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How to plan a business school visit
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Visiting a prospective business school will be an important and helpful part of your decision making process. You will have read the course details and the school prospectus but actually touring the business school will give you the best idea as to whether this place will be the right choice for you to study your postgraduate business course. There are several issues that you should consider beforehand in order to ensure that you make the most of your visit and that you leave the best impression of yourself.
What to wear?
Choosing what to wear for your visit can depend on whether it will include an interview with the Admissions Panel. If this is the case then you should definitely dress to present yourself as a professional business person. This would ideally mean a formal business suit. It is important to still feel comfortable so the visit is not the time to try out new shoes. If your visit is going to be more informal with no planned interviews then you could choose a more casual outfit but you should still aim to look smart as you may come into contact with tutors.
What do you need to take with you?
Your visit will pass very quickly so it is a good idea to bring a notepad and pen so that you can take notes throughout the day. This will be invaluable when you are comparing different business school. It can also be useful to go with a pre-prepared list of questions that you want to ask during the visit or relevant points that you want to consider.
Tailor the visit to suit you
Many business schools will offer you the opportunity to sit in on a class as part of your visit. It is worth checking with the business school if they will offer you a choice of classes to choose from as it would be preferable to be able to choose a class that relates to your prospective course. This would enable you to assess the teaching method of the tutor and consider whether this class would suit you.
Arrange to meet current students
It may also be possible for you to meet with existing students as part of your visit to the business school. If this is not offered then speak to the admissions office to see if it can be arranged and, if so, ask if you can chat to students who are actually studying your prospective course. This can be an invaluable chance to gain feedback about the course, the tutors and the business school itself. It can be useful to ask for details such as what assistance the business school offers with potential career paths as students progress through the course.
Questions to ask
It is important to give some thought before your visit about the questions that you want to ask. You should carry out some research regarding the business school as this may answer some of your initial questions and enable you to avoid wasting time. There is no point in asking questions when the answer is readily available online especially if you may have a limited amount of time for questions.
If you are hoping to attend a business school in another city or country to the one you currently reside in, then you will want to ask for additional information about accommodation and the location of the school. It would be best to question existing students about this as you will be more likely to get detailed and relevant answers.
If you do have the opportunity to question either a tutor or the admissions committee then your questions should be pertaining to your course. You may want to ask about the chance of internships or whether you will have any interaction with industry practitioners. Make sure that you have read the prospectus for the business school thoroughly before your visit so that you will understand the facilities available and can ask about any queries. This is particularly important if you are visiting a business school that is based in a different country as the chance are you will only be able to make one visit before making your choice.
Other points to consider
It is vitally important to ensure that you schedule your visit for a day when the business school is operating normally. You should never visit during the holidays as you will not gain a full understanding of the school.
You should try to talk to as many people as possible and not just limit yourself to those meetings which have been arranged by the business school. Lunch can be a good opportunity to start an informal chat and you may gain useful contacts for the future as well as gaining thorough feedback about the business school.It goes without saying that you should be polite and courteous to everyone that you meet during the course of your visit to the business school. Do not demand that anyone gives you extra time and express gratitude for any help that you receive. You should aim to leave everyone that you contact with a good impression of you. This may gain you contacts that will offer help in the future and may even help with your admission if you decide to go ahead and apply to attend the business school.
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