2010 Application Profile Evaluation--Management/OB

[young&ambitious]

Hey all! Been on this forum for a few months and have somewhat hinted towards my profile, but never spoke of specifics. I would really appreciate any input that any would be willing to contribute. My two major questions are (1) are my school selections out of my reach?, (2) what can I do (other than doing well on the GRE) to strengthen my application?

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Scholastic Program(s): Management / Organizational Behavior / Mass Communications
Research Interest(s): Media Management & Economics
Primary School of Interest:
- Columbia University Graduate Business School (Professor Eli Noam, PhD/Columbia Institute of Tele-Information)
Other Schools of Interest:
- Columbia University Graduate Journalism School (Professor Eli Noam, PhD/Columbia Institute of Tele-Information) [PhD Communications, MBA Media Management]
- Harvard Business School (Professor Bharat Anand, PhD/Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy/Sensory Ethnography Lab)
- Northwestern Kellogg School of Management (Assistant Professor Daniel Gruber, PhD/Media Management Center)
- Jönköping University International School of Business (Professor Robert Picard, PhD/Media Management and Transformation Centre) [AASCB-accredited school in Sweden]
- Michigan State University College of Communication Arts & Sciences (Professor Stephen Lacy, PhD/Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law)
- Other Schools (but not too interested): Stanford GSB/Dept. of Comm, UPenn Wharton/Annenberg, UCLA Anderson/Comm Studies (Media Management Center)
- PhD Alternative Programs: NYU Stern Pre-Doctoral Program, Oxford MSc in Management Research Program/Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Age: 19
Undergraduate School/Program:
- B.B.A. University of Georgia C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business (Management-Organizational Behavior; Major Advisors: Assistant Professor Laura Little, PhD, Professor Robert Vandenberg, PhD) [top-25 business school]
- A.B.J. University of Georgia Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications (Telecomm Arts-Media Management; Major Advisors: Assistant Professor Tayo Oyedeji, PhD; Professor C. Ann Hollifield, PhD) [top-3 journalism schools, arguably the best US school in media management]
- Undergraduate GPA: ~3.5/4.0-cum laude (still in progress, completed undergrad in 2 yrs...btw, a 93% is a 3.7 at my school. :/)
- Graduate Program: N/A (audited PhD seminars in Mass Communication and Organizational Behavior Theories as an undergraduate)
- Graduate GPA: N/A
- GRE: TBD (taking at the end of October)
- Academic Research Experience: AOM affiliation, 4 Research Assistantships, 1 book manuscript, 1-2 article manuscripts, 3 ethnographic films. 4 major internal departmental papers/presentations
- Industry Experience: Ten-Year Veteran of the Broadcast Industry (up to first-line managerial responsibilities)

Application Strength (IMHO): Programatic Research Experience/Agenda
Application Weakness (IMHO): Quantitative Reasoning Statistics
(compensated by taking research methodology courses and independent studies with some of the top methodologists in the management field)


Thanks for any input!!!

[hispano_phd]

Hi:

IMO you have a pretty good profile. As you stated, quant is a weakness. Be sure to have a Calculus class next semester.

Take care!

[young&ambitious]

Thanks hispano for your advice! I have taken business statistics and calculus I, but performed poorly on both. This made me wonder if I would be cut out for a career as a scholar, so I designed some studies to see if I can handle the quantitative methodologies. Right now, I'm working on a logistical regression analysis for a q-sort survey design, and feel pretty comfortable with it.

Perhaps getting certified in SPSS, SAS, or STATA would also be beneficial?

[obmgt]

interesting profile. i don't understand a thing in mass communication so I can comment on specific choices of schools. I would only say that there are other research methods that are not necessarily heavy in quantitative stuff - especially when it comes to communication: discourse analysis, conversation analysis etc.

[young&ambitious]

obmgt, very true. I know many scholars who do ethnographic studies that lean towards the qualitative end of the spectrum, but in terms of PhD programs (esp. top-tier, business-oriented ones), strong quantitative credentials are necessary (which makes me rather worried since I'm not coming from the best brand name school, etc.)

Are the schools that I'm targeting unreasonable for my credentials? If so, what can I do over the next three months (for this application cycle) or over the next fifteen month (for the next application cycle...) to strengthen my profile?