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
Applying for Round 2 (CBS) and Round 3 (Stern). Taking the GRE soon, practice test: 320. Aiming for 320-325.
Undergrad: Top 20 public, top 50 in US. International student from HK.
Honors: Psychology Honors, Communication Honors, Honors Research Scholar, received several awards for thesis.
Been working at Ivy League as a Research Assistant in the Department of Psychiatry for 3.5 years. Have led 7 different projects on teen mental health and digital technology, and collaborated with 15 different clinical sites. Trained 10 new RAs in my time. Done UX development and testing in collaboration with behavioral health startup for mental health app. Recruited suicidal participants from emergency departments and outpatient clinics.
9 research publications (1 first-author, 1 second-author), 3 conference presentations.
Story: Want to pivot into healthcare consulting to make tangible impact on healthcare organizations operations to improve patient outcomes.
First things first—Alex and Graham, I listen to your podcast every week without exception. You guys are incredible, and I truly appreciate the work you do. It has helped me tremendously. My name is Flavio Amboss. I'm originally from Brazil, and I moved to the United States in 2021 to pursue my master's degree in Construction Management at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During school, I received a job offer from a general contracting firm, where I currently work. As an immigrant, I’ve been facing some challenges with the visa process. My green card application was rejected earlier this year, and I had to restart the entire process. My company will enter me into the H-1B lottery in February 2026, and if selected, I will finally be able to pursue my dream of attending the Booth Part-Time MBA (unfortunately, full-time is not an option for me). Sports have always played a major role in my life. I competed in and won several events throughout my childhood and adulthood—including soccer, judo, and tennis. More recently, I began training for triathlons, and in my first year, I placed 4th in my age group at the Tri Gravel Lemont event. I have also always been very involved in volunteer work. In my latest experience, I joined the Willow Creek Church choir in September, singing and serving with children with special needs. Since then, I’ve been performing regularly at the South Lake campus. Professionally, I bring nine years of experience at the largest development and construction company in Brazil, where I worked primarily in the field as a civil engineer. I also spent three years at a mid-size construction company as a preconstruction manager. Given my background, my short-term goal is to transition toward the real estate development side to strengthen the areas where I have less experience. In the long term, I aspire to become an entrepreneur and build my own development and construction company. I’ll admit that I’m not the strongest standardized test taker, and with my first son arriving in May, I don’t expect that I’ll be able to retake the GRE. Please see my GPAs and GRE scores below:
GRE Q: 165 V: 145
UERJ – Civil Engineering GPA: 3.2 (Google conversion from Brazilian GPA 7.22/10)
FGV – Project Management MBA GPA: 3.9 (Google conversion from Brazilian GPA 8.75/10)
UIC – Master’s in Engineering and Construction Management GPA: 3.77
Is there any way I could also attach my resume and essays for you to give me your thoughts on my application?
I am trying to decide whether to apply to Booth or Haas in Round 2 this cycle or wait a year, focus on my new role, and apply to H/S/W for the 2027 intake with a stronger story and possibly better scholarship chances.
My profile: • Nepali male, 25 • Computer Engineering undergrad • GMAT 740 • 3.5 years in Public Sector Consulting at a Big 4 in India • Recently joined the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) in an Africa country office • Two month into the role
R1 status: • Interviewed at CBS and Kellogg • Waiting for result • I will be taking loans for the MBA, so scholarship likelihood matters
My dilemma:
Right after submitting my R1 applications, I accepted the CHAI offer and relocated to Africa. Now I am confused about whether I should send R2 applications to Booth or Haas while I wait for R1 outcomes, or whether I should settle into the CHAI role for a full year and apply next year to H/S/W with a clearer path and more impact.
Extra Curriculars:
Ran a bootstrapped startup during college and been investing and advising startups in underserved places across Nepal and India.
Goals:
Growth Equity firm post MBA
Applying to NYU, UCLA, and CBS round 1 with EA score of 160. Interviews with all 3 complete. If I get into CBS, I will only apply to Sloan (that's my number 1, number 2 is CBS). My GRE score is lower (321, 156V 165Q) but the quant is significantly higher... hopefully this offsets for Sloan? Strong profile, Masters in CS, undergrad in CS from service academy.
MBA LiveWire
Received 11:02 ET
App Submitted Sep 7, 2025
In Person Interview October 31
First Gen and Enlisted Navy 8 YOE
9 YOE
Admitted with 40k scholarship