Campus Visit Without Class Visit?

Question

Curious what you all think about doing a campus visit without a class visit. More specifically visiting Kellogg in May, which would be the earlist I can go, where they offer a bulding tour, lunch with students, and an info session. I'm planning on applying R1, and would like to use the experience in my essays, so waiting until September doesn't leave too much time. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do?

farful · Answer

Class visits are by no means necessary. If you're looking for essay fodder, then I'm sure your visit to the campus and especially the interaction with current students will be more than enough.

That said, you do gain some insight to the school and its culture by attending a class. It's nice to see how students interact with other students/professor.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there - @farful has some great points. Classes have a lot of variance so it's more important to get the student interaction than it is to simply sit in on a class. Your experience would be very different if you went to Applied Regressions versus Entrepreneurial Selling, right? Where it becomes important is if you're applying to a school that has a more distinct teaching method. For example, if you're applying to a case only school (e.g. HBS, Darden), then sitting in on a class can be a great way to show you get what that means and that it's for you. But if you're going to a school where the type of teaching is a little more "standard" then a class visit probably won't add too much to the experience.

The student interaction is key so it's great that you're getting in there while there are still students on campus!

Bhavik

The student interaction is key so it's great that you're getting in there while there are still students on campus!

Bhavik

balki1867 · Answer

I'd say class visits are one of the least useful portions of the campus visit. The classes vary so much from session to session or course to course that you're not going to get any major takeaways.

During my Kellogg visit (more than 5 years ago, WOW that's depressing), I sat in a decision sciences class where the professor was teaching stats -- not a terribly gripping topic.

Don't feel like you're missing out by not attending a class. Honestly the only thing that might be "new" for someone entering B-school is a class session where a case is discussed.

splash · Answer

I think campus visit without class visit may be useful, as long as you have a game plan and you know what you are hoping to get out of it. This article can help you make the most out of campus visit: https://www.aringo.com/CampusVisit.htm

mgg234 · Answer

I didn't even visit any schools before applying, don't think it matters much. I figure I'll worry about where I want to attend after all my acceptances are in.

Campus Visit Without Class Visit?

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