Phd in Stategic Management / General Management - Profile Evaluation - Please Help!

[Lasve]

Hi,

I'd like to do a Phd in Strategic Management or General Management.

Unfortunately I know I'm not a really strong canditate for several reason.

Let's see:

 

Nationality: Italian

Age: 28

University: Mid Level Italian Statal University

GPA: 3.67 With Summa Cum Laude in My Master/postgraduade studies (General Management)

But only 3.1 in my Bachelor/undergraduate (Industrial Firms Management)

 

GMAT: 720, Q46 V42 - over the 94%

 

International Experiences: Erasmus Student during 1 year in Spain

Exchange Student in India for 4 Months

Working Holiday Visa in Australia During 6 months

 

Languages: Italian - Mothertongue

Spanish - Proficiency

English - More than Fluent (Level C1)

 

Work Experience: NONE.

One of my problems is that I've had to pay for my education so I did many Jobs(waiters etc..) but none that will count as Professional Experience in my application(and many of them were Cash in hand jobs!). In addition I did several experiences in foreign countries that delayed my Studies.

 

References: One is the headmaster of my university, he has published many papers/books but he is a business history professor

The second is the Professor who helped me with my final paper, he has published many papers too, but he is mostrly interested in Finance.

 

RESEARCH: I wrote 2 thesis for my Grad and Undergrad programs, the first was around 160 pages, the second around 50. Does that count as reasearch?

 

What kind of school do you think I could Apply to? Any Suggestions?

 

Thank you very Much for any help you can give me!!!"

Edited January 27, 2013 by tm_member

[Bloomsbury]

Your GMAT is good, so that's a strong asset. Do you have any research experience?

You can apply to 2nd and 3rd tier US and some schools in Europe and Asia. Definitely not aiming the top, but I'm sure you can get some decent school.

[Lasve]

Thank you, Unfortunately the only experience is the one I've written about (two dissertation for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively 50 and 160 pages long).

 

Do you think that a 3.67 GPA is worth something even if I got it in a Middle-level university?(and the fact that I graduated with Summa cum laude?)

 

and other factors such as international experiences, languages etc ??

 

Thank you very much for any help, I'm really kind of desperate right now..

[Indus]

@Lasve - Welcome to the forum!

 

With respect to your profile:

 

3.67 With Summa Cum Laude in My Master/postgraduade studies (General Management)

3.1 in my Bachelor/undergraduate (Industrial Firms Management)

This is fine. A summa cum laude in masters will pretty much allay any concerns admission committee will have about your academic abilities. Don't worry about undergrad scrore.

 

GMAT: 720, Q46 V42 - over the 94%

Your score is very good and most probably crosses the bar at most schools (except some T10 schools and few schools too hung up on quant score). I won't worry about it. If you have undertaken few quant courses in your undergrad/grad degrees, no need to worry at all.

but none that will count as Professional Experience in my application

Work ex is mostly not axpected. Though some schools prefer some work ex for strategy group. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

International Experiences: Erasmus Student during 1 year in Spain

Exchange Student in India for 4 Months

These stints are helpful only if one or more of your referees are from institutes where you were an exchange student and/or you could integrate these experiences into your research interest development story.

Working Holiday Visa in Australia During 6 months

Irrelevant, unless it was academic/research work.

 

RESEARCH: I wrote 2 thesis for my Grad and Undergrad programs, the first was around 160 pages, the second around 50. Does that count as reasearch?

YES. A lot more than you think. You must integrate in your SOP (1) what you learnt from these two research experiences (2) how they shaped your research interests. This might be the biggest strength of your application, if you pitch it well.

 

My Opinion: You are a reasonably strong candidate. With a good SOP, clear research interests and careful selection of schools, you will crack T50 in the US. But I think the key issue for you is to decide where you want to work and spend you life. If you prefer living in Europe, I see no value in going to a school outside T50 in the US. You would rather go a good school in Europe, with proven record of placing in European universities. But if you want to enter the "A publication" game and don't have any location preference, US PhD might be better. Some good European schools are: LBS, INSEAD, Oxford, Cambridge, HEC, IE, IESE, Max Planck Institute + University of Cologne, ESSEC.

 

All the best!

[rsaylors]

Hi,

 

While I would like to second most of what is above I would like to be a little more positive about your prospects and negative about your profile.

 

First, do not count your self out of any institution in which you find a strong research fit. Admissions can be very random and part of that randomness is choosing 'lesser' profiles because of something that 'clicks' for the committee.

 

Second, under-grad GPA tends to be the important thing when looking at admissions. Further, there is a heaver weight placed on the Q percentile than the V percentile. There is a top 30 school that will simply not accept people who aren't in the 80th percentile in both V and Q.

 

Finally, what does this mean for you? First, it means that you should be looking for a strong research fit. Second it means you should apply widely. A 3.1 and low 70th percentile in Q is are big negatives. Your ace-in-the-hole is your previous research. If you can show how your research trajectory is inline with faculty at whatever university you are applying to, they may overlook these problems. It is also important to note that a 3.1 and a 720 95v/73q is a very strong profile outside of the t40 and not something that is likely to be dismissed instantly in almost every school.

 

In conclusion: Manage your expectations. Apply widely. Apply because of research-fit. Apply in the US even if you want to work in Europe. Apply only where the people admitted are funded. Most importantly: Apply Apply Apply.

 

With warm regards,

 

-Me

[Lasve]

Thank you very much, you have been VERY usefull Guys!

 

My problem is that finding PhD programs on the web pages of the university is very time consuming and stressing!

;)

 

Well I understand that university also look at my UGPA but c'mon,

I was young and wanted to enjoy life, then I grew up and demonstrate that I can do well;

it wasn't easy to get a summa cum laude!

 

Last Thing:

since many university put a lot of emphasis on being "international" should the fact that I attended university in three different country (and 2 different continents) be regarded as a "pro"?

Thank you all again for the answers!

[rsaylors]

since many university put a lot of emphasis on being "international" should the fact that I attended university in three different country (and 2 different continents) be regarded as a "pro"?

Diversity can be a great thing.

 

This will help you find universities with Ph.D.s and link you directly to the b-school page.

BestBizSchools | Search AACSB-Accredited Doctoral Programs

[daffodil5435]

Well I understand that university also look at my UGPA but c'mon,

I was young and wanted to enjoy life, then I grew up and demonstrate that I can do well;

it wasn't easy to get a summa cum laude!

 

If they are hell bent on penalizing you for your UGPA there's not much you can do about it. In my personal experience, one of the schools I applied to just couldn't get over it no matter how I tried to convince them. And I had a 3.2 in Engineering, with A's in all Maths courses...!!!!......

 

All I'm saying is some adcoms can be a bit fussy......

[Lasve]

Again Guys, Thank you very much..

I was extremely confused and you are helping me a lot!

[Lasve]

Some good European schools are: LBS, INSEAD, Oxford, Cambridge, HEC, IE, IESE, Max Planck Institute + University of Cologne, ESSEC.

 

All the best!

 

One last Thing @Indus, do you think I have a shot at those Schools?

Even if they are not american some of them are often considered in the top 20/30..

[Indus]

@Lasve

 

Agreed. LBS and INSEAD would be very dificult. But you should still apply to a couple of stretch schools (money permitting).

 

You would be competitive at Oxford, Cambridge and HEC. You have a very strong chance at the rest.

 

All the best!

[Bloomsbury]

Competitive I don't know. But it's worth trying... Oxford and Cambridge have a MPhil before the PhD, so you need to go through that first. The last Italian people accepted at HEC had degrees from top school (Bocconi, LSE, etc), top research and professional experience.

[Indus]

Well, I would have to agree with Bloomsbury about HEC. He would know better.

 

Oxford - Mphil is not needed and they don't even provide MPhil in Management. You need a masters degree (distinction preferred).

Cambridge - They do have course called MPhil in IOM. But you can apply directly for PhD if you have a masters degree (distinction preferred).

 

All the best!

[mbaman]

Hello my friends

.I am 27 years old .I graduate in bachelor in Mining Exploration

and i am studying MBA

please suggest me a good topic for my thesis for acquiring fund doctoral course.

 

 

respectfully

[evergreen]

Hello my friends

.I am 27 years old .I graduate in bachelor in Mining Exploration

and i am studying MBA

please suggest me a good topic for my thesis for acquiring fund doctoral course.

 

Mining for Gold as a means of Acquiring Doctoral Funding?

 

..Sorry I don't understand your question.

[mbaman]

Mining for Gold as a means of Acquiring Doctoral Funding?

 

..Sorry I don't understand your question.

 

totally mining not only gold and i am interested to global business

i am searching a good topic for my thesis

and i am searching fund for doctoral business or management

plz help me guys

[Lasve]

Well guys, the problem for me is that I have NO money (I had to work to pay for my education and that's why I graduate at 27 with no experience related to my field of study);

That's why I can only apply to fully founded PhD, I actually consider it to be a Job not studies anymore.

In Europe I've seen that most schoold (Eg Copenhagen, Stockholm, INSEAD..) consider PhD candidate as employee..

[evergreen]

totally mining not only gold and i am interested to global business

i am searching a good topic for my thesis

and i am searching fund for doctoral business or management

plz help me guys

 

I think you need to really ask yourself why you want to do a PhD.

 

No one is going to give you a "good" topic for your thesis... especially not on a random, free internet message board.

In fact in academia, the fact that you're even asking for a topic is offensive. The only thing academics have going for themselves (aside from all the titles and respect) is their research. To simply ask for someone to do the hard intellectual lifting for you pretty much spits on everything the academic stands for. (Caveat: If your advisor when you are in a PhD program wants you to work on a specific topic, then that's different)

 

As for funding, you will get funding if your profile is strong enough to get into a funded program, there are many in North America and apparently Europe too.

If you're serious about the PhD, you can start a new thread (and not hijack this one, which is also considered rude) and ask for a profile evaluation.

[rsaylors]

Well guys, the problem for me is that I have NO money (I had to work to pay for my education and that's why I graduate at 27 with no experience related to my field of study);

That's why I can only apply to fully founded PhD, I actually consider it to be a Job not studies anymore.

In Europe I've seen that most schoold (Eg Copenhagen, Stockholm, INSEAD..) consider PhD candidate as employee..

 

Same goes for the US.

[Bloomsbury]

Indeed, funding is not automatic in some European schools, especially in the UK, from what I've understood.