A Great Day in Shanghai

Wow – what a great day! Yesterday was the day of the QS World MBA Fair in Shanghai. I started the day at 10 am with my first interview of the day. By the time the fair opened at 6:00 pm I had interviewed 7 wonderful potential new Zicklin students. For the most part, based on their test scores, their resumes, their previous academics and their enthusiasm they would be perfect! They had done their homework and knew a lot about Baruch and Zicklin. One young woman eagerly told me that after she had read Bernard Baruch’s book she knew Zicklin was the place for her. She felt that she and Bernard Baruch had much in common.
During the fair I spoke with over 20 additional prospective students. Most seemed knowledgeable about Baruch, our programs and our admission criteria, and many were eager to move forward with their applications. I ended the day with a final interview at 9:30 pm.
I learned a lot from speaking with these prospects. They find out about Baruch from relatives and friends – many who are alumni, and others who are studying at other schools around New York but recommend that Baruch is a wonderful school in NYC. They also find out about Baruch on line. One told me that she had seen Baruch on a video shot and posted by a current student – and fell in love with our huge pool. Rankings are important here – and US News is the ranking of choice. These students study very hard as undergraduates – and study extremely hard for “the tests”. GMAT scores in the mid to high 600s are not acceptable to them – They apologize for such scores and plan to retake them to reach the 700s. A US degree is still held in high regard, and many feel that coming home with a US MBA or MS degree would get them where they want to be.
It was truly a wonderful day.