At the OPEN FAIR, you will have the opportunity to meet with a large number of schools in a short period of time at your leisure.
Every school is represented by an admissions representative who influences admissions decisions. Many schools will also have alumni available to speak with so you can hear the personal student perspective about a particular MBA program and its school culture.

A 2008 Mumbai attendee commented on the open fair saying, “ [It] is a golden opportunity to interact with school representatives and alumni alike. It gives lot of insight about the admission process thus opening up the minds of students and allaying many misconceptions that students might have.”

The open fair is great opportunity to speak with the admissions representatives and ask personal questions related to your MBA search and application process. It’s the perfect time to find out if the school program and culture truly meets your academic and career needs.

A 2008 Atlanta attendee said, “I was able to speak one on one with admissions representatives to see if their program was a good fit for me. The fair also allowed me to compare multiple programs with each other at once to determine which programs warranted a school visit for more information.”

A 2008 Sao Paulo attendee said, “The event in itself was an eye opener of sorts, as it helped me realize there are other options in terms of location for reputed B-schools, that I wasn't very aware of before.”

Not every student has heard of every school participating in the event, but we highly recommend that at the open fair you visit with as many schools as possible. A school that you are unfamiliar with could have the perfect program for your MBA goals. 

Based on our post event survey (image), 82 percent of students who attended the 2008 US events plan to apply to one or more of the participating schools.

Here are some tips for attending the open fair:

Time with admission reps is not well spent if you are asking questions that can be answered on the website. So do you general research ahead of time.

At some of the larger open fairs, you may have to wait to speak with an admission representative. This is incentive to prepare questions ahead of time so that when you have the opportunity for your one on one conversation it is to the point and informative.

Be courteous of other MBA applicants waiting to speak with admission representatives and do not monopolize conversations.