Inside the MBA event, should I go?

Hey chendawg - if you're going to be visiting the schools directly, then there's probably not much more you'd get out of an MBA fair. The one reason you might want to go is to get exposure to other schools that you weren't planning on targeting. It would be an easy/cost-efficient way to learn about them, and who knows, maybe there's one you hadn't considered that's worth your while?

The very best way to learn about the program is to be on campus, sit in on a class, and importantly, talk to current students, so it's awesome to hear that you're doing that. The MBA fairs are a distant second to that in-person experience. It never hurts to get more exposure though! That on-the-ground research can be invaluable in helping candidates not only identify the right schools for them but also in gathering useful 411 for their apps.

Hope this helps!
EssaySnark

Thanks for the advice!

The best thing you could do by visiting is analyse a casual fit. More often than not you will decide that is the college you want to target or not. Its a chance to learn, rather than a chance to impress. Your goal should be to get to know the program, get a feel of the bschool, try to understand information that's not on the website - mostly the culture.

if it's easy for you to get too then go. what is it $10? $5? definitely go and don't worry about whether or not school reps will remember you. they probably won't. in my case, for one school, they did because i had spoken to them prior and had seen them at previous events. take the focus off of getting into the school and put it on "is this school the right fit for me?" (ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE APPLYING TO SMALL SCHOOLS)

Yeah....it was really a question of whether I wanted to drive 700 miles to Charlotte and spend the night. That was why haha. If it were in town, I'd definitely go!