Attending an alumni event as a prospective applicant

Question

I have the opportunity to attend an alumni event for a B-school via a family invite. Is this a good idea? I'd like to know more about the school through the perspective of alums, but is it the wrong place to do this?

MBADecoder · Answer

Go ahead and attend. Just don't be cheesy. You can get contacts and connect later

yukidaruma · Answer

MBADecoder  will do, thank you!

IvyGroupeCEO · Answer

Hi there - that's a great way to learn about the school as well as the experiences of the alumni, but you should also be prepared (for example, you should research the school through the website and be able to express why you are interested in that b-school). Hope that helps!

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Absolutely! Alums are a great way to learn about the program. I would say just keep in mind the event you are at and why alums are there. They may not want to get interrogated by a prospective student for a long period of time, so be respectful and use your judgment with engaging with the people you meet. Generally, most alums LOVE talking about their alma maters, especially the more recent grads so target them first, as they can give you the best information and also the most relevant given they just graduated. So just use your judgement and EQ and you should be fine to attend

triumph · Answer

You should definitely attend, it's never too early to start networking, and you can use your experiences from such event on your application to show your commitment and dedication to the school.

yukidaruma · Answer

triumph VeritasPrepDozie IvyGroupeCEO MBADecoder

Thank you so much for your replies! I went to the event earlier this month and was pleasantly surprised at how helpful and encouraging the alums were to me, despite the fact that I'm still just an applicant. I was also able to meet some early admits to the program, and network/exchange contact info with many people.

Thank you again for all you advice! I would recommend other applicants to also do the same if they get the chance

MBADecoder · Answer

Glad to have given meaningful advice Yukidaruma. All the best for your applications.

Attending an alumni event as a prospective applicant

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