how far is too far for school visits?

Question

How far do adcom think that the applicant is "far enough" so not visiting the school doesn't look bad? I am interested in Duke but i am about 12 hours away driving - is that "legitimate" or I should go visit regardless?

ariel · Answer

There are no hard and fast rules, but I'd say that 12 hours is likely far enough to not raise any red flags provided you try to make up for not visiting by interacting extensively with the school community. If you really like the school though, it's always a good idea to visit and it might matter especially if you're more or less a borderline case IMO.

BTW what is Keenan? Never heard of it, do you mean Kenan, as in KFBS? Probably a good idea to get the name right on apps

shaselai · Answer

oh right.. thanks

ariel · Answer

Uhm not Keanan either, try again ;>

asimov · Answer

12 hour drive is definitely excusable for not visiting. Since Duke allows self-initiated interviews, and you need to interview to get admitted, maybe you can kill two birds with one stone - visit and interview. This way you won't have any doubts.

Good luck.

Good luck.

shadow · Answer

yeah, 12 is a bit too far. IMO, i think anything less than 4 hrs (i.e. NY to Boston) is fair game for traveling to the school at least once to show interest

ACNguy · Answer

I guess I don't know your financial situation but plane tickets aren't really that expensive...that 12 hour drive is at most a 1.5 hour flight. I live in the midwest and visited Darden, Duke, Columbia in addition to all of those in the midwest...

shaselai · Answer

i did check plane and its about 200$ for 3.5hr plane ride. with rental hotel prob 300$ish. I get crap for vaca days (~1 day/month) as well. Major thing is probably me trying to juggle vacation time for visits to closer schools and saving for family stuff (like thanksgiving, xmas etc.).

krussell · Answer

12 hours isn't much domestically. If it means that much to you, I think the plane ticket cost is worth it. Especially this early in the game, you have tons of flexibility for buying a ticket based on price as opposed to paying for a last-minute ticket.

lbird33 · Answer

Spent/wasted a bunch to visit and interview at Tuck. If it's important, you'll find a way to get where you need to.

ACNguy · Answer

Duke has an open interview period (October) that has availability on Saturdays if you sign up early enough. You could then fly in Friday night (after work), interview/tour/show interest on Saturday and fly out Saturday night or stick around and fly out Sunday night if you want to get a better feel for Durham. Then, no vacation wasted, and EXTREMELY cheap visit plus you got your interview in(trust me, $300 total is not a bad cost).

shadow · Answer

don't forget that for many schools, if you do get an interview invite, you'll likely have to make the trip back to campus again to interview. and while phone interviews are ok in some situations, the school might wonder why you made the trip to visit them, but not to interview, which is arguably more important to do in person.

if you could bang out all (visit the school, city, and interview) during the same trip, it would be worth it as ACNguy posted above

shaselai · Answer

yeah i think i might do that. I might even visit Kenan while I am there since they are petty close.

A bit off topic - for those schools like duke where they can invite you for interview and you can request for interview - does it matter consideration wise if i wait for them to offer vs just going there to do it? I guess the worst case scenario is bombing the interview which gets me a ding right away vs feeling good about the invite then bomb and get dinged?

ACNguy · Answer

Schools want you to do the self-initiated interview, it shows interest and passion for the school. You will NOT be at a disadvantage if you self-initiate the interview. You're simply taking one more variable out of the equation (actually being invited).

ozzy10fl · Answer

Don't ever visit a school without at least an interview invite. Its a complete waste of time and money and does not factor into your application AT ALL. If its within 4-5 hours driving distance, then maybe.

vick4consulting · Answer

crazy question but,

anyone try to visit kellogg and booth the same day?

lbird33 · Answer

I wouldn't say it's a complete waste; the experience can add a personal touch to essays, which is turn shows effort on your part. At the least I'd get in touch with a current student to pickup some quotes and program-specific themes.

whiplash2411 · Answer

What would the best way of contacting students be? I have tried LinkedIn and Facebook messaging and even shooting a couple of emails. But a lot of the current students seem reluctant to respond to these. Would attending the lunch program (like at HBS) be a good idea?

billyjeans · Answer

I was 11.5 hours away and I visited twice.

I think you should do your interview together with the visit to get the most out of your trip.

lbird33 · Answer

The lunch program would probably work but I can't speak from experience, as I didn't have the chops for HBS. I went through friends-of-friends and received some good, unbiased feedback on my candidacy and the school. They can give you hints on what aspects to really stress in your application and I would weave a quote into my essays (usually in response to "Why this school?" or "What will you bring?" questions) to show I had taken some time to understand both. Just my opinion.

how far is too far for school visits?

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