Curious...how many visited every school you applied to?

Question

I will end up visiting every school (Haas, Stanford, Kellogg and Booth) before all of my applications are in. I think this is going to give me the greatest perspective as to which school is the best for me. I really enjoy talking to the students about the school as they are usually very honest with their answers (also gives you a good grasp if you would actually LIKE the people you are going to school with :lol:

). Additionally, I think this helps you to answer the question "Why this school?"...definitely took a lot of notes about this one.

The hard part is that I really like every school I visit and could see myself at any one! Hah!

). Additionally, I think this helps you to answer the question "Why this school?"...definitely took a lot of notes about this one. The hard part is that I really like every school I visit and could see myself at any one! Hah!

lsmba · Answer

Visited none. Although you could say I visited Sloan when I visited a friend last year? Did a lot of research on schools, then programs, then professors and discussed careers and classes with a lot of students via email and phone.

Wasn't willing to spend the time on trips to visit schools when the probability of getting in is 5-10%. If I'm fortunate enough to be accepted to more than one, you can bet I'll visit each if I'm feeling the slightest bit indecisive about my options, since at that point I'll actually be making a decision.

In my opinion, you can do a ridiculous amount of research very efficiently via web, phone, and social networks. Time is a really finite resource, and it's hard to justify a visit to schools unless you know you're making a decision between acceptances. Just my $.02!

shadow · Answer

lsmba, i disagree with that sentiment. i think visiting the schools goes a long way, not only for your own personal decisions, but also because it shows the schools you are interested in them. obviously if you are an international, it could be hard to visit all of the US based schools. however, whenever reasonably possible, try and visit the schools.

i've applied to 2 schools so far, and was only able to visit one of them. i'll be visiting the second one after thanksgiving.

i've applied to 2 schools so far, and was only able to visit one of them. i'll be visiting the second one after thanksgiving.

lsmba · Answer

NP, I certainly don't expect to be in the majority with my opinion

miccarlo · Answer

I was in a fortunate position to be working/living in San Francisco and Chicago so travel and lodging were all covered. This made visiting extremely easy :lol:

Class2012 · Answer

Maybe u shud start a poll to get more responses.

gregarious · Answer

I've visited 4 out of 5 schools that I'm applying to, but they were worked in with trips to see family or friends. I think the real chance to compare places will be during the accepted student events, which seem like they have a lot of planned activities to really show things off.

miccarlo · Answer

That's an interesting point. How much time is there between being accepted and having to make your decision on the school? I thought it was pretty close. Hmm, I wonder how many people actually go to the accepted student events to determine whether or not they would matriculate at the school.

go2bizSkool · Answer

I will probably end up visiting 4 out of 6 schools while applying.

PBateman · Answer

Could it really hurt you if you haven't visited, let's say by the time of the interview?

I just don't think it's very realistic for most people to visit all of these schools while working full-time. Of my 4 choices, I'll have visited one formally (class visit, tour, etc.) by the time I have interviews, and I don't feel that visiting any more than 1 of the others was particularly feasible in any sense.

Depending on where accepted, I surely will be making formal visits to make a final choice, but I hope adcom doesn't have some check box as to whether you've been able to visit campus pre-interview.

go2bizSkool · Answer

the schools you applied to dont care, but i think the lower Tier I schools are different (say outside M7).

They want to make sure you are genuinely interested in the school, and its not just a safety choice. In fact, NYU not only has a "check the box" for campus visit but also has an entire essay (1 of 3) dedicated to "your NYU experience". what research you have done, what did you think about the campus, etc.

I think the further you are away from the school geographically the more of a pass you get 8-)

LB20 · Answer

I was actually able to visit each of the schools, but luckily they were all accessible by some variation of public transportation and I had friends in each city I needed to go to, so it wasn't too difficult for me. I agree that some schools probably take it more seriously than others, but schools like HBS, Wharton and Stanford don't really need to be convinced that you're putting in the effort

Jerz · Answer

Usually you get some time between decisions and deposits. I think last year for Kellogg R1 the decision date was early January and deposits from admitted students were due Apr. 1.

A lot of people use the admitted student events to decide which school they're going to. It's a great chance to see what the school will be like and what your class will be like. Just from talking with my classmates here, people fell into 3 buckets: 1) sure they were coming to Kellogg before DAK (Kellogg's admitted student weekend), and DAK confirmed the decision, 2) were unsure about Kellogg vs. another school but sold on Kellogg after DAK, and 3) thought they preferred a different school but chose Kellogg after they attended DAK and the other school's event. The vast majority fell into the 2nd bucket, but just about everyone agreed that DAK was a factor in their decision. Bottom line: if you can, I would strongly encourage you to attend the admitted student events for the schools you're accepted to. Before you spend $150k and 2 years of your life at a school you want to make absolutely sure it's the place where you feel the most comfortable and is right for you.

RonMexico · Answer

Living in Europe and not having much time off from work, I was only able to get in an East Coast "victory tour" this past Summer. While I had been to all these campuses before, I never was able to visit the proper MBA facilities or talk to ADCOM staff. Definitely worth it - there is always more to the place than the glossy pictures in the catalog.

I missed out on the classic "sit in the back of class" experience, but have made a point to talk to as many students as possible in my spare time. I'm not sure if you get bonus points on the application for physically visiting, but being more informed about the school will certainly help in your essays and interview.

billyjeans · Answer

It is a pain for me to visit schools. Each visit will cost me any where between $400 to $500 just for airfare alone. :roll:

I am debating whether or not I should visit school in NYC.

praz · Answer

I visited all the schools I applied. I sat in classes everywhere and it really allowed me to understand how many things are similar and how some things are not. I think it also helps us to visualize being there in that campus and how it feels overall. Moreover, even in M7 during interviews you can definitely touch upon your visit, in class experience and interaction with students, I think my interviewers appreciated it.

lsmba · Answer

FYI; https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/11/do-y ... elieve-it/ Clearadmit ran a poll on this, although those options are... uh... urgh.

niraja · Answer

i visited all my apped schools. except wharton. where it won't matter either way i think.

chomp123 · Answer

Out of the four schools I applied to, I only visited Tuck (in combination with the on-campus interview). Tuck REALLY emphasizes the importance of the visit, and I live close enough that it would be a bad idea not to go. I truly wish I could have visited all the schools, but I decided to use my days off to work on applications instead of doing visits.

HCGirl10 · Answer

I visited every school before I applied. I think it gave me a lot of insight into what the school was about and helped me to tailor my applications accordingly. At Wharton, meeting with the HCM program director before applying definitely made a difference to my outcome (thus far). At the other schools, I doubt it will impact anything from their perspective, so it was more for my own benefit.

Curious...how many visited every school you applied to?

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