Jump to content
Urch Forums

Fall 2018 - Accounting PhD Profile Evaluation and Advice


ochaniashish

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

I am from India. I have 3 years of post bachelors corporate experience in a Big 4 accounting firm and 3 months of research experience with two professors at IIM B (one of the top institutes in India for Finance)

Test Scores : 710 (Q51,V33) [using 710 score for admissions] and 730 (Q48,V41)

Under-Grad : Bachelor of Commerce

Undegrad equivalent GPA: 3.57

Graduation : Pursuing Masters of Commerce (Accounting)

Graduate equivalent GPA: 3.27 [ expect it to complete by Jan 2018 ] [ GPA does not include 4th semester results which is yet to come]

 

Professional Degrees:

1. CA (equivalent to US CPA) [Three times National Rank holder]

2. CFA [Cleared two out of three levels]

3. Company Secretary Executive examination [intermediate level ]

 

Research Experience: 3 Months of research experience with two professors at IIM-B

Teaching Experience: Nil

Work Experience: 2 years of work experience with EY (One of the Big 4 accounting around the globe) in transaction advisory and 2 years internship experience with EY in auditing and assurance practice.

 

Concentration Applying to: Accounting

Letters of Recommendation: Two from professors at IIMB and one from vice president at EY.

 

Number of programs planned to apply to: 20 (Rotman/ The Ohio State/ Wharton/ UCB/ MIT/ Harvard/ Stanford/ USC/ LBS/ Cornell/ Yale/ Penn State/ MSU/ University of Michigan/ NYU Stern/ Olin school/ Northwestern/ Indiana univ/ Univ of Georgia/ Univ of Florida)

Dream Schools: MIT/ Harvard/ Stanford/ MSU

 

 

Concerns about my profile:

I do not have a math background but a good accounting background.

I have not done any courses on calculus or linear algebra during my under-grad or grad but I am pursuing courses on calculus online.

Research experience is very less.

 

Questions :

Is my profile good enough for the above schools and what are the chances?

What do I do to improve my profile?

 

Thanks in advance !!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just several thoughts off the top of my head.

 

- Your corporate experience would definitely help, but I am worried that the lack of any calculus / linear algebra background would raise a red flag. That background is needed not just for getting admission, but also for your survival in the program. You are highly likely to struggle in the first-year econ sequences without that knowledge, and even more so in high-ranked schools.

 

- The schools on your list are, without any exception, within top 30. Admission to these schools is very competitive. Although your profile looks solid, there are still some weaknesses in your profile. Thus I strongly recommend broadening the list of schools.

 

- Once you get accepted at somewhere, you should make sure that you study the math and, if time permits, some basic statistics / econometrics. I can assure you that it will pay a long dividend.

 

My advice is not comprehensive. I hope someone who is more experienced and knowledgeable can chip in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just several thoughts off the top of my head.

 

- Your corporate experience would definitely help, but I am worried that the lack of any calculus / linear algebra background would raise a red flag. That background is needed not just for getting admission, but also for your survival in the program. You are highly likely to struggle in the first-year econ sequences without that knowledge, and even more so in high-ranked schools.

 

- The schools on your list are, without any exception, within top 30. Admission to these schools is very competitive. Although your profile looks solid, there are still some weaknesses in your profile. Thus I strongly recommend broadening the list of schools.

 

- Once you get accepted at somewhere, you should make sure that you study the math and, if time permits, some basic statistics / econometrics. I can assure you that it will pay a long dividend.

 

My advice is not comprehensive. I hope someone who is more experienced and knowledgeable can chip in.

 

Thanks a lot !!!

 

I will definitely add some top 30-50 schools.

 

For calculus, I have completed a course on Coursera. For Statistics and econometrics, I have completed courses on YouTube.

 

Having said that, I too believe I should have some formal course work in stats and econ which I shall pursue in the coming year (Can't do it now at this time anyways).

 

You mentioned that I have some weaknesses in my profile. Would love to hear if you can specifically point out those so that I can work on those weaknesses.

 

 

If someone can give a comprehensive advice, I would really appreciate that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would agree with Simma. There are some nice things about your profile, but you still have some large holes and the lack of a math background is likely to work against you, both in the admissions process at top schools and in your econ classes.

 

That being said, you can easily catch up by taking some online classes and slightly lower tier schools will be willing to work with you on the math prerequisites as well. Thus, I'd encourage you to apply to some more mid-tier schools (e.g., Texas A&M, UT-Austin, Arizona, Illinois, etc.) just in case.

Edited by ctim
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have a ton to add. You look like you would do well in a program, but the lack of extra math may hurt you.

 

I would send both GMAT scores. I think that is your only option, but I'm not sure at this point.

 

You have a list of good schools and I think you have a realistic chance at most of them that you have listed, but I could also see you getting shut out with that list. My guess is that you would have a couple of offers, but I am not extremely confident in that.

 

Your master's GPA seems low, but I don't know if there is something going on with conversion there.

 

Overall, you would probably have more options if you had a way to take a few math and econ courses and apply in a year, but if that isn't easy then applying right now makes sense.

I would drop Wharton, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale in order to throw some more solid state schools. I think it would improve your overall chances. UT Austin, UNC, UW Foster, Arizona, CU Boulder come to mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...