QS World Tour MBA Fairs
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04 Oct 2011, 09:30
Just wanted to let people know some of my thoughts about the QS MBA Fair, since it was hard for me to get information going in. I attended the NYC day at the Hilton a couple of weeks ago.
The Connect 1-2-1 morning session was the main draw for me, since I was interested in practicing speaking to MBA admissions officers and learning about international programs. This portion of the fair was useful, even though the quality of schools is not elite. The scheduling was difficult and confusing however, since schools emailed me directly but the fair wanted me to set up meetings with them on their website.
The afternoon portion of the QS Fair was a different animal. I attended a panel about the "Do's and Don't's of Application" which was mostly useless. The moderator was a woman who enjoyed interrupting the panel speakers and interjecting useless information. The panel included admissions officers from NYU Stern, Cornell, and schools in the UK and Paris. When given the chance to speak they were helpful, even if the information was sometimes elementary.
The main "fair" part requires waiting in line to register and pay $5. The staff employed by the fair were completely useless and even antagonizing. QS hired bouncers to enforce registration, who were unprofessionally dressed and made me feel like I was in Hoboken. There is no one in charge, no hosts, no one to answer questions, and it's basically a mess.
Finally, the QS fair sells your email information to schools that you've most likely never heard of and has no customer service--you must unsubscribe from each school manually. I hope that this information is useful to those considering this fair.