How to Make the Most of an Information Session

Our guest blogger this week is Reve counselor Chelsea. Chelsea is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was formerly a recruiter for a New York-based hedge fund, private equity and technology development company. She holds a B.A. from Williams College. She is writing this week about how to best utilize information sessions. Take it away, Chelsea!

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There are many steps applicants can take to ensure they make the most of a graduate school’s information session, which is an important part of the overall application process. While the following tips are geared towards information sessions given at the school campus, many recommendations can also apply to off campus events.

Before the information session:

· Do your research

Even though the information session itself provides a general overview of the school and its program(s), it is a good idea to do some preliminary research beforehand. For example, you can browse the school’s website and read recent articles in the school’s student newspaper. Not only will this give you an general sense of the school environment and the current issues taking place on campus, it will also help you identify specific areas you’d like to learn more about at the information session. For example, your background research might make you want to learn more about the school’s resources for international students, which is something you can make sure to ask about at the information session.

· Set up additional appointments

Most schools offer campus tours in addition to information sessions. If the school you’re visiting didn’t already provide you with information about taking a tour, you can call the admissions office to inquire about signing up for one. In addition, many admissions offices are able to arrange class visits and student lunches for prospective students. Again, if the admissions office hasn’t already provided you with information about these options, it is a good idea to call the office to see if you can arrange a time to meet with a current student and also to observe a class (ideally a class you might be interested in taking). Meeting with a current student before or after the information session will help you learn the unbiased, “inside scoop” about the school from a student’s perspective. Observing a course will expose you to sample classroom settings and teaching styles at the school.

· Get organized

Be ready to bring paper and pen to the information session so you can take notes on what is said. If you will be visiting many schools over a short period of time, it might also be helpful to bring a camera to take pictures of the campus (including the classrooms, the neighborhood, and some of the housing options). This will help you remember the details of the different schools after all of your visits. Lastly, I personally found it helpful when applying to graduate schools to create a spreadsheet on which I consolidated information about each school. I found this method helpful for comparing and contrasting the different schools as well as for keeping track of the various application deadlines.

· Prepare your “elevator pitch”

An “elevator pitch” is a brief, concise description all about you and your goals. The reason it’s wise to prepare this before the information session is because you might have an opportunity during your visit to speak one-on-one with an admissions representative or a faculty member. If this opportunity arises, you want to be prepared to take full advantage of it and use it as a chance to make an impression on the individuals who might be involved in your application process. Be careful not to sound overly rehearsed! It might be a good idea to do a few “role play” practice sessions with your Reve counselor (your counselor can pretend to be the admissions officer, for example, and ask you questions as though you were just meeting at the information session).

During the information session:

· Observe

The information session is an opportunity for a graduate program to describe and “sell” itself to prospective students. Therefore, it is wise to pay attention to what the school representative emphasizes and what he or she deemphasizes during the session. This will help you discover the school’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, if the presenter repeatedly highlights the program’s academic rigor but fails to mention anything about its career services resources, it may mean that the school is academically quite strong but doesn’t offer much career assistance. In this case, you may want to explicitly inquire about this during the question period. You could also make a note for yourself to stop by the career services office later to investigate or to ask current students their opinion of the school’s career services resources.

· Ask questions

The person hosting the information session will usually leave time for questions at the end. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! This is your chance to learn as much as you can about the school and the program you’re considering, and the school representative is there to answer your questions. Take advantage of it!

After the information session:

· Thank the host

The school representative who gave the presentation likely put a lot of time and effort into the session. It is a nice gesture to thank the representative before you leave. Taking the time to thank the host also gives you an opportunity to introduce yourself to someone who might be involved in your future application evaluation. If the conversation goes well, you might also consider giving your business card as a way to help the representative remember you. I’d personally recommend against handing over your resume (unless the representative explicitly asks for it), as it is more appropriate to include this in your official application. Lastly, if anyone affiliated with the school took extra time to speak with or assist you, it may be appropriate to send him or her a brief “thank you” note. A short email is usually sufficient.

· Check out the neighborhood

If you have time at the end of the day, you might consider exploring the neighborhood around the school. It is helpful to see whether the school is located in an area you’d feel comfortable living in during the duration of your program. Some things to consider may be the availability of public transportation and the general safety of the neighborhood.

-Chelsea

Columbia MBA Info Session in Tokyo

A Columbia representative will also be in Tokyo next week:

Tokyo Admissions Information Session and Reception
Please join Katie Lynch, Associate Director of Admissions, along with
local Alumni who will share information about the Columbia Business
School MBA program.

Friday, August 21st – 7:00pm
Tokyo Kaikan, Silver Room
3-2-1 Marunouchi
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0005
Japan

You can sign up the event from the link below:
http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/events/view?&main.id=74220&main.ctrl=eventmgr.detail&main.view=eventb.single&top.title=Tokyo+Admissions+Information+Session+and+Reception

Haas School of Business Info Session in Tokyo

One of our former students at Haas just passed along the following information:

Peter Johnson, the Director of Admissions (in charge of international applicants) will be in Tokyo next week for an information session:

Date and Time:  August 20^th, 7:30 pm

Location: Agos Japan, Ninomiya Bldg

18-4 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku

Tokyo 150-0031

Participants must RSVP to: https://ssl.haas.berkeley.edu/Admissions/Events/index.cfm?forum=4757

[Agos Japan is near the JR South and New South exits of Shibuya station.]