Business PhD

[FightingIrish1]

I am looking to obtain a business econ or finance phd to do a lot of empirical research on the equity market and things such as M&A, LBO, Asset Pricing, etc. I plan to spend 2-3 years beefing up my math and taking courses I would need to help my chances.

Should I retake my GRE?
What math should I take for a business school PhD?
Should I take more econ than intermediate and econometrics?
Should I take more finance?
Is a LOR from a non-business professor worth it? Even if he has a PhD from a top 5 school and thinks the absolute world of you?
What kind of job should I get to help me in my pursuit, and will allow me to take a lot of classes?

Any other help is greatly appreciated.

Gre: 770 Q, 650 V, 6.0 A
Type of Undergrad: a liberal arts college; good but not elite
GPA: Overall: 3.75, Finance: 3.8
Classes:
Math: Calc I through II (A-'s), Probability & Statistics I (A)
Finance:Corporate Finance (B), Advanced Corporate Finance (A), Investments (A-), Money and Banking (A-), Seminar (B+)
**Not that it matters but the B and B+ was the same prof. who hated me**
Econ: Intro (A)
Research Experience: Full year research project my junior year
Teaching Experience: Lots of tutoring in finance and 1 semester of TA
LORs: One from a finance prof (Ph.D. from Mich) one from another finance(Ph.D. Toronto) one from either a grad teacher or a undergrad teacher. All of them are very high on me and know me well, but they are not well-known or well-published.

Other: American citizen, 6 months out of college

[serbia]

Hi, FightingIrish. Here's my advice. I hope it helps.

1. Retake GRE?

It depends on the competitiveness of the program you are applying to, but my understanding is that all of the top 10-20 finance programs will frown upon GRE math scores under 800. Unless you have great recs, or some noteworthy publications, I would suggest aiming for the 800Q if you are looking at top-tier schools.

2. What math to take?

It looks like you don't have multivariate calc (calc III) or linear algebra background - those are absolutely essential requirements to complete before you apply. If you haven't already taken a calc-based statistics course, I would highly suggest taking that too. Business econ and finance programs would also really like to see that you've taken a course in real analysis. Courses in econometrics and stochastic calculus would also be very useful (the stochastic calculus is more important in finance). Also, if you want to do empirical research, you may want to take a course on some kind of statistical software (SAS, R, etc).

3. More econ/finance?

It looks to me like your greatest weakness is your lack of quantitative preparation. I think you have enough general finance work under your belt but to do research in finance or business econ, I would suggest focusing on building up your mathematical skill set. For a business econ program I definitely think it would be worthwhile to take the advanced micro and macroeconomics courses. You might also want to consider a course in game theory.

4. Non-business LOR?

A non-business LOR is okay. In fact if it's from a math, stat, or econ professor I think it may be more valuable than a business LOR since courses in those departments tend to be more difficult. A great LOR is always better than a merely average LOR, no matter who it is from.

5. Job?

Ideally, a job as a paid research assistant. But unless you have some great connections, getting such a position is nearly impossible. Don't plan on working at Starbucks either though - make sure it has some sort of practical relevance to the program you're interested in. Remember that you'll have to talk about your experiences in your personal statement when you're applying.

[desimba]

First of all I think the advice provided by serbia is great and you should certainly consider all of them seriously. I would reiterate what has been said by him. Beyond that, the only things I would add are that:
1) Engage in research activities to the extent that you can. If you can get a position as an RA, there is no better preparation. On the other hand, if you do not get such a position or would like to take a position which pays you more money than what most RA positions pay you, you should consider taking up a position as an analyst at the Fed/ at economics consulting firms like LECG/ Charles River Associates, etc. Those positions can be valuable for your application.
2) The thing to keep in mind is that you may want to be located in a city where there would be opportunities for you to take classes or pursue independent research with faculty members. That might influence where you eventually land up.
3) Finally look at the web sites of the schools that you are interested in and ensure that those programs all take the GRE. I am not 100% sure but there might be some odd balls out there which accept only the GMAT. Should that be the case, consider prepping for the GMAT and taking it at some point of time.

SB