Researching MBA Programs When You Can’t Visit

Updated 2.4.21

Researching MBA programs is critical for a winning application. You must demonstrate ‘fit’ with your target schools. This requires understanding both yourself and the program’s culture. This is harder than it sounds! Making an effective case as to why a program is a fit requires a nuanced understanding of both yourself / your goals and the culture / offerings of your target program. Then you can convincingly connect the dots between the two for the adcom.

In a pre-COVID world, the best way to learn the intricacies of each school’s culture—and demonstrate your interest—was to plan an in-person visit. However, researching MBA programs virtually is now essential. For example, you can sit in on a classroom session, observe how everyone engages, and determine if it’s a place where you’d like to spend two years. While visiting may not be an option at the moment, you shouldn’t use that as an excuse to regurgitate boilerplate attributes in your essays and interviews.

Fortunately, a silver lining of the current situation is that it has forced schools to get creative with their virtual offerings. As a result, you can use this to your advantage and learn all you can about each program from the comfort of your own home. With that in mind, here are our suggestions for researching MBA programs virtually:

1 . Talk to People. In fact, next to sitting in on a class, talking to current students and recent alums is hands down the best way to get a sense for the culture of a school. Set up virtual “coffee chats” with at least two alums or current students from each school you are considering. Many programs will even facilitate one for you (see Kellogg’s offering here).

2. Ask the Right Questions. If you ask someone “why did you choose” a particular school, they will likely cite things you already know (rankings, location, jobs, etc.). We recommend that you ask specific questions about their experience instead. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

“Could you describe your orientation experience?”

“What surprised you most about your time in the program? Which aspects didn’t you expect?”

“Tell me about the most popular things to do at your school. Event, class, club activity, etc.?”

“Looking back, which experience proved to be the most impactful?”

“What did you wish was different about your experience?”

“What would you do differently if you went back?”

“How do you engage with your classmates now (if an alum)?”

“What advice do you have for an applicant to your school?”

“Based on your experience, how would you describe the culture of your program?”

3. Video Content > Written Content. While schools publish blogs that provide helpful facts, video content and webinars are consequently more effective for sensing a program’s true culture. But to get a sense for the culture of the school, the video content and webinars are way more helpful. In lieu of their usual slate of events, schools are offering virtual information sessions, campus tours, and small group chats with current students. Take advantage of as many as you can!

For your quick reference, here are links to a few schools’ offerings:

HBS

Stanford GSB

Wharton

Columbia

Stern

4. Read Forums & Guides (and take them with a grain of salt).  There are a number of sites dedicated to providing MBA advice. The problem is that a lot of it is crowdsourced. While these resources can be useful starting points to help you parse out subtle differences between programs, remember that someone’s view of a school’s culture may be different than how it feels for you.

In a year where we expect the competition to continue to be high, it’s important to stay focused. It’s never too early to nail down your story, resume and “fit” with your target schools. If you need a good starting point for your school research, you can take the fit quiz on our site located here: School Selection Quiz. Remember, this is just a starting point.

We are accepting Round 1 2021 clients now! Click here to schedule a free consultation.