Face-to-face contact with business schools is vital, say MBA applicants

Just as no one would buy a house without first seeing it, so candidates about to invest €40,000 to €80,000 in an MBA education want to meet the admissions officers of their target business schools before they make the investment decision, according to new research from QS TopMBA.

The research, carried out among over 40,000 potential MBAs who attended the World MBA Tour information fairs in 2004, asked individuals to rate the various research tools available.

Source: QSTopMBA Applicants Survey 2005. QS Research (www.topmba.com)

Visiting school campuses around the world can be prohibitively expensive. For many schools, fairs such as the World MBA Tour represents the only time in the year when their admissions staff travel the world to meet prospective candidates. It is consequently not surprising that MBA fairs and discussions with admissions officers tied in first place, with 70% of respondents identifying them as an important research method for selecting a school. This compares with 65% who liked discussions with alumni, 62% who favoured rankings and 53% who preferred comparative publications/websites.

Louise Freckelton of The Judge Institute, University of Cambridge, says "Candidates really do appreciate the personal contact with admissions staff and alumni, and I am pleased to say that many of those we meet on the World MBA Tour end up joining the programme."

Candidates seemed to have common questions they wanted answered by admissions staff, but they sought answers tailored to their own individual circumstances and objectives: 88% were interested in the school reputation, 83% in the school's career placement record, 81% in the school's specialisations, 81% in their likely return on investment and 79% in relevant scholarships and financial aid. Candidates also sought answers to a wide range of issues about programme content, costs, duration, exchanges, alumni networks and relationships with major employers.

From 29 August to 6 December, the World MBA Tour will visit 43 cities on five continents, travelling with a record 350+ international business schools. Participants on the Tour include 19 of the top 20 US schools and all of the leading European business schools. The US schools travelling on the Tour include: Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Kellogg, Michigan, Stanford, Tuck, UCLA and Wharton. From Europe, participants include; SDA Bocconi from Italy, HEC and INSEAD from France, IESE, ESADE and IE from Spain, IMD from Switzerland, Rotterdam from the Netherlands and London Business School, Manchester, Bath, Cambridge, Cranfield, Imperial, Oxford and Warwick from the UK. At each location, leading local MBA providers also take part.

The Wharton School will attend many venues of the Tour in 2005. Michael Cronin, Associate Director of Admissions comments on the Tour: "We have met a large number of candidates suitable for The Wharton School." During the seven years that Wharton has been attending the Tour, the percentage of international students at the school has increased from a low of 28% to a high of 38% of the class. David Standen of IE in Spain agrees "We always attend the whole tour. The candidates are excellent and it's a great way for them to learn about what makes IE different."

Candidates can register online to attend the World MBA Tour by visiting: www.topmba.com