Admission result 2009:

[shahram29]

Please put your admission results for 2009 here:

Program:
GMAT /GRE Score:
Graduate GPA Score:
Submitted papers:
Rejects:
Admittances:

[possible_phd]

I'll post here probably in April, once decisions are final, since we annoyingly cannot edit our posts here indefinitely.

[socialpsych]

Time for a bump!

Program: Organizational Behavior (micro)
Attending: Stanford
GRE: 800Q/650V/5.5AW
Undergrad GPA: 3.97 from top US private school, psych major
Publications: one out in second-tier psych journal, second author; one first-authored presentation and a few second-authored. I did have a ton of research experience.
Rejected: Harvard social psych
Admitted: Stanford OB, Chicago MOB, UC Santa Barbara social psych
Withdrew: Haas OBIR (interview/unofficial admit), Kellogg MORS (interview), Columbia management (interview), UC Davis social psych (interview), Princeton social psych, Cornell social psych

[finance_guy]

All applications were to finance

Offers: London Business School (accepted), Carnegie Mellon, University of Rochester, Ohio State

Interview: Indiana

Rejected: too many to bother listing...

Profile:
GRE 800 Quant, 620 Verbal
Undergrad: B. Com from a top tier Canadian University (I am American) GPA: 3.5
Major Finance, Minors: Operations Managemnt, Strategy
Grad School: No
Research: 2 years RA, and co-authorship of 2 working papers, Independent Study research in asset allocation
Teaching Experience: TA for 3 classes (undergrad and MBA)
LoR: 1 very very strong, 1 quite strong, 1 good

[possible_phd]

Program: Quant marketing
Attending: Kellogg
GMAT Score: 750 (Q: 48, V: 45, A: 6.0)
Undergrad GPA Score: 3.50 in nuclear engineering, Cum Laude
Graduate GPA Score: MBA, no GPA, Honors
Publications/Research experience: None
Interviews (given or requested): USC, Wisconsin-Madison, Texas, Wharton, Kellogg, Yale, UNC, Michigan, Emory, WashU, CMU
Admitted: Wisconsin-Madison, Yale, Michigan, Kellogg
Waitlisted: Wharton, Chicago, Texas
Rejected: Cornell, Duke, Stanford, OSU, MIT, Berkeley
Withdrew: USC, Wharton, Texas, UNC, Emory, CMU, Chicago, Maryland, WashU

[doriangray2009]

Age: 23
Program: Marketing - Behavioral
GRE: 770Q / 590V / 4.5W (not submitted to programs)
GMAT: 730 - 48Q, 41V, 6W
Undergrad GPA: 3.61 - BS in business (marketing / intl bus mgmt). Public university, top 10 school, top 5 program, graduated with departmental honors.
Graduate GPA: No graduate school.
Research Exp: (1) thesis in marketing strategy (unpublished, but on track), (2) research assistant on A- journal article in marketing strategy (paid), (3) research assistant on dissertation work in marketing strategy (paid).
Current Work: No relevant work experience.
Letters of Rec: Three primary, one secondary. The primaries: (1) Thesis advisor, marketing strategy professor (tenured), (2) consumer psych teacher, marketing behavior professor (tenured), (3) personal mentor, marketing behavior professor (tenured).
Biggest Perceived Weaknesses:
(1)Background in math. I have loads of experience with statistics... SPSS, ANOVA, one/two-tail tests, Chi-Square, & so on with all sorts of datasets, including one collected, organized, & designed by myself... but barely any with classical maths like calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, analysis, & so on.
(2) Background in psychology. This doesn't appear to be AS important an aspect among marketing behavioral applications, but all the same I still have to think more = better here. Most important in this regard is experience with running & working within a psychology laboratory, I imagine.
(3) Age. I don't really think this matters TOO much. But, given two candidates of different ages with similar credentials, I have to think that the older applicant would be preferred, & would almost always bring more experience & maturity (that is, readiness for the commitment) to a PhD program.


Rejected: NYU, Stanford, Northwestern, Duke, USC, Indiana, Minnesota, Arizona State.
Admitted: None! (**Best Results: Top 5 in one program, Top 10 in another program.)

Plan B: Returning to school for my 2nd bachelor's degree. I have very light loan debt from my first degree, & currently no career-path work, so there is little preventing me from doing it. It should take two, maybe two & a half years to obtain my BA in mathematics & psychology, with a minor in economics. I am supremely excited to get back to school, & I think at the end of it, I will be a far more attractive & a better-prepared marketing PhD applicant.

[tabegl0]

Program: Finance
GRE Score: Quant 800 Verbal 690 AWA 4.5
Undergrad GPA: 3.81 in Electrical Engineering
Graduate GPA: 3.75 in Electrical Engineering
Publications/Research experience: Masters Thesis
Attending: Michigan
Admitted: Michigan, Texas-Austin, UNC-CH, Florida, Maryland, WUSTL, Texas A&M
Rejected: Cornell, Duke, Wharton, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Kellogg
Withdrew: OSU, NYU

[possible_phd]

Plan B: Returning to school for my 2nd bachelor's degree.

Any particular reason you prefer another undergrad degree vs. a grad degree?

[doriangray2009]

Any particular reason you prefer another undergrad degree vs. a grad degree?

A mix of applicability, availability, convenience.

What graduate degree would directly strengthen my marketing / CB PhD application? Not an MBA. There are some MSc marketing programs out there, but I can't recall one that was especially advantageous over a second bachelor's... marketing research, which could be useful but is light on math & something I can get paid to do as an undergrad assistant; marketing strategy, a path I'm mostly not interested in; & assortments of merchandising or advertising or such, programs that are only tangentially related to my ultimate interests. Any other master's degree (econ, math, even psych) requires a background that I don't have (...yet).

With a second bachelor's, I can take a wide variety of courses, including some at the graduate level (again: math, psych, & econ). I will matriculate right away & bypass the admissions process (which would set me back another semester or two at this point). I qualify for loans automatically. & crucially, I can balance a schedule of classes that are directly in line with my research interests with free time to pursue research in a psychology lab. I suppose one enormous x-factor is that I'd be able to continue regular research work with my recommending professors in marketing.

In short, I get to expose myself to multiple fields of interest in a compact amount of time that go a long way to strengthening my academic credentials, all while I continue my relationships with my previous professors & go on to form relationships with new profs.

[LennyBee]

Program: CB Marketing
GMAT: 740, V47, Q45
Undergraduate: 80% Canadian school, Finance
Graduate: 85% Canadian school, MBA Marketing
Research Experience: 1 publication (finance), 7 conference presentations (marketing), 4 years RA
Admitted: Colorado-Boulder, Wisconsin-Madison, Oregon, York
Rejected: UBC, Stanford, Minnesota

Attending: Colorado-Boulder