How can I use the networking I've done to my advantage??

[dubc1982]

I've been speaking with someone at the school I will be applying to to ask questions and basically, get my name out there. I think its important to try and reach out and let them know how interested I am in their program and do what I can to make sure they remember my name.

The person I've spoken with has been great answering my questions. We have been emailing back in forth and she gave me the names of a faculty director and another person to talk about the program. I feel this is great because I think the more people I talk to, the more "buzz" it may create for me when I apply. I'm also meeting with someone from the school in September at an MBA Tour where I live. I actually met this person last year at a fair on the other side of the country. She said she remembered me once I reminded her of our meeting, don't know if that's true, but I appreciate it anyway. I'm going to try and use our next meeting as an interview as much as possible. I will have taken the GMAT and will be able to discuss everything I can offer.

My main question is how helpful can this networking be and what else should I do to further use this to my advantage? I want to keep in contact with everyone I've spoken to, but I don't want to keep contacting them to the point where I may be over anxious or annoying.

Any advice on what my next moves should be, what kinds of things I should or shouldn't say to them or anything else that may be of use on this topic would be appreciated.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear dubc1982,

Good for you! You are on the right path to make your application more than a name on a piece of paper. If you handle it properly, then you will probably have at least one "champion" on the admissions committee. Similar to a job search, you have someone on the inside that hopefully like you and will fight to get you a seat in the program.

You do want to be careful not to go from "interested candidate" to "stalker". So try to keep your contact to every few weeks/month at the most. Also, you want to always have a reason for emailing/calling the admissions staff. Your reason does not have to be an admissions process question, but should be related to the school or MBA programs. For example, if the school has recently made an announcement on a new faculty member or faculty research findings or improved in the rankings. As long as you use good judgment, you should be fine.

Best of luck,
Lisa

[dubc1982]

Thank you Lisa. Yes, I have been trying to keep contact to important matters. I had a few emails back and forth for a few days in May and just made contact again yesterday. Also, from the way this most recent conversation has been going it feels appropriate to have a little back and forth conversation.

As I said before, I was given the name of a faculty director, whom I was told I should contact. I'm writing him a great letter, detailing everything the admissions person told me I should ask him. Would it be appropriate to CC: the admissions person that referred me on the email to the faculty director? I thought it would be good so she could see that I did in fact contact him and how interested I am. I think I'm writing a great letter that shows my knowledge of the program and interest in the school. I think it would be good for her to see this too. Any help?

[Lisa Anderson]

There is no reason to cc the admissions person. Besides, it is highly possible the faculty person will forward it on to the admissions for your file.

Regards,
Lisa

[dubc1982]

Excellent, thanks. I actually didn't do it and he did that as well as included another person. They gave me great responses and seemed to think I'm a great candidate. It was very encouraging and I feel like I'm off to a great start. Only thing left is the GMAT, so hopefully that works out.

[dubc1982]

I was put in touch with the faculty director at the school I'm applying to by an admissions rep. I spoke with him, he was a great help, and put me in touch with someone else, who I had a great conversation with. Is it overkill to send him a thank you email saying I had a great conversation with this other person? I thanked him for his help before, so I don't want to overdue it. They were all super friendly, so don't think its a big deal, but any opinion? It seems kind of unnecessary, but I want to do it to show my interest and the fact that I got along well with this person I spoke with.

[Lisa Anderson]

I don't think it is overkill to close the loop with the faculty director. It shows you followed through and appreciate the assistance--both excellent traits! Just keep the email short and to the point. Great job!