Profile Evaluation - PhD/DBA Strategy

[sjmcteer]

Hello all,

I was hoping for a quick evaluation of my profile for admission to PhD/DBA Strategy programs.

Undergrad: Bachelor of Business Administration (unfortunately, a practitioner's degree with little technical coverage) from a small, but well-regarded Canadian university
GPA: 3.95/4.0
GRE: 700
Professional Experience: By time of application, I will have worked in financial services management consulting for approximately two years
Research Experience: No significant experience. I did, however, spend a summer during UG working as an RA for a finance professor, but did mostly basic support work
LORs: Should be good to very good, from reasonably well-published academics, though all outside of my field of interest
Age: 24

Given my profile, how likely (if at all) am I to be admitted to T10 (or so) schools in the US or Canada? If unlikely, how can I best bolster my chances? I suspect my candidacy may be hampered by my lack of technical background and research experience, but I'm interested to hear other's thoughts.


Thanks,

Steve

[possible_phd]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what in your profile would make you stand out for a top 10; there's nothing particularly compelling about it. And is that 700 GRE score for quant or verbal or what?

[evergreen]

Maybe think about doing an MSc in Strategy to gain more research experience and then apply to PhD programs?

For example: Queen's School of Business - Graduate Studies - Master of Science in Management (MSc) - Course Requirements and Program Planning

[rsaylors]

Why T10 Steve? Why are you open to a DBA or Ph.D.? and so important it needs to be asked twice: What is a GRE: 700 and what are your Q/V sub-scores?

What is your long-term goal in all of this?

[sjmcteer]

Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful responses.


Apologies, the 700 refers to my quant score, which I believe would be of greater interest than verbal due to the limited amount of quant courses I took during undergrad as a BBA student. My verbal score was 720.


I suggested T10 to provide a frame of reference for evaluation. I'm aware that it would likely be a reach at present.


My intent is to pursue a career of scholarship in academia. I view both degrees as sufficient preparation for such a career. It was my understanding that the practitioner vs. academic distinction between the two degrees is becoming less clear. Am I wrong here?


And thanks for the MSc suggestion. I've been spending a great deal of time researching these types of programs lately, though have not found many outside of Europe. Within Canada, Queen's definitely stands out as a program with decent placements.

[Behavioral]

From my experience, I haven't come across any DBA-credentialed professors at my school or at conferences. If the distinction is becoming less segregated, then it might be widespread yet (at least in marketing).

[Indus]

@ Sjmcteer: Welcome to the forum!

1- Anything less that Q760 on GRE is not going to make the cut at most top 50 strategy departments. Especially when you are lacking a strong math/economics background. So I would strongly suggest that you reappear for GRE and increase your score.
2- An MSc would be very helpful, especially if you can manage a good academic score and couple of RA assigments.

A T10 admission is a lot about luck under the best of circumstances. So I can't really comment on probabilities regarding that. In your case: a good MSc degree + good LORs + good quant GRE + Solid SOP with well defined research interests should see you through at several good schools within T50.

All the best!

[rsaylors]

Due to the lack of distinction between a DBA and a Ph.D. the DBA has become very rare.

Your low Q score puts you low in the running for the t20 (still apply if you have a STRONG research fit). But your high V score and good overall score combined with your very good UGGPA puts you in the running for the T50 range. As-long as you are interested in CB and you don't apply to schools that are all about econometrics then you'll get some admits.

Go forth and find a research fit: Your GRE is about equal to a GMAT 720.

Search for AACSB-Accredited Doctoral Programs in Business

Rankings by Journals - UTD Top 100 Business School Research Rankings™ - School of Management @ UT Dallas

[possible_phd]

With a 700 Q on the GRE, calling top 10 programs a "reach" is being a bit generous. I would actually go so far as to say it is impossible at this point. You'll need to retake the GRE or take the GMAT to be competitive at even marginal schools. I know this is harsh, but there's no use beating around the bush; you'll need to put in some work (e.g., retaking tests and maybe getting a masters) to become competitive. It might seem daunting, but it's totally doable. Good luck!

[sjmcteer]

Again, thanks to all for the responses.

It seems that retaking the GRE and further studies are both advisable. I’d like to follow-up by picking your brains a little more around the pursuit of further studies specifically.

Given my background and goals, and your comments, undertaking a research-intensive masters program (e.g. an MSc) would be most appropriate. Acknowledging that there are very few of these programs (and very, very few within North America), however, I’m wondering if an MBA might be an alternative. To be sure, the MBA is not at all intended for aspiring doctoral students, but as a backup plan, in a field like strategy, might an MBA from a top school help my prospects? Also, how would a program that is not research-based, but still quant-intensive be viewed (I'm thinking of LSE's MSc programs here)?