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School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts?

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westsidah408
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School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   28 May 2012, 05:18
Hi all,

I will most likely be visiting some b-schools around August/September this year. The following are schools I am planning to visit:

Booth - Chicago, IL (definitely)
Stern - New York, NY (definitely)
Mendoza - Notre Dame, IN (definitely)
Columbia - New York, NY (most likely)
Ross - Ann Arbor, MI (most likely)
Wisconsin MBA -Madison, WI (most likely)
Illinois MBA - Urbana, IL (most likely)
Johnson - Ithaca, NY (maybe)

Could someone who has been through this process recommend how I should proceed in terms of logistics, lodging, scheduling visits with the schools/students/alumni/faculty/admissions office etc.

It would be of immense help as I am an international applicant.

Thanks!
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kingfalcon
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   29 May 2012, 14:47
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My advice would be to:

1) Stay close to the school, wherever possible
2) Register for the "ambassador" or "day-in-the-life" type events that include an infosession, class visit, lunch with students, and a tour
3) Take copious notes, including names, classes, professors, interesting clubs, and unique things you liked about the people/campus
4) Reach out to current students once you know when you'll be visiting to see if anybody would be willing to grab a drink with you

On the other hand, my question to you is this: why are you visiting such a vast range of schools? If you truly and objectively think you're competitive at Columbia and Booth, which are both top-7 programs, why are you bothering to visit Mendoza (25), Madison (30), and Illinois (45)? It seems to me like you would be better served thinking more carefully about your candidacy to make sure you aren't wasting money or time visiting schools that are not in line with your work experience and demonstrated academic ability (e.g. GPA, GMAT).
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sdd996
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   29 May 2012, 14:49
I can agree with the above post. You have a very broad range of schools.

As someone who lives in NYC, I'll recommend that if you're definitely going to see Stern, there's no reason you don't also see Columbia. They're only about a 20 minute subway ride from one another. When I visited both last fall, I was able to schedule it to see CU in the morning, for a class and info session, and then go to NYU at night (only an info session, but classes would have also worked had I booked earlier). In case you're not familiar with NY, just realize that Cornell, while in NY, is not close to NYU or CU. I'd say it's about a 5 hour drive north.
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westsidah408
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   29 May 2012, 19:46
kingfalcon wrote:
My advice would be to:

1) Stay close to the school, wherever possible
2) Register for the "ambassador" or "day-in-the-life" type events that include an infosession, class visit, lunch with students, and a tour
3) Take copious notes, including names, classes, professors, interesting clubs, and unique things you liked about the people/campus
4) Reach out to current students once you know when you'll be visiting to see if anybody would be willing to grab a drink with you

On the other hand, my question to you is this: why are you visiting such a vast range of schools? If you truly and objectively think you're competitive at Columbia and Booth, which are both top-7 programs, why are you bothering to visit Mendoza (25), Madison (30), and Illinois (45)? It seems to me like you would be better served thinking more carefully about your candidacy to make sure you aren't wasting money or time visiting schools that are not in line with your work experience and demonstrated academic ability (e.g. GPA, GMAT).



Excellent advice!

The main reason I'm considering a broad range of schools is that I can't keep travelling to the US. If I'm already going to be there, I'd like to take advantage of my time. I'm quite keen on Mendoza, but am currently only lukewarm for Madison and Illinois. I'm thinking of those as safety schools. Columbia would just be because I'm in the area. My top 3 picks (based on everything from location, to curriculum etc.) are Booth, Haas and Stern. I've already taken the GMAT (700), and don't intend to retake. At this point, I'm thinking mostly about "fit" with schools.

As for Ithaca, I realize that it's not near Manhattan, which is why it's still a maybe. I'm interested in the program, and hear very good things from current students (there's definitely some bias there but it seems very genuine and heartfelt), but I'm not sure about whether I want to attend a program in Ithaca.

I'm still not 100% sure that I will be going to the US at all. If I do, I probably won't visit all of the programs on my list either.
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novanative
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   30 May 2012, 12:09
To me, I'd take it easy on the notes, though I agree otherwise with the above suggestions. Write your after you're home imo which is what I've done when I visited classes.

Observe the class, and observe the students in the class especially. How are they together in the cohort? Are they providing valuable insight in class, etc? After the students, then look at the facility and the University campus and see if this is the type of University you'd like to be at.

Do not participate in the class at all unless the professor calls you out. You are not a student there and aren't paying for that class, the other students are. Hopefully this helps.
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MBAPrepSchoolTyler
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   08 Jun 2012, 17:43
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westsidah408 wrote:
Could someone who has been through this process recommend how I should proceed in terms of logistics, lodging, scheduling visits with the schools/students/alumni/faculty/admissions office etc.

It would be of immense help as I am an international applicant.

Thanks!


I wrote an article on the topic of making the most of school visits for MBA Prep School (https://mbaprepschool.com). Here is a summary of the key points:
    You are the Buyer and Not the Seller
    Be Open Minded, Focus on the Business School’s Culture, Determine How Well You Fit
    Meet People One on One
    Build a “Personality Profile” of each Business School
    Relax! Be Natural …
    Don't forget your toothbrush :)


If you'd like to read the entire article, here is the link: https://mbaprepschool.com/advice-about-school-visits/
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westsidah408
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Joined: 08 Sep 2011
Posts: 176
Own Kudos [?]: 28 [0]
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Location: Thailand
Concentration: Strategy, Entrepreneurship
Schools: Sauder '16 (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q45 V41
GPA: 3.29
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Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink] New post   11 Jun 2012, 23:40
Thanks, Tyler! That's of great help. :)
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gmatclubot
Re: School visit - suggestions/tips/dos&don'ts? [#permalink]
11 Jun 2012, 23:40

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