FinMaster Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Dear friends, I will appreciate if you evaluate my profile and my chances of getting admitted to the schools indicated below. Profile International applicant from Eastern Europe. Aiming at PhD in finance at Business Schools. Undergrad: BSc in Economics (TOP school in my country though may be unknown in US), GPA = 3.98. Rank: 2 out of ~300. Math & Statistics Courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Discrete Maths, Applied Math. Modelling, Stochastic Diff. Equations, Methods of Optimization, Probability, Math. Stat., Econometrics, Game Theory. Economics and Finance Courses: Intro and Interm. Macro and Micro, IO, Applied IO, Institutional Econ, Public Econ, International Econ, CorpFin, Financial Markets, Monetary Theory, Asset Valuation, Investment Analysis. Graduate: MA in Economics (very respected MA program in Europe), current GPA = 4.1 (A+ stands for 4.3). Rank: 2 out of ~90. It is a two-year program and I am graduating in June. Courses: Advanced Macro, Micro and Econometrics, Math for Economists, Game Theory, Contract Theory, Economic Growth. TOEFL: 280 (L27 S27 R30 W5.0) GRE: Q800, V360 (this sucks :hmm: ), do not know AWA yet. Teaching and Research experience: When I was an undergraduate student, I did RA'ship for two projects. I have two publications though not in TOP journals and in my native language. Currently I am a TA for Micro course at graduate school. List of Universities: (maybe, I will include some more or exclude smth) 1) London Business School 2) MIT, Sloan SoM 3) NYU, Stern BS 4) Northwestern U, Kellogg SoM 5) Stanford U, GSB 6) U of Chicago, GSB 7) UCLA, Anderson SoM 8) U of Penn, Wharton BS Do you think it is reasonable for me to apply to top schools like mentioned above? Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ililgoo Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Hi Finmaster, I've known Econ. major students admitted for Ph D have kind of high GRE verbal scores like over at least 500.....so....I'm not sure..in your case...especially as for the top ranking schools...but....keep it up ~ and I think you need to apply also for top 20 to top 50 schools all around in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinMaster Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 Thank you, Ililgoo! I definitely will not apply outside TOP20 this year. If I fail to be admitted somewhere this year, I will prepare and get a much higher Verbal score next year and apply then. My Verbal was so low because 1) I am an international applicant, 2) I passed GRE without any preparation and 3) I hate learning these crazy words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cridamour Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Yes, I think it would be a pity to settle for less with a profile like yours just because of a low verbal score. You might get lucky this year if they are going to overlook to V score. If not, and you have the courage, indeed, retake, and reapply. (in the meantime you can get some relevant work experience which will increase your chances as well) But, you might get lucky this year! :tup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zavera Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Your application looks great; one thing though, don't you need the GMAT and not the GRE? I'm not 100% sure about this, but I always thought business schools wanted only the GMAT. Also, here is some food for thought. I have a couple of friends who also wish to pursue the finance phd as well, and they were advised to get a Master degree before pursuing the Finance phd. The only reason I mention is this is that they have backgrounds very similar to yours, and I always think it is nice to hear what other people with similar backgrounds are doing. So, it may not be great advice, but you might want to ask a few finance faculty members if they think getting a Masters degree first is a good idea, or if you should go straight for the phd. Otherwise I think you look pretty good overall :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ililgoo Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Some schools prefer GMAT to GRE. But still most of business schools are accepting GMAT or GRE. I also took GRE and trying to apply for PhD in Marketing. Good luck, everybody here!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinMaster Posted November 23, 2005 Author Share Posted November 23, 2005 Thank you, Zavera! Ililgoo is right, most BSchools (at least, their finance depts) accept both GRE and GMAT. The reason I took GRE is that Chicago and Stanford seem to prefer GRE to GMAT. However, some other schools (e.g. Toronto) prefer GMAT. So it is a matter of taste :) I do not quite get your point of view about Master's degree. I am currently pursuing MA in economics and graduating in June. Do you mean that I should graduate before applying for PhD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zavera Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Ohh okay, I didn't know that heh heh. Well, I just heard from my friends that the programs like to see people with master degrees under their belt before they apply for the phd. I guess it shows that you really are serious, but I am not so sure myself. They never really went into the specifics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ililgoo Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Hi Finmaster, Are you applying for Standford? Their deadline is Dec. 1..right? I wanted to apply...but the dealine is too close to apply...in my case...since still I am working on my SOP... Anyway...good luck, Finmaster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpfin2006 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 My opinion (I am also applying with the top 10 business schools for a PhD in Finance beginning in 2006): It seems to me you haven't taken a lot of Finance courses. Therefore, I am wondering whether you know what you are up to in the vast field of Finance. On the other hand, you seem to know Micro well. That's fine, but do you truly believe that indifference curves will be the ultimate booster of your Finance research (hey, guys, just trying to drive my message home here...I love Micro as well)? To be perfectly honest, I would strongly recommend you to take advanced Finance courses such as Asset Pricing, Fixed Income Asset Pricing, Continuous-time Finance (very important, this could be the course that determines what kind of research you love!) as well as Financial Econometrics (but I think you have already taken all essential Statistics courses). Make sure why you want to go for Finance and not for - let's say - IO. Have you started thinking about stochastic discount rate processes when crossing the street? Ever thought about utility maximization in the context of corporate financing and trying to figure out whether different viewpoints on investments can blow the rationality of your DCF away? What is the fair value of a traded asset in the market? Under what circumstances is an asset risikier than another one? Can option pricing help us model continuous-time firm value processes? Ask yourself: Is Private Equity not just another Fixed Income Asset Pricing problem? Or: What kind of incentive structures will you find in Venture Capital investments? How can you build a reasoning for these incentive structures by analyzing the deal from an option pricing perspective? Honestly, I love Finance. And I think that Asset Pricing hands over a whole lot of intelligent tools which we can use to actually explain corporate financial phenomena. If you love Finance as well and consciously decide to go for a PhD in Finance (instead of IO, Econ etc.), that is perfect. But before all that: Forget about that "I went to GSB Chicago and know it all" prestige superstition in Finance and ask yourself whether these kinds of questions, as I have mentioned them before, veritably fascinate you and keep you on track. If so, GO FOR IT. Your profile is very good. All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinMaster Posted November 23, 2005 Author Share Posted November 23, 2005 Hi Finmaster, Are you applying for Standford? Their deadline is Dec. 1..right? I wanted to apply...but the dealine is too close to apply...in my case...since still I am working on my SOP... Anyway...good luck, Finmaster! Ililgoo, Yes, their deadline is in a week, so it is rather late to complete the applucation if you haven't started yet. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinMaster Posted November 23, 2005 Author Share Posted November 23, 2005 Corpfin2006, thank you for such a detailed answer! Yes, I haven't taken a lot of finance courses yet, though I'm taking 4-5 courses (Advanced AP, Risk Man., CorpFin etc.) this year in the 2nd year of my Master's program. Do not know if this is a big drawback of my profile, but we will see. Your question concerned with my motivation. Am I motivated enough for PhD in finance? The anwer is definitely "yes". Believe me, the decision to apply to finance departments was not made occasionally. But you are right, also, I really enjoy some economics fields, esp. Contract Theory, Behavioral Econ., Political Econ., some Macro topics. I also wish you good luck! Moreover, with such love coming from your post I am sure you will become a great researcher in the field of finance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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