It’s time for MBA admissions directors to fly around the world meeting with chipper-faced Brave Supplicants!
It’s time for Brave Supplicants to not squander the opportunity!
If you’re planning on applying for the Class of 2021 at any of these top MBA programs in the fall, then we hope you’ve been signing up for the schools’ events and subscribing to their email lists, so that you can stay informed of when they will be visiting your area.
Or, even better, you can plan a trip to them! Visiting campus in the summer isn’t ideal, since there are few students around and typically no classes in session, but it’s still valuable to get a feel for the vibe of the place, and most schools have info sessions available on campus every week.
Today we’re serving up this useful reference tool that you may want to memorize for those all-important Q&A sessions at the end. As you can see, it’s for asking questions at a conference, but it doubly applies to your time with an adcom person!!
Apologies to whoever we stole this from — it was on some internet site or another in the past few months and we captured it without remembering to note where it came from.
Here’s something to remember: At any in-person function with the bschools, you’re not there to impress your peers! You’re there to impress THE ADMISSIONS PEOPLE.
To that extent, don’t model your behavior, or your attire, on current students or alumni. They’re the ones who already have what you aspire to get. They’re the ones goofing off, dressing down, being utterly relaxed.
It’s not that you shouldn’t strive to be relaxed — but if you show up in wrinkled clothes and your Teva sandals since that’s what everyone at your casual office wears, or you jostle for position in trying to get the attention of an admissions person when everyone’s gathered round, or you crack an off-color joke or in any other way act like a mild version of a buffoon, you’re not going to score points with the adults in the room.
By the same token: Some admissions people are young enough to be your peer — but please don’t mistake them as such! We’re not saying you should be in suck-up mode (please don’t) but we are reminding you of your role in this situation. Being friendly, yet polite, and always professional is the way to go.
Good luck at your functions! Bring good questions! Have fun! These are great opportunities for you to interact with the school community. Make the most of them!
KingAir says
I’ll be attending some on-campus info sessions starting next month and I have a question on protocol with regard to bringing a guest. Is it frowned upon to bring a guest without informing the school? I don’t think it makes sense to actually register them for the event since they have no interest in applying. Is an email to the school necessary? Sorry if this was talked about somewhere on here before. I’ve never seen you cover it specifically.
essaysnark says
Hey KingAir – yay school visits!!! Bringing someone should be fine. However, you may want to give the schools a heads-up — or more precisely, send them a note asking if it’s okay — not because they’ll mind having a guest, but as a common courtesy. You know, so that they can make sure they have enough chairs or snacks if it’s that kind of event. It’s almost 100% that the response will be positive but you’ll get brownie points for being polite, and yes, sometimes these things are noticed.
Is it necessary? No. Is it something you may want to do anyway? It sure doesn’t hurt!!!
You don’t need to go into the “no interest in applying” thing. Short and sweet is the name of the game in communications to admissions.
And have fun! Those visits tend to be totally inspiring. Who knows, your guest may end up deciding that an MBA sounds like a pretty cool thing!
EssaySnark
KingAir says
ES,
Thanks! My gut was telling me to shoot them a note. Good to get confirmation on it though. Didn’t want to waste their time with a rather mundane matter, but the short & sweet advice totally makes sense. Thanks again!
-KA