how far is too far for school visits? : The B-School Applications

ariel

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

07 Jun 2010, 13:38

Uhm not Keanan either, try again ;>

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asimov

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

07 Jun 2010, 20:24

12 hour drive is definitely excusable for not visiting. Since Duke allows self-initiated interviews, and you need to interview to get admitted, maybe you can kill two birds with one stone - visit and interview. This way you won't have any doubts.

Good luck.

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

08 Jun 2010, 19:43

yeah, 12 is a bit too far. IMO, i think anything less than 4 hrs (i.e. NY to Boston) is fair game for traveling to the school at least once to show interest

ACNguy

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

08 Jun 2010, 20:22

I guess I don't know your financial situation but plane tickets aren't really that expensive...that 12 hour drive is at most a 1.5 hour flight. I live in the midwest and visited Darden, Duke, Columbia in addition to all of those in the midwest...

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

08 Jun 2010, 21:23

ACNguy wrote:

I guess I don't know your financial situation but plane tickets aren't really that expensive...that 12 hour drive is at most a 1.5 hour flight. I live in the midwest and visited Darden, Duke, Columbia in addition to all of those in the midwest...

i did check plane and its about 200$ for 3.5hr plane ride. with rental hotel prob 300$ish. I get crap for vaca days (~1 day/month) as well. Major thing is probably me trying to juggle vacation time for visits to closer schools and saving for family stuff (like thanksgiving, xmas etc.).

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

08 Jun 2010, 22:51

12 hours isn't much domestically. If it means that much to you, I think the plane ticket cost is worth it. Especially this early in the game, you have tons of flexibility for buying a ticket based on price as opposed to paying for a last-minute ticket.

lbird33

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

09 Jun 2010, 07:32

Spent/wasted a bunch to visit and interview at Tuck. If it's important, you'll find a way to get where you need to.

ACNguy

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

09 Jun 2010, 07:41

shaselai wrote:

ACNguy wrote:

I guess I don't know your financial situation but plane tickets aren't really that expensive...that 12 hour drive is at most a 1.5 hour flight. I live in the midwest and visited Darden, Duke, Columbia in addition to all of those in the midwest...

i did check plane and its about 200$ for 3.5hr plane ride. with rental hotel prob 300$ish. I get crap for vaca days (~1 day/month) as well. Major thing is probably me trying to juggle vacation time for visits to closer schools and saving for family stuff (like thanksgiving, xmas etc.).

Duke has an open interview period (October) that has availability on Saturdays if you sign up early enough. You could then fly in Friday night (after work), interview/tour/show interest on Saturday and fly out Saturday night or stick around and fly out Sunday night if you want to get a better feel for Durham. Then, no vacation wasted, and EXTREMELY cheap visit plus you got your interview in(trust me, $300 total is not a bad cost).

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

09 Jun 2010, 07:42

shaselai wrote:

ACNguy wrote:

I guess I don't know your financial situation but plane tickets aren't really that expensive...that 12 hour drive is at most a 1.5 hour flight. I live in the midwest and visited Darden, Duke, Columbia in addition to all of those in the midwest...

i did check plane and its about 200$ for 3.5hr plane ride. with rental hotel prob 300$ish. I get crap for vaca days (~1 day/month) as well. Major thing is probably me trying to juggle vacation time for visits to closer schools and saving for family stuff (like thanksgiving, xmas etc.).

don't forget that for many schools, if you do get an interview invite, you'll likely have to make the trip back to campus again to interview. and while phone interviews are ok in some situations, the school might wonder why you made the trip to visit them, but not to interview, which is arguably more important to do in person.

if you could bang out all (visit the school, city, and interview) during the same trip, it would be worth it as ACNguy posted above

shaselai

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

09 Jun 2010, 07:55

yeah i think i might do that. I might even visit Kenan while I am there since they are petty close.

A bit off topic - for those schools like duke where they can invite you for interview and you can request for interview - does it matter consideration wise if i wait for them to offer vs just going there to do it? I guess the worst case scenario is bombing the interview which gets me a ding right away vs feeling good about the invite then bomb and get dinged?

ACNguy

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

09 Jun 2010, 08:06

shaselai wrote:

yeah i think i might do that. I might even visit Kenan while I am there since they are petty close.

A bit off topic - for those schools like duke where they can invite you for interview and you can request for interview - does it matter consideration wise if i wait for them to offer vs just going there to do it? I guess the worst case scenario is bombing the interview which gets me a ding right away vs feeling good about the invite then bomb and get dinged?

Schools want you to do the self-initiated interview, it shows interest and passion for the school. You will NOT be at a disadvantage if you self-initiate the interview. You're simply taking one more variable out of the equation (actually being invited).

ozzy10fl

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

14 Jun 2010, 16:09

Don't ever visit a school without at least an interview invite. Its a complete waste of time and money and does not factor into your application AT ALL. If its within 4-5 hours driving distance, then maybe.

vick4consulting

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

14 Jun 2010, 16:29

crazy question but,

anyone try to visit kellogg and booth the same day?

lbird33

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

15 Jun 2010, 06:11

ozzy10fl wrote:

Don't ever visit a school without at least an interview invite. Its a complete waste of time and money and does not factor into your application AT ALL. If its within 4-5 hours driving distance, then maybe.

I wouldn't say it's a complete waste; the experience can add a personal touch to essays, which is turn shows effort on your part. At the least I'd get in touch with a current student to pickup some quotes and program-specific themes.

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

15 Jun 2010, 08:37

lbird33 wrote:

ozzy10fl wrote:

Don't ever visit a school without at least an interview invite. Its a complete waste of time and money and does not factor into your application AT ALL. If its within 4-5 hours driving distance, then maybe.

I wouldn't say it's a complete waste; the experience can add a personal touch to essays, which is turn shows effort on your part. At the least I'd get in touch with a current student to pickup some quotes and program-specific themes.

What would the best way of contacting students be? I have tried LinkedIn and Facebook messaging and even shooting a couple of emails. But a lot of the current students seem reluctant to respond to these. Would attending the lunch program (like at HBS) be a good idea?

billyjeans

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

15 Jun 2010, 08:49

I was 11.5 hours away and I visited twice.

I think you should do your interview together with the visit to get the most out of your trip.

lbird33

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Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

15 Jun 2010, 08:51

whiplash2411 wrote:

lbird33 wrote:

ozzy10fl wrote:

Don't ever visit a school without at least an interview invite. Its a complete waste of time and money and does not factor into your application AT ALL. If its within 4-5 hours driving distance, then maybe.

I wouldn't say it's a complete waste; the experience can add a personal touch to essays, which is turn shows effort on your part. At the least I'd get in touch with a current student to pickup some quotes and program-specific themes.

What would the best way of contacting students be? I have tried LinkedIn and Facebook messaging and even shooting a couple of emails. But a lot of the current students seem reluctant to respond to these. Would attending the lunch program (like at HBS) be a good idea?

The lunch program would probably work but I can't speak from experience, as I didn't have the chops for HBS. I went through friends-of-friends and received some good, unbiased feedback on my candidacy and the school. They can give you hints on what aspects to really stress in your application and I would weave a quote into my essays (usually in response to "Why this school?" or "What will you bring?" questions) to show I had taken some time to understand both. Just my opinion.

gmatclubot

Re: how far is too far for school visits? [#permalink]

15 Jun 2010, 08:51