Business Programs Within A 50-Mile Radius of the Rockville Campus Nearby college and universities offering business programs.

What does it take to get into Smith?  Besides a terrific grade point average (realistically, a 3.5 or higher), each student's application is examined for evidence of leadership activities, work experience and a willingness to take challenging courses.  This is information that incoming freshmen at MC must know.  Involvement in activities should begin early on.  The Smith Advising Page states this clearly.  The student who owns a thriving business and who has a 3.2 may still find a way into Smith, but the majority of students accepted are those who have excelled in the classroom.

Students should also have a Plan B ready.  Many students are attracted to Smith because it's nearby, it's reasonably priced as a state school, and because of it's growing reputation.  But Smith is not the only way to succeed in business.

• Consider alternate majors at UMCP:
  • The Communication major at the Main Campus has a Public Relations track that is very similar to Marketing.  Important courses at MC to prepare for this major:  MA 116 Elements of Statistics, SP 108 Intro to Human Communication, another SP elective, and SP 250 Intro to Communication Theory.   Students must also show proficiency in a foreign language at the intermediate (201) level.  This is a Limited Enrollment Program with other requirements - see the LEP page for details.   
  • Economics - requires MA 160 Elementary Applied Calculus.  Other requirements are currently being revised.  www.bsos.umd.edu/econ/ 
  • Agricultural and Resource Economics www.arec.umd.edu/Academic/Underprog/ 
  • Natural Resources Management www.nrmt.umd.edu/ 
  • Psychology or Sociology, etc. etc. - although these are rather general majors, plenty of people have moved into the world of business without a business major.  See the long list of UM majors for other ideas:  www.uga.umd.edu/admissions/academics/majors.asp .  Seek out internships in the business world while in college.
  • Add Business courses to any major through summer classes at UM.  Unlike the regular school year, students can take BMGT courses during summer sessions on a first-come, first-served basis.  Although Business is not a minor available at UM, students can pick up BMGT courses as electives in summers to enhance other majors.
  • Some feel that regardless of major, UM is the place where big companies interview for employees, in part because of Smith, but not all companies are looking strictly for business majors.  Being a UM student gives access to interviewing companies.  Sample employers recruiting at UM's Spring 2007 Career Fair:  http://umdcarctr.erecruiting.com/stu/cf_registered_employers?fhnd=2260 
    
• Choose another school:
  • Programs within commuting distance include:  
    • Evening programs through University of Maryland, University College or Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business (note that the math requirement for both of these programs is MA 110 or higher and a statistics course)
    • The University of Baltimore has a combination of online and in-class courses (near the Inner Harbor, Baltimore).  A full business degree can also be completed online; many generous automatic scholarships based on GPA. (Minimum math, also MA 110 & 1 statistics course).
    • UMBC:  While the University of Maryland, Baltimore County does not offer a Business major, they do have a Financial Economics major, a Health Administration and Policy major, an Information Systems major and many business "minors" in the form of Certificates, which, when added to another major, give students business skills.  Here are titles of Administrative and Managerial Sciences Certificates:  
      • Finance  
      • Management Science
      • Personnel & Industrial Psychology
      • Preprofessional Studies in Accounting

      Financial Economics BS; Health Administration and Policy BS; Information Systems BS and the new Bachelor of Arts in Business Technology Administration Program  This BA program is designed for students who want a basic education in the use of PC-based office information systems. Another major, a minor, or a certificate program in a field of the student's interest must be completed along with the BA curriculum requirements to qualify for the degree. The BA degree is less technical in nature than the BS program and the focus of the courses is more on the user of office systems.

    On the outer edges of commute-ability (about an hour and a half from Rockville):

    • Morgan State University's Earl Graves School of Business and Management:  Morgan offered over 60 scholarships to MC students this past year.  Students with a 3.0 or higher qualified for full-tuition awards; those with a 3.5 or higher were offered full tuition and room and board. This Business Program is AACSB-accredited (as is Smith).
    • Towson University's School of Business and Management is also AACSB accredited.  Majors include:  Business Administration with tracks and concentrations: Legal Studies, Economics, Finance, Human Resource Management, International Business, Management, and Marketing.  Also:  Minor in Business Administration; Financial Planning Certification Preparation; Combined Major in Business Administration (Marketing) and Electronic Business; Combined Major in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems; e-Business:  Major in e-Business; Major in e-Business with Track in Financial Planning ; Combined Major in Electronic Business and Business Administration (Marketing) ; Combined Major in Electronic Business and Computer Information Systems.   One math course only required for all business programs at Towson:  MA 116 Elements of Statistics or BA 210, Statistics for Business Administration.

  Check out the MANY other public and private schools in DC and MD - see the full list of "Schools within a 50-Mile Driving Radius of Rockville" for links:  www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/business50mile.htm 

Students often ask, "Will a degree from _______ be as respected/meaningful/marketable as one from Smith?"
The answer is really in several parts:  yes, if  a student has completed an internship or cooperative work experience within the field, yes if a student shows great performance in the classroom, and yes if a student networks with professors and fellow students.  Students with strong internship experience have a distinct edge regardless of where their degree is from or what their major was.  If Smith is not in the stars, some creative brainstorming with advisors at Montgomery College and at transfer institutions can still make a career in business a reality. 

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