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Management Applicant Profiles


tm_associate

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This thread is designed as a consolidation of successful PhD applicants in the management concentration. The moderators have closed this thread to limit the unrelated discussion. As future applicants share their profiles, they will be added to this thread. Please respect their privacy and be thankful that successful applicants are willing to share their profiles with the community.

 

Thanks.

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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Offers Given: 6 interviews (2 top 10, 4 top 30); 4 offers (1 top 10, 3 top 30); 2 rejects (1 top 10, 1 top 30); 3 withdrawn (1 top 10, 2 top 30)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.

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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 letter of recommendation. 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".

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Discipline/Concentration: Organizational Behavior

Test Used for Admittance: GMAT

Test Scores: 720(93%), 49Q(83%), 40V(90%), 5.5 AWA

Undergrad GPA: 3.90 (business)

Graduate GPA: 3.96 (heavy quant field)

Industry Experience: business owner (3 years), 5 years additional full-time work experience

Research Experience: conference paper presented at regional conference

 

Range of Schools Applied: Texas A&M T40 only

Total Schools Applied To: 14

Total Offers Given: 3 rejections, 2 interviews, 5 offers, 4 withdraws before heard back from

 

Final Remarks:

Ugrad from teaching school, no doctoral program. MA from same school. Thought this would be a huge disadvantage, which it might have been at some institutions, but for the most part I didn't feel it played too large of a factor. Heavy stats/quant work was probably a good supportive indicator I could handle the rigors of doctoral training.

 

1) do your research of schools before hand, i.e. are there enough faculty that can help motivate your possible interests, is the department culture the type you would look for. is their placement reasonable for your goals.

 

2) Scores help get you pass the minimum bar... beyond that, research fit with department/faculty, understanding of what your getting yourself into, and intangible traits that should be highlight in your LOR and personal statement help communicate why you would the best fitted applicant for a particular school. Their are no black/white standards, so the more things that you can strengthen in your overall package, the better.

 

3) Spend a good deal of time writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting, and editing your personal statement. get feedback from your LOR writers, and others that can help you put your best foot forward.

 

4) Prepare yourself for a grueling first year. You will be running around like mad to balance everything. Have a good support network ready.

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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).

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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 excellent fit, but I really wanted my first choice!

 

Goodluck future PhD applicants

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  • 3 weeks later...

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.

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Discipline: OB

Admission Year:Fall 2014

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: GRE (97%V 88%Q)

Undergrad GPA: 2:1 British system

Graduate GPA: NIL

LORs: 2 great letters, 1 was alright

Industry Experience: Some internships

Research Experience: At time of application, 1 year RA, lead author on some independent projects.

Teaching Experience: TA 1 semester MBA

Range of Schools Applied: UTD T30

Total Schools Applied To: 17

Total Offers Given: 1 Top 15

 

Final Remarks: Im incredibly humbled by my application experience. It was a mix of emotions-- was encouraged by the fact that there's a huge community of people who are interested in the same things as I am interested in and also at times intimidated by their fantastic backgrounds. Everyone seemed so qualified, and honestly what set me apart was my fit with this particular school that I will be attending this fall. After extensive research about the different schools, I knew that this was the one for me, and I accepted immediately. Will withdraw from everywhere else!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Discipline: Management

Admission Year: 2014

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: V:163, Q:160 TOEFL: 119,

Undergrad GPA: 2.75 (BS in Pharmaceutical Science form a pubic university)

Graduate GPA: 3.45 (MBA in HRM and marketing from an AACSB-accredited business school)

Graduate GPA: Still finishing this one (Research Master in business research from a top-5 European university)

Industry Experience: 3 years in Human Resources at multinational companies in different industries

Research Experience: 1.5 years

Teaching Experience: 6 months

Letters: 4 LORs, all relatively strong. 2 from big names in the field, one from the dean of my first business school and the last one from the associate dean.

Range/Number of Schools Applied: 3 schools, all T-50.

Offers Given: 1 offer (my top choice, working with two of my heroes in the field)

Final Remarks:This is my second year applying to PhD positions. The first time I applied to 15 schools but didn't work out. I enrolled in a 2-year research master program to improve my profile and gain some research experience. As you can see, I'm not a typical A-student which goes to show that having stellar grades is just one part of the process. I spent two years working hard to remedy what I believed were my real deficiencies as a researcher: statistics, research methodology and research experience. I was lucky enough to have my application screened by insightful academicians who can see beyond the mere numbers on a transcript and glean my potential as a PhD student from the different elements of my application: my commitment, LORs and work experience. If I could offer some advice from my humble and humbling experience, I would say:

- Don't just jump into it! Take a long deep look at your profile and identify what your weaknesses are, then do what you can to fix these. It signals to adcoms many things: self-awareness, tenacity, resilience and most of all, commitment.

- Know your field, your school and who you want to work with.

- It's a stressful and demanding process so develop a support system. The amazing people on this forum should definitely be part of it!

- There's always next year so don't doubt yourself if you don't make it the first time. if it's what you really want, then regroup, strategize and take another swing at it.

- a research master in Europe is a great way to improve your profile. (contact me if you need more information about that)

 

Good luck everybody!

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  • 1 year later...

Acceptance Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GMAT

Test Scores: 710 Total (92 percentile) - 41 Verbal (94 percentile), 47 Quantitative (68 percentile), 6 Analytical Writing (92 percentile), 8 Integrated Reasoning (92 percentile)

Undergrad GPA: 3.54

Graduate GPA: 3.67

Industry Experience: 8 years, retail management

Research Experience: None

 

 

Concentration Applied To: Management (OB)

Range of Schools Applied To: 13 total (6 within Top 50, additional 5 within Top 10) (Texas A&M Management Department Rankings). Accepted offer from a Top 10 school with great research fit

Final Results: 4 interviews (including 3 campus visits), 2 offers, 1 withdrawn prior to decision, 1 waitlisted (was the only one on the list. Ultimately rejected), 9 rejections

 

 

Final Remarks: I have never learned so much in such a short period of time. In the 1.5 months between my first phone interview and making my final decision, I learned a great deal about academia and Phd programs. So while I highly recommend doing your homework prior to applying, accept the fact that you will not know everything (nor are you expected to know everything). You are being judged as an applicant on your promise and attitude, not on your knowledge of jargon and how many articles you can mention in your interviews. Now, maybe that is just true for my concentration, but it is the impression I got in general.

 

 

Also, be prepared for rejection, and be able to take it constructively. The acceptance rate for these programs is very low, averaging around 5%. So even if you might be the best applicant at a particular school, odds are that there is a stronger applicant for other schools. Do not take rejection personally. In fact, I would say that your ability to take constructive criticism and rejection is key to this field, as the research and publication process can involve crushing rejection. There is nothing like spending several years on a project that you are excited about, only to receive an outright rejection from your target journal. That is life, and that is academia. How well you can deal with that and move on is key to your success as an applicant.

 

 

One mistake I made, and I would caution others from making, is to apply to "top schools" simply because they are "top schools." Early on in my process, I was very concerned about getting in to a prestigious school that could place me well simply by virtue of the name on the diploma. But later on I realized that it is not the name that will help you succeed in academia, it is the training you receive. You will receive the best training, and actually enjoy the process, if you are matched with faculty and a program with similar research interests. While rankings can be a good tool, I would argue that reseach fit is more important. I learned this lesson after I had already "finalized" my school list. As I was preparing to apply to a great program, I realized that I could not name I single faculty member that I would be interested in working with. I knew that my inability to do so would torpedo my chances at that school, but more importantly, my chances of enjoying the program.

 

 

One piece of advice that I would offer, but that others may disagree with, is to have specific research interests and questions in mind during the process. I have encountered applicants who are very vague about their research interests, and my fear is that this conveys a lack of thought about, or even a lack of interest in, research. I kept notes every time an interesting research question popped in to my head, both to look back at during my program, but also to mention in the interview process. This also made it easier to call out faculty research interests and show a match. Of course, research interests are very fluid, and will change with time. But my opinion is that specific questions and interests can only help you in the application process.

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Acceptance Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: 160 Verbal (84 percentile), 170 Quantitative (98 percentile)

Undergrad GPA: 3.74

Graduate GPA: N/A

Industry Experience: None

Research Experience: 1 journal article accepted (first author), 2 conference paper accepted, 1 journal article under review; Research assistant (2 years)

 

Concentration Applied To: Management (OB)

Range of Schools Applied To: 11 total (3 in Top 20, 6 in Top 50) (UTD Worldwide Rankings), (4 in Top 10, 5 in Top 30, 1 in Top 50) (Texas A&M management department productivity ranking).

Final Results: 6 interview invitations (3 interviews), 2 offers, 1 rejection

 

 

Final Remarks: I am an international student without any industry experience. My undergraduate major is psychology and I'm doing my master in OB. I think my weakness compared to many applicants is that I have no work experience. But my strength is that I have several publications and a relevant master degree.

 

 

One thing I totally agree with ProspectiveProf is that you should have specific research interests and questions in mind during the application process. I think this is one reason why many schools gave me interview invitations. In my SOP, I showed how my research experience is linked to the research interests of faculty members and outlined what research questions in those areas I want to answer. This does not only show your understanding of those areas but also confirm your motivation. Several interviewers also asked me what attracts me most in the areas that I am interested in and what I want to study in those areas. So it never hurts to read some articles in your chosen areas and try to think critically what hasn't been but needs to be done in those areas.

 

 

For OB applicants, I strongly recommend using Texas A&M ranking instead of UTD as the former uses more OB-specific journals as criteria whereas the later is based on a bunch of journals in different fields.

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Acceptance Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Score: 160V (84%), 161Q (80%), 5.0AWA (93%)

Undergraduate GPA: 3.7

Industry Experience: some years in science industry (part-time), 2 years work for city crisis management (part-time and full-time)

Research Experience: one published paper (from undergrad), RA/TA (4 years combined, including experiences during UG)

Concentration Applied To: Management (Strategy)

Range of Schools Applied To: 5 in Top 25, 2 in Top 50, 1 outside Top 50 (Texas A&M Aggregate Productivity Ranking)

Final Results: 3 interviewed, 2 offers + 1 provisional acceptance, 0 wait-lists, 1 rejection

 

 

Final Remarks: Social science major as an undergraduate, current masters student in economics (top-tier program). More full-time work experience could have benefitted my application (but current graduate studies helped supplement this). One consistent "thumbs up" I received was my quantitative background fostered by the economics coursework.

 

 

Suggestions: If I were to offer one suggestion to someone planning to apply one or two years down the road (or maybe even 6 months), I would recommend he or she take as many math/stats courses as possible (think econometrics, linear algebra, and multivariate calculus + optimization through university econ or math departments). Don't panic about your GRE score being too low, especially if your UG GPA is decent--my GRE was not stellar for the schools I applied to, but I focused on obtaining the quantitative skills necessary to keep pressing forward as a researcher.

 

 

How to Choose? In my [inexperienced] opinion, when deciding which school to pursue...

The best department is the one that has a culture that most agrees with you, can holistically develop you as a future professor, and allows you to thrive in the areas (yes, areas! think: related departments) of research that inspire you most. The best department is not the one with the most or least rigorous course-load, but the one that opens doors (i.e. strong placement) and pushes you toward what inspires you most.

 

 

A few interview questions I received (asked by faculty or grad students during visits):

Program Fit:

What about our program made you decide to apply here?

What do you like most about our department? What concerns you?

What has been your impression so far? [of the visit]

What do you think about the [insert city name of school here] area?

What other programs are you applying to? Have you heard anything from them?

Do you have a top-pick program? Where do you think our program ranks among the departments you are considering?

 

 

Faculty & Research:Which faculty do you see yourself potentially working with?

What do you think of [Professor Name]'s research? (Note: this professor specialized in my area of interest)

Who did you feel like you got along with the best when speaking with them?

Would you classify yourself as more micro or macro focused?

Are you interested in incorporating organizational theory into your research?

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Acceptance Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: 165 Verbal (90th percentile), 162 Quantitative (84th percentile)

Undergrad GPA: 3.9

Graduate GPA: N/A

Industry Experience: None

Research Experience: 3 years undergrad research assistant, 2 years lab manager

 

Concentration Applied To: Management (OB)

Range of Schools Applied To: 15 total (3 in top 10, 9 in top 20 or 30, 3 in top 50)

Final Results: 6 interviews, 2 offers in top 20, 1 waitlisted, 8 rejected, 4 still waiting to hear back from (2 post-interview)

 

 

Final Remarks: I just wanted to note that I have no business background whatsoever. I majored in psychology and worked in 4 psych/neuro labs. I never took any business or math classes in college, and have no industry experience. I was initially worried that these things would keep me from getting into a program, but I realized it's more about your potential and desire to be in the field. So don't let lack of experience in these aspects discourage you from applying. Focus on your strengths

 

 

I think it's important to have some specific research interests that you can talk about in your SOP and interviews. Even if you aren't 100% sure that's what you want to research, it helps show that you're knowledgeable about the topics and can articulate yourself well. I read a lot of papers before I figured out what I was interested in, and I think that's a good route to go. It also helps to be creative and think about what interests you in other domains. For example, I've always loved volunteering and finding new ways to help others in need, so I became interested in researching prosocial behavior, non-profits, etc. If you can turn something you're passionate about into a research idea, it will make things easier and more enjoyable.

 

 

Also start as early as you can. I got the GRE/GMAT out of the way early before I started anything else and that helped me focus on applications a lot more. Give yourself time to talk to professors, make sure you will get good recommendations and also write and revise a strong SOP. If you can, try to practice interviewing with someone who is familiar with the process such as a professor or current grad student. I think the best time to do this is right after you finish your applications, before you actually start interviewing.

 

 

Lastly, remember to stay positive and celebrate each achievement along the way. Celebrate finishing your GRE/GMAT, finishing applications, getting interview invites, getting offers, and making your decision. It will help keep you from getting overwhelmed or discouraged. These are all huge accomplishments and you should be proud of yourself! If you don't do as well as you wanted, you can always work on your application and try again next year. Many people apply several years until they get accepted. Sometimes that extra time helps you realize you want to study or do something else (in my case it made me realize I want to switch from psych to business) that works out better for you. Also, feel free to contact me if you need advice or anything. Good luck!

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Admission Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: 166 Quant (92%), 160 Verbal (84%)

Undergrad GPA: 3.8

Graduate GPA: N/A

Industry Experience: 1 year

Research Experience: 1.5 years right now (6 months in psych lab, 1 year OB lab)

 

 

Concentration Applied to: Management (OB)

Range of Schools Applied: 20 Total. 6 in top 10, 6 in top 20, 4 in top 30, 4 in top 50 (Texas A&M Management Productivity)

Total Schools Applied To: 15 interviews/short-lists (2 top 5, 7 top 20, 3 top 30, 3 top 50); 4 rejected; 1 withdrawn (pre-interview); 3 wait-lists; 4 offers (after I received these offers I began to withdraw my applications from places at which I interviewed)

 

 

Final Remarks: My three pieces of advice are the three things that I believe helped me the most. 1) Find a mentor. This could be a faculty member or a doctoral student, but someone who has been through the application process. I was shocked at how genuinely helpful people are. There are no books or websites (other than urch) that lay out the application process for you like you can find for an MBA, JD, etc. Having someone to help guide you through the struggles of creating a quality application is invaluable. 2) Do what it takes to get some research experience. Hopefully you have a mentor that can help get you involved in research. This will give you instant-credibility on paper, as well as in interviews. 3) Go with your gut. I had heard this all along but didn't know what it meant until I felt it. When I interviewed (on-site) at the school that I eventually accepted an offer from (top 15 school), I just felt it. I cannot describe it, but it was very evident. From then on, every other school did not matter to me (even those with higher "rankings")

 

 

Overall, this has been a wild ride. I am incredibly grateful for the mentors and urchins that have helped me throughout the months. I have been extremely fortunate and would not have changed a single thing about this process.

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Admission Year: 2015

Test Used for Admittance: GRE

Test Scores: 327, Quant 168 (95%), Verbal 159 (81%)

Industry Experience: Several Years in Oil and Gas Industry and in a Business School

Grades: Undergrad 62%, Grad 64% (No GPA system)

Research Experience: Research Associate - 1 Year; I paper under R&R at an A publication, conference presentation at AOM and SPSP;

 

Concentration Applied to: Management (OB)

Schools Applied to: 4 in top 10, 7 in top 20, 4 in top 50

Outcome: 5 interviews (2 in top 10, 2 in top 20, 1 in top 50); 2 Accepted; 9 Rejected; 4 withdrawn

 

 

 

Comments:

 

 

These comments are largely focussed towards International candidates whose undergrad and grad schools and the grading systems may not be easily comparable in US.

 

 

Test Scores: Crack it above 95 PC, especially if you are aiming for top 20 schools. In my case I was rejected at one top 20 school without interview and at a T-10 and another T-20 post interview because of my undergrad and grad school grades (received this specific feedback from people I knew at both the schools).

 

 

Research Interests: Knowing well the research conducted at the schools you are applying to takes some time, and ideally one should complete this exercise before writing the SOP. This will help you not only with your rationale for applying to that school, but also demonstrating your understanding of research conducted at that department and your potential fit in your SOP and during the interview.

 

 

Bottomline: During this process, I visited several univeristies across the US, and met the PhD coordinators at these schools. Some of the coordinators were candid about their application pool; at three T-10 schools, the coordinators mentioned about the four buckets (Ivy League - High Grades, Ivy League - Low Grades, Other schools - High grades, Other schools - Low grades) of applicants, and mentioned that often admissions team doesn't have to go beyond the first bucket. Ofcourse, this may not be representative of most the schools, hence I felt, to qualify the first cut, an applicant should be atleast average on most of objective hygiene factors, and have atleast one or two spikes. These spikes may be perfect GPA, very high test scores, research publications, research experience or a combination of these. In my opinion, SOPs and the 'content' of the reco letter matters only after the first cut.

 

 

Reflection: Each grad student perhaps "costs" approx $ 400,000 to the school, hence schools are looking for credible signals from the applicants. Different schools value different types of signals, and even that criterion is not fixed; since the applicaton evaluation criterion is so unpredicatable, hence, the long held suggestion to apply widely. I may be wrong, but I feel, with more than 100 applicants for 3 - 5 positions, schools just need a reason to reject 85 out of the 100 applicants; those who survive the first cut are perhaps subjected to greater scrutiny and vetoed down or wooed by the faculty as a group. So brace your self for uncertainty and learn to accept the low odds of this process.

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