tm_associate Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) Hello forum members and lurkers alike! I understand some past attempt has been made to put together a section of profiles of applicants, mostly for those that were successful on the market. I am under the impression that the first thing individuals who make it on to urch look for is a comparison relative to the individuals that are willing to share their information. As the offers are beginning to be accepted, I would like to start a set of formal threads within each sub-concentration of the "PhD Business" field. If you would like to contribute, I would recommend you include the information below, and if you feel comfortable with sharing additional details, please do so as well. I will work to sort through the thread and move relevant applicant profiles to their appropriate threads. The final thread links will be attached to the forum announcement page with relevant information, and will also be closed so that it is only a set of profiles with out the many pages of discussion to weed through before getting to the next profile. After the application season is wrapping up, I'll start moving individual concentrations to separate posts... For those who are comfortable with sharing their profiles, please note that this is being posted on a public open forum. I will do my best to set a balance of enough information, but not too much to the point where individuals are easy identifiable. So first, please include your name, age, and location... wait ... just kidding.. Discipline/Concentration: Admission Year: i.e. when you are starting/started, e.g. Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: (GMAT/GRE) Test Scores: scores and percentiles? Undergrad GPA: Graduate GPA: if applicable Industry Experience: Research Experience: Range of Schools Applied: i.e. UTD Top 20, or 1-50, A&M mgmt Ranking 20-40, etc. Total Schools Applied To: Total Offers Given: Final Remarks: for those successful applicants, now that you are on the other side of the fence, what suggestions would you give others, what would you have done differently, what did you do that worked out well. My goal is to provide a good thread for users to gleam information from, as well as prevent some of the absolute same questions asked every cycle. Please try to be as broad as possible in your remarks, thus making it difficult to identify as you move forward in your career. If anyone has any suggestions to the template, please feel free to comment in this thread and I can adjust the template. Edited February 26, 2014 by tm_associate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradingplaces Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Final Remarks: listen to your LORs writer. I spent money on applications to low-ranked schools because I thought they were too optimistic. My LOR writer, a Professor at a top 5 finance program who did not know me much outside of the classroom, was spot on about my outcome so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_associate Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) My profile is already in an old thread, so... Yes, but it's difficult to dig them all up for the users, so i'm trying to create a consolidated location... plus I doubt I could find all of them, even for the past 3 years.... Range of Schools Applied: ASU 1-70 What is the ASU ranking list? Awesome! Thanks for the contribution! great start. I'll start moving these into independent concentration threads as we get more of them in. Edited February 27, 2014 by tm_associate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XanthusARES Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) Admission Year: 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 700 (90%) 48Q (78%) 38V (87%) Undergrad GPA: 3.41 (Chemistry and Biology majors, Math and Philosophy minors) Graduate GPA: 4.00 (MS Marketing) Industry Experience: 5 years with increasing responsibility in the Pharmaceutical industry Research Experience: 6 conference presentations in the hard sciences, 1 R&R as first author in B level marketing journal Range of Schools Applied: 3 top 10, 10 top 25, 7 top 100 Total Schools Applied To: 20 Total Offers Given: 4 interview offers, 1 admission offer, withdrew the rest of my applications before hearing from anywhere else Final Remarks: I don’t think I would have done anything necessarily differently. Maybe pressured my recommenders to get their stuff in a little earlier. Honestly, though, I’m really happy about my admission. The only advice I could give would be to apply to schools you realistically have a shot to get in to. Go ahead and shoot for the moon on one application, but apply to mostly schools with similar stats to yourself. Throw in a couple of stretches, too. You never know what the schools are looking for. Edited February 26, 2014 by XanthusARES 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myndfood Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Admission Year: 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 750 (98%) 48Q (78%) 44V (98%) 6.0W Undergrad GPA: 2.6 Graduate GPA:4.0 Industry Experience: 15 years--5 as an entrepreneur, 10 in a mid-sized manufacturing company (most recently in senior management/executive level roles). Research Experience: Three papers in progress. I'm first-author on one. One will be submitted to an A journal within the next 2-3 months. Seven conference presentations (including two PDWs, one of which I was a co-organizer). Range of Schools Applied: 3 top 10, 6 top 30 Total Schools Applied To: 9Total Offers Given: 6 interviews (2 top 10, 4 top 30); 4 offers (1 top 10, 3 top 30); 2 rejects (1 top 10, 1 top 30); 3 withdrawn (1 top 10, 2 top 30) Final Remarks: Not sure what I would have done differently--I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I think the fact that I had well-developed research ideas, and have taken the initiative to get involved in research on my own over the past few years carried a lot of weight with adcoms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phdacc2014 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 This is a great idea. It should be really helpful for future applicants! Discipline: Accounting Admission Year: 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 720 Q48 V41 Undergrad GPA: 3.8 (not accounting) Graduate GPA: 3.5 (top 5 accounting) Industry Experience: 1 year at an accounting department of a large firm (during undergrad), 1 year internship at an accounting department of a midsize firm Research Experience: data entry, data collecting, I helped a professor write a literature review once Teaching Experience: 1 semester teaching calculus and algebra, 1 semester teaching graduate accounting, 1 semester TAing for a basic undergraduate accounting class Relevant Classes: 2 semesters of calculus, 2 semesters of statistics, 4 semesters of programming (Java, C++, very basic SQL).. I'm not sure how relevant those programming classes are though Range of Schools Applied: 6 Top 10, 5 Top 20, 5 Top 50 Total Schools Applied To: 16 Total Offers Given: 2 Interviews (1 Top 50, 1 Top 20), 1 admission (Top 20), withdrew from 9 schools before hearing back, rejections from 4 of the Top 10 schools (haven't heard back from two yet.. still waiting) Final Remarks: Talk to your professors about wanting a PhD, the application process, etc. They know a lot. I know this is obvious, but it'll make a huge difference. Ask a couple professors to read over your SOP (I made a really silly mistake on mine and glad I did + they'll give you advice on how to improve it). I added "relevant classes" and "teaching experience" to the template.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catguy Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Yes, but it's difficult to dig them all up for the users, so i'm trying to create a consolidated location... plus I doubt I could find all of them, even for the past 3 years.... What is the ASU ranking list? Awesome! Thanks for the contribution! great start. I'll stop moving these into independent concentration threads as we get more of them in. Arizona State has a finance depts ranking that is considered very important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaSvoboden Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Discipline/Concentration: Accounting Admission Year: Fall 2013 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 750 50Q/40V Undergrad GPA:3.87 Graduate GPA: 3.9 Industry Experience: Internships Research Experience: PhD seminars and replications in Grad degree. RA work as undergrad/grad Range of Schools Applied: all in UTD T25. 5 in T10 Total Schools Applied To: 10 Total Offers Given: 2 offers 1 from UTD T10 and 1 from UTD T15. (general B-school rankings on these are about T25 and T5) Interview at another UTD T15 and Waitlist at a UTD T20 Final Remarks: My undergrad was a teaching oriented state school. I felt like this was a bit of a disadvantage. I did a MAcc at a flagship state, but I did it the year I was applying so I couldn't get any grades in. All of my letters were from my MAcc, so the writers had known me for just a few months at the time, but were well known people. I was also missing grades for more advanced math/stats/seminars/econ that I would have had if I waited. I bet that working for a year or two would have gotten me more offers, but I am not sure that I would have chosen somewhere else. I am very happy with where I am. The good names of my recommenders definitely helped, but I may have been wise to have a glowing letter from undergrad instead of the third letter from a professor that didn't know me too well. However, I made the choice I did based on advice from people that know, and I feel like I did well. Also, I got the T10 offer very early. So I didn't finish applications to several other schools. I had 15 total and the 5 that I canceled were ranked about 10-50. Cost was a factor for me in applying. I would have done more if I had the money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gc98835 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Just a suggestion, maybe we can have something similar to the Econ thread? Like this: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/146668-profiles-results-2013-a.html Its much more detailed (for example entries like "Type of undergrad" and "Type of Grad" are crucial in my opinion), and I think future applicants will benefit a lot if actual univ names are given instead of just top 10, top 50 etc. (ofcourse those who wish to remain anonymous can choose to write top 10 etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phdacc2014 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Just a suggestion, maybe we can have something similar to the Econ thread? Like this: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/146668-profiles-results-2013-a.html Its much more detailed (for example entries like "Type of undergrad" and "Type of Grad" are crucial in my opinion), and I think future applicants will benefit a lot if actual univ names are given instead of just top 10, top 50 etc. (ofcourse those who wish to remain anonymous can choose to write top 10 etc.). It probably would be a lot helpful. The thing with econ though is that they accept A LOT of students each year so it's relatively harder to figrue out who the person is. While in accounting or any other business program, they accept 2 or 3 students. Of course, if people are comfortable with getting into a lot of detail, then that's a different story :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_associate Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Thanks! I like their setup, but of course, I am hoping to keep it broad enough so that it's hard to triangulate individuals specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arieshine Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Discipline/Concentration: Management Admission Year: Fall 2012 Test Used for Admittance: GRE Test Scores: Q 86%, V 98% Undergrad GPA: 3.2 Graduate GPA: 3.9 Industry Experience: 5 years in a not-for-profit organization Research Experience: 6 years "on the side": 3 years undergrad, 3 years postgrad Range of Schools Applied: UTD Top 40 Total Schools Applied To: 6 Total Offers Given: 2 Final Remarks: Compared to a lot of people, I waited a long time to apply. I learned a lot about research and what it's like to have a career in academia. I only applied to programs I would attend without hesitation, and I was willing to apply more than one year if necessary in order to attend a competitive program. Because I applied to such a small number of schools I was able to spend a lot of time on each application, rewriting nearly all of my SOP each time. In each SOP I named at least one professor whose work interested me and usually commented on ideas I had from one or two of their recent papers. That being said, I still felt insecure during my application process and never could have predicted the outcome. Having a paid RA position for a few years is a huge asset and I would recommend staying at least two years. This used to seem like an unreasonable commitment to me but now I understand: research is a slow-moving field compared to other industries; you can't code data for three months and get a stellar LOR. My letter writers were professors in my field who wrote very kind things in part because they knew me really well after working together for several years. I always had a Plan B (alternative career path) so I wouldn't be too crushed if I wasn't admitted. Throughout the process and the PhD, I keep in touch with a lot of non-academic friends who wouldn't judge me (or notice) if I didn't get accepted or failed out later on. It is a nice sanity check. If you're aiming for Management/OB, do not stress too much about the grades or the test scores. These departments look for students with the most creative, promising ideas, sometimes with research experience and sometimes straight from industry. The best strategy is to demonstrate (1) that you understand what research is and (2) that your interests match with those of faculty so they see you as a good "fit". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_associate Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 alright. I've started the threads on the forum. They will be linked through the announcement at the top of the forum. Thanks, so far, for those that have chosen to contribute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcticApplicant Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 tm_associate - I'm assuming I'm supposed to post my profile here and then you'll put it into the Mgmt thread? Thanks again for this - amazing Discipline: Management (Strategy & International Business focus) Admission Year: 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GRE Test Scores: 165 Q (91%), 165 V (95%), AWA 5.5 (97%) Undergrad GPA: 3.87 (Major: Business Administration, from a no-name teaching university) Graduate GPA: 3.97 (Major: International Affairs, from a slightly better but still little known university) LORs: three strong letters from 1 Chancellor’s professor and 2 Assistant professors (but only one is research active) Industry Experience: 1 year consumer products industry, 5 years in public policy, 5 years in public statistical agency Research Experience (academic only): graduate research essay (won an award and was presented at a conference); began data collection project with a professor during the application season but did not mention it in my SOP so I don’t think it did anything anyways Range of Schools Applied: 11 in total, of which 2 were top 5, 3 were top 20, 5 were top 40 and 1 was top 100; rankings based on 2009-2013 Texas A&M management rankings with AMR, AMJ, ASQ, OS and SMJ as selected journals (I eliminated the psych/OB focused journals to remove bias from programs that are strong in OB rather than strategy); I would have liked to adjust for faculty size but didn’t. Interview requests: 9 (2 top 5, 2 top 20, 4 top 40, 1 top 100); I started withdrawing applications from some programs early on so I ended up just doing 5 interviews (2 top 5, 1 top 20, 2 top 40) Offers: 4 (2 top 5, 1 top 20, 1 top 40) Final Remarks: I am absolutely thrilled with my results. I spent a lot of time and effort in preparing and my advice for future applicants would be to spend your time on things you can control or exert influence over: LORs, standardized test, research interests, SOP. I am very happy I devoted a good amount of time to study for the GRE – I didn’t want my top choices to have any excuse to not admit me so I made sure I was at, or above, their historical averages for admitted students. Secondly, as someone who had been out of school and contact with professors for more than 10 years, I took my time in rebuilding those relationships. Finally I read, read, and read some more, which served three very important purposes: 1) identifying what research area I was truly passionate about - which will pay dividends later on I think; 2) identify who publishes on those topics, and of those people, who appealed to me because of their theoretical approach, methods or whatever – this helped me select my schools based on research interest alignment and not just apply to top 10 without a good reason; and, 3) helped me write an SOP that included research questions that drew on current debates in the literature (and if you’re older like me, it will help adcoms see that your experience will be valuable in informing your research). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindrew Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Hi tm_associate, I would like my profile included in the successful Accounting profiles closed thread. Discipline: Accounting Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 730 Total (Q48, V41, AW 5.5, IR 8) Undergrad GPA: 3.62 (top 5 accounting program) Graduate GPA: 3.55 (top 5 accounting program) LORs: 1 from a highly published professor in top journals, 1 from a published professor in top journals but not research active in recent years, 1 from industry at Director level Industry Experience: 5 years Research Experience: None Teaching Experience: TA for graduate level managerial accounting course at a top 5 accounting program Range of Schools Applied: 3 in T10, 3 in T30, 1 in T75 based on UTD rankings Total Schools Applied To: 7 Total Offers Given: Interviewed by 2, Accepted by 1. Withdrew from the other school I interviewed with prior to receiving any update on admission. Final Remarks: I wish I started the process earlier but still extremely happy with the results. I also would have liked another academic letter of recommendation rather than an industry letter of recommendation. The thing that helped me the most was reaching out to my undergrad/grad professors. I definitely recommend this for all future applicants. They may provide help with your SOP, securing letters, or even give insight to their careers. Goodluck future PhD applicants! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_associate Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Thanks for the contributions! I'm sure future applicants will find these helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catguy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 nevermind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iya Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Discipline: Management Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GRE Test Scores: Quant 161 (81%) Verbal 166. (96%) Undergrad GPA: 4.49/5.00 ( Top 1percent) Graduate GPA: 4.79/5.00 ( Top 1 percent) LORs: 1 from graduate school professor, 1 from former employer, 1 from current client! Industry Experience: 7 years Research Experience: Random qualitative stuff in architecture. Teaching Experience: TA for undergraduate in architecture Range of Schools Applied: 3 in T10, 3 in in top 50 Total Schools Applied To: 6 Total Offers Given: Interviewed by 1, Accepted by 1. Yet to hear from two, rejected by two. Final Remarks: I wish I had had a better idea of how competitive this process was before starting! Ii did not know about urch until after application deadlines and kinda did this shooting in the dark. I was also running a business and taking care of a two and four year old - yes, i am a mom! I would have done the GRE again to have a better shot at Top 5 schools, I also would have reached out to professors earlier. The school I was accepted in was my second choice and seems like an eexcellent fit, but I really wanted my first choice! Goodluck future PhD applicants! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NineEggs Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Discipline/Concentration: Finance Admission Year: Fall 2013 Test Used for Admittance: GRE Test Scores: 170 170 Undergrad GPA: 3.79 Graduate GPA: Industry Experience: Research Experience: Independent, as of yet unpublished paper as an undergrad. Range of Schools Applied: top 50 Total Schools Applied To: 1 Total Offers Given: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmatdanger Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Discipline/Concentration: Information Systems/Technology Management Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 760 (Q 50/ V 42) Undergrad GPA: 76% Graduate GPA: 78% Industry Experience: 1 year as a web developer and data analytics Research Experience: 4 years as a research scholar at a management institute Range of Schools Applied: top 50 UTD (also part of top 15 AIS ranking) Total Schools Applied To: 12 Total Offers: 3 explicit rejections, 5 applications withdrawn, 1 implicit rejection, 3 acceptances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai X Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) Discipline: Marketing (Quant) Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GRE and GMAT Test Scores: GRE (99%V 98%Q), GMAT (99%V 97% Q) TOEFL 118 Undergrad GPA: Top 10% Graduate GPA: Top 10% LORs: 3 strong academic letters Industry Experience: 1 Year Research Experience: Hardly any Teaching Experience: Nil Range of Schools Applied: UTD T25 Total Schools Applied To: 11 Total Offers Given: 3 (One T5, One T10, One T15) Final Remarks: I started the process very late and I didn't have too much time to go through many papers and narrow down my research interests. I am extremely lucky to have got great results, but I would advise future applicants to get started as early as possible. Be ambitious while applying...applying to the top 10 is well worth the application money...you never know how things may just work out for you... If you haven't had much research experience or did not have the time to narrow down your research interests to your satisfaction, be open and honest about this in the interviews. Although students who have had research experience and have a clear view of what they want to do during their PhD program are typically very successful, someone who has a strong quantitative background and is open to do different things in a quant intensive field can be successful as well. You still have to convince the admissions committee about your motivation to do a PhD and this can be hard without research experience, but it is not impossible. A strong academic track record and good test scores go a long way in ensuring your success. Edited March 7, 2014 by Samurai X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92aravind Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Discipline: Operations Management Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GRE and TOEFL Test Scores: Quant 170 (98%) Verbal 153 (58%) AW 4.5 (78) , TOEFL 117 Undergrad GPA: 8.86/10 ( Top 15 percent) Graduate GPA: --- LORs: 3 Strong Academic References (all profs from my institution) Industry Experience: 2 Month Internship in Data Analytics at American Express Research Experience: Nil Teaching Experience: TA for undergraduate course in Mechanical Engineering Range of Schools Applied: 4 in Top 10, 3 in Top 20 Total Schools Applied To: 7 Total Offers Given: Interviewed by 3 and Accepted in all these 3 (1 from Top 10 and 2 from Top 20). Rejected by 4. Final Remarks: Things I would have done differently - 1. Applied to more good schools. I had no idea about a lot of good schools until later. 2. Should have maintained my Undergrad GPA above 9.5. 3. Should have started earlier... believe it or not.. I began applying, researching about schools, etc. only in September... I decided on a PhD only then... that's it... It was actually a smooth ride for me this season, as my expectations were very low. I expected to get admission only from one university (the least ranked in my list).. but instead I got calls from three (including rank 4 in my list)... I have no clue about research, really.. I don't have any idea what are the areas of research available..All I know is that I am good at mathematical modelling.. and data analysis... and I was always honest about all these in my interviews, and the profs liked that. I guess they were looking for smart, motivated people. So be honest.. it also helps them in gauging the fit between the university and you. This approach eliminated the "research fit" criteria.. as I was open-minded, and could fit into any area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miuh187 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Discipline/Concentration: Marketing (Consumer Behavior) Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: 750 (98%) 41V (93%) 50Q (89%) 4.5W (43%) 8IR (93%) Undergrad GPA: 3.7 (Biology) Graduate GPA: 3.9 (Environmental Science, Public Affairs) Industry Experience: None Research Experience: Published in unrelated field, RA for 3 years Range of Schools Applied: 7 T10, 4 T25, 2 T50 Total Schools Applied To: 13 Total Offers Given: Interviews at 2 T10 and 2 T50; Waitlisted at T10; Offer from T5 at which point I withdrew my other applications Final Remarks: My background was in an unrelated field, but I took graduate level courses in social psychology and consumer behavior while finishing my masters program. The professors of those courses wrote two of my LORs, and I was told they were very strong. I had numerous professors and PhD students look over my SOP. Once I received an offer from my top choice, I withdrew my applications from the other schools I had been in contact with. I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickers Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Discipline: Operations Management and Marketing (Quant) Notes: I started off with OM. But as I read more papers for each application, I realized that marketing was probably a better fit. So, I applied to 8 OM and 2 marketing programs. Admission Year: 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores:740 (97%) 51Q (97%) 41V (89%) 5.5W Undergrad GPA:8.1/10 Graduate GPA: 3.7 Industry Experience: NONE Range of Schools Applied: 1 top 5, 5 top 15, 2 in top 25 + 2 top 50 (?) in marketing (it was towards the end of the application process. So, I looked at the profs I wanted to work with and not at the ranking) Total Schools Applied To: 4 acceptances in OM programs, 1 acceptance in Marketing program. Withdrew from other schools.Final Remarks:I wish I had started to read research papers earlier. I started my SOP in July but waited until October to customize it for each university. Had I read published work earlier, I might have had the chance to apply to more marketing programs. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out :) For applicants with no work experience, I would suggest being vocal about your excitement to pursue research, especially if you have no or little idea about the research area you want to work in. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eventualprof Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 (edited) Discipline/Concentration: Management OB Admission Year: Fall 2014 Test Used for Admittance: GMAT Test Scores: V 44 (98%) Q 45 (66%) T 720 (94%) AWA 6 (91%) IR 7 (82%) Undergrad GPA: 3.84 Graduate GPA: 3.92 Industry Experience: 3 years teaching high school, 7 years as small business owner Research Experience: Graduate research assistant during masters program Range of Schools Applied: Texas A&M Management productivity T5 to T75 Total Schools Applied To: 7 Total Offers Given: 3 Interviews, 1 Offer (I'm withdrawing the my applications with the two other schools that I have interviewed with, and accepting the offer that I was given) Final Remarks: I believe that the aberration in my quantitative GMAT score caused some of the more choosy programs to pass on me. One professor told me this directly. If I had to do it over again, I would practice the GMAT math more, specifically focusing on time since I ran out of time on the quantitative section. It is silly to me that so much of the admission decision is based on this test, but it is a large factor at many schools. The one offer that I received was largely due to research fit, so maybe that school was not so concerned with test scores as long as I met the minimum cutoff. I would also apply more widely than I did. It is expensive to apply widely, but after experiencing the anxiety of the waiting/sweating season, that extra money may have been well-spent. Edited March 9, 2014 by eventualprof UPDATE: Offer accepted, other applications withdrawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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