Is an on campus tour or mba class visit required for admission

1. http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/
Is an on-campus tour or MBA class visit
required for admission?

2. By the Amerasia Consulting Group,
Boutique MBA Admissions Consulting
Is an on-campus tour or MBA class visit
required for admission?
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

3. I was recently asked
"Is a campus visit required for admission?", followed up
by "is it going to be viewed negatively if I don't visit?"
The official party line - most admissions committees will
tell you that a campus visit is not going to be considered
when making admission decisions.
However, most MBA applications will ask you if you have
talked to anyone from the program.
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

4. Some program apps - such as Columbia - will get a bit
more granular and only ask what current students have
you spoken to?"
So what is the deal with school visits and do you have to
do them?
Let's take a step back. The purpose of any school visit is
to provide any applicant the opportunity for a one-stop
shop. You show up and you get to speak with students,
sit in on a class, say hi to the adcom, and demonstrate
your interest - fully – in a day. It's rather convenient.
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

5. However, there are many different ways that you can
demonstrate interest. When taken in totality, the sum of
parts can equal (if not exceed) the whole.
Instead of visiting the school, take a shot at the following:
Determine if and when the school's admissions
committee will hold an alternative event in your city,
online or through another organization, such as an alumni
club or conference.
Let's say it's an alumni club event, do you have a way in?
Know any alumni from the b-school?
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

6. Try LinkedIn, it's good for things like this. Hell, if it is a
conference and just buy a ticket and show up. The most
important thing is if you do show up – that you engage
alumni, and any representative of the school.
Determine when the QS World MBA Tour is coming to a
city near you. They do a few circuits around the US every
year, as well as international. Go to
http://www.topmba.com/mba-events.
Locate the current students who are members of clubs
and organizations that you be a part of (should you gain
acceptance to the school).
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

7. Look for club members that share similar experiences to
your own background. Email 2 to 3 club members to
establish a dialog. Talk to them on the phone if you can -
or at least maintaing a dialog via email. Are any of them
from your metro area or hometown? Will any of them be
back in the town during the winter break? If so, ask if any
one of them would like to have lunch or dinner or simply
meet up.
Comb through your own contacts - who do you know that
has gone to that MBA program? A friend? A friend of a
friend? That one guy at work who you never talk to? Invite
them to a lunch. Engage them. MBA students love talking
about themselves ... Lol.
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

8. The first thing I would do after you read this post is to log
onto to each school's application and create a dummy
application. Review the application in its entirety and look
to see how each b-school asks "how have you engaged
the school."
As you mentioned, CBS does ask you to list names of
"current" students. They don't need you to list names of
alums you spoke within, but remember - you most
certainly can list the names of these alumni in an essay
for example - just as long as it does not turn into a name
dropping exercise.
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

9. The bottom line is that you most certainly can
demonstrate your sincere interest in a school and without
having to travel to that school. Not everyone has a flexible
work schedule and not everyone has the money. There is
no shame in that, but you may have to work a little harder
to show a sincere interest.
But through the process, you will know much, much more
about that b-school than someone who just showed up for
a one-day class visit. This will not only pay dividends in
your essays, but also during the interview. This is
because you will know so much more about that's cool,
why it is right for you, and what you bring to the program.
MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

10. If you are interested in the MBA Admissions Consulting services offered by
Amerasia, please email mba@amerasiaconsulting.com to inquire about setting up
a free consultation.
http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/