For all intents and purposes, I think August will be just as good as visiting later in the year. MBA programs tend to have classes in the summer, depending on the program. AdComs usually say that campus visits don't affect your applicability, but I believe they provide a great opportunity to get to know the school, how the program fits well with you, and to further your relationships with staff - all of which help you in making your ultimate decision. So, yes, I would say put some effort into making the campus visit. It will be worth it.

Is there enough time to go in September for a visit and still get some info for your round 1 apps, or is that too tight a timeline for a really valuable visit and/or too early in the year?

Visiting prospective schools will help you identify better with the school in your essays, and will certainly help you decide whether it is a place where you could see yourself. It is ideal to see a school during the academic year so that you get a better idea of what the school has to offer, but seeing the campus may be all you need.

One underrated thing to consider when applying is the fact that some schools, like Georgetown's McDonough School of Business, actually reduce your application fee if you visit the school and attend one of their information sessions. It could add up to a lot of money saved when you consider how expensive it is to apply to programs.

Visit the school in September if possible. That would be the best time unless you can maybe get to some campuses in early April. When I applied I did not visit schools during the summer because, well, no one is there. Sure I could see the campus but what good would that do me?

If you visit a school in September you will definitely have time to get your applications in by R1 or early decision, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

If you do visit a school in September, make sure that you reach out to many 2nd years prior to your visit. I say this now as a 1st year at Johnson because in September when prospective students came on campus and asked me questions about the school/classes and such, I couldn't answer them properly. I could speak about the 2 weeks of classes that I had up until that point, but I couldn't speak about recruiting or any of the 2nd half core classes or even the Immersions. So make sure you reach out to 2nd years!

That's a great idea about being in touch with the 2nd years, and I'll definitely see if visiting can get me some application fee assistance. Thanks for the advice!

I realize I had a huuuuuuuge run-on sentence in there haha. ::shrugs:: oh well