Daughter accepted as a direct admit to both business schools. She is having a hard time deciding between the two. OOS for both. Hard to say academically which is the better option. Likes Maryland’s campus and location better, but likes Penn State’s college town. Social kid but not overly interested in Greek Life. Would love to hear your thoughts!
@a_masters16 , Smeal College of Business, as well as penn state as a whole, has one of the top alumni networks in the country. I’d vote PSU for business.
Penn State has an alumni network like no other.
Maryland is right next to the heart of the nation’s capital with all the business opportunities that go with it. Internships should be easy to get here.
Both are excellent schools and very evenly rated for business.
Maryland will give merit aid depending upon stats. Penn State will likely not.
Penn has awesome football. Maryland has awesome basketball.
Penn State has a college town bout nothing else close. Maryland has metro access to DC.
I personally give the edge to Maryland.
My daughter is in her second year In Smeal at PSU. She LOVES it (and is not in the Greek system). However, I don’t think they offer ‘direct admit’ to Smeal.
Although she was accepted to Smeal as a freshman, it’s really not official until the end of the second year once you meet a certain GPA threshold (3.5 for Finance and 3.2 for the other business majors) AND at least a B in all the entrance-to-major courses. For a strong student in HS, this seems like a low bar. In reality, many students do not make the cut and need to find another major (not in the business school). I am not sure how Maryland works, but this is one challenge with PSU. Fortunately, my daughter will make the cut but we had a few tense moments over the last 4 semesters. Several of her friends have already made the transition out of Smeal b/c they would not make the cut - and it’s not like they have terrible grades, just not good enough for Smeal.
My suggestion is to (a) fully investigate the requirements of the business school at both universities and (b) investigate other majors/colleges as a back-up for Penn State (And perhaps Maryland too if they also have these requirements).
Good luck!
If Maryland is a true direct admit, I would go there. Everyone is a pre major at PSU so your D isn’t truly in SMEAL yet. The only difference in being accepted as a pre-major to SMEAL is you get a SMEAL advisor. U can’t actually declare until you have met all the Entrance to Major (ETM) requirements, within a certain credit window, and maintained both an overall cumulative GPA and an ETM class only GPA. Many kids start SMEAL premajor and can’t pull the grades. My D has a class where an A is 95-100. An A- is only calculated at 3.67 and a B- (an 84 in some classes) is 2.67. Can make meeting GPA requirements hard.
Both schools are academically great, cant lose there. I would go to the next level of decision making around “feel and fit”. You said you are OOS, but how far away? Getting to/from PSU is mostly all driving. Winters there can be brutal with snow (although not too bad this year).
PSU sports is better, but not by much.
I like the comment above about being near a city (DC) versus woods (PSU).
Although I bet they are both good, I would check into CO OP and Internship opportunities as well.
How easy (in time, trouble, and money) is it to get from these two places to where you live? Your daughter is likely to be making two or more round trips each year. For some families, that will make the final decision.
Penn State has a little airport with puddle jumpers. Not great for reliable flying. Lots of delays and cancellations, even in clear weather. At least with MD, there are three major airports: National, Dulles, and BWI.
We are in NY - it’s a 5-6 hour drive to either school. Thanks for the comments. Doesn’t seem to be a super clear winner!
Actually, it’s by a lot. If you use the Director’s Cup standings, PSU is in the Top 10 (#7 in 2018-2019) and Maryland is down at 40.
And PSU’s football stadium atmosphere is always rated as one of the best in college sports, if not the best in some opinions. School spirit and alumni network of PSU is top notch.
I’m not a parent of a student, or an alum, of either school.
Check that she’s direct admit at Maryland. With business honors, business start?.. Direct admit would be really hard to pass.
Smith direct admit means simply getting a C or higher in calculus, statistics, economics (macro/micro), accounting 1&2. If she manages that, she’s good!
It’s obviously easier than getting a 3.2 GPA including C or higher for calculus, statistics, microeconomics; one semester of accounting; English composition, finance, management - with some majors requiring a B (A-/B+ for finance!)
Advantages to Penn State: alumni network, a college town (and the right time to enjoy a college town is when you’re in college), IMO nicer campus.
(Did she apply to Schreyer Sapphire?)
Advantages to UMD: proximity to DC, direct admit.
Yes, Maryland decision letter says Managment major, Robert H. Smith school of business advising college, so seems like a direct admit. Invited to join Carillon communities LLC. Got an email from Penn state to apply to Sapphires but haven’t done so yet (application due in March). Lots of pros and cons on both sides.
Apply to Sapphire as it’s the Business Honors program. Odds are much higher to make requirements with it because some classes are offered just for Sapphire students.
Email UMD to verify that admission is direct and not ‘pre entrance to business’ or somesuch. They do have direct entrance but once it’d be a key criterion you want to make sure.
It is, in fact, a Direct admit to the Smith School of Business at UMD. They have been using the same phraseology in their decision letters for many years.
If you are in NYC, there are 3-4 Megabus runs a day between NYC and Penn State. Off peak prices are about $9…99 each way and peak will cost you $49.99. My S has used Megabus many times and says its fine, no real complaints.