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The Pennsylvania State University
Smeal College of Business
Getting In
PROGRAM BASICS
Penn State Smeal MBA program
Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business
220 Business Building
University Park
,
Pennsylvania 16802
United States
Program Web site:
Status:
Public Institution
Program e-mail address:
Graduate business school is accredited by:
AACSB International
SCHOOL BASICS
Graduate business school enrollment:
Total:
347
Full-Time MBA:
187
Part-time MBA:
0
Executive MBA:
81
PhD Program:
79
Undergraduate business school enrollment:
5,883
Graduate degree programs:
Master of Accounting
Other graduate degree programs:
Master of Manufacturing Management, Master of Professional Studies in Supply Chain Management
PROGRAM COSTS
Total direct costs (tuition and required fees) of the entire MBA program:
Resident :
$
40,002
Nonresident :
$
64,964
Recommended annual budget (Resident):
$
41,618
Recommended annual budget (Nonresident):
$
53,728
PROGRAM LENGTH
Full-time program (months):
21
ADMISSIONS
Application Deadlines
Semester:
Fall
Deadline:
December 1st
Semester:
Spring
Deadline:
February 1st
Semester:
Spring
Deadline:
April 15th
Does the program have rolling admissions?
Yes
Is proficiency in English required for admission?
Yes
Is a minimum score on an English language proficiency test required?
Yes
Which English language proficiency tests are accepted?
IELTS
TOEFL Computer Based
TOEFL Internet Based Test
TOEFL Paper-based Test
Minimum paper-based TOEFL score required for MBAs:
600
Relative Importance of Application Elements:
GMAT Score:
Important
Resume/Work Experience:
Very Important
Application Essays:
Very Important
Interviews:
Very Important
Recommendations:
Important
Undergraduate Transcripts:
Important
APPLICANTS
Applications (admitted and denied) to the newest class:
663
Applicants who were accepted to the most recent class:
33 %
Admitted applicants who enrolled in the newest class:
39 %
Applicants who were re-applicants from prior years:
2 %
Percentage of this year's reapplicants accepted:
38 %
Applicants wait-listed during the last admissions cycle:
17
Wait-listed applicants admitted for the semester to which they applied:
10
Applicant interviews are:
By invitation only
Applicants (admitted and denied) who were interviewed:
54 %
Admitted applicants who were interviewed:
100 %
APPLICANT POOL
International applications received:
65 %
Applications from women received:
34 %
CLASS PROFILE
Full-time students in newest entering class (2009-2010) that are:
Female:
29
%
International:
30
%
Married:
42
%
Students from following regions:
Africa :
1
%
Asia:
24
%
Eastern Europe and Central Asia:
1
%
Latin America and the Caribbean:
1
%
Middle East:
1
%
North America:
68
%
Oceania :
0
%
Western Europe:
2
%
Dual citizenship:
1
%
Percentage of U.S. students in newest entering class that are:
African American:
4
%
Asian American:
11
%
Hispanic or Latino American:
5
%
Multiethnic/Multiracial :
1
%
Native American:
0
%
White (Non-Hispanic):
79
%
Percentage of U.S. students in newest entering class who are from the following regions:
Northeast:
12
%
Mid-Atlantic:
63
%
South:
12
%
Southwest:
2
%
Midwest :
5
%
West:
7
%
Possessions and territories:
0
%
Mean months of work experience of newest entering class:
55
Median months of work experience of newest entering class:
48
Middle 80% range of work experience of newest entering class in months:
From:
11
To:
110
Median age of entering class:
27
Mean age of entering class:
28
FINANCIAL AID
Full-time MBAs apply for financial aid through:
Central financial aid office at the university
Full-time MBAs who applied for financial aid for the current academic year:
100 %
Full-time MBAs receiving financial aid in the current academic year:
90 %
Mean MBA financial aid package for the current academic year:
$ 21,480
Median MBA financial aid package for the current academic year:
$ 14,882
On what basis are scholarships awarded?
A combination of need and merit
Full-tuition scholarships school will award during the upcoming academic year:
2
How does an applicant apply for scholarship consideration?
all candidates are considered for scholarship
Mean scholarship awarded to full-time MBAs in the previous academic year:
$ 5,716
Percentage of first-year students receiving financial aid who receive at least the same amount in their second year of study:
3 %
Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to all MBAs regardeless of nationality?
No
Mean outstanding debt among the most recent graduates from the full-time MBA program:
$
33,642
GMAT
Are applicants required to take the GMAT?
Yes
GMAT scores:
Mean :
652
Median:
650
Middle 80% range GMAT scores:
From:
570
To:
730
Academics & Lifestyle
CLASS OFFERINGS
Average number of students in a full-time MBA core class:
42
Average number of students in a full-time MBA elective class:
23
Elective courses available to full-time MBA students:
47
Electives that have been added to the full-time program since June 30, 2009:
Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Transportation in the Supply Chain
Year of last major change or significant overhaul to the core curriculum:
2008
Concentrations and specializations offered to full-time MBA students:
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Health Care Administration
Leadership
Manufacturing and Technology Management
Marketing
Supply Chain Management
N/A
Joint-degree programs offered to full-time MBAs:
MBA/JD (Law)
Other
Does the school offer an accelerated full-time MBA program?
No
The school believes that its leading areas of study for full-time MBA students are:
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Leadership
Marketing
Supply Chain Management
FACULTY
Faculty employed by the B-school:
134
Full-time faculty:
Tenured:
68
Non-Tenured:
66
Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:
Tenured:
0
Non-Tenured:
3
Women on Faculty:
Tenured:
11
Non-Tenured:
21
Minority Faculty:
Tenured:
13
Non-Tenured:
17
International Faculty:
Tenured:
10
Non-Tenured:
16
Faculty with PhDs:
Tenured:
68
Non-Tenured:
46
STUDENT LIFE
Professional clubs available to full-time MBA students:
Business Ethics
Corporate Social Responsibility/NetImpact
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Investment Banking
Marketing
VC/ Private Equity
Networking clubs available to full-time MBA students:
Black MBA Association
International Club
Partners/Family
Women in MBA
TEACHING/ACADEMICS
Teaching methods used:
Case Study:
30
%
Distance Learning:
0
%
Experiential Learning:
20
%
Lectures:
20
%
Simulations:
5
%
Team Projects:
25
%
Other:
0
%
Requirements for graduation:
Students are required to complete international experience
Students must have attended a minimum number of classes
Students must have earned a pre-determined GPA/letter grade average
Students must complete a company-specific project and present results to relevant parties
TECHNOLOGY
Technology improvements in the last three academic years:
The major investments made over the last three years include Exchange 2007 communication and calendar system for faculty, staff, and graduate students, video conferencing enhancements to expand mobile units, and virtualization of all of our backend production systems supporting faculty research and teaching and administrative systems for the college.
Amount spent:
$ 320,565
Alumni Affairs & Careers
B-SCHOOL ALUMNI
Living MBA alumni:
4,545
Active MBA alumni clubs:
0
Countries in which MBA clubs exist:
0
Living MBA alumni who gave in past year:
10 %
Mean gift from MBA alumni:
$ 431
Median gift from MBA alumni:
$ 50
Did school receive an individual gift in excess of $10 million in the past academic year?
No
Business school endowment
$ 52,412,577
Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni?
Yes
Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site?
Yes
University alumni networking site:
Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site?
Yes
Business school alumni networking site:
Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database?
Yes
CAREER SERVICES
Graduates seeking full-time professional MBA employment:
83
%
Graduates not seeking employment:
12
%
Graduates for whom you have no information regarding employment:
5
%
Annual job-searching trips that the school coordinates or participates in:
Destination:
National Black MBA Association Conference
Month:
September
Amount Paid By School:
Partial
Destination:
National Society of Hispanice MBA Conference
Month:
October
Amount Paid By School:
Partial
Destination:
Wall Street Initiative
Month:
November
Amount Paid By School:
None
Destination:
Net Impact Conference
Month:
November
Amount Paid By School:
None
Destination:
NAWMBA Women's Conference
Month:
October
Amount Paid By School:
None
Primary source of job offer:
School-facilitated activities:
79
%
Graduate-facilitated activities:
15
%
No information provided by graduate:
6
%
Job Offers for 2009 graduates:
Received first job offer by graduation:
69
%
Received first job offer in three months following graduation:
6
%
Did not report having received a job offer:
25
%
Accepted first job offer by graduation:
60
%
Accepted first job offer in three months following graduation:
7
%
Did not report having accepted a job offer:
33
%
Top recruiting organizations most recent academic year:
Dell
7
Bristol-Myers Squibb
3
Sears Holdings Corporation
3
Hewlett-Packard (Includes EDS)
2
Johnson & Johnson
2
Mars
2
Novartis
2
Apple Inc.
1
Black and Decker Corporation
1
Deloitte Consulting LLP
1
Exxon Mobil
1
IBM
1
JPMorgan Chase
1
Pfizer Inc.
1
PNC Financial Services Group
1
Job-accepting graduates who received a signing bonus:
55 %
Base salary, signing bonuses and other compensation for most recent employed graduates:
Mean base salary:
$
87,940
Median base salary:
$
87,750
Mean signing bonus:
$
13,548
Median signing bonus:
$
10,625
Mean other guaranteed compensation:
$
7,980
Median other guaranteed compensation:
$
6,130
Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following functional areas:
Consulting:
8
%
Finance/Accounting:
21
%
General Management:
6
%
Human Resources:
0
%
Marketing/Sales:
15
%
Management Information Systems (MIS):
2
%
Operations/Logistics:
48
%
Other:
0
%
Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following industries:
Government:
2
%
Consulting:
10
%
Consumer Products:
6
%
Financial Services:
10
%
Manufacturing:
8
%
Media/Entertainment:
4
%
Non-Profit:
2
%
Petroleum/Energy:
2
%
Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care:
15
%
Real Estate:
0
%
Technology:
23
%
Other:
17
%
Graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:
Africa:
0
%
Asia:
2
%
Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia:
0
%
Latin America and the Caribbean:
0
%
Middle East:
0
%
North America:
98
%
Oceana:
0
%
Western Europe:
0
%
Within North America, graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:
Northeast:
31
%
Mid-Atlantic:
33
%
South:
4
%
Southwest:
19
%
Midwest:
6
%
West:
4
%
Possessions and territories:
0
%
Canada:
2
%
Top recruiting organizations for internships, most recent academic year:
Sears Holdings Corporation
5
Dell
3
Pfizer Inc.
3
Polartec
3
Bayer
2
JPMorgan Chase
2
DuPont
2
IBM
2
Johnson & Johnson
2
Mars
2
Motorola
2
Target
2
The Hershey Company
2
Westinghouse Electric Company
2
Black and Decker Corporation
1
Internships awarded that are paid:
87 %
Weekly internship compensation:
Mean:
$ 1,148
Median:
$ 1,300
Average internship length in weeks:
12
SCHOOL COMMENTS
School Comments:
N/A
Graduate Comments
Smeal has an outstanding sense of community. I knew every one of my classmates by name and had interactions with each of them by the end of our first semester. Challenging classes, worked as teammates and were not cut-throat. New business building is a world-class, cutting edge facility that fosters knowledge and community. -- Finance
My program is an exceptional value. It is a top operations school that provides a number of graduate assistantships which allows students to waive tuition and also receive a cash stipend. -- Operations
I would most likely encourage my friends to attend the Smeal College of Business. Due to the size of the class, Finance majors had to do a lot of networking/traveling on their own to secure employment. But school's alumni were so helpful. -- Investment Banking
Penn State offers the best communications program, as well as the only private-investor student run mutual fund in the country. --Finance
There is a bit of concern for people who are used to having more socially rewarding activities as a part of school. -- Marketing
I didn't see as many technology classes as I expected. A very few professors and their classes didn't provide values. The curriculum is a bit old-fashioned without integration of different disciplines which are cross-applied in the real business world. A few U.S. classmates created unnecessary tensions and made my MBA studying experience not very happy. -- Consulting
The best thing about Smeal is the overall experience and not just the education, which by itself is a great value for the money spent. Oppportunities abound outside the classroom to learn as much as an individual desires. The support that the students receive from the professors and career services is ample because of the small class size. The only disadvantage is the remote location. In spite of that, it is easily the best school if you want to major in Supply Chain Management. -- Operations
The Smeal MBA program provides an extensive well-rounded education. Ivy League quality at State Tuition! -- Entrepreneurship
The value for money at the program is outstanding and barely comparable to offerings of schools with the same or similar rankings. Some of the professors are really outstanding, the staff is friendly and overall my colleagues were very down-to-earth and friendly and even though I was a foreigner ... I never felt lonely or abandoned and I realised my academic and personal goals. Paying for expensive school was an unconceivable option for me and I am glad and grateful that the school was willing to accept me and work with me for my success. It has none of the shine, glitter or "smoothness" of operation/service of the Ivy Leagues but the study is rigorous and the atmosphere is friendly and supportive.-- Finance
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