Make the Most of a Business School Visit
It's decision-making time for prospective MBA students weighing multiple admissions offers. One thing they can do to make this choice is schedule a campus visit, business school admissions experts say.
Universities have done a good job of presenting themselves online, says Stanley Harris, the associate dean of graduate and international programs at Auburn University's Harbert College of Business. But a few Web pages may not give applicants the whole picture. "There's nothing like actually walking around and meeting people face to face," says Harris, who's also a professor of management. "No school puts its worst face forward online."
Seeing a school in person can give students a clearer idea of the program's culture, campus atmosphere, housing options and more, experts say.
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To make the most of these visits, business school admissions professionals suggest prospective students contact schools ahead of time to let them know they'll be visiting. This way, schools can make sure the professors an applicant wants to meet are available. And they can ensure that other components of the school experience that applicants are interested in will be available to them, experts say.
Once the visit begins, prospective students should do two things: Keep their eyes open, and ask lots of questions.
Many business school students don't come from a quantitative background and need help extra help in these types of classes, says Charles Moses, interim dean for the school of business administration at Clark Atlanta University.
Prospective students who fit this description should be on the watch for programs within the business school that will support them if they need this help. "Do they have tutoring labs?" he says. Soon-to-be students should also see how the library is set up and whether it's comfortable, he says.
Visitors should also take note of how the business school compares to other buildings on campus. "Do the facilities reflect that that program is a priority? Are you in the basement of the dumpiest building?" says Harris. "You want to know that what you are doing, that there's a priority there."
When touring the halls, applicants should also notice if office doors are open or closed, if students interact with each other between classes and if people seem engaged in campus life, Harris says.
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"Try to broadly get a sense of what the culture is like," he says.
Professors can give a key view into this culture. Moses, from Clark Atlanta University, encourages prospective students to sit in on classes and ask business school teachers about how their classes are structured. He says questions can include: "Are they test-oriented?" "Are they presentation-oriented?" "How long are the classes?"
Applicants can also speak with professors about their teaching styles, says Christopher Storer, executive director of graduate programs and admissions at the School of Business at George Washington University.
"Whether it's a case-based type of class, which we do a lot of in business schools, or more of the traditional lecture format, or a blend of the two," says Storer. "There's a lot of online learning that's going on. That may be a component as well."
They can also ask faculty about a program's strengths and weaknesses, says Harris.
If applicants have a chance to speak with current students, experts suggest they ask pointed questions about what school is really like.
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Moses suggests they ask students if the faculty members are friendly. Harris, from Auburn University, encourages applicants to ask current students: "What do they like most?" "What do they like least?" "Would they come here again?"
"A lot of the learning that you're going to experience in a graduate program is going to come from the networking and the interaction you have with your peers," he says. "So it would be kind of interesting to know who they were."
Because business schools are often the gateway to better employment options, experts suggest applicants ask students if they feel supported in their career endeavors. Prospective students should also stop by the career services department if given the chance, Moses says.
Business school visits aren't just for accepted students, though. Someone early in the admissions cycle can also stop by a school to learn many of these things as well as get some face time with the admissions staff.
This visit can be an opportunity for them to ask the school how to improve their application and if their profile fits what the school is looking for, Harris says. Applicants can also express their enthusiasm about wanting to attend the school, he says. "Sometimes just the introduction is important."
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Delece Smith-Barrow is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering graduate schools. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dsmithbarrow@usnews.com.
