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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 09:50
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The most important thing visits did for me is to show me where I would not want to spend 2 years of my life. This goes back to "fit" but I can't imagine anything worse than wasting 2 years of your time and $$$ at a place that you don't "click" at.

These judgement calls can be made after you have received either interview invitations or admits.
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Disagree personally. With as much of a pain the app process is - I didn't want to waste my time applying anywhere I didn't want to end up.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 09:53
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terp, true, but in my humble opinion, why spend the time and sweat to apply for a school that you may not like when you get interviewed or admitted? :)
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 10:10
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I would rather spend $200 to apply to a school, get in, and perhaps end up not liking it or not attending it rather than the alternative.

The alternative is that I spend around 4-6x that on a trip to the East Coast prior to applying, visit the school, show them a bunch of love and get psyched about attending the school, and perhaps not even get an interview invite from them.

Note: The only schools that I refuse to visit prior to applications are: HBS, Wharton, Columbia, and Yale. It may impact my decision slightly at Yale, but I feel that it won't have any impact whatsoever on my decision at HBS/Wharton/Columbia. I'll gladly visit any of these schools if they invite me for an interview. I plan to do extra work reaching out to alumni, doing research, and learning more about Yale's program so I can write informed application essays.

I look at it as a process similar to a job interview. If I want to apply for a job at Google - am I really going to go visit Mountain View to scope it out and make sure that I'll fit in there before I go apply for the job at Google or even get invited to interview for it? No. I'll wait until they show some interest in me and then I will go visit the campus in Mountain View. It would be a chance for both of us to scope out whether or not it would be a good fit.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 10:22
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to each their own. :)

The money amount isn't what matters to me. But spending days upon days doing the application and asking your recommenders to write recs for a school you may not be interested in, is definitely something that I'd rather not do. Of course, if you can get a good sense of how the school is by talking to lots of students and alum, that is an equivalent substitute, as I mentioned before (except for rural schools like Cornell, Tuck, etc..., or big city schools like Columbia, Stern where you really need to be there to see what living in rural areas or NYC is like).

EDIT: The difference in your analogy (terp) with Google is, it's VERY easy to just submit an application to a company and see what happens. Spending an extra 20-40 hours writing and proof-reading essays is quite a different story altogether. :P
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 10:27
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this is a very interesting debate ... I am undecided on how to approach this ... while the numerous hours it will take to complete essays poses its cost (mostly in mental anguish), the tangible costs of spending 2K a visit is also not alluring.

In either case it seems pretty obvious that visiting when school is not in session is more or less pointless. so this debate can be shelved for a little bit.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 10:35
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sm, I definitely would not ask someone to spend 2K to visit a school. As for school being out of session, remember, the good substitute of talking to students and alum will work almost as well during the summer for most schools. You have a lot of contacts here on GMATClub or you can find the students directly from the club websites of most schools. :) Use that to help you decide and narrow down the list of schools you're applying to.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 12 Jun 2008, 19:28
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Please don't confuse my last post as "no-visit" stance on my behalf. The point I was trying to make was that visits do no impact admission decisions. I loved the visits and was very impressed by the students. In a way, the visits inspired me to reapply in 2009. Heck, if I lived in the US, I'd visit every school I'd apply to. You get an excellent idea of what the school is all about. You put faces to names and you see through those glossy brochures. You also get to attend classes and that helps you assess the quality of teaching.

But, and its a big BUT, don't ever assume that your visit will improve your chances. It wont. Remember that thousands of people actually visit every year. For most schools and ad-com officers, its - "yup here comes another one."
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 13 Jun 2008, 07:45
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For international students I think it is definitely different. I don't think adcom's can expect the same as you live so far away. And I don't suggest spending $2000 to visit one school unless that is the only school you're applying to.

As I've showed I'm averaging about $350 per school visit. Now that involves me being frugal but it's not like you're on vacation. Suck it up and stay in that crappy hotel.

Bsd_lover I dont think applying in an of itself will improve your chances. But what you take away from the experience can. A deeper understanding of the student body, teachers, facilites can all show in your essays and interview. So for the people with connections to current students, alumni, etc. this will be less important. But if you don't know anyone at the school and just have to cold email people I think a visit to a school you're serious about is definitely warranted.

And yes there are thousand of people who visit and don't get accepted. But honestly there are thousand of people who visit a school that they have no shot at. During my visits I have met people who have done absolutely no reaseach about bschool. "So you want to go into marketing have you looked at Kellogg?" Response: "No, why would I look at Kellogg?"

If you're visiting just to see what the campus looks like then don't go.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 14 Jun 2008, 13:41
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Just when you think you've exhausted the GMAT Club well of knowledge, you realize there is still so much more! Great discussion :-D

For the last two weeks or so I have been debating whether or not to apply to Harvard/MIT. In fact, I have been working on the essays because it's the only school (Harvard) that seems to have released them. The one thing that was really bothering me was how I was going to get to Boston from L.A. for a visit (in addition to the visits to Yale for the second time, Cornell, and Tuck). I guess it has been revealed that visiting HBS isn't really necessary as they don't keep track, and there are no specific why Harvard questions. It was also good to find out that MIT does have a school specific question, so that should be taken into account also.

For what it's worth to anyone here...I attended the Duke diversity weekend last year. I called the admissions office to ask if I should re-apply for the weekend this year. They said they would rather reserve the space for individuals who had never attended. However, they *highly* recommended that I talk about my experiences at the weekend in my essays. Take that for what it's worth.

Also, I agree with gixxer that you can do these visits on the cheap. A few hundred for a plane ticket, cheap motel, try to hit a location that has multiple schools in the vicinity. Try to crash on a friends couch even. I did that when I visited Wharton...a buddy of mine was going to law school at Rutgers-Camden, which is just a short trip over the bridge.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 14 Jun 2008, 15:29
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Just when you think you've exhausted the GMAT Club well of knowledge, you realize there is still so much more! Great discussion :-D

For the last two weeks or so I have been debating whether or not to apply to Harvard/MIT. In fact, I have been working on the essays because it's the only school (Harvard) that seems to have released them. The one thing that was really bothering me was how I was going to get to Boston from L.A. for a visit (in addition to the visits to Yale for the second time, Cornell, and Tuck). I guess it has been revealed that visiting HBS isn't really necessary as they don't keep track, and there are no specific why Harvard questions. It was also good to find out that MIT does have a school specific question, so that should be taken into account also.

For what it's worth to anyone here...I attended the Duke diversity weekend last year. I called the admissions office to ask if I should re-apply for the weekend this year. They said they would rather reserve the space for individuals who had never attended. However, they *highly* recommended that I talk about my experiences at the weekend in my essays. Take that for what it's worth.

Also, I agree with gixxer that you can do these visits on the cheap. A few hundred for a plane ticket, cheap motel, try to hit a location that has multiple schools in the vicinity. Try to crash on a friends couch even. I did that when I visited Wharton...a buddy of mine was going to law school at Rutgers-Camden, which is just a short trip over the bridge.
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I don't mean to be a jerk - but let me get this right - you're working on essays and you haven't taken the GMAT yet?
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now now terp, I've known a few people who worked on essays first before they took the GMAT. As long as the person is preparing for the GMAT sometime and taking it before apps are due, it should be fine. :) Not the most recommended order to do it, but to each their own.
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now now terp, I've known a few people who worked on essays first before they took the GMAT. As long as the person is preparing for the GMAT sometime and taking it before apps are due, it should be fine. :) Not the most recommended order to do it, but to each their own.
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Guess I shouldn't take a "my way or the highway" approach :)
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 14 Jun 2008, 18:09
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I think if someone is confident of nailing a 700+ and was already planning on going the UE application route then taking the GMAT before starting essays isnt a big deal. However, personally I think getting the GMAT out of the way ahead of time is important because it gives you the chance to retake if god forbid you need to. For people that do better than expected it can give them the push towards high ranked schools.
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No, you're not a jerk terp, just confused I guess :lol:

I didn't realize my approach to b school admissions would ruffle so many feathers. Here on these message boards many people are fond of saying that their first essay/app is simply not of the same quality as their last essay/app. I've heard a lot about the "growing process" that takes place as you delve into essay writing. What better way to initiate this "growing process" than by starting one of the most difficult essay sets. I've already come up with some great material (in my opinion) that maybe I wouldn't have otherwise. And even if I don't apply to Harvard, I can still make use of the general themes in other apps. I'm sorry, I was a history major in college, I like to brainstorm, write my thoughts out and play around with them. :) Don't despair terp, I don't dedicate anywhere near as much time to essay writing as I do to GMAT studying at this point (in fact, my manhattan gmat course starts in 30 min). Given the harsh admissions cycle we are going to be faced with, I figure I better start preparing for battle early.

Oh....and if I don't hit the UE/E levels in my gmat, then I won't be going to business school next year. I'll work for another year, study harder, then apply.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 28 Mar 2009, 13:35
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rising from the ashes..

I'm an international applicant, however, in Aug'09 (for 3 weeks) I'll be in the US. Do you think its worthwhile for me to visit campus? I dont think I'll be able to visit them again, for an interview (if I get a call, how I wish :) )

Boston - MIT, HBS
Chicago - Booth, Kellogg

I'll like to fit in Haas, but havent decided yet.

It's tough for internations students to understand how the school "fits" (atleast for me)..websites, clubs etc might not give a complete picture. So, given the scenario, I might as well visit campus but not sure if August is recommended.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 28 Mar 2009, 14:31
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I think for most of those schools on quarter system, no one will be there in August. Haas starts end of August, so if you're visiting, let me know. Depending on where I'm working this summer, I can also meet you when you come here if school is not in session.
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You can visit kellogg because 1Ys will be in session. But the building will seem empty and those people will not know what its really like yet since they are in the bubble of 1Ys during the summer. Still you can sit in on class, see the type of people at kellogg, and hear what classes are like.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 29 Mar 2009, 05:58
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You can visit kellogg because 1Ys will be in session. But the building will seem empty and those people will not know what its really like yet since they are in the bubble of 1Ys during the summer. Still you can sit in on class, see the type of people at kellogg, and hear what classes are like.
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Would 1Y classes be significantly be different from 2Y? If not, then I can probably include Kellogg. Also, would it be advisable to initiate the interview during the 2nd week of August?

..or

push my visit to 1st week of September, dont know if it will make any difference.
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Visiting Campuses - How Important? 29 Mar 2009, 05:59
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I think for most of those schools on quarter system, no one will be there in August. Haas starts end of August, so if you're visiting, let me know. Depending on where I'm working this summer, I can also meet you when you come here if school is not in session.
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For sure, you're on my list :) thanks kry!
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Would 1Y classes be significantly be different from 2Y? If not, then I can probably include Kellogg. Also, would it be advisable to initiate the interview during the 2nd week of August?

..or

push my visit to 1st week of September, dont know if it will make any difference.
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1Y classes would be the exact same, they just are during the summer. However, your options for classes will very limited during the summer. One thing to remember is dont plan on a Wed visit since there are no class. 1st week of September wont work, thats during CIM and there are no campus visits during CIM. You would have to submit part 1 of their application before interviewing, you would have to ask if they would allow you to interview that early. Its might be possible but it also is extremely early. Probably wont help you at all to do it on campus that early, and doing an alumni interview is just as good.
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