{"id":41262,"date":"2018-04-02T08:01:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T15:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/so-your-dream-school-invited-you-to-a-networking-brunchnow-what\/"},"modified":"2018-04-02T08:01:45","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T15:01:45","slug":"so-your-dream-school-invited-you-to-a-networking-brunchnow-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/so-your-dream-school-invited-you-to-a-networking-brunchnow-what\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Dream School Invited You to a Networking Brunch\u2026Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of our clients was recently in this exact situation. Her Kellogg application was submitted and her interview was completed. She was just waiting for the final decision. Then, she received an email inviting her to an intimate networking brunch in her hometown of [major US city*]. Her mind immediately started racing, wondering \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d, \u201cShould I take this as an indication that I\u2019m accepted?\u201d, and \u201cI should definitely go, right?\u201d As her MBA admissions consultant, I encouraged her not to jump to conclusions – that although it can\u2019t be a <\/span>bad thing<\/span><\/i> that she was invited to this event, she shouldn\u2019t assume that she\u2019s accepted until she gets that official phone call. And in the meantime, she should make her best effort to attend the event. So she did, and here\u2019s how it went!<\/span><\/p>\n

The event took place in a European-style bistro – nice but not stuffy. The group was indeed quite intimate with 10-12 attendees total, of which half were prospective students and half were Kellogg alumni. There was one representative from admissions who attended and provided a brief welcome message. She directed that the conversation should be casual and organic. After that, she made a point to fade into the background so the prospective students could feel at ease. <\/span><\/p>\n

Seats around the table were assigned, with prospective students sitting next to alums who shared their industries\/careers of interest. The alums appeared to have reviewed the candidates\u2019 applications and were familiar with their profiles, career goals, etc. For example, one alum asked my client a specific question about her career goals in corporate strategy. Overall, the event lasted about 2 hours. After the prospective students left, the alums stayed behind to debrief with the admissions officer. <\/span><\/p>\n

In general, my client didn\u2019t find the event to be as relaxed as she had expected. However, she was happy to connect with other candidates and was pleased to have had another opportunity to interface with the program and add another \u201cdata point\u201d to her application. Fortunately for her, she found out several weeks later that she was admitted to Kellogg with a $30K scholarship. It\u2019s unclear how much, if at all, the networking event influenced my client\u2019s admission decision. However, if and when you\u2019re invited to a similar event during your MBA application process, here are 5 of our do\u2019s and don\u2019t\u2019s:<\/span><\/p>\n

DO make a point to attend<\/strong>. You\u2019ve been invited for a reason. Although attending won\u2019t in any way guarantee admission, it can help you learn more about the school and give the adcom an additional opportunity to get to know you better. <\/span><\/p>\n

DO actively engage with the other attendees<\/strong>, both alums and your fellow applicants. Rest assured that your interactions with others are being observed.<\/span><\/p>\n

DO ask thoughtful questions<\/strong>. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the program from alumni who are eager to share their experiences. After all, they committed 2 hours of their weekend to spend with you!<\/span><\/p>\n

DON\u2019T assume that your invitation is reflective of your admissions decision<\/strong>. You should still put your best foot forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

DON\u2019T forget to enjoy yourself!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* Location not disclosed to protect client confidentiality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

www.vantagepointmba.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The post So Your Dream School Invited You to a Networking Brunch…Now What?<\/a> appeared first on Vantage Point MBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of our clients was recently in this exact situation. Her Kellogg application was submitted and her interview was completed. She was just waiting for the final decision. Then, she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1955,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-vantage-point-mba","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t\n