Archive for July, 2011

Why Should I Visit?

Monday, July 18th, 2011

While websites, blogs and social media are a fantastic way to start to get to know a program, nothing really replaces what you can attain during an in person visit to a school. Given the resources you are preparing to invest in doing a full-time MBA, you owe it to yourself to see firsthand where you will be spending the next two years—and meet some of the people you’ll be spending that time with. We realize that a visit can be time consuming and potentially expensive, depending on where you live and work. However, in the long run, by making time for a visit to check things out, you can really save yourself a lot of time (and likely money) when making your final decision where to attend school. Nothing can be more costly and emotionally draining than starting a program and realizing where you’ve chosen isn’t a good fit for you. While no amount of preparation can make any decision completely fool proof, going to a program sight unseen could really set a candidate up for disappointment. Most (if not all) programs have visitation days or are willing to set up one-on-one visits if scheduled events just won’t work for you. Take the time to tour the campus and business school, sit in on a class, and meet current students, staff and faculty. Ask yourself if this is where you want to be. We hope that if you visit Smeal you find what you are looking for in our program and community. We invite you to visit us this year for an MBA for a Day program or to schedule an individual visit. The choice is yours, and we’re here to guide you in the right direction!
–Stacey Dorang Peeler

Tags: faculty, MBA, program, visit
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We’re Still Here

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

It happens every year. Students away from campus on their summer internships will email and ask how summer vacation is going for the staff in 220. Every year we will explain to them that though they are gone, we don’t get to shut out the lights and return in August.
Summer in the admissions office is a time to help our incoming students with last minute questions or concerns. We do whatever we can to make sure they arrive and are ready to hit the ground running, already poised to succeed. It’s hard to say who’s more excited about the start of orientation in August—the staff or the new students!
Summer is also a great time of year for us to hunker down in planning meetings. We take a careful look at our strategies for the coming year to ensure we continue to bring in the best future MBA classes. Preparing new essay questions and updating the application, planning our recruitment and event schedules, and analyzing what went well in the previous year and what can be improved for next year are just a few things we will tackle during the summer months.
In many ways summer is one of the busiest times of the year for us—although few are here to see it. However, I can assure you that the first time after fall semester starts that I make the joking comment “I need a vacation!” one of our students will reply “didn’t you just have the whole summer off?”
-Scott Sylves

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Looking ahead & enjoying the moment

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

The excitement is starting to build, as we prepare to meet the incoming Smeal MBA Class of 2013.  Throughout the summer, the admissions team transitions these students to our Student Services and Career Services teams.  This means planning is in full swing for events such as orientation and career services immersion week.  Other things we are eagerly preparing for this fall include corporate information sessions and campus visits, admissions events and fairs, football games and tailgates, MBA Advisory Board and alumni visits, etc. 

Everyone in 220 (the MBA program office) looks forward to seeing the incoming student surveys and photos.  These tools allow us to learn a little about each student before he or she arrives.  We try our best to learn everyone’s’ name before orientation.  (Some in the office are more talented than others.)

While we are looking ahead to all of these events, we are also enjoying things happening now both on and around campus.  Last weekend was the Central PA 4th Fest, complete with fireworks.  Next week begins the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, as well as many other activities that co-inside with what the locals call “Arts Fest.”  The State College Spikes are playing minor league baseball all summer, and there are 3K -5K races happening almost every weekend.  Some of the 220 team are sneaking in vacations, but others of us are sticking around town this summer to enjoy the pools, parks and natural wonders of the area.  We consider ourselves lucky to live here, to work here and to enjoy doing both!

-Ann Mallison

Tags: admissions, business school, Community, MBA, Penn State, Penn State MBA, Smeal, Smeal MBA, Summer
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New Role–Part 2

Friday, July 1st, 2011

As our team looks forward to working with Carrie as the new MBA Managing Director, I am excited and proud to take on my new role of MBA Admissions Director. One of the most rewarding parts of my job on the admissions team is meeting and getting to know students from all over the globe, with each cycle culminating in a personal welcome when they finally arrive at Smeal for orientation. I truly believe in our program, community, and the MBA experience that Smeal can offer, and I will continue to work to ensure the legacy of providing a great experience for our applicants and admitted students lives on. Here’s to a fantastic academic year ahead, and I look forward to seeing your application in the months to come! If I can be of any help to you as you explore what lies ahead for you in an MBA program, I invite you to reach out and start the conversation at speeler@psu.edu. We are…Penn State!

–Stacey Dorang Peeler

Tags: leadership, MBA, structure
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