Maryland (Smith)

Employment Stats

https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/career/about ... Statistics

Value Considerations

Tuition per annum:
In state: 14k
Out of State: 24k

https://www.smith.umd.edu/fullmba/tuition.html

FT05 Value For Money: #54, one of the best of the Near Elites

I have been giving some thought to Smith.

I like the fact that they have positioned themselves and are marketing themselves as the "Leaders of the Digital Economy". It is interesting cause "Digital Economy" does not mean only IT or Hi-Tech. It indicates to me that technology has and will continue to have an impact on all businesses no matter what the core. The school found an unoccupied slot and are now proclaiming themselves to be the leaders in the slot. That i think shows foresight.

Additionally I found something really interesting on the Smith Website which I thought I should share. The school has hired a immigration law firm to help dispel myths about hiring international students. I find that very commendable. I have looked at the web sites of all the colleges rated at 10-50 in the US and as far as I can tell Smith is the only school that seems to not only show concern for its international students but also has put some action behind the words.

On a lighter note, the turtle is the official mascot of UM. Fans cheer on the University of Maryland athletic teams by shouting "Fear the Turtel". Fear the dragon is okie with me. Fear the turtle is stretching it. :-D

Thanks for the info- I found the part about helping international students particularly interesting.

One would think that Maryland would be a big draw as a best buy..its ranked 20th among US schools in the FT rankings and its tuition fees is half of other ranked schools around it..not only that, one can qualify for even cheaper resident fees in the 2nd year of residency..any reason why more people don't consider it or is it a hidden gem as they call it? : )

Great question.

This is one of the mysteries of Maryland. It ranks quite well, it is relatively inexpensive (one of the best values among the Near Elites), and has a pretty strong reputation for IT yet it does not seem to generate much interest among applicants.

For whatever reason, does not seem to have the level of interest that surrounds other Near Elites such as the Indiana trio (Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame) or nearby Georgetown. What is more surprising is that it is in one of the top 5 metro areas of the US yet Near Elites in such small markets as Nashville and Rochester seem to attract more attention. It is interesting to note that the parent universities of most of the Near Elite schools are much higher on the prestige scale than Maryland is (including Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt).

well from what I have heard and read,Vanderbilt has been going down in the rankings in the last 2 years while Maryland has gone ahead of Georgetown in the FT rankings(which are global)..not that rankings matter a whole lot to me, but it does show that Maryland is on the upswing quietly - similar to Emory in a way...Georgetown seems to attract people of a different nature i.e. public service,foriegn trade etc while Maryland is getting to be known as a tech MBA..but hey both are in the DC area - thats a huge plus.
but u rright - its a mystery!

Interview Information

I had my interview a couple of weeks ago and I thought sharing the experience may be useful to someone applying to Smith. Check the link for my responses to the standard accepted.com questionnaire. The site contains responses from about a dozen other Smith applicants, so it's very useful.

https://www.accepted.com/mba/interviews/ ... IntID=8375

In brief:
- I am an international, so it was a phone interview;
- the interview lasted 50 mins and was personalized, meaning that the interviewer had reviewed my materials and aksed specific questions (so look for potential 'holes' in the application). Standard questions were also asked: why Smith, how will you contribute to diversity at the school... Have your poetry ready for those questions
- The interviewer made me feel very comfortable and it felt more like a dialogue than a typical interview. She was very experienced and engaging.

I guess the best way to prepare is to go through your resume and essays, because you'll be answering the same questions again (very likely). Use accepted.com's interview feedback database. Try and do a mock interview before the real thing - this was my second phone interview and I felt much better than the first time. Most importantly, relax and have a good time during the interview, so that they realize what a great applicant you are!!

pretty good insight..my interview lasted only 10 mins! it was in the midst of an MBA forum/fair..it was supposed to be conducted before it, but he was late and he requested if he could do it later during the forum..we stepped out for a few mins and he was done and went back to his stall..thought i did well but 10 mins..?

I have applied to several MBA programs in US for FALL 2006. As of now, I have received admits from Purdue University and University of Maryland.

The problem is that, I want to Major in Finance and I am not able to find the correct source of information which would give the rankings of US MBA schools as per FINANCE as a major. Different ranking sources have given different ranking to these two univs but none of them have rankings as per specialization.

Can you please tell me that for pursuing Finance as a Major, which one amongst the two - Purdue and U of Maryland; is better??

Hi...I am kinda new to this forum and found this piece on individual universities very useful. I am in a dilemma between Maryland and Gatech. I have assistantship in both places but the deals go like this.

Maryland: $10,000 fees remaining which I have to pay and living expenses is on me.

Gatech: No fees and $5,000 stipend which I can use for my living.

I am an IT professional and post MBA, I would like to do IT consulting in Financial services domain. Considering the above details and the location of both the schools, where would I have greater chance of getting into such a job and is it worth shelling out that extra money to Maryland for this?

he man, as per my research, if you want to do something in Finance you must try to be close to the eastern coat which means that Maryland definitely wins over Georgia Tech in your case.

Marylands tuition may be low but they have more than $12k in fees on top of tuition every year which puts in on par with other similar schools

Thanks.. This info helps me a lot..

Any idea about the average pay for passouts??