分享：对于MBA申请者来说校园访问有多重要？How Important Are Campus Visits For MBA Applicants?

JonFrank

Hey Guys, Let's discuss campus visits. Should you? Shouldn't you? Why or why not?. As always, if you have a question about your application, feel free to leave a comment here or send me a private message here or onWechat. I'm happy to help!

A MBA applicant recently asked me about visiting the campuses of the business schools he’s applying to.

“I heard it could be helpful to impress the admissions committee if you visit the school. Is this true? And will it REALLY help me get admitted? It just seems to be so expensive to go visit all the schools I’m applying to, especially if I might have to return for interviews. Also, if I do visit, is it possible to talk to someone in admissions about my personal situation?”   

Yes, my friends, if it is at all possible you SHOULD absolutely try to coordinate a campus visit. Yes, it will cost you a few bucks or so, but compared to the $150K that you are going to spend, that isn’t a very large amount. Especially considering how important the campus visit is at many schools.

I was recently speaking with an admissions committee member at a European B-school. She made it EXTREMELY clear to me that if an applicant hasn’t visited, she simply will NOT believe that he or she truly wants to go to that school. Period.

Interesting, eh?

But she makes a good point. How can you prove to a school that you KNOW that they are the best school for you, if you have never even visited?  It is possible, of course, but why not take that risky element out of the mix and just… well, visit? The adcoms will be impressed, not to mention, YOU will also experience cool things and meet cool people that you can reference in your applications (and, you know, reach out to when you get to campus next year).

What To Do During Your Campus Visit

Obviously, there are lots of things you can do that will be both helpful for your application and productive for you in general. First of all, reach to to the admissions committee. Granted, they will likely not take your meeting… but there is no shame in trying. You should also visit classes that are relevant to your career goals. And finally, do your best to reach out to current students as well. So, for example, if you are interested in the Venture Capital Club, try to meet with a person (or two?) who is a member of that club! Find out about the club, find out about the campus, and find out about their life in the MBA program. Don’t do this just because you will be able to write about it in your apps, but also because you will learn what it is REALLY like on campus.

And isn’t that something you’d like to know before you decide to spend the next 1-2 years there?

Email: jfrank@mba2005.hbs.edu
Wechat: JonFrankHBS

TristanLiu

我也非常认同对此

Sheomy

Planning to do a campus visit in September 2018
Agree with your points - if an applicant hasn’t visited, she simply will NOT believe that he or she truly wants to go to that school

bearbearxiong

感谢分享！               

hanzhengyuan

thanks for sharing

痴人也有梦

（One of my target schools  ）the director of rec and adm offered me som consultations . After that , he invited me to visit the campus . I have not submitted my application yet ,and I want to focus on my retake of gmat (720. 1st attempt ) . He told me that the score is sufficient for the application and that I should start the application ASAP . Well, I have an  extremely low GPA . A higher gmat might help mitigate the low gpa and win a possible higher fellowship.
What do you think ? Wait till I finish the retake ? Or?
Btw , ucsd will be at The Jan 26, MBA Tour in LA. It might be a better idea to meet him there , since I could talk to other schools also.
Your response will be highly appreciated.
Jim

JonFrank

痴人也有梦 发表于 2019-1-14 08:41
（One of my target schools  ）the director of rec and adm offered me som consultations . After that  ...

If this director of admissions is telling you to submit your application ASAP I would take him at his word and do that, especially since he’s told you your GMAT score is sufficient! You can always continue to work on the GMAT after you submit your application & send an update if you are able to improve it. I wasn’t 100% sure if you took him up on his offer to visit the campus and met with him there or if you are saying you are considering meeing him at the MBA tour instead. If you’re able to do both that would be my recommendation! It also depends on how serious you are about this school. If it’s one of your top choices and you can visit that will give you more material to use in your essays an in an interview when you make your argument for why it’s the best fit for you (i.e. you can name conversations you had while on campus, experiences visiting classes, etc). That said, they won’t penalize you for not visiting since they know not everyone has the time or money to do it, so if you really need to choose between the MBA Tour vs. a campus visit the tour may make sense since you could connect directly with other target schools as well like you said.

Best,
Jon Frank

NinaT

Hi Jon,

Thank you for sharing your insights. I am waitlisted by Cornell MBA program at present. Although I have already communicated with current students and alumni, I couldn't make the trip to Cornell without a visa before. However, I received my visitor visa to the U.S. last week. Do you think it is still a good idea for me to visit campus? Will it add my probability of admission?

Look forward to your reply, and may you have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Nina

JonFrank

NinaT 发表于 2019-4-20 14:49
Hi Jon,

Thank you for sharing your insights. I am waitlisted by Cornell MBA program at present. Alt ...

Yes, if you can still visit before classes end for the summer it’s always a good idea! The adcom won’t penalize applicants for being unable to visit since they know not everyone has the time or money to do so, but at the same time, if you do visit it will give you great material for a short essay that you can send reiterating your interest in the program. See if you can speak to current students and sit in on classes while you are there. If you can speak to the admissions committee as well that would be awesome. In your conversations with students and in your class visits you want to ideally gain some specifics you can reference in an essay. For example, maybe you will learn about a club, conference or class that’s perfect preparation for your post-MBA career goals. If you can mention 1-2 conversations you had & what you learned that further convinced you that Cornell is the best place to prep you for your goals, you can mention that in a brief essay that you can send to the adcom – and that can definitely help your chances of getting in.

Good luck to you!
Jon Frank