MBA Admissions: Business School Admissions Programs
Published: Jul 19, 2010
This spring, we asked business school students about the admissions programs that helped them learn about their new business school--before and after their acceptance letter. In many cases, these programs were highly influential when prospective students were deciding between multiple schools.
The majority of schools have highly available admissions officers and campus visits and tours (73 percent and 71 percent, respectively). But what were the most popular programs beyond the mainstays? Outreach from students and alumni were very valuable to prospective students: it made them feel welcome, as well as gave them a real sense of what the school is like in the classroom and after graduation. Here are some of the programs and events that real students and alumni said were the most helpful in their admissions process:
Once you're in, you're treated like a royalty
Had the head of career services in every individual admissions interview
Info sessions, classroom experience with current students
Detailed one-on-one information sessions
Team building retreat
Subsidized visit costs for admitted students weekend
Military liaison--retired colonel
Value for money program
Weekend-long multifaceted admit activities
Personal phone call to notify immediately about acceptance
Graduate research positions
Mentor program
Optional MBA prep courses on campus with current professors
A very active social networking page with photos of incoming students and a place for discussions prior to school
Mentoring program with current MBA students
Huge international presence through outreach by admissions officers and alumni
Networking and orientation session for admitted students
Three-day orientation and pre-work online courses
Mentorship from Emerging Leaders Program
Off-site coffee chats
Highly available staff in the specific program
Faculty mixer event
Winter Games for prospective applicants
Boot camp before classes started
Attending a class with other students, five- or six-hour orientation session for the program
Leadership building program
Admissions, enrollment and books all provided by the PMBA staff, all we have to do is show up