MBA Fair 2010

This year A.T.Kearney will organize the MBA-fair, together with Booz&Co and the Ivy –circle on the 26th of September 2010. More information will be provided later this year; if you want to have more information, please contact Olaf van Rangelrooij at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Last year's edition

The Annual Amsterdam MBA Fair was held on Sunday, October 27 at the Barleaus Gymnasium near Leidseplein, and proved to be as highly successful as the past two annual events. The Fair brought well over 200 prospective MBA students into direct contact with admissions representatives and alumni from the world’s top business schools, including Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, ChicagoBooth, Columbia, Harvard, INSEAD, IESE, IMD, London Business School, MIT/Sloan. The US Consulate was also represented.

“This year’s event was extremely well run,” said one school representative. “The organizers did everything they could to make the experience as relaxed, efficient and productive as possible.”

The event began with introductory remarks by Cartouf van Panhuys from the Ivy Circle, one of the event’s sponsors, who stressed the informal nature of the Fair, in which participants were encouraged to ask as many questions as they liked of the wealth of business school representatives in front of them. Next up was US Consul General Julie A. Ruterbories, who added a personal flair to the proceedings by saying that her parents had met as exchange students. She stressed the advantages of attending US-based educational institutions, outlined the various visa application procedures that successful candidates would need to follow, and emphasized the facilitative approach of the US Consulate in this regard.

The lively Q&A panel session that followed a series of brief remarks from the admissions representatives reinforced the open nature of the event, as participants asked pointed and forceful questions about virtually all aspects of the MBA programs.

Some of the questions focused on the application process: How can I finance an MBA? How do scholarships work? Do you really read all of the essays we work so hard on? What are the differences between one and two-year programs? Can I bring my wife and family?
Other questions focused on the programs themselves, and often reflected the growing trend of social responsibility in the business world: How has your school adapted its curriculum in response to the economic crisis? What about global climate change? Do you emphasize an approach that increases the role of women in business leadership?

Still others focused on what would happen after their MBA was complete: Is an MBA really different from other types of business degrees? What will the job market be like when I graduate? What are the success rates of your job placement programs?

Throughout the forum, the admissions representatives gave intelligent, personal responses that reflected thorough knowledge and awareness of the issues the students were facing, as well an acute sensitivity to the differences in approaches that each school applies.

“I was particularly impressed by the level of the questions asked,” said a school representative. As far as the prospective students were concerned, the feeling was mutual. “I loved the Q&A session,” said one. “People were asking the same questions I had, as well as some I hadn’t even thought about before, and I felt like I was hearing real answers, not pre-packaged statements.”

One key message came through loud and clear from all of the panel members: It’s not just a matter of selecting a top MBA school – it is incredibly important to do the research (and ask the questions!) that will create the perfect fit between student and program. All of the representatives agreed that time spent doing an MBA is a chance unlike no other for personal and professional growth, so the decision is not to be taken lightly.
After a lunch break that included more informal contact between attendees and representatives, participants broke into smaller groups reflecting their top three school choices. Most of these sessions included a brief presentation followed by more Q&A, with the added advantage of having school alumni present to provide a perspective on their own MBA experience.

“The break-out sessions were the best part of the day for me,” said one prospective student. “It was a totally relaxed atmosphere, which made back and forth discussions easy.”

The day ended with a Dutch ‘borrel’, presenting another key opportunity for more informal social interaction and sending attendees back out into Amsterdam’s city center with two huge advantages: Contact with – and advice from – top business schools, and the personal drive and ambition to work as hard as they could to make one of the most important decisions of their lives – selecting the MBA program that is right for them.

Thanks to all organizers and sponsors, including The Ivy Circle, A.T. Kearney, booz&co., Aegon, Shell, TNT, and nrc∙next, who made the 2009 Amsterdam MBA Fair a resounding success for all concerned.