Since 2002, Michele "Mitch" Kirsch has been MBA admissions director at the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to taking on her current role, she was assistant director for admissions and customer services at Penn State, director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Indiana University, and the scholarship coordinator at the University of California at Berkeley.
Kirsch received her doctorate in higher-education administration from Drake University, a master's in college student personnel administration and counseling from Indiana University, and a bachelor's degree in history from Westminster College in Pennsylvania.
On Mar. 26, she spoke with BusinessWeek Online reporter Mica Schneider. Here's an edited transcript of their conversation:
Q: Why has the number of applications you've received dipped this year?
A: Our applicant pool is about 20% lower than last year. A lot of factors are contributing to this, including the complexity of the world situation, which greatly affects the flow of international applications.
I also believe the U.S. economic situation has an impact. We're targeting candidates currently in the workforce, and fewer people are as apt to take a risk and leave their place of employment when the job market is still so tight.
Q: How competitive will MBA admissions be at Penn State this year? Presumably, fewer applicants would mean that a higher percentage of MBA applicants would be admitted....
A: Yes, that's true in most cases. However, we're still stressing the quality of the applicant, across all factors, so we're not willing to compromise on our qualitative factors to admit more applicants.
Q: Does that mean you'll accept fewer MBAs into your next class?
A: We haven't officially made that call. We're still aiming for a class size of about 100, but we're not willing to lower our standards just to make numbers.
Q: When is the best time to apply?
A: Our first deadline is Dec. 1, and our final deadline is Apr. 15. Domestic candidates can apply any time during that cycle. However, we do ask international applicants to apply by Feb. 1. The Feb. 1 deadline is also our deadline for financial aid.
Q: In general, what makes an applicant a good match for Smeal's full-time MBA program?
A: We're looking for candidates with strong academic credentials that prove they'll excel in the classroom. We're also looking for solid work experience and a professional focus, someone who has enough experience to have gained maturity and insight into their personal strengths and weaknesses, and who knows how and where the MBA can take them.
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