MBA Admissions Tip: Considering the Campus
There are many factors that go into deciding whether to apply to a specific school, one of which is the physical place where you’ll be spending 1-2 years. Whether speaking with current students or touring the campus for yourself, it’s helpful to approach these information-gathering experiences with as clear a sense of what matters to you as possible.
Factors to consider about a business school’s campus:
1. Facilities
Are state-of-the-art classrooms and impressive new architecture a priority for you? Would you prefer a school that is headquartered in a single building to one spread over a larger campus? What about use of technology in teaching? If any of these factors are of significant importance and could tip the balance between schools on your list of target programs, you’ll want to do this sort of research up front.
If you decide to visit your target schools’ campuses yourself, we’d recommend that you take pictures or write up your thoughts after the fact while your impression is still fresh in your mind.
2. Surroundings
In addition to the campus itself, you’ll want to allow yourself some time to ask about and explore the larger city, town or rural location. Where do students live, eat and socialize? What is the cost of living? How do they get from place to place (parking or public transit may be an issue)? Are you interested in an active night life, or a wholesome place to raise a family? While considerations of academics and post-graduation career prospects generally take priority, you will be spending two years of your life in business school, and these more subtle factors can often tip the balance in favor of a certain program when all other elements are more or less equal.
3. Atmosphere
Along with the campus and its location comes a certain culture or climate. Are students generally competitive or collaborative? Do students tend to socialize before or after class, or do they go their separate ways? How closely knit are learning teams, sections, clusters and cohorts, and what are the relationships among them? How strong are the bonds among classmates, and the ties between past and present students? This questions point to the often elusive issue of “fit.” The pervasive atmosphere that informs interactions among your peers will undoubtedly make a significant impact on your business school experience, so it’s important to get a sense of this by speaking with current students and/or visiting the school.
MBA Admissions Academy
Episode 1: How to choose target schools for application
MBA Applywire
29Yo ORM
8 YOE in Finance
4 years Big 4 M&A - Investment Banking (Closed 6 deals)
4 years at domestic venture debt fund, last 15 months led my own team of 5 people and managed a $40 million portfolio (primarily in healthcare investments)
Part time CFO/operator advisor role for last 18 months for a consumer startup, helped raised seed funding of $120,000 and scaled monthly revenue 6x during this period
Founder Investor of an angel fund with 3 others since the last 3 years, managing AUM of $50,000 of combined personal capital into domestic impact-focused ventures
Background:
U.S. diplomat with 10 years experience across Latin America, Asia, and Eurasia, currently posted in Moscow. Career focused on crisis response, policy analysis, stakeholder coordination, and public-facing engagement in complex political and diverse social environments. Have led interagency initiatives, advised senior leadership (ambassadors, U.S. congresspeople, foreign supreme court justices) and managed high-stakes issues involving reputational risk, public trust, and institutional decision-making.
Academics:
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2.
Graduate GPA: 3.7, including strong performance in graduate-level quantitative coursework.
GRE: 319 (169V 150Q) - planning to retake and update on Feb 21 - anticipating a quant increase to 155-158
Career Goals:
Short term: transition into brand or experiential strategy roles (agency or in-house) with exposure to senior brand leadership, partnerships, and investment decisions, particularly within marketing, media, and consumer-facing organizations.
Long term: build a boutique strategy firm focused on helping brands engage LGBTQ+ audiences in durable, values-driven ways that hold up under political and cultural pressure.
Why MBA / Why Now:
Seeking formal business training to complement public-sector leadership experience, gain analytical and financial grounding, and credibly pivot into strategy-facing commercial roles. Interested in programs that combine rigorous general management training with proximity to marketing, media, and cultural ecosystems, particularly in NYC.
Target Schools:
CBS, Kellogg, Yale, Stern, LBS (in that order)
Demographics / Other:
37, Public-sector background, extensive international experience, LGBTQ+.
Post-MBA location preference: NYC.
I applied to HSW in the previous admissions cycle and was rejected without an interview. I plan to reapply next year to the same schools, along with the additional M7/T15 programs listed above.
My work experience includes employment at a Tier 2/3 technology consulting firm in Canada. I currently have five years of experience with two promotions and will have six years by the time of matriculation. My background includes leading global teams on B2B2C initiatives, with end-to-end responsibility for implementation and delivery. Post-MBA, I aim to pivot into either MBB consulting or a product management role at a large technology firm.
Academically, I completed an associate-level diploma at a Canadian college (CGPA: 3.8/4.0) before transferring to a university to earn a BSc in Computer Science (CGPA: 3.6/4.0), while working full time throughout my studies.
My extracurricular involvement includes participation in firm-wide mentorship programs, serving as an onboarding buddy, supporting campus recruitment initiatives, and extensive engagement during college (e.g., Peer Mentor, Learning Assistant).
My GMAT score appears to have plateaued, though I am willing to make another attempt before the next application round. Demographically, I am an Indian-origin male with Canadian citizenship.
Any tips on how to stand out at selected schools since I do have almost a year to prep for the applications?
This is a follow up to Wire Taps 221. I was featured on the Podcast 3 years ago when i was 22. Would love to be featured again if i am allowed to be greedy :). Your insights were really helpful the last time
I have been working as a co-founder and CMO, in a D2C luxury tableware company in India. We have grown from about 20k USD in Sales, when i first joined, to about 1.5 Million USD now.
Being in the luxury industry, i realized we could never have spectacular year on year growth, so i started a clothing brand as a solo founder in August 2024. But we are close to shutting down because of unit economics issues and lack of growth.
The more i read about industry stalwarts, i realized i have been getting basic business fundamentals like market sizing wrong and maybe a MBA would 'polish' me more in these aspects.
I had a question about school selection as i understand my profile is very untraditional in MBA circles. What would be a natural fit in terms of 'school hierachy'. I was thinking:
Reach
Harvard
Wharton
Fit
Kellogg
Columbia
"Safety"
Yale SOM
NYU Stern
Tuck
Does this sound about right? For additional information, i have been seeing quite a few admits in the M7 from my undergrad university. I also have done all 3 levels of the CFA. Great extracurriculars during college.
For recommendations, i was thinking of the CEOs of the suppliers for our products, as they are fairly big companies.
Sorry if this was a big post. Just wanted to provide you with all relevant information and give you updates from last time. Cheers!
MBA LiveWire
Applied via Consortium