Phd in Organizational Behavior - advice !

[portugabel]

Hi,

I am a 29 year old professional and have been working for 6 years, 4.5 years in the banking industry and 1.5 year in a Human Capital consulting role.

I decided recently to go further with my studies and pursue a PhD in Organizational Behavior (concentration of Management most of the times) in the USA.

I have taken my TOEFL, my GMAT and have completed my application to 8 universities in the USA (such as MSU, Illinois, UNC, Indiana...). I have scored 650 in my GMAT (47Q, 34V) and have what I believe is a strong experience.

Does anyone have an experience with PhD (in Management and/or OB)applications, admissions, GMAT scores? What is my chance of getting admitted in one of thoses programs or even in lower ranked one? Then which one should I apply to?

Thanks all for your input !

[oldprogrammer]

I think your biggest hurdle will be securing quality academic (research-oriented) LORs, and convincing the AdComs that you understand what is involved in doing PhD-level research.

If you are serious about making this kind of career change, I think it would be in your best interest to take a year of relevant undergraduate courses, and use that time and contact with professors to get research experience and at least one academic LOR. Or complete a Masters program first, if you have the time.

Management PhD programs are rather competitive, even at the Top 50 level, because they admit so few students each year. And if you really have the intent to pursue an academic career you shouldn't aim below the Top 50 (though that's just my opinion).

[possible_phd]

Well, the standard response is that everyone has a shot; but the truthful response is that not all shots are created equal. Your only obvious weakness is your GMAT, but then again, that's all you really shared.

What was your undergrad degree in? What was your GPA? Who wrote your LORs? What are you research interests? The answers to these questions will have a large impact on your chances, and there is always the possibility that being strong in these can mitigate a weaker GMAT.

From one applicant to another, good luck!!

[portugabel]

Thank you for your message.

To answer a few of your questions:
- graduated with a major in Economics from a University in Western Europe (more than a Bachelor, almost comparable to a Master's degree)
- top 5% of my class although such classification is not "official"
- GPA is not comparable but would be assimilated to around a 3.5 with very strong individual results in Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Organizations theory,...
- clear idea of my research subjects and discussed these already with some faculty at universities I am applying to as I already on some of the subject in my consulting position
- LOR will be 2 professionals who know me very well and 1 academic who knows me very well also ! I believe it is ridiculous to ask a LOR to a professor whose class I have been to only for a semester and who does barely know me.
- I have also applied to other universities outside the top 50 to have some cushions as I have decided to go for a Ph.D. in OB starting next Fall

- Negative point is my GMAT score although universities have been responsively not negative (not all positive either) regarding my score... have communicated it to all professors I am in contact with...

This summarises better my profile !

Thanks again for your advice

[possible_phd]

The only bit of advice I'd give is that, if at ALL possible, you should get more academic LORs and get rid of those professional ones. PhD programs don't really like work recommendations, but they also understand that if you've been out of school for a while, it might be hard to get those academic referees.

Again, good luck!

[Macintosh]

I agree with oldprogrammer and possible_phd that your biggest hurdle lies in convincing the adcom that you understand what academic work entails and securing academic recommendations. If you must proceed with professional recommenders, then make sure that they address your capability for academic research in their letters.

[phdseeker]

You should get into the top 10/

[portugabel]

Thank you all for your replies !

As I know my professional recommenders quite well, I have insisted with them that the most important thing they needed to emphasize was my ability and eagerness to pursue research and they believe I would fit in the academia world. I have told them that they should adjust my reference letters for the academia world and not for an MBA.

Asides from my relatively average GMAT score and the LORs, I have spent extra time searching for the right universities with the right teachers for me. Indeed, I have clear ideas of the OB/HR subjects I want to research and therefore have been insisting on that in my SOP and in my university search.

Again your advice on these and on my profile is more than welcome !

[oldprogrammer]

Keep in mind that AdComs really only care about the opinion of someone who has completed a PhD in a related field. If your professional references do not have relevant PhDs their opinions will not carry much weight.

[tkkoh]

- LOR will be 2 professionals who know me very well and 1 academic who knows me very well also ! I believe it is ridiculous to ask a LOR to a professor whose class I have been to only for a semester and who does barely know me.

- Negative point is my GMAT score although universities have been responsively not negative (not all positive either) regarding my score... have communicated it to all professors I am in contact with...

The LOR is to get other people to talk about your RESEARCH potential and ability - whether you can meet the demands in academic research. You don't need someone who knows you well to do that. In most cases, a prof who taught you for one semester may do a better job at making the evaluation than many other professionals. There are exceptions, but remember that they are exceptions.

You are right on about your GMAT score - it is one weak point.

The nice thing about OB programs is that work experience does value a little bit (but not a lot) more than in other programs (e.g. econs, finance, etc). Nevertheless, it is a good differentiator only when you can demonstrate good research abilities and potentials (the non-negotitables). You can look at gradjournal.com for some of the OB applicants' stats.