We had a very strong typhoon here in Tokyo on the evening of the 6th of September. Unfortunately, it was also the night that The MBA Tour was in town. While I am sure someone braved the weather to go there, for anyone who could not make it to that event (or others like it elsewhere), I wanted to make some suggestions for what you can to do as a substitute.
1. Browse Business School Websites
If you are still at the early phase of your school selection process, you can use The MBA Tour, Businessweek, or other sites that include listings of MBA programs as a launching point for browsing websites. At this point, the information that you can find on the web about a school exceeds what you can learn from most paper pamphlets, so save a tree and read online. Many schools have podcasts and videos on their sites and those can be quite effective for learning about a school. I think the HBS site is really worth any applicants time (and they don't attend The MBA Tour) because it will provide you with great insight into the case study method. Wharton's Admissions Blog is also another absolutely useful site for any applicant because of the level of general advice provided. New York University's Stern School of Business has a series of short podcasts that are very much worth your time if you want to learn about admissions criteria.
2. Make Contact!
Many admissions offices now have online means for answering questions. Whether it is through chats with admissions (see chats on Businessweek and Accepted.com) or "Ask a Student," schools are increasingly able to provide the same or better interactivity with you online than can be done at a fair.
3. Read Student Blogs
Read my post about English and Japanese language MBA student blogs.
4. Contact Student Organizations
Student organizations are a great way to become informed about a school and to make contact with students. Based on my experience, I have seen my clients really benefit from information that they obtained from current students. For Japanese applicants, I strongly suggest getting in contact with the Japanese student organization at any school you are seriously considering because they are incredibly helpful.
5. Get Interviewed!
One of the great advantages of both The MBA Tour and World MBA Tour is that they bring a whole bunch of schools with them that are conducting open sign-up interviews. If you can get an open interview that will be conducted by phone, this is a way to make up for missing the Tours. The Tours are very good chance to interview if you are ready to do so. If you are not ready to interview with a school you are certain that you want to go to, this is a good chance to interview with another school in order to learn more about it and to get practice. Clearly don't let them know you are using them for practice.
6. Go to the World MBA Tour!
I know it is obvious, but in a mere couple of months you will have the opportunity to attend another tour if you are in Tokyo or another city the World MBA Tour visits. And remember, get free pens!
Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学
