There is a surprising number of ways to get into Cornell. You can get in early decision, you can get in regular decision, or you can get in off the waitlist. You can get in as a guaranteed transfer, or just transfer in.

Finally, you can take the approach I tried first – get recruited as an athlete. It didn’t work out quite as well as I thought it would. Coach Knowles told me I’d have to sit behind Nathan Ford, so I decided to write for the Sun instead.

Caught me – I jest. Even though I am an AEM major, I wasn’t actually recruited to play for the football team. There was some talk of trying out for club volleyball, but nagging ankle and knee injuries deterred me from fulfilling my dreams of intercollegiate athletic glory.

Instead, I’ve had to wait until my junior year in college to finally be noticed — not for my court vision and ability to set, or for setting the Paul D. Schreiber High School record in the 100-meter breaststroke. Instead, I’ve been noticed for my ability to balance a balance sheet. Can’t touch this.

As I write this article, I am on a 37-passanger-propeller plane to New York City for my first-ever second-round interview. I can’t help but feel like I’m back in high school, being recruited by some of the big-name programs in one of the best conferences to play in — the Big Four.

The first step in getting recruited is being in a good program that has sent players to the next level in the past. It’s a lot easier to get noticed when you play for Oak Hill Academy than if you’re leading the Vikings from Schreiber High School. Never heard of us? Exactly.

Coming from Cornell, we’ve got a step up on the competition. The scouts are looking for us, and, in fact, they come to us. Some even call Cornell their alma mater. We don’t need to send them our highlight reels; instead we need to schmooze. I spent the last two months hopping from job fairs to presentations to networking sessions — a career combine of sorts.

You also need a good coaching staff — or in my case, professors — who will prepare you for the next level of competition. At the center of it all is the head coach, keeping the program organized and maintaining connections with coaches and scouts at the next level. It doesn’t hurt having Professor Little calling the plays for the Cornell Accountants. (Note: One thing you don’t need to get recruited is a good mascot. Cornell Bookkeepers was surprisingly already taken.)

With a lot of high school teams, you’ll find that more than one player being recruited. Gerald Henderson and Wayne Ellington had to share touches at Episcopal Academy before going to Duke and UNC, respectively. Right now, I’m sharing playing time with about a dozen other juniors also trying to play at the next level. Just because I’m going to graduate with over 150 credits and be eligible to take the CPA exam doesn’t mean I’m unique. For a school that praises diversity, I find it quite difficult to distinguish myself…

As the competition heats up for jobs, so does the intra-squad competition. Wayne Ellington — after sharing the spotlight with Gerald Henderson, had to deal with Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough being the go-to-guys at UNC. While Ellington still landed a job right after graduation with a firm in Minnesota, his peers from the same team got higher starting-salaries. I hear Ellington had a good benefits package though.

No longer in flight, I am now sitting in my room at the Hilton Time Square — one of the perks of being at the top of Mel Kiper, Jr.’s list of accounting recruits. Of course if the NCAA found out about this, my prospective employer may face allegations and I may lose my amateur status. Luckily, the IRS gives a little bit more leeway than the NCAA when it comes to spending money on recruits.

And just like athletes recruited to Cornell, those off us being recruited to go out into the real world and work are not one-dimensional. Cornell’s athletes are some of the most well rounded Division I athletes out there. Little-known fact: Jeff Foote was my friend’s teaching assistant last semester.

So while all of us try to get jobs; classes don’t stop, clubs don’t disband, fraternities don’t run themselves, one of the nation’s oldest independently run collegiate newspapers doesn’t go out of print, and I hear they still make you interview before giving you the job. Little-known fact: I’m an excellent juggler.