GMAT Club Legend
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Posts: 5916
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
WE:Business Development (Consumer Products)
Re: Calling UChicago Booth School Applicants for 2009
[#permalink]
12 Nov 2008, 13:32
The school does not put different weights on on-campus vs off. Honestly, visit if you want to, dont if you don't. They understand not everyone has the $ and time to do it and they genuinely don't assign different weights.
That said, here's the difference: An on campus interview is short, 30 minutes or so of question peppering. It's sorta like ripping off a band-aid. Short and sweet. On the one hand, thats nice, especially if you might be the kind of person to say something stupid if given too much air time, or if you get an interviewer you don't like. On the other hand, its an awfully short time to make a real impression and to connect with someone.
On the flipside, an alumnus interview might last an hour or more. If you make a connection, thats great - you got tons of time to milk it. On the other hand, if it doesn't go well - if you get someone who grills you - or if you are worried you might just say something stupid, the longer your interview the worse / more painful it is.
Which is better really depends on you and your interview preference / style / poise / etc.
Final thought - that also kind of cuts both ways: There's a (small) chance your interviewer on campus would be staff, not student, and certainly if you make a good impression that can't do anything other than help (during deliberations, certainly having your interviewer there to say "no no, he really was good" helps). By the same token, if you make a bad impression, they might be there to say "no no, he wasn't that good.". On the other hand if you do an off campus - the alum isn't there to defend you - nor is he/she there to push you further down a hole.
Again, which is better largely depends on luck and whether or not you think are a good interview.
Finally, there is one other general argument to visiting over not: If waitlisted, it's easier to write a love letter about how much you like the GSB if you've actually visited.
On balance, there are clear pro's and con's to each and the decision should be yours. Either way, rest assured that simply being off campus doesn't automatically put you at a disadvantage.