Tips for Making the Most of MBA Fairs

If you’re seriously considering pursuing an MBA degree and want the convenience of meeting representatives from many top business schools in a single location, attending an MBA fair is a great place to start. And if you’re going to be in the New York area this weekend, I invite you to check out the QS MBA World Fair on Saturday, January 20th, where Stacy Blackman Consulting will be hosting free one-one-one resume clinics available only to attendees.

Applicants tend to forget that schools cannot exist without great students, so these fairs are the schools’ opportunity to market themselves to applicants and get them interested enough so they apply to their schools. While candidates should act professional—since you never know whether you’ll forge an important connection at this type of event—applicants shouldn’t attempt to impress the schools. In fact, it’s the other way around. I say let the schools impress you.

In addition to the meet-and-greets with admissions officials, candidates can also attend free seminars covering myriad MBA issues and participate in master classes, taught by leading professors, which simulate the b-school classroom experience right there at the fair.

Applicants should approach an MBA fair with an open mind, ask good questions, and leave a positive impression on admissions officers. That means no flip-flops, please! The most egregious fair faux pas is asking for information that can be found after a cursory glance at the program’s website, such as class size, deadlines, or average test scores.

Instead, consider focusing on areas that are specific to your application—your work experience and post-MBA goals, or any potential red flags such as a layoff or low GPA—in order to gauge how they might view your application package.

If alumni are present, use the opportunity to learn from those who have already gone through the b-school trenches by asking for feedback on course workload, extracurriculars, housing, campus facilities, network strength, and how (if?) they achieved that elusive work/life balance.

While a campus visit is the ideal way to gauge a school’s culture and fit, that’s not always possible—especially prior to applying. You can and should take advantage of these events by chatting with representatives about aspects such as student life, the faculty’s teaching style, and expectation of students, the types of careers alumni pursue post-graduation, and so on. Candidates should also find out what resources the school provides—e.g. alumni networks, corporate contacts—to assist during their job search.

The more you know about the elements you believe to be an important part of the b-school experience, the better chance you have of whittling down your list of programs to the ones that more closely match your personal career goals.