MBA Admission Requirements: What Do Top US Universities Expect?
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Campus events at top MBA Universities in USA: What to expect?
- Ananya
- May 16, 2023
- 4:20 pm
- No Comments
So, you’re considering an MBA in the USA — good choice.
Life will be a rollercoaster when you’re at a coveted MBA school in USA.
This guide is a crystal ball. Peek right in.
Why This Matters
You see, an MBA in the USA is not just about having the best faculty, excellent opportunities, and motivated peer groups — though these do help.
An MBA in the USA is a class apart from the rest of the world because of all the additives.
By this we mean things like post-degree employment, campus events, infrastructure, alumni networks, student services, and a whole lot more.
A big part of the whole “MBA in the USA” experience is on-campus events, which we’ll cover.
In addition to being straight-up fun, MBA campus events are one of the defining cornerstones of an MBA in the USA.
The upfront conclusion
We believe in not wasting precious time.
Here are the most popular campus events that you can expect to be at your university if you are doing your MBA in the USA.
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Campus Events At Top US Universities — A Guide
Let us look at the different campus events that you will be a part of while pursuing an MBA in the USA:
Source: The Massey College Of Business
1. Speaker Events And Conferences
What They Are: A platform where people who are entrepreneurs, industry leaders, authors, and more, take the stage and speak to current students.
How They Help: As an international student in the USA, attending such events allows you to stay up to date on industry developments, understand emerging trends easily, and learn about global business practices.
Additional Info: You can often access upcoming speaker events and conferences online.
For instance, Baruch College has an events calendar specifically for this — and a lot of other MBA colleges do too.
Pro Tip: A lot of the time, these events are open to every major, not just MBAs, and are often “open to attend” and free.
Translation: a lot of times, you can attend similar events at other colleges in your area.
2. Campus Clubs And Campus Affiliations
What They Are: A place where like-minded students with similar interests can meet, form networks, and advance their skills
How They Help: Joining clubs and affiliations that interest you is something that you should do as soon as possible — especially if you are an international student.
These places are brilliantly positioned to help “break the ice” as it were, and help you settle into your new life for the next one or two years.
Additional Info: More often than not, student club representatives will be at your batch “orientation day” when you join a program.
If not, all MBA colleges worth their salt display their clubs and affiliations on their website — just like the Miami Herbert School of Business does.
Pro Tip: Consider joining campus clubs/ affiliations outside of the business school or even outside the university.
3. Workshops And Skill Development Sessions
What They Are: Practical one-off or short-term classes led by people with specific skill sets.
Example: An expert in data tabulation may conduct an optional masterclass for finance analytics students.
How They Help: These optional sessions are usually conducted in the students’ free time. They also usually provide a wealth of valuable information that would normally be a part of the course load.
Pro Tip: In case you missed a workshop that you wanted to attend, or were unable to attend for some other reason, don’t fret.
A lot of institutions, like Brandeis University for example, upload relevant materials from the workshop to their websites. A simple search like this one should get you what you want.
Sometimes, unlike at Brandeis, these search results are on an internal database accessible only to current students — it never hurts to ask.
4. Career Fairs
What They Are: A special type of campus event, mostly for final year students, aimed at getting them employed.
How They Help: A lot of top US MBA universities have tie-ups with local, national, and multinational businesses. The general rule of thumb is that the better you do, the more likely a company is to scoop you up at one of these events.
Additional Info: Even if a particular college does not advertise the connections that they have to prospective employers for their students, there usually is some other alternative.
For instance, the NJIT Martin Tuchman School of Business has a dedicated portal for their students, called the “Career Development Services” portal.
5. Networking Events
What They Are: Gatherings and social events where new students can fraternize with each other, their faculty, and oftentimes, even alumni of the college.
How They Help: Especially for international students, mixers, balls, musical evenings, retreats, and similar events are a great way to add to your rolodex of connections.
Remember, your network defines your net worth.
Pro Tip: Remember to exchange contact information, and then follow up with personalized emails or a phone call to cement the connection.
6. Culture And Diversity Events
What They Are: Events organized to promote diversity, inclusion, and cultural knowledge.
These are often organized in connection with upcoming or nearby festivals, such as the Chinese new year for example.
How They Help: A lot of people attribute their success within diverse teams and in multinational organizations to such events.
Long story short, the more you know about various cultures, the better.
Pro Tip: Joining in, and perhaps even speaking at events related to your own culture and/ or background is an excellent way to form new friendships and leave a lasting impact on those around you.
7. Competitions (Various)
What They Are: Events where different students get to display their skills and foster a spirit of healthy competition. These can be inter-class, inter-college, inter-university, or even more.
How They Help: For international students, competitions, even smaller intra-class ones are often the best way to get to know their fellow students.
They are often fun, and are more often than not, directly related to the course, such as mock sales pitch competitions for MBA students.
Pro Tip: Competition results, like the ones from mock courts, or mock sales pitches, or mock market analyses, are often taken into consideration by potential employers.
8. Alumni Events
What They Are: Events where past students of a college/ university/ course can gather to network. Oftentimes, current students are also invited to these events.
How They Help: As a student, these alumni events are a great way to generate leads for potential job openings, or to get references. In addition to that, they are an excellent place to make job connections, by way of finding potential suppliers, clients, and the like.
Additional Info: Many universities also have (college-specific) alumni-student mentorship connection platforms.
For instance, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, this platform is called “Terrapins Connect”.
9. Extracurricular Activities
What They Are: Activities organized on a regular basis not directly related to your course load, such as sports societies, hobbyist clubs, and fraternities.
How They Help: In general, ECAs are a great occupation of your spare time.
They can keep you fit, they can keep you interested, they can help you meet new people, make friends, and often, do all of those at the same time.
10. Panel Discussions/ Trainings (With Industry Experts)
What They Are: In a similar vein to speaker events, Panel Discussions are les interactive events.
How They Help: These help in highly technical MBAs, such as law, or technology courses.
For the most part, it is a spectator event, where one can watch and listen to industry experts interact and predict trends.
That said, the audience often has the chance to ask the panel members questions.
Why US MBAs Are Valuable
So what sets an MBA in the USA apart?
Well, words can lie but numbers cannot.
Just take a look at this data, sourced from the AACSB Business School Data Guide. It has been assimilated and verified by Poets & Quants.
# | MBA Program Specifications | Candidates For An MBA, Global | Candidates For An MBA In The USA | |
1 | Approximate Total Of MBA Students Across The Globe | ~250,000 | ~156,000 | |
2 | Approximate Total Of Full Time MBA Students | ~78,000 | ~44,000 | |
3 | Approximate Total Of Part Time MBA Students | ~128,000 | ~82,000 | |
4 | Approximate Total Of Online MBA Students | ~53,000 | ~45,000 | |
5 | Approximate Total Of Executive MBA Students | ~41,000 | ~11,500 |
Also, the most important statistic in our opinion: employability (post-completion).
This factsheet from the AACSB tells us that about 90% of graduates who complete an MBA in the USA get employed within six months of graduating.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are campus events only beneficial for networking purposes?
While networking is a significant aspect of campus events, they offer much more. They provide opportunities for skill development, cultural immersion, industry insights, and building a well-rounded MBA experience.
2. Can international students attend campus events outside their business school?
Absolutely! Many campus events are open to students from all majors. Embrace the chance to explore events organized by various departments, clubs, and organizations to broaden your horizons and connect with a diverse community.
3. How can I balance attending campus events with my academic workload?
Time management is key. Prioritize events aligned with your interests and goals, and create a schedule that allows for both academic commitments and event participation. Remember, these events complement your education and contribute to your personal and professional growth.
4. Can campus events help me discover career opportunities specific to my field?
Yes! Campus events often feature industry professionals who share insights into specific sectors, trends, and job opportunities. Attending such events can provide valuable information and connections that may lead to internships, mentorships, and even job offers.
5. Are there any costs associated with attending campus events?
In most cases, campus events are either free or have minimal costs for attendees. Universities understand the value of these events for students’ growth and usually aim to make them accessible to all. Check event listings or university websites for any registration fees or additional details specific to certain events.
The Next Step
There are so many great MBA colleges in the US, one really is spoilt for choice. That is where we come in.
After that, the next logical step would be to plan how you are going to finance your degree — an MBA in the USA isn’t exactly cheap.
Again, we can help you here.
Like we said, campus events are a cornerstone of the US MBA experience.
Active participation in campus events is key to actually enjoying yourself while at college.
These events foster cultural exchange, international diversity, providing networking opportunities, and make the overall studying experience worth it.
After all, all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.
