The MBA Tour is like one-stop shopping for an education.

Set to hit Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto on Nov. 10, 12 and 14 respectively, the MBA Tour is a means by which prospective students can meet and learn more about the schools and programs they’re considering applying to.

“We have schools from all over the world,” says Peter Von Loesecke, CEO and managing director.

“There are a lot of Canadian schools obviously because Canada has a huge domestic MBA market,” but schools from the U.S., Spain, Denmark and China will also be at the daylong event, he says. 

Beyond providing attendees an opportunity to meet representatives from a variety of different schools, the fair allows schools to differentiate themselves. “That differentiation is really important in students understanding whether a particular school has something they want,” says Von Loesecke.

This year’s tour is organized so that the schools are able to offer a 35-minute presentation as well as having a stationed representative at a booth for one-on one interaction.

“It’s different from a typical trade fair where you go from booth to booth to booth,” says Charmaine Curtis, executive director of student services and international relations at Schulich School of Business. “We try and educate them before they visit the booths with these different sessions that we host.”

The preparation from attendees varies. “Some people know the school they want to go to. They’ve had contact with them and they’re coming to the event to reinforce their application. Others are just beginning to explore what an MBA is,” says Von Loesecke. The event tries to cater to both.

Aside from showcasing schools, there are GMAT preparation presentations, sessions on how to fill out applications, the importance of the essay questions, and what schools look for in admissions applications.

For those more familiar with the process, the MBA Tour offers the opportunity to make an initial point of contact.

“These things a re pretty well attended, so it’s fairly busy, but there’s always followup, at least from our school,” says Curtis. “It’s the first connect. From there, once we have applications, we bring them to the school to meet the students, sit in classes, et cetera. For us, it’s part of the whole recruitment process. It gives us a number of different ways to access a potential student at one venue.”