Post-application panic!

[AstralTraveller]

Hello there,

I just finished submitting all my PhD applications. A pool 14 universities, 7 at Econ departments, and 7 at Business schools (to Econ related areas).

Panic is what I feel right now. I don't know if I will get accepted or not to one of the tops. Maybe to speak about this will help me ease the pain.

Profile:
- International applicant (latin america)
- Undergrad (BSc) and MA in Economics from the unambiguously best university in the country.
- I ranked in the top 20% of my graduating class for UG, and top 4 from my MA grad class (talking about GPA's didn't make sense, since we use a different grading system).
- Very strong in Econometrics, and TA for Stats/Metrics for UG, MA, PhD and MBA courses for years.
- Have taught courses on Mathematical Stats, Optimization/Mathematical Economics, Introductory and Advanced Econometrics.
- Decent math/stats background, but no formal Real Analysis. Probability theory at the level of Spanos's "Statistical Foundations of Econometric Modelling", taken at grad econ.
- Took PhD level micro, macro and metrics, but only excelled in metrics :-(
- Quite a lot of research. Sadly, most are empirical papers, and in subjects as varied as Demographic Economics, Business Ethics, Implicit valuation of attributes (hedonic pricing), Growth, Family Businesses, Econometrics. This is because I work as a junior researcher at a local B-school, so I have to work on any assignment that is put in front of me.
- TRUE research interests: Econometrics on one side, IO on another.
- A great LoR from a professor at a top-30 US B-school who held a Visiting position here and to whom I RA'd.
- Other LoR's from professors who know me really well but who are economists, and not well-known internationally.
- GRE less than stellar: 780Q, 550V, 3.5AWA (did not have time to prepare or retake)
- GMAT decent: 50Q, 37V, 710 Overall
- TOEFL *really* less than stellar: 99 iBT

My dream is to get accepted at one of my 4 priorities: Chicago GSB (metrics), Stanford (Econ GSB), NYU (Econ Stern), Northwestern (Econ). My recommenders are close to people at UCLA (Anderson) and MIT (Sloan), so I applied there as well. I also applied to Duke (Dec Sciences) and UCSD (Econ), but I don't believe I will get admitted there. The rest are all more "back-up" choices, although to one of those (Brown Econ) I would go gladly.

Does anybody feel like commenting on my profile? Or to comment on their own profile doing the same as me? (I confess I relaxed a bit after writing this)

I have had a hard time at coping with the waiting, and it is too difficult for me to sleep at night.

Any feedback (to the lines of "don't worry", or even "definitely you are wasting your time with your app's) will be welcome. Please respond back!

Astral T.

[desimba]

We will probably end up competing at a lot of the same places. I too have applied to Chicago GSB & Stanford GSB. Some of my other picks were Anderson Global Economics & Management and Michigan International Business & Business Economics. Frankly you have a lot lot more econ exposure than I do since I have an engineering undergrad followed by an MBA, where I had just 1 course in Micro, 1 course in Macro and 2 in Quantitative Methods, all of which I am certain are less rigorous than at a typical Master's program. Besides I have had far less research exposure than what you have indicated in your post. So if it makes you feel any better, I can speak for myself in the sense that I have a less jazzed up profile compared to yours and we are applying to lots of similar places.

SB

[AstralTraveller]

Originally Posted by desimba

Frankly you have a lot lot more econ exposure than I do since I have an engineering undergrad followed by an MBA, where I had just 1 course in Micro, 1 course in Macro and 2 in Quantitative Methods, all of which I am certain are less rigorous than at a typical Master's program. Besides I have had far less research exposure than what you have indicated in your post. So if it makes you feel any better, I can speak for myself in the sense that I have a less jazzed up profile compared to yours and we are applying to lots of similar places. SB

Dear SB. Although I have a lot of Econ background, you have much more "real life experience", which for people at B-schools could matter a lot more than a "too academic" profile....besides, a so diverse research exposure like mine could be detrimental for my application, maybe worse than no research at all. I read at Econ PhD that professors would like to "write on blank paper" (I'm paraphrasing here).

Anyway, thanks for answering, and the best of lucks with your applications as well.

[Ancalagon The Black]

AT:

Have no fear my friend, your profile is a strong one... any kind of research actually works as long as you demonstrate in your SOP that you have an open mind. Its a good signal that you can do research.

I read at a CMU professors blog that research is the most important aspect of a Tepper application (maybe, its different for different schools)

Also, real life experience whilst valid and noted if relevant is far less experience in a B-School PhD than in say, an MBA.

[asa_sl]

AT > I think you have applied some lower ranked safties since most of the above programs are highly competitive and your lack of real anlysis background might hurt you.

[AstralTraveller]

Originally Posted by asa_sl

AT > I think you have applied some lower ranked safties since most of the above programs are highly competitive and your lack of real anlysis background might hurt you.

Yup. This is why I applied to some lower ranked schools. I applied, for instance, to Texas A&M and Penn State as safeties. However, I am not convinced I would go to TAMU, and while Penn State is superb school looking from the outside, it is a lot less attractive to me now that Dr. Herman Bierens (one of my inspiring authors) is retiring.

I earned a Fulbright Scholarship. I don't know if it will make any difference to my applications, since: a) it provides only a lump sum funding, and b) there are too many "fulbrighters" around the world.

Originally Posted by Ancalagon The Black

Have no fear my friend, your profile is a strong one... any kind of research actually works as long as you demonstrate in your SOP that you have an open mind. Its a good signal that you can do research.

I read at a CMU professors blog that research is the most important aspect of a Tepper application (maybe, its different for different schools)

Also, real life experience whilst valid and noted if relevant is far less experience in a B-School PhD than in say, an MBA.

Thank you, Ancalagon. Well, the final problem is that for the things I want to do, a PhD at a Business School is what I really want to do. But since admission rates are so criminal, I had to secure my application to Econ departments. And I have the feeling that Econ = less funding.

Thanks, people. Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Astral

[Ancalagon The Black]

AT:

Fulbright is excellent. There is another Fulbright awardee on this forum as well, also from Latin America. Where are you from and exactly which Fulbright scholarship did you get? Some scholarships are better than the others.

About funding, well, B-schools give better funding on an average than econ schools... so you might be better off going to do say Business Economics from HBS.

But, anyway, you have a good shot at where ever you are applying.

[AstralTraveller]

Originally Posted by Ancalagon The Black

Fulbright is excellent. There is another Fulbright awardee on this forum as well, also from Latin America. Where are you from and exactly which Fulbright scholarship did you get? Some scholarships are better than the others.

I got the Fulbright Faculty Development Scholarship, which provides a lump sum, seeks for additional tuition funding sources for the first two years, plus a monthly stipend provided by the sponsoring institution (which is where I work at currently). As a payback, I have to come back to my country working here for at least 2n years, with n = number of years of local funding. The problem is, at my country there is an almost non-existent serious research culture, and most (~95%) professors end up devoting their entire time to teaching + consulting.

I want to get admitted to an institution with enough funding to avoid having to come back. If I can resign from the local scholarships, I will be able to post myself at the job market.

Originally Posted by Ancalagon The Black

About funding, well, B-schools give better funding on an average than econ schools... so you might be better off going to do say Business Economics from HBS.

But, anyway, you have a good shot at where ever you are applying.

Thanks. I am still not sure why I never liked HBS too much....but I get your idea. In fact, there are some gorgeous programs in B-schools that are Economics-based (i.e., Policy at UCLA Anderson, Dec Sciences at Duke's Fuqua, Economics at NYU Stern). I applied to those. But they admit too few people each year.

In the end, my app decision involved: self-perceived likelihood of admission, self-perceived likelihood of funding, advise from recommenders, and personal fondness for the program.

Where are you aiming at, Ancalagon?

Cheers,
Astral

[Ancalagon The Black]

Me? Well, I am not a stellar candidate for anything. I am merely seeking to do a PhD in Information Systems from B-Schools. I love research. I come from India where a research culture is being developed by the government to reverse the brain drain which happened when most stellar students (say from the IITs and other good schools etc.) decided to emigrate to the US and not come back since the life then, apparently, in the US was the good life.

I would love to work in a research oriented workspace be it the industry or the academecia. Although, my top shot is the Stern IS program where obviously, I will not get admitted but I just applied to not have any regrets later.

The FFDS is pretty good though the FFSP is viewed to be a little better. However, with the tag of a "Fulbright" awardee, it is going to be easier than other students !!

[AstralTraveller]

Originally Posted by Ancalagon The Black

Me? Well, I am not a stellar candidate for anything. I am merely seeking to do a PhD in Information Systems from B-Schools. I love research. I come from India where a research culture is being developed by the government to reverse the brain drain which happened when most stellar students (say from the IITs and other good schools etc.) decided to emigrate to the US and not come back since the life then, apparently, in the US was the good life.

Well, one of my recommenders (the "most stellar" one) is a professor of IS at a top-30 b-school. When I RA'd for him, I learned a bit about the subject. It is indeed a fascinating field, though not my cup of tea.

It's cool to learn that India is doing things right. If I had the opportunity/incentives to do the same quality research as in the US, UK or Europe in my country, I would be glad to come back. But I don't want to end up as my colleagues at the B-school I work at (when they are not teaching, they are working as consultants). Consultancy is much more lucrative than research, but again, why should I spend 4-6 years of my life pursuing a PhD, when consultants with MBA's have roughly the same skills? (to sell B.S. to their clients, that is).

I would love to work in a research oriented workspace be it the industry or the academia. Although, my top shot is the Stern IS program where obviously, I will not get admitted but I just applied to not have any regrets later.

NYU Stern is a dream school to many of us. It was wise on your side to apply there, even though the odds are small (for everyone).

The FFDS is pretty good though the FFSP is viewed to be a little better. However, with the tag of a "Fulbright" awardee, it is going to be easier than other students !!

I don't know what the FFSP is. I hope that it will be easier for me with the Fulbright tag. However, sometimes I tend to think that, since the Fulbright tag means "returning to one's country of origin", it might be detrimental to have it for a program that is worried about improving their placement record.

Well, good luck with your applications, Ancalagon. Where else are you aiming at, besides NYU?

And, about the rest of you people....maybe this thread can be used as our own "Profile and Results 2007/2008" thread for applicants to B-schools different from finance.

All my best,
AT