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Narenn
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 19 Aug 2018, 22:53
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It's time to start Smeal (Penn State) class of 2021 applicants. Welcome to all prospective applicants. Let's do this journey together. Tell us more about your background, your post MBA aspirations, why Penn, etc.

Add Smeal MBA to your profile



⚠ This discussion has been closed due to inactivity. Please start a new topic in the Business School Applications Forum if you have a similar question or a comment.

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 30 Oct 2018, 00:02
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This may also be a good resource for the interview prep although the questions given in it are not only Smeal specific... https://gmatclub.com/forum/compiled-int ... 29075.html
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 30 Oct 2018, 00:48
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Hi Narenn & other members of the forum,

Does anyone know how to check last year's interview debriefs?
I have an interview scheduled for 12th and getting to know the last year's debriefs would be helpful.

Looks like no one has submitted their debriefs on Smeal's interview debriefs page so you will have to dig in to last years' threads...

Well.. I had some time so I scanned previous discussions and uploaded select interview derbeifs in debriefs section. You can read them here https://gmatclub.com/forum/smeal-pennsy ... brief.html

Good luck siddreal and all others who are interviewing at Smeal!
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 30 Oct 2018, 00:53
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Thank You Narenn, that was very nice of you to dig through the old posts and find this helpful information.

Have a great day.

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 30 Oct 2018, 06:28
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Hello all.
I interviewed yesterday afternoon with Ben Webb.
The interview had the normal questions but a few that threw me off somewhat. Be prepared to talk about your weaknesses or misconceptions coworkers may have of you.
I was much more confident following my interview with Katz. However, learning more about the program at Smeal only increased my position as Smeal being my number one choice.
Feel free to PM with any specific questions.
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 02 Nov 2018, 03:50
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Anyone else interview yet?

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any advice on whether is interview is formal or sort of conversational?
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 05 Nov 2018, 07:03
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I’d say a mix of both. I would really look over the website and have a well thought out reason why Smeal. With the small intake they are really selective and a lot comes down to fit.
I had my interview and unfortunately was not admitted. I’d say my downfall was not being prepared enough for the interview.

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tylerg91
I’d say a mix of both. I would really look over the website and have a well thought out reason why Smeal. With the small intake they are really selective and a lot comes down to fit.
I had my interview and unfortunately was not admitted. I’d say my downfall was not being prepared enough for the interview.

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Hi,
yea I guess, the school is really selective when it comes the fit and profile. I think what they are usually judging by the interview is how one would do when a recruiter interviews the student on campus. They have strong placement % because of this vetting process, at least that's what I think.

Btw did you apply this year or last year? Any particular advice for the program as a whole?
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tylerg91
I’d say a mix of both. I would really look over the website and have a well thought out reason why Smeal. With the small intake they are really selective and a lot comes down to fit.
I had my interview and unfortunately was not admitted. I’d say my downfall was not being prepared enough for the interview.

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You got the results already?
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 05 Nov 2018, 07:14
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Yeah I interviewed Monday and found out Friday.

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 05 Nov 2018, 07:16
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Thanks man. Have you decided on a school then?

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 05 Nov 2018, 07:28
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I have I am going to go with Katz.

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 06:39
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hi,
can anyone tell what time does Smeal follow lol, just confirming for the interview time.
The local time in Pennsylvania, the Central time (EST) or the Pacific time (PST)??
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 06:45
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hi,
can anyone tell what time does Smeal follow lol, just confirming for the interview time.
The local time in Pennsylvania, the Central time (EST) or the Pacific time (PST)??

Local eastern time.

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hi,
can anyone tell what time does Smeal follow lol, just confirming for the interview time.
The local time in Pennsylvania, the Central time (EST) or the Pacific time (PST)??

Invitation received?

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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 08:27
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hi,
can anyone tell what time does Smeal follow lol, just confirming for the interview time.
The local time in Pennsylvania, the Central time (EST) or the Pacific time (PST)??

TA89

Pennsylvania follows Eastern Standard Time USA (GMT-5)
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ok thanks guys !!
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 13:24
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got done with the interview - went very average considering how prepared I was.

people take note, this is going to be an extremely grilling interview. I came across some bomber questions that I could not have expected, completely out of the blue. Also, the school focuses a lot on behavior-based questions (almost 70% of the interview was around professional/ behavior based questions)
I would highly recommend crafting good stories around leadership, teamwork, challenge, failure, personality, ethics etc questions and try following the STAR format if you can.

The interview certainly kept me on my toes the whole time, so it goes on the confirm, how selective the school is towards picking the right candidates.
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 23:25
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got done with the interview - went very average considering how prepared I was.

people take note, this is going to be an extremely grilling interview. I came across some bomber questions that I could not have expected, completely out of the blue. Also, the school focuses a lot on behavior-based questions (almost 70% of the interview was around professional/ behavior based questions)
I would highly recommend crafting good stories around leadership, teamwork, challenge, failure, personality, ethics etc questions and try following the STAR format if you can.

The interview certainly kept me on my toes the whole time, so it goes on the confirm, how selective the school is towards picking the right candidates.

TA89

Thanks a lot for the note. Would you be able to post your interview experience and the questions from your interview here https://gmatclub.com/forum/smeal-pennsy ... brief.html

I guess your interview debrief will definitely help a lot of applicants on how to prepare for Smeal interviews.

Thanks.
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Calling all Smeal (Penn State) Applicants: (2019 Intake) Class of 2021 06 Nov 2018, 23:28
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Please post the questions in the interview debrief section, it would be a great help. I have a interview scheduled on 12th.
Who took the interview btw?

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