Inside Admissions: Welcome Weekend

Welcome Reception Dinner at the Burke Museum.

I was recently chatting with Dennis, a Foster MBA alum from 2001, as he reminisced about the admitted student event he attended before starting the program. He said, “Back in my day, the admitted student event was nothing but a classroom in good old Balmer Hall, and an ice chest filled with cold beverages. But man, it was awesome!” The admitted student weekends, or Welcome Weekends, as we call them now, have certainly progressed over the past 10 years. For one thing, Balmer Hall no longer exists. We now have beautiful Paccar Hall, which opened in the fall of 2010, and another building scheduled to open this summer. We offer opportunities throughout the weekend for incoming students to interact with the current students, including panels, small group discussions and social events. We host a special session for significant others and reimburse part of their travel costs as well as yours. After all, they are a huge part of this decision! And finally, the food has improved immensely since the Dennis’s time (although I have to admit that we do still use those ice chests).

But I don’t think that was his point. Over 10 years later, those same people who sat next to Dennis in Balmer Hall for the admitted student event are now some of his closest friends and colleagues. Welcome Weekend was awesome for Dennis because he immediately felt that “click” that told him this was the right program for him. This is where he belonged.

Admitted students learn about Seattle neighborhoods.

I can’t stress enough the importance of visiting the schools that you have been admitted to. As an applicant, you spend a great deal of time finding the handful of schools that really have what you’re looking for in terms of course offerings, location, size, experiential opportunities and company connections. But once you have been admitted, you still have a decision to make. Is this where you want to be for the next two years? Are these the types of people you want to know for, let’s be honest, the rest of your life? While there is a ton of information online these days, nothing can replace the firsthand experience of visiting campus and interacting with the MBA community. We offer these events for you, and over the years we have tweaked and improved, and tweaked some more, in order to make them as useful, candid and interactive as possible.

If you have been admitted to Foster, or any other program for that matter, attend the admitted student events and ask all (I mean all) of your questions. “Can I get by without a car?” “Can I get home in time to have dinner with my family?” “Is Seattle a dog-friendly city, and will I even have time for a dog??” None of these are silly questions. Our current students worried about these same issues when they were preparing for school, and they are your best resource as you embark upon this challenging, thrilling, life-changing experience.

We had a fantastic time at our April event and we can’t wait to get to know more of the Class of 2014 next week at our final Welcome Weekend this year. If you’re thinking about applying next year, the dates for our 2013 Welcome Weekends will be posted by early June. Mark your calendar! (Just in case – it doesn’t hurt to think positively!) We hope to see you there.

~ Featured Blogger Erin Ernst, Director, MBA Admissions