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TESTIMONIALS

Thanks for all your help during my application process.

Pankaj Kumar, ASU Carey (with GA), Purdue Krannert (with GA), Arizona Eller (GA + $9,500), Katz (with $10,000), SMU Cox (with $55,000)

Pennsylvania State University (Smeal) MBA Admission Details and Applications Essays 2022-23


Here is a snapshot of the vital information for the applicants



ESSAY QUESTIONS

  • What are your short-term and long-term career goals? How does your past experience enable you to achieve these goals? How do you see your MBA experience fitting into this plan? (600 Word Limit)





  • – APPLICATION DEADLINES –

    ROUND DEADLINE
    1st Round October 1
    2nd Round December 1
    3rd Round February 1
    4th Round April 1

    PROGRAM STATISTICS

    55

    Current Class Size

    34%

    Female Students

    66%

    Male Students

    30%

    International Students

    12 Years

    Average Work Experience

    666

    Average GMAT

    3.40

    Average GPA

    $43,296

    Total Tuition Fee

    $65

    Application Fee

    Required

    Resume

    Yes

    TOEFL Requirement

    Data not available

    School Based Loan

    Need based as well as profile based

    Scholarships/GA Opportunities

    Pennsylvania State Smeal Essays Writing and Editing Support


    The MBA application process can be quite challenging at first. Finding a benchmark and evaluating oneself is hard. When I began my application process, within the set of limitation that I was working under, I wasn’t very confident about my chances. Shailesh and Mayank evaluated my profile thoroughly and were very patient in understanding my constraints and requirements. They helped me structure my thoughts and motivated to apply to the better B-Schools. At every stage, they went above and beyond what was required. I never realised when they ceased to be ‘admission consultants’ and became ‘mentors’. Their mentorship helped me, not just with my applications to universities abroad, but also through the application process to Indian schools.”

    Shubham Gupta Boston University ($60K scholarship), The College of William and Mary (50K scholarship), 9 IIM’s, MDI Gurgaon, XIMB

    History

    The Pennsylvania State University better known as the Farmers High School of Pennsylvania was founded in 1855. In 1862, the name got changed to Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. With the passage of Morrill Land Grant Act, the School was selected as the state’s sole land grant college in 1863. In 1953, the School’s name changed to The Pennsylvania State University. The Penn State Smeal College of Business commenced in the same year. In 1990, Frank P. Smeal and Mary Jean provided financial aid to the college and hence, the institute came to be called as The Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business.

    MISSION STATEMENT

    The Penn State Smeal MBA Program develops great leaders who are knowledgeable in their field, act with integrity, have an ethic of teamwork, and are enthusiastic members of the Penn State community. We create a diverse learning community and leverage the resources of Penn State to provide a highly personalized learning experience.

    Core Strengths of the School

    Penn State’s Smeal MBA program aims to equip students with functional expertise and in-depth business knowledge so that they can embark on their journey to become principled business leaders of an increasingly globalized business world. The first year of the curriculum focuses on exposing students to the fundamental business skills and the different functional areas of business in any organization like Finance, Marketing, etc. Honesty, Integrity and Accountability are the core fundamentals of the Smeal MBA program. Smeal MBA program expects the highest ethical standards of academic integrity and accountability from its students in order to develop principled business leaders for the future. The year-long leadership communications training program provides an unparalleled experience of indulging in workshops and activities that would enhance the leadership acumen and communication skills of the students. Students have acquired hands-on leadership experience through Leadership Immersion program, where they visited the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Fire Academy and Quantico, Virginia- home of the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and gained different perspectives on leadership and teamwork. The 360-degree assessment of leadership behaviors from peers further help students in enhancing their leadership skills.

    Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

    The Applied Professional Experience APEX is an opportunity for students to collaborate and work in teams over cross-functional business projects for their clients. This is a platform for students to gain knowledge about the business practices followed in the organization. Students work in teams with peers from diverse professional backgrounds and this helps them gain insights into different functional areas of business. Liaising with client teams and interacting with the top executives of the company exposes the students to the real-world business challenges and the strategies to counter them.

    As a part of the Global Immersion program, the first year students have travelled to destinations such as Peru, Chile, China, India, South Africa and Turkey and enhanced their understanding on the economy, commerce and culture of the country. Students get the chance to visit company headquarters and tour manufacturing units of the leading organizations of the visiting country and delve into their ways of conducting business. They interact with top-notch executives of these firms and the government officials who provide insights into the ways of conducting business on an international platform. The Global Perspectives and Global Business Environment Courses aim at training the students to anticipate and understand the macroeconomic changes happening in the business environment and how these changes impact the operating business environment. The Center for Global Business Studies brings together high-profile executives, researchers, faculty, students and the business community on a common platform, where they can discuss about business theories, strategies and recent business practices. The Center aims to delve into the multifunctional business issues that are posing hurdles for the smooth operation of business in the global environment. Businesses, universities and academic institutions join hands to educate students and executives on current business theories, strategies and practices.

    The Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship aims at creating and designing educational programs in entrepreneurship and innovation, driving academic research in entrepreneurship and innovation, and ensuring that these get translated into actionable best practices.

    CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

    • Supply Chain Management / Logistics
    • Finance
    • Healthcare Administration
    • General Management
    • Production / Operations Management
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Entrepreneurship

    LOCATION ADVANTAGES

    The Penn State Smeal MBA program is held at the Business Building of the University Park Campus in State College, Pennsylvania. Its proximity to the business hubs such as Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. proves to be beneficial for the students, who get several internship and consulting opportunities. The Center for Performing Arts and the Bryce Jordan Center regularly host a variety of international shows throughout the year. The State College Community Theatre group regularly entertains the audience at the The State Theatre in State College. The New Year’s Eve is celebrated as First Night State College in downtown State College.

    CAREER SUPPORT

    The MBA Career Services team is committed to shape the career of the students and equip them with the requisite skills and resources to land into the perfect post-MBA job. The expert team is backed up by a unique and proven Personal Career Strategy Framework that has led to full-time and internship opportunities for students in top companies. The Framework provides a powerful tool for the students to map their goals and effectively chart out a plan to reach their objectives. The framework provides a step-by-step guidance for self-exploration, market research, focus, planning, implementation and career management. The career coaches mentor students to analyze their potentials and explore the industries and companies that would best align with their long term career plans. Students are trained on effective job search techniques, managing interviews, networking techniques, offer negotiations, etc., so that they are able to leverage internship and consulting opportunities and convert them into full-time job offers.

    FURTHER READING SUGGESTED

    Penn State Plans Second Data Center

    READ THE ARTICLE

    Pennsylvania State Smeal Essays Writing and Editing Support


    The excerpt of my B-School journey and story, and the important role played by Expert’s Global:- When I was sitting on the couch of Expert’s Global office, more than a year ago, reading various successful stories mentored by Experts, I dreamed of sharing my own story someday and imagined how it would be for me. Now that I get the chance to share it, I am quite thrilled. The journey was long, tiresome and full of struggles, yet the learning was subliminal. Expert’s Global were the only people I approached after reading various reviews online. I took the complete package and started with the GMAT preparation, then came the applications, interviews and finally the decision of which school to go to and they guided me through each of these steps. During the GMAT preparation part, I received complete study material, plenty of practice questions and a proper schedule. There are also a good number of mock tests that really give the feel of CAT test such as GMAT so when THE DAY arrives you will feel like you know everything about it. I was preparing with full zeal but then I got promoted, which showed a lot on my preparation. My scores stopped increasing and I decided to take the test. My GMAT score was not exceptional (a lousy 680) so I knew I needed strong essays and a nicely built profile (time to thank the promotion) and Shailesh Sir proved to be a gem on this front-I remember emailing him at 2;30 in the morning on the day of my first application and received immediate response and support. Such efforts go far beyond and ultimately it shows on your results. Experts advised me to apply to 11 schools, which I did, however I could not complete 2 applications so I ended up applying to 9 schools. Out of these I received interview calls from 6 schools namely Foster, ND Mendoza, Mason, GWU, Katz and BYU. I got admits from 3 of these schools, 2 with good scholarships: Foster did not offer any scholarship. My final call was between GWU and BYU. GWU offered me $60K scholarship so tuition for me was less than BYU. Though BYU does not offer scholarships that easily (I have asked a few other admits) but again Shailesh Sir insisted that I ask for a scholarship, so I did. And I got a scholarship. It was great! That made my decision easier, I guess. BYU was a clear win (though in the start, I was so confused). In my opinion the best thing about Experts is that they prepare you to do, instead of doing it themselves-it kind of warms you up for the longer run 😉 In all, I think it was a tremendous experience and without the support I received, it would have been much difficult and far less fertile! I heartily thank the entire experts team for their guidance and support. Thumbs up!

    Roli Shukla BYU

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