Smeal School of Business

MBA
1

How many of you would like to get a top notch MBA from one of the highly rated programs in the USA? Everyone I would guess!! A first year MBA student at the Smeal School of Business, I would be more than happy to answer all of your questions …

2

How many of you would like to get a top notch MBA from one of the highly rated programs in the USA? Everyone I would guess!!

A first year MBA student at the Smeal School of Business, I would be more than happy to answer all of your questions about the Smeal MBA program and the application process in general.

Some facts:

1. Smeal is the #1 Supply Chain program in the USA
2. Smeal/Penn State alumni network is a huge resource that helps us current students during each phase of our MBA careers
3. Smeal offers substantial merit based financial aid to domestic as well as international students
4. We at Smeal are proud of our HONOR CODE and fiercely protect our HONOR AND INTEGRITY both within and outside our Smeal lives.

So...future Smealers - fire away your questions and hopefully I will be able to give you some useful responses!

Cheers,
Akshay

3

Thanks akshay for starting this post.

How good is Smeal when it comes to strategy and consulting. i know it has a big repo in Operations and SCM.
Just wanted to know how good is the faculty and resources available for a career changer looking to make a shift from IT to consulting.

4

Hi Akshay,

Can you comment on my chances in Smeal .My Brief profile

GMAT 660(Q48,V34)
5 year IT WE by Fall 2010
EC -Okay.

I have the same question as Nishant posted above. Also can you tell the approximate cost of Total MBA Program at Smeal.Can i expect any scholarship for my profile?

Regards
Vignesh.

5

Nishant,

As you pointed out Smeal is awesome for SCM and Operations. It is also well know for Marketing and we have great faculty. Many of our professors have taught earlier at the top ranked/ivy league schools, which makes it a really worthwhile experience.

Now you have to narrow down your "Consulting" goal - Consulting is a vast field and your success is pretty much defined by your networking skills. Penn State boasts of one of the largest alumni networks in the country and we have alumni working in high ranking positions in consulting companies like PWC, Delloitte etc.

We also have a lot of career changers - that is what majority of people come to business schools for...so you should be good on that front too!

Cheers,
Akshay

6

Vignesh,

Your GMAT is good and you seem to have sufficient experience. Although I can't evaluate your application based on these objective measures, you have a good chance of getting in. Smeal offers around 35 Graduate Assistantships each year - which is one of the great features of the program - as our class size is pretty small (around 85-110). Which means more than 30% of the students get a GA - every GA gets a 100% tuition waiver.

For the latest costs, please visit:
Tuition and Financial Support €” Penn State Smeal College of Business

Cheers,
Akshay

7

Hey Akshay,
Thanks for your informative posts.
Would u please give me some advice on my profile.... I want to apply in Smeal for fall 2010.
GMAT- 700 (AWA 5)
Undergrad - 3.2/4
Work ex - 3 years(at the tiime of admission) in Tata Nano (manufacturing planning)
What are my chances of getting an admit and a scholarship? Scholarhip is a major concern for me...

8

Hello Akshay,
Thanks for your initiative. Smeal is a nice school and considered a very strong program in Supply Chain Management traditionally.
How would you evaluate Smeal's program in terms of marketing?
Could you please let me know the process of a student referral..

Regards,
Anshu
GMAT - 710
Work Experience - 5 years in Business Development & Strategy in a technology firm
Decent Academic scores and strong EC's + Community service.

9

Anshu,

Student referral is through Smeal alumni. So if you know any Smeal alumni, you can ask them to refer you - this will also grant you an application fee waiver.

-Akshay

10

Abhinav,

You profile looks excellent. The application evaluation is very subjective and each part of your application has equal effect on the final decision. Compelling essays and honest answers are the key to get in. Your passion for leadership and your past achievements should be evident in your essays.

-Akshay

11

Hello Vigdev,

Please visit the Smeal website for tuition details. As I have said many times in this thread, the application evaluation is completely subjective. On the Smeal website, you will find the class profile for the current MBA classes. Please use that to determine your fit in the Smeal MBA class.

-Akshay

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hi Akshay,
thanks for taking time out to answer queries.

I m looking to apply to Smeal round 2 with my profile
710/5/0 , 4years in IT by july 2010, good leadership exp.
1 year international exposure, good acads decent EC

I m interested in IT management/ consulting in IT domain
from that perspective how would you rate the Smeal
Strategy /innovation and leadership concentrations.

thanks
RD

13

Hi Guys,

This is Arul
My profile is as follows:
Work Experience : 3 yrs by 2010,TCS
GMAT : 660
TOEFL : 109
10th : 85.6
12: 96.5
BE(Mechanical from GCT - 77.88% - First Class with Distinction
Extra Curriculars - good

What are my chances???

14

Is there any specific format for submitting the Recommendations???

15

Hi guys,

I am a current student at Smeal and would love to help you in your Smeal application process.

Please check the Smeal College of Business fall 2011 admissions thread here:-

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/international-indian-mba-schools-accepting/60023-smeal-college-business-fall-2011-a.html#post2349330

This link would be the primary link for this year's admissions.You can direct all your admission related and general queries in the aforementioned link.

Thanks and see you there !

Varun Verma
MBA Candidate - Class of 2012
Smeal College of Business
Pennsylvania State University

16

Hey
Is the SMEAL MBA a 12 month program or a 24 month program