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
Looking for an honest assessment of whether M7 schools are realistic for me, or if I should focus more on T10/T15 given my GPA.
I'm a South Asian applicant who graduated from the top business school in my country with a 3.44 GPA. My GPA was dragged down by some weaker semesters early on, but I was above 3.6 throughout my last two years and showed a pretty strong upward trend academically. A lot of the early struggles were related to ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed until later during university.
I also have a 334 GRE (169Q, 165V).
Career wise, I spent 2 years at a research agency where I was fast-tracked to a leadership role, and the last 4 years at a Fortune 500 FMCG in consumer insights. My current company relocated me from my home country to their Tokyo office, where I've been working for the past 2 years, so I do have international experience and exposure to global stakeholders.
Outside of work, I volunteer as a freelance consultant for an NGO back home, helping them secure international grants and design vocational tech courses.
My post MBA goal is to pivot into strategy consulting in the US.
One thing I'm unsure about: I was diagnosed with ADHD during university and have been on medication since. Is this something worth mentioning in the optional essay to explain the GPA, or would it be better not to bring it up at all?
Would appreciate any thoughts on:
Whether M7 is a realistic target
How much my GPA hurts relative to the GRE
Whether the international transfer to Japan adds meaningful value
Whether mentioning ADHD is advisable
7 years of SWE at Big Tech
US undergrad with CS & Math major at Top 10 schools
330 (162 V, 168 Q)
Asian Female. Worked and lived in Asia, US, and London. I have various startup experiences (from internship and my side project).
Short-term: I want to pivot into PE or Infrastructure funds on tech/energy.
Long-term: I have family business on energy and power plants in Asia, which I want to expand into investment and operating platform on energy with technology.
Questions:
- I am thinking these 4 schools as round 1 (or maybe 1 more) and thinking part-time as round 2. Any change of programs/additional school recommendation?
- I know this is rather a hard career pivot and because I don't have previous experience on my family business nor finance, it is hard to weave in or show adcoms that I am serious. Thinking about previous startup experiences as the way to connect the dots. Any preference or advices on candidates for family business but without the family business background?
I am a judge advocate in the military, and will have 4 years in as a CPT when I would matriculate. I have worked in administrative law, trial counsel as a prosecutor, and a special assistant fed prosecutor, and now I work on large complex events in charge of the legal side. My undergrad and law school GPA are 2.5 my law school curve was a C. My undergrad degree was poli sci. I held local elected office while I was going to school and worked full time/raised a family with my wife. I am trying to build a realistic gameplan and expectations to maximize my outcomes. I am location agnostic. I am currently studying with TTP about 30 hours a week, and taking the GRE in mid December. I took a diagnostic without practice and got a 313 162V 151Q. I am heavily studying the quant sections to boost those numbers.
I’m a 26-year-old, LGBTQ+, with a very nontraditional background in fashion/creative entrepreneurship, and pageantry/live entertainment. My undergrad is from the top fashion school in France, specializing in haute couture and lingerie.
I founded a couture/creative company and co-founded a fashion brand in partnership with one of the nation’s largest pageant platforms. My work has grown from pure design into creative direction to leading one of the biggest national events. I was also selected for one of Thailand’s prestigious national recognitions for artisans.
Pageantry is a major cultural industry in Thailand and Southeast Asia, especially for the lgbtq+ community, intersecting with tourism, creative economy, entertainment, and the country’s growing medical/wellness economy. Thailand is also a global center for transgender pageantry. As a trans woman working in this ecosystem, I’ve had an opportunity to meet and work alongside my community leaders from around the world. This shaped how I see pageantry as a platform that can influence how people and communities are perceived.
EC: I also founded a nonprofit initiative using my expertise in creative media and entertainment to expand professional opportunities for trans sex workers and shift public perception, recognized by and partnered with leading national nonprofit and government institutions advancing transgender inclusion. I’ve also volunteered with UN-affiliated initiatives supporting LGBTQ+ youth entrepreneurship across Southeast Asia.
LORs: One is a senior executive leading one of the world’s largest pageant organizations, who has worked closely with me and can speak directly to my progression, leadership, and impact within the industry.
The second is a senior Thai government leader/former Director-General of the Ministry of Culture, who can speak in depth about my leadership, broader national impact, and the significance of the pageant industry to Thailand’s culture and economy.
Long term: I want to build businesses around pageantry/live entertainment and the wider creative economy. This is why I’m pursuing a traditional MBA rather than a fashion/luxury degree: the problems I now want to solve are business problems, which is how these cultural platforms scale, capture value, and create sustainable economic opportunities across adjacent industries.
I will be attending Fall 27 as a U.S. permanent resident through the EB-1A extraordinary ability green card, based on sustained national and global recognition, leadership, impact, and original contributions in my field.
GRE: 323 (165Q/158V). With HBS CORe, “Pass with honor.” For GRE, with another retake, I think I could reach roughly 325–328, but I don’t expect 330+ this round. Given R1 timing, further test preparation would take time away from other parts of my applications, particularly translating a very nontraditional career into an MBA context. I’d appreciate thoughts on whether a few additional GRE points would materially change my prospects at HSW, or whether the 323 is sufficient to focus elsewhere.
33, Male, Indian. I have a bachelor's in Pharmacy and a double masters in Pharmacy and Liberal Arts.
Work Experience: 8.5 years across Healthcare, Consulting and financial services
Credentials: Project Mangement Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified, published research papers in international journals in college, got selected for several national level fellowships and scholarships
Extra Curriculars: I'm into running marathons, long distance endurance cycling, involved in community service through Robin Hood Army and career support initiatives for underprivileged through Global Mentorship Initiative.
Career trajectory:
My career has been somewhat unconventional. Started as a medical representative in the healthcare industry and pivoted to Project Mangement and Consulting roles in financial services industry. Worked with fortune 500 clients and their CXOs for driving enterprise level scale transformation projects involving Agentic, AI, ML, RPA, Data Analytics, process re-engineering across finance operations. Currently working as a Digital Transformation Consultant by driving Hyper automations and emerging Agentic AI solutions for clients at Accenture (Implementation heavy)
Why MBA at this juncture? From execution heavy roles, I want to move towards strategy focused roles at firms like Big 3 or get into product roles in the tech industry. I'm looking to change geography.
MBA LiveWire
Accepted with $80k scholarship