, relevant experiences, and you are among the top applicants in terms of relevant aptitude.
SHA is far more complex than a hotel management school. It is a fully accredited business school and there are numerous avenues to pursue beyond management or operations-entrepreneurship and consulting just two among them and the list of what is represented among those two areas alone is quite creative as well. And you will find students who are interested in many different things. So it is a misconception to think that having experience in a hotel or restaurant is what admissions is looking for – the fit for SHA cannot be manufactured (they know what they are doing) and they require an interview, but you can offer experience with any type of agency business or organization where there is something being created created and the goal is to deliver excellence and build a relationship - people are at the heart of SHA, people working and innovating in ways that enhance other peoples’ lives in some way. There is tremendous support from alumnae and the reputation is international in scope. Hope this was somehow helpful.