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University Admission Directors want to shake your hand, in person.

“We’ve seen a dramatic shift in the way people communicate with one another. Interaction is increasingly channeled through social media – Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, and others”, says Mae Jennifer Shores (UCLA, Anderson). “Yet when it comes to the critical decision as to who to admit to our MBA programs, we still largely rely on face-to-face interaction wherever possible. There is no substitute for the live, real-time exchange of ideas and energy that occur when people meet in person”.

The MBA Tour provides a venue for interested students to meet with top business school representatives one on one - outside of the web. The final decision makers, the Admissions Directors, travel with the tour and take part in events around the world where they meet with interested students considering an MBA.

As Randall Sawyer from Cornell notes, “We enjoy meeting potential future students in person and those who make a great first impression will definitely stay in our minds. The internet may be a great tool for information, but you still can’t shake someone’s hand through a computer screen.”

Universities and The MBA Tour both recognize the power of social networking to reach out to potential students. “We get the word out in the arenas where our target audience interacts - and that’s online, but the strength of our organization is in the personal, the actual rather than the virtual,” confirms Peter von Loesecke, CEO, The MBA Tour. “We value online tools as a place to first reach out to students and learn about their needs.  For instance our Facebook group has grown to over 7,000 fans in one year alone. Pre-MBAs and alumni are able to interact, network and get their questions answered. Admission reps are part of our group as well. It’s a valuable resource through which they can communicate with students from around the world. But it can’t – and doesn’t – eliminate the benefit of human interaction between school and student.”

The face to face interaction between applicants and Admission Directors is one that still counts. Students have the chance to not only have their queries answered but make a lasting impression and one that will come to mind when their application letters are being read by the same key decision makers later on.

So how do students make a lasting first impression? The best way students can make the most of The MBA Tour event is to come fully prepared. They should conduct background research on the schools they would like to meet and come with a list of questions ready. Using websites, blogs and key social networking groups enables potential students to carry those online conversations into the personal exchange with the Directors. 

A select group of the top business school universities is touring major cities throughout the U.S. in September and the Admissions Directors travelling with The MBA Tour want to meet students face to face.

For details, visit The MBA Tour's website.

About The MBA Tour

Established in 1993, The MBA Tour is an international business recruitment platform with emphasis on personal interaction between prospective MBA students, business school admission representatives, alumni and other like-minded education enthusiasts.  It has built its reputation based on representing only the top business schools from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. 

The winners of the “Peter and Alice von Loesecke Scholarship Foundation’ have been announced. Suppamas Sawatyanon of Thailand and Michael Darko of Ghana are this year’s winners. For more info please click here.