5 Things You Need to Know Before Attending an MBA Fair
MBA Fair events provide an opportunity for candidates to efficiently learn about a variety of MBA offerings. Some Fairs might include as many as a hundred programs, in a trade fair type setting. We’re offering five pointers in terms of the best way to use these events as part of your application strategy.
1. Come prepared
Events that include multiple MBA programs can be overwhelming. The natural inclination is to come away from the event with as much information as possible, which can mean, visiting as many schools as possible, to gather that information. This approach really means you will end up knowing little about any of the programs. It’s much better to do your online research first. Go to the event’s web page. Look closely at the list of schools attending, and do your initial research online, narrowing down a list of target schools. Know your career goals and objectives for pursuing the MBA, and come to the event prepared to talk to each of your selected schools about those goals.
2. Bring a notepad
While it would seem obvious, take lots of notes during the event. Summarize your conversation with each of the schools you meet with. You might find yourself returning to a school, later in the day, after your knowledge of the MBA program space evolves, through your various discussions with the different school’s admissions teams. Your notes from the event will be useful as you draft your application essays, they also may prove an important guide for your interview preparation.
3. Don’t monopolize
You may need to wait a few minutes to talk to a specific school, especially one of the more popular ones. When it’s your turn, ask thoughtful questions (see point 1), don’t just try to get unnecessary facetime. You will annoy the admissions officer if you do this. Rarely will you be able to make a positive impression during an MBA admissions fair, but the reverse is not true. You can easily leave a bad impression, and this might get noted.
4. Dress appropriately
If you feel comfortable in a suit, feel free to wear a suit. If you feel comfortable wearing business casual dress, that’s good too. Don’t attend a fair in your beach wear, shorts and a T-shirt. Again, you don’t want to leave a negative impression. Look like you fit in, not stand out.
5. Collect contact information and follow up
Most admissions officers will have their contact information available for interested candidates to collect. Make sure you do this. Follow up with the admissions officer within 24 hours. Your follow up should include a thank you for their time, as well as some acknowledgment of the specific conversation you had. You will be helped in this endeavour by the note taking you did during the MBA fair (point 2.)
MBA Applywire
Applying to deferred programs this year, would love to hear thoughts on my application.
675 GMAT Focus, 3.723 at Non Target Undergraduate, Finance Major. Decent extra curricular on-campus, for internship experience started college with internship at a small ABL shop, interned sophomore summer/junior school year at a large publicly traded mortgage company doing Risk, interned after junior year at a Big4 doing Risk Consulting for FSOs. Returning FT to same B4 in Deals practice.
Would love to hear thoughts. Thanks.
Orthopaedic surgeon with cross-border training/work exposure i.e. UK, HK & Pakistan
• Strong involvement in research, publications, and innovation-related work
• Interested in the intersection of clinical medicine, healthcare systems, digital health, and business
• Long-term goal is to move from being a clinician to a broader leadership role where I can help build, scale, or evaluate healthcare solutions
African female - after 7 years at an international engineering consultancy and 3 in public sector, looking to get into infrastructure finance through an infrastructure focused MBA and internship pipeline. Certified PPP practitioner but not ao much leadership experience. Hoping to join a big 4 infrastructure advisory or infrastructure fund post MBA.
Only applying to Wharton "Deferred" Program (Due to eligibility)
Demographic: Asian Male, 26
Academic Background: B.S. & M.S. in Nuclear Engineering @ Top school in S.Korea
GPA: B.S.(3.76/4.30), M.S.(3.93/4.30)
GMAT Focus: 675 (Q-96th, DI-95th, V-56th)
Pre-MBA Employer: Recieved FT Offer @ Bain (expected start: July 2026)
Post-MBA Goal:
- Short: Banking
- Long: Infrastructure PE
Internships: Internship @ BCG
Research Experience:
4 conferences and several papers under review about Nuclear Fuel Materials, Nuclear Plant Economics & EPC, Nuclear Reactor Core Design
Extracurricular Activities/Leadership:
- Led a consulting project for a nuclear energy company in S.Korea
- Honor Society, College of Engineering
- VP of the student council @ UG department
- Soccer/Baseball team(non-varsity)
Awards:
- 2 x Minister's Award (1st place in Nationwide competition in Energy Sector)
- 5~10 x Minor Awards mostly in Energy & Nuclear Engineering
Honors:
- U.S. Army Commendation Medal
- Presidential Science Scholarship(Awarded by the President of the Korea, one of 25 recipients nationwide) - Fully funded during UG
- Korea Defense Veteran's Association (KDVA) Scholarship
- Honor Society of the College of Engineering
Hi All,
Location: India YOE:2.8 yrs Industry: Software Role: Senior software developer
I have been working in a software Mnc and recently got fired. I had initially planned to apply for MBA programs for 2027 intake. But given the recent layoff I'm not sure what to do next. I didn't yet take the gmat. And confused if I should do a job hunt now or prepare for gmat, since I wanted to apply for round 1s by sep.
I definitely want to go for a good International MBA for 2027 intake.
What should I do next, follow are the choices I can think of-
1. Prepare for a good gmat score, finish it in next 2-3 months, I also have a small startup idea that I would like to in parallel experiment/try out, not sure how far it will succeed.
2. Prepare for gmat, complete in next 2-3 months then do job hunt(might or might not be able to get a job by the time I apply for round 1s)
Please suggest what is better for my mba applications.