Question regarding The MBA Tour

I was at the DC MBA Tour yesterday.

*Who are typically in attendance from the schools?
Admissions staff.

*What is the format of the MBA fair?
Yesterday it was:
9am check-in / registration
930-1015 intro panel, how does admissions make their decisions
1025 - 2pm school info sessions
2-4 mba fair (schools at booths etc)

*What should one take to the event (e.g., resume)?
The schools didn't seem to be taking resumes. They kept track of who came to their presentations and who they talked to. They did not take any resumes, and they were not evaluating the attendees in any way.

*Any other thoughts or tips to make the most out of it?
Figure out which schools are attending and which schools you're interesting in talking to. Research the schools in advance, and know what questions (if any) you want to get answered.


It's really a no-pressure environment to learn more about the process and the schools you are interested in. Pretty much everyone wore suits and had a leather binder for notes and such.

There were also test-prep companies and admissions consultants, pitching their services.

You're welcome. Heads up...I'm a chick.

I'll give you an example. There was at top 15 school that I had taken off my list because after going through their website I didn't see anything about their program that seemed to directly relate to my post MBA goals. My friends wanted to attend this school's info session at the MBA Tour event so I sat in on it with them. The enthusiasm and knowledge of the admissions officer definitely made me think that I would fit with the culture of the school. At the MBA fair I decided to take the time to talk to her to at least let her know how much I liked her presentation. I spoke to her about my career goals and told her that I didn't see anything on the website that led me to believe that that program would be right for me. She told me how the program could apply to me. Then she gave me the name of a current student who wants to do something similar to my goal and told me to contact her to find out why she chose the school and how she tailored the program to her needs.

Honestly, I think how an adcom responds to how their program can apply to your goals speaks VOLUMES about the culture of the school. If they kind of brush you off then that should tell you something. If they offer more details and people you can talk to about your interests then that's definitely a school to consider.

Oh and to answer your other question...Columbia and Booth were represented by 2nd year students...no admissions officers.

Where are you from? I am going to this coming Sunday in DT Los Angeles. I want to know whether we need to stay for the whole day? Bec from what I understand from the schedule, schools will just repeat presenting about their programs?

I went to the MBA Tour conference in NYC on Saturday. Please do NOT think that these schools aren't evaluating people. Whenever you are in front of an admissions staff member or student you are being evaluated. They may not be checking your GPA, GMAT, and resume, but they are definitely evaluating the way you carry yourself, if you've done your research, your professionalism, and communication skills. That's not to say that you need to be nervous and they have checklist or something, but they do form an opinion so be mindful of how you dress and what you say. Also be considerate of the other people who want to talk to that same adcom and keep your questions short. I saw a lot of things at the NYC event that made me shake my head and wonder WTH people were thinking. If that's the impression I had I can only imagine what the adcoms thought.

My advice: dress professionally in a suit and DON'T BE THAT PERSON!

Yeah, I mean I certainly agree that you don't want to be 'that guy'.

But for example, when you're talking 1on1 with the adcom member at the booths, the introductions were all done on a first name basis, and they certainly were not taking notes or taking resumes.

I guess I do find it somewhat likely that if someone was particularly offensive, the adcom member might make a mental note of it and then after the event, figure out who it was. Other than that, I don't think talking to them has any impact other than a check mark next to 'visited our booth at MBA tour', which expresses some level of interest, which may or may not have any impact on your application (depending on the school).

I did definitely see some things at the DC tour that made me shake my head as well.

Sorry I've edited this post a bajillion times, but just wanted to add one more thing: Definitely agree with cheetarah, dress professionally in a suit and DON'T BE THAT PERSON.

This may sound as a stupid or an obvious question, but do you guys think it will be a good idea for me to tell them my career goals, b-school goals and post-mba intentions, and ask whether their school would be a good fit for me? I just don't want to appear that I did not do any research at all. I haven't done it extensively, but I have read about various schools already.

This is a stupid question but does anyone know if you have to go at the start of the tour or you can go anytime in between? I am planning on going to one but I just want to go for the "mba fair" part not all the discussions.

@Hemantuec - you can go for any portion of the conference. If all you want to do is go to the fair then that's fine. They aren't tracking attendees throughout the day. I went to 3 school info sessions then cut out for lunch until the fair started. However, if there is a school that is having an info session that you even have a passing interest in, I recommend you go to it. Also, note that some schools do not send adcoms to the MBA fair. They use 2nd year students. It definitely gives the booth a different feel.

@gablaze - it's perfectly okay to BRIEFLY tell the admissions reps about your career goals. I discussed mine with a couple of adcoms and they both gave me the names of 2nd year students or recent alums with whom I should make contact. One of the adcoms explicitly told me that I should talk about my career goals in my essays because "not a lot of people want to do that." So as long as you don't take the adcom through your entire career history and every step you plan for post MBA, you can definitely bring it up.

I just want to know whether they can provide a good assessment whether they can help me achieve this goals than the other schools. I want to know HOW and WHY, so come admissions time, maybe I can feed them what they fed me. Jk. I really want to know whether a school certain schools are fit for me.

Thanks a lot man!!

Oh, and how did you like the experience overall? Which schools did not send adcoms?

I am going to the MBA Fair in Atlanta this Thursday. I am very excited about it.

Is anyone else going to be there?

I did go to the MBA tour in Atlanta. It was informative though anyone who has researched the schools they are interested in will already know much of the information given.

My thoughts are about the same as everyone else. Most people were actually in business professional attire though I was only business casual. There were a few completely under-dressed. You don't want to be them.

Let me know if you have any specific questions or PM me if interested.

I was actually at the Atlanta tour last night as well, I wish I has checked this thread earlier, I wouldve let you know I was going to attend. I thought it was good for someone just starting on their research. I went there only really interested in 2 schools, Columbia and Emory, and went mostly to show my face and meet some alums and people from AdCom. I spoke with some folks from other schools, chatted up a couple other prospective students and ended up talking with the Recruitment Director for UNCs online program for quite a while and found out that he also used to be the Assistant Dean of admissions at Cornell (Johnson) a school I'm looking into. I think for someone who has researched their schools its best to go there armed with questions, if not you're only really going to get surface level, internet available information, although I did find Emory's presentation to be pretty good.

All in all I think these things are pretty good to go to just for the chance that you may learn something and/or meet someone and you can show your commitment to a school, as opposed to not going and not being able to do any of those.

Are you going to the Kaplan Event in town next weekend? It should be much bigger with a lot more schools represented

I agree with you completely. I felt ahead of most people there in terms of research given the questions that I heard being asked. I was told that I had good questions by one of the admissions directors which probably just meant that the answers couldn't be found on the website. Emory had a good presence there given they brought alum and a current student as well as admissions personnel.

I will probably be at the Kaplan Event as more schools will be there I am interested in.

Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.