Hi Guys,
Good to see so many people active on Smiths thread!!!

I am Punit, and I have got admit to Smit Full time MBA...
690 Gmat, 2.5 yrs Experience in TCS (Male Engineer IT!!, exactly the type unwanted in INDIA!!!!:biggrin::biggrin:)

Anyways, so guys how may of you are thinking of joining... i read few negative reviews especially by umdmba... common his username is umdmba!!!
seems his purpose on PG is just to swear UMD!!! (just guessing...)

Finally, one thing that bothers me really is.... huge international student presence.. and its location in federal capital..
If any of you have any perspective about this... it would be helpful!!!!!!

Excel sheet for Fall 2012 Applicants

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq2s_dwUcinldEFBYnpWUlg0d2EzSW9CQ205RjlHdVE

Hi All,

I got an admit with scholarship+GA.

Kindly update the following excel sheet for Fall 2012 applicants to keep things in perspective.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?pli=1&key;=0Aq2s_dwUcinldEFBYnpWUlg0d2EzSW9CQ205RjlHdVE#gid=0

Thanks,
Sarath

think this "umdmba" guy is just making noise for the sake of it ... we all will have only one MBA degree, and only once chance at life as well , there is no room for regrets .... we have to make our decisions with the information at hand and then work hard to make it work.
Just getting an MBA wont be the end of life or hard work for us. we have to keep working hard to prove that we made the right decision.

Another thing, specially goes out to "umdmba" .... dude , mba is not about sitting back and waiting to be served , be proactive , and that said , try positive for once, i have had the chance to talk to many Indian students till now and most of them have a high opinion of smith.

Another thing I would like to bring to everyone's attention is that by spreading negative rumors about a good school , maybe this guy just wants to discourage others from accepting the admission and secure a seat himself.

Everyone, firstly umdmba is not a UMD Student. He is just a prospective student who visited the school. Just putting it out there so that you know how much weight to put on his opinion.

@umdmba,
a. Do you even know what you're saying, you're accusing the school of systematic racism based on a few hours you spent at the school. And it's just ridiculous that you 'saw' preferential treatment meted out to 'Caucasian' students in a matter of a few hours!? Again, do you even know what you're saying.

b. Please do not feel sorry for the 'current students'. A majority of us already have jobs 2 months before we graduate with average salaries upwards of $100,000. And I am talking about the very same Indian students who you think are being racially discriminated against, and for who you felt sorry for. And trust me, the $100k number is a conservative estimate, it is probably higher but I just don't want to over estimate so playing it safe.

2012 FT MBA International Students have full-time offers from: Deloitte, Constellation Energy, Microsoft, Advisory Board Company, Discover Financial Services, Cummins, Amazon.com, Cognizant, Liquidity Services and others. And a good number of these have come from on-campus placement.

c. In one of your previous posts you mentioned that the Smith MBA faculty is average. That is close to the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. This is my first (and only) MBA so I obviously cannot compare the faculty at Smith with that at other schools, but the amount of knowledge that the faculty at Smith brings to the class at Smith is just mind boggling. I know this because I have been studying here for the past year and half. The lectures are super engaging and the faculty is always (ALWAYS!) ready to help you out. Of course, each individual has their favorite instructors and obviously some who they like less but, I haven't seen one smith student complain about the faculty in general, ever.

d. I am not sure if you're referring to my previous post (you probably are!), but I never asked you for an apology. I just asked you to support your claims by data and evidence and not just state your opinion. Was that asking for too much? And last, but not the least, I don't it is worthy of my time to respond to your 'educative' remarks if you cannot make well reasoned arguments.

Thanks, but no thanks!

PS for everyone else: If you have any questions, I have another second year - Shashank, who is willing to help. Please IM me and we can set up a time and maybe have a skype conference. We may not be able to get back to you immediately but will try to be prompt. And in your message, please include your email address.

If you want to (and you should) speak with other students at the school, here's a list of people who'd be willing to answer your questions:
The Smith MBA - Ambassadors

Just trying to make people aware of the situation there.
When I visited the campus I saw the preferential treatment meted out to Caucasian students. The career services consists of Caucasians who dislike Indian students as per my interactions. Also one of the current Caucasian 'scholarship/fellowship' recipient has made derogatory comments about Indian students in public. I felt sorry for the current students at the school. Very talented but unfortunately ended up at the wrong school. Also the school doesnt seem to care about international students. They just admit them so that the US citizen student's MBA experience is enriched. They admit international students so as to get a better MBA ranking based on the international component of students. I wanted to educate prospective students about the issues the school has as I am a proud Indian and believe in the 21st century we should not face discrimination! I do not want to apologize to anyone on the forum for being a proud Indian and trying to educate prospective students about what they are getting into.

signing out soon

Hey Guys ,

I know i am late in joining the thread. Hi to everyone as some of us are gonna be future class mates.
I also got an Admit from R.H.Smith and a G.A. + tuition remission + Schol .
The G.A. is for first year but is most likely to be repeated for the second year. all those who have got G.A. can assume that 80% of their living expenses will be covered by the G.A.
Smith is a very good business school and is highly respected in the U.S. There are always some pros and cons with every school. Through my interactions with the Adcom and current students i have found that it is one of the most welcoming schools for the international students, but the international students doesnt mean only INDIANS! lol .... they have students from almost 15 countries.... think about that.

My profile is
GMAT 730
TOEFL 110
work Ex TOTAL 3 years ( 2 years with MNC IT consulting company , rest with MNC business analytics and Intellectual property research.)

I have also got an Admit from Rotman, but no scholarship and it seems , even though they are offering to get me full tuition loan, it will be a lot of pressure for me to bear a debt of approx 50 Lacks at least, right out of MBA. So for now my choice is Smith.

best Regards and goodluck everyone !

Have not applied to Smith and most probably joining another program, but Just out of curiosity, is the total scholarship amounts to full tuition waiver + living stipend? wont you need to shell out anything at all? TIA and ATB

Buddy, would you care to elaborate why and how accepting Smith has been a decision that you have come to 'rue'. If you are unwilling to identify yourself on a public forum by creating an anonymous account, at least post some data to support your claim. And please also help me and everyone else understand how this is 'common sense' because most people at Smith do not share the same opinion.

I am sure (from my ID) you know who I am. There's only one Karan in the Smith MBA class at the moment. So, if you'd like to talk offline - hit me up!

I think if you choose Smith for your MBA you may end up ruing the choice for the rest of your life. You guys still have time to back out.
Hope common sense prevails!

amuupg Says

Hey buddy ...why are you spreading negative sentiments about UMd Smith MBA, every one has their own perceptions ....

Hi there. This isn't a UMD Smith fanboi club right? I feel everyone is entitled to his/her opinions and experiences.
Every school has its fair share of disappointed students because they didn't get what they expected. I think it's very important to listen to their experiences and see if these same factors and triggers affect us as well. That said, no school can cater to / agree with everybody's appetite, so we should take informed decisions.

Only prob is that since PG is an anonymous forum, we can't know whether UMD MBA is genuine or simply trolling...:(

Cheers!
CE

amuupg Says

Hey buddy ...why are you spreading negative sentiments about UMd Smith MBA, every one has their own perceptions ....

Just trying to make people aware of the situation there.
When I visited the campus I saw the preferential treatment meted out to Caucasian students. The career services consists of Caucasians who dislike Indian students as per my interactions. Also one of the current Caucasian 'scholarship/fellowship' recipient has made derogatory comments about Indian students in public. I felt sorry for the current students at the school. Very talented but unfortunately ended up at the wrong school. Also the school doesnt seem to care about international students. They just admit them so that the US citizen student's MBA experience is enriched. They admit international students so as to get a better MBA ranking based on the international component of students. I wanted to educate prospective students about the issues the school has as I am a proud Indian and believe in the 21st century we should not face discrimination! I do not want to apologize to anyone on the forum for being a proud Indian and trying to educate prospective students about what they are getting into.

amuupg Says

Hey buddy ...why are you spreading negative sentiments about UMd Smith MBA, every one has their own perceptions ....

Just trying to make people aware of the situation there.
When I visited the campus I saw the preferential treatment meted out to Caucasian students. The career services consists of Caucasians who are racist and dislike Indian students as per my interactions. Also one of the current Caucasian 'scholarship/fellowship' recipient has made racist comments about Indian students in public. I felt sorry for the current students at the school. Very talented but unfortunately ended up at the wrong school. Also the school doesnt seem to care about international students. They just admit them so that the US citizen student's MBA experience is enriched. They admit international students so as to get a better MBA ranking based on the international component of students. I wanted to educate prospective students about the issues the school has as I am a proud Indian and believe in the 21st century we should not face discrimination! I do not want to apologize to anyone on the forum for being a proud Indian and trying to educate prospective students about what they are getting into.

I think if you choose Smith for your MBA you may end up ruing the choice for the rest of your life. You guys still have time to back out.
Hope common sense prevails!

Hey buddy ...why are you spreading negative sentiments about UMd Smith MBA, every one has their own perceptions ....

I think if you choose Smith for your MBA you may end up ruing the choice for the rest of your life. You guys still have time to back out.
Hope common sense prevails!

indianpolymath Says

A GA will give you significant tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. If you calculate the savings it would be more than the cash schols

ya, u r right .. thanks for the reply.. was just being over optimistic there is something called a Smith scholar award which gives a GA and a schol on top of it. Anyways, I am happy with what has been given :)

Cheers,
Sandeep

admitted with a GA.
Guys, did anybody get a scholarship?

and does getting a GA mean that there wont be any scholarship?? Generally,as per my knowledge, schools award scholarships a couple of weeks after admission. So I basically dint understand it yet. Does that mean a scholarship decision is yet to be out or should I be just happy with the GA.
Can anybody throw some light??

A GA will give you significant tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. If you calculate the savings it would be more than the cash schols

I have been in touch with some current students and alumni. I got pretty decent reviews about the MBA program at Smith but looking at the placement statistics, it seems that the more than 65% of the students are placed in DC. I regard this as a disadvantage as few alumni would be available in rest of US.

What are your views ?

Hey Guys ,

I know i am late in joining the thread. Hi to everyone as some of us are gonna be future class mates.
I also got an Admit from R.H.Smith and a G.A. + tuition remission + Schol .
The G.A. is for first year but is most likely to be repeated for the second year. all those who have got G.A. can assume that 80% of their living expenses will be covered by the G.A.
Smith is a very good business school and is highly respected in the U.S. There are always some pros and cons with every school. Through my interactions with the Adcom and current students i have found that it is one of the most welcoming schools for the international students, but the international students doesnt mean only INDIANS! lol .... they have students from almost 15 countries.... think about that.

My profile is
GMAT 730
TOEFL 110
work Ex TOTAL 3 years ( 2 years with MNC IT consulting company , rest with MNC business analytics and Intellectual property research.)

I have also got an Admit from Rotman, but no scholarship and it seems , even though they are offering to get me full tuition loan, it will be a lot of pressure for me to bear a debt of approx 50 Lacks at least, right out of MBA. So for now my choice is Smith.

best Regards and goodluck everyone !

Hello my friend,

Thanks for the reply :)
But there is a catch here.. unless I show a concrete proof that I would be able to finish my MBA come what may, I shall not be funded that minimum promised amount by my bank to pay my initial fee.. They will certainly not buy this internship theory..!!!

Hey Pradzy.

Tried approaching banks? they give upto 20 lakhs in loan for students going abroad for MBA.. maybe you can try there..

I am not sure ..how you come up with 15K for 10 weeks internship ..believe me I am working in US for last 5 years ..getting such internship is very difficult ...I would say ..think of somewhere around 8k-10K max for the internship ..but if will be some other city ..think of all that other costs .....


Also Pradzy as we have already talked ...remember the cost of living is very very high in the DC area ..so plan accordingly.

All the best ....

I agree. 15K is the max I told. was just over optimistic. However, do every indian get an internship? whats the avg sal they get for interns?

I am not sure ..how you come up with 15K for 10 weeks internship ..believe me I am working in US for last 5 years ..getting such internship is very difficult ...I would say ..think of somewhere around 8k-10K max for the internship ..but if will be some other city ..think of all that other costs .....


Also Pradzy as we have already talked ...remember the cost of living is very very high in the DC area ..so plan accordingly.

All the best ....

indianpolymath Says

Through internships you would get around 15K$ which amounts to approx. 7.5 lakhs. You can add that to your second year fee reduction (To be on the optimistic note ) Wish you luck

Hello my friend,

Thanks for the reply :)
But there is a catch here.. unless I show a concrete proof that I would be able to finish my MBA come what may, I shall not be funded that minimum promised amount by my bank to pay my initial fee.. They will certainly not buy this internship theory..!!!

Its been a roller-coaster like 48 hours for me... I gave my Maryland interview late on 22-Feb-2012 and it went on tremendously well. It was more like a discussion than like an interview. Both the interviewer and myself were very satisfied by the end of the PI. As a direct result of it, I think, with in 24 hours I got an offer from the school along with GA for the first year and a fee remission of 5000$.

Despite that, I probably would have to accumulate 35L INR which is a lot of money for me. I approached Credila (last month)and after evaluating my collateral they are ready to fund upto 15L. I can manage around 3-5 Lakhs from my savings. And that means I terribly fall short of funds...

As much I want to make to this B school, it seems there is no way out for me... This post to ask people if there is any practical way out of this predicament. I know there isn't but just could resist posting.. Thanks for reading.

Through internships you would get around 15K$ which amounts to approx. 7.5 lakhs. You can add that to your second year fee reduction (To be on the optimistic note ) Wish you luck

Nope. Any one else waitlisted ?

hey folks!!
I have been waitlisted!!
Anyone has any idea whether i will be eligible for scholarship in case the WL turns into an Admit?
Any views?

Whatz up dude... did you hear from them?

Its been a roller-coaster like 48 hours for me... I gave my Maryland interview late on 22-Feb-2012 and it went on tremendously well. It was more like a discussion than like an interview. Both the interviewer and myself were very satisfied by the end of the PI. As a direct result of it, I think, with in 24 hours I got an offer from the school along with GA for the first year and a fee remission of 5000$.

Despite that, I probably would have to accumulate 35L INR which is a lot of money for me. I approached Credila (last month)and after evaluating my collateral they are ready to fund upto 15L. I can manage around 3-5 Lakhs from my savings. And that means I terribly fall short of funds...

As much I want to make to this B school, it seems there is no way out for me... This post to ask people if there is any practical way out of this predicament. I know there isn't but just could resist posting.. Thanks for reading.

Yes ..I did receive the admission packet with all info including financial aid and admissions letter ....but it is exactly the true copy of what you got in email ...just the paperback and official seal :)

Anyways the packet comes in a awesome leather folder ....:)

you got an admit letter as well?? Have you also submitted the "certificate of finance"?? And how long did it take for the packet to come? I mean the lapse between the email and the mail.

Yes ..I did receive the admission packet with all info including financial aid and admissions letter ....but it is exactly the true copy of what you got in email ...just the paperback and official seal :)

Anyways the packet comes in a awesome leather folder ....:)

Yes ..I did received the admission packet with all info including financial aid and admissions letter ....but it is exactly the true copy of what you got in email ...just the paperback and official seal :)

Anyways the packet comes in a awesome leather folder ....:)

amuupg Says

Admitted .....with GA ..

Hey, did you receive a hard copy of the financial aid letter which was mentioned in the e-mail? Its has been 2 weeks since the financial aid mail which mentioned sending a hard copy, but dint receive it yet.

hey folks!!
I have been waitlisted!!
Anyone has any idea whether i will be eligible for scholarship in case the WL turns into an Admit?
Any views?

With the kind of profile you have, it is appalling you have been waitlisted!!
I dont have a concrete answer to your question I am afraid, but why dont you mail them asking it?

hey folks!!
I have been waitlisted!!
Anyone has any idea whether i will be eligible for scholarship in case the WL turns into an Admit?
Any views?

What you are saying is not even 40% correct. Apart from the fact that Smith is near DC so both Smith and Georgetown have a bit of disadvantage because of federal focus but everything else is great. MBA is more about what you want the it to be...its no engineering. In spite of its federal focus Smith is any day better than staying is some village in US as DC is 20 min. away from smith and NYC is 3 hrs Drive... I hope anybody who has stayed in a big city will consider this as an advantage.

Hope it helps.

If you are not a current student but an MBA aspirant then have you visited the Smith school and/ or talked to current students?
If you have and if you got great feedback I feel happy for you.
Wish you the best in the future.

Hi
Anyone who applied on Dec 15 Deadline and as interviewed, any communication about admit or reject?
Applied: 15 Dec
Interviewed: 16 Jan In person Interview in Delhi
710/4yrs IT

Guys,

Based on interactions with Smith students following are some points you need to consider

1. Being an international student at Smith is huge disadvantage.
Talk to people before your commit to the school. It sells itself to international students stating that Deloitte, Booz etc come for recruitment but none of the companies that come on campus for MBA students is open for international students. Only one company that comes to the campus is open to internationals.

2. Proximity to DC area is another disadvantage as the jobs tend to be federal or government so they are not open to internationals.

3. The professors at the school are ordinary. They are hyped way too much in the rankings. The US students are very local and do no have much experience. There would be very few US students that you could learn from. US Students are restricted to around DC area. Students from other states rarely come to Smith.

4. Having said that it is a technology MBA focused school. If you want to focus on technology post MBA then its a good school to be in.

5. I would strongly discourage students from middle class families to take loans and study at Smith. The current return on investment is poor. A

6. Although the current first year and second year students are a bunch of smart people more than 70% (second year) have yet to get a full time job.

7. Based on interactions it even appeared that the school is more US centric and at times discriminates against international students typically in club elections and student bodies.

All in all the student interactions suggest that you should strongly consider all options (even returning back to India with a huge loan). Its a good school only if you have a full tuition waiver for both years (fellowship for 2 years)

What you are saying is not even 40% correct. Apart from the fact that Smith is near DC so both Smith and Georgetown have a bit of disadvantage because of federal focus but everything else is great. MBA is more about what you want the it to be...its no engineering. In spite of its federal focus Smith is any day better than staying is some village in US as DC is 20 min. away from smith and NYC is 3 hrs Drive... I hope anybody who has stayed in a big city will consider this as an advantage.

Hope it helps.

Hi guys,
Just want to update you all with one thing....

Smith has a huge no of international students .. specially in the current batch.. They have 21 indians alone!! (Got to know this from 2 current students of Smith) This might not be a good thing when placements happen, as you have to compete against a large pool of job applicants from the same college/ brand itself.
So think wisely before you decide on anything.

You are not correct. There are only 15 students from India in class of 2013 for Full time MBA and you will find these many Indian student- around 10%-12% in most US MBA schools apart from top 10.

amuupg Says

I also got GA but only for first year , what's the case at your end ?? What about aid in second year ..any idea?

same here.. n i guess aid in second yr is subjected to the performance in first yr. No concrete info with me as well.

admitted with a GA.
Guys, did anybody get a scholarship?

and does getting a GA mean that there wont be any scholarship?? Generally,as per my knowledge, schools award scholarships a couple of weeks after admission. So I basically dint understand it yet. Does that mean a scholarship decision is yet to be out or should I be just happy with the GA.
Can anybody throw some light??

I also got GA but only for first year , what's the case at your end ?? What about aid in second year ..any idea?

hey cheers on the admit!!:cheers:
Help us out on the timeline please
When and how were you i/v?
When did you apply?

I applied in r2 on 14th Dec 2011 and was invited to interview after 2 weeks or so.
Gave Skype interview on jan 15 ..received offer a week after ...I think they are doing partial rolling admissions this year.

Inputs on Interview ....
Be calm and composed ...if you need the college ..college also needs you ..after all it is business school. You need to sell yourself ...appear confident and DON"t lie ...tell frankly from your work experience and personal exp.

Questions are the same , why MBA, why now ...why UMD..., strengths, weakness .....

Let me know if you need any more details ..

Congrats to everyone who got an admit.
I will not be joining the school after researching the school' s culture and talking to some students.
I am pretty sure you guys also talked to seniors and are making a decision after analyzing all your alternatives.
All the best!