Round Two applicants may still have time for a campus visit or two before they have to settle down to write their essays in the coming weeks. With this in mind, we’d like to revisit a few of the social opportunities available to prospective applicants during their campus visits. These opportunities are inherently less formal than information sessions and class visits, and thus they can be more of a challenge to identify and incorporate into your plans ahead of time. Applicants should not be deterred, however. After all, one’s “fit” with a school can’t be determined solely on the basis of admissions brochures – sometimes joining students for coffee or a drink can be much more enlightening.
Since we last looked at this topic, it has come up on a few MBA blogs. Current CBS student John had positive things to say about his experience hosting prospective students at a Columbia Happy Hour. Meanwhile, Asian Gal encouraged visitors to join in on Wharton’s Thursday night pub tradition by offering details on her blog.
Many campuses host weekly social events similar to these. Every Friday evening there’s a Liquidity Preference Function at Chicago GSB. Despite free refreshments and a dubious name (actually a reference to the Keynesian relationship), this is actually a family affair. The Chicago admissions office makes a special point of welcoming applicants to this event on designated “Chicago GSB Live” days throughout the fall.
Also taking a note from Keynes, MIT Sloan hosts C-Functions (a.k.a. Consumption Functions or Cultural Functions) on Thursday evenings. These are sometimes culture-specific events organized by student clubs, or are more generalized parties held in the Walker Memorial building.
Likewise, for the past 50 years Darden’s First Coffee has been an important part of the campus community. This informal meet up happens daily in the PepsiCo Forum after the first class lets out, and sometimes features performances, presentations or announcements.
Clearly, social hours are an integral part of many campus communities, and as such they can provide visitors with a great sense of student life. Readers who are planning school visits in the coming weeks may want to make a special effort to stick around for these events, not only to learn about the school, but also for a chance to unwind themselves!
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