Profile Evaluation_19fall_US/EU schools_OB

[phdquan]

Newbie here! I've finished most of my preparation and am just working on PS and RL, but still am a bit hesitant about my school choices. All advice are welcomed! If anyone else is applying the OB phd for fall 2019, please feel free to reach out and connect!

 

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE):

GMAT 740(97%), v41(93%), Quant 49 (74%), AW 5(53%), IR 4 (38%)

Question: my overall score is decent, however the new IR segment is fairly low, will this have a big influence on my overall chances?

Undegrad GPA: 3.32/4 - Marketing, an unknown school in China

Graduate GPA: 3.78/4 - Ms in Marketing, Arizona State University (Thunderbird school of global mgmt)

Research Experience: one published paper as second author in 2013, Journal of Media and Communication Studies

Teaching Experience: N/A

Work Experience: 3.5 years in digital marketing in the U.S.

 

Concentration Applying to: Organizational Behavior

Number of programs planned to apply to: 7

Dream Schools:

Harvard

MIT

Stanford

 

Other Questions:

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD?

3 years of corporate life made me miss the intellectual challenge and constant learning in school.

as a high skilled immigrant visa holder, I witnessed how skilled immigrant workers are under-employed with multiple restriction, inspiring me to learn new ways to motivate, engage and max the potential of this group

 

Questions or concerns you have about your profile?

1. I want to teach in a U.S. school after graduation, is it worth it to apply to EU schools? currently I'm looking into INSEAD but am a bit concerned about whether the placement/research will be heavily depended on your location.

2. Anyone familiar with INSEAD and Wharton's combined phd program?

3. with my profile, is it realistic to apply to all top 50 schools? my current plan is to apply again next year if I don't get to my top schools, but am def a bit concerned about my background due to low undergrad GPA

 

Any additional specific questions you may have:

[BrazilianPhD]

School choice is one of the hardest parts of the application process. You have to do some research to know which schools are a good fit for you, especially a good fit for your research interests. See the faculty of each school, see what papers the professors of each school are publishing, for example. Who are the researchers that can really help you with your interests, and where they are?

 

Applying to only 7 schools seems a very small number, especially taking into consideration that you are not sure about your school choices. Every time I see a list of schools like "Harvard, MIT, Stanford" I have the feeling that the applicant is trying to go for the famous schools, not the schools that are best for them. On the other hand, applying to all top 50 is overkill, and certainly a lot of them will not be a good fit for you.

 

I don't think the IR score will make a big difference. Your GMAT score is great, you have a Ms, you have research experience with one published paper. If you also have strong letters of recommendation, then your profile looks really strong, a lower IR score wouldn't be enough to raise significant concerns in my opinion.

 

There is a lot of Marketing in your profile, I hope you have a good explanation to apply to OB. I changed from Finance to Marketing, and often people ask me about that.

 

If you only want to teach in a US school, I think doing a PhD in the US will make your life easier. But INSEAD is a very strong school, according to their website they have been placing students in US schools too.

 

I don't see why wait for another year to apply again. I think it's better to apply to all schools that you would like to go, and see the results. If you get accepted by your top schools, you accept the offer from one of them. If you don't get accepted by your top schools, you still have an opportunity with the other schools on your list.

[TheOneAndOnly]

Which parts of OB are you interested in and why? You should definitely be able to explain why you want to move towards OB. Especially at schools like Stanford there is a very strong micro/macro (i.e. psych/soc) distinction. So you'll have to be able to place yourself along those lines.

 

If you want to work in the US, getting your PhD in the US is definitely a more straightforward way but INSEAD and LBS both basically only regard top US schools as their peer group and are able to place you in the US as well. Outside of these things become more tricky.

 

INSEAD has an exchange program with Wharton which is not the same as a combined PhD. You are basically visiting Wharton for a bit, but you get your PhD from INSEAD (and will be judged accordingly)/

[Sangria]

I assume when you say, "apply to all top 50 schools," that you mean that all schools you apply to will be top 50, not that you'd apply to 50 schools total, correct? You do have a decent GMAT score and grad GPA, but you are making a move from marketing to management. What area of marketing? If you had a consumer marketing background, some of the theories (psych) will translate to OB, just for different problems, so it's not a huge jump. I think applying to top 50 schools is okay, but don't disregard lower ranking programs that are a great fit for you. The "superstar" researcher in your area of interest just might be at a top 100 program.

 

You'll still need to explain why you want to make a change. I saw this as the clue:

 

I witnessed how skilled immigrant workers are under-employed with multiple restriction, inspiring me to learn new ways to motivate, engage and max the potential of this group

 

This sounds like your specific research interest, and it sounds like you are motivated by your observations in the workplace. Discuss this in your personal statement, briefly. Don't dwell on your work experience in your statement, since faculty are more interested in your research ability and interests. Mention it as a motivating factor for your switch and move on.

 

Are any faculty members researching something similar to this at the schools you mentioned? It doesn't matter if you apply to 5 or 50 programs; if you are a poor research fit and only applying for the name factor, you will have little chance of admission. Make sure that every program you apply to has at least one, preferably more than one, faculty member doing research in your specific area of interest. You shouldn't have trouble finding programs focusing on employee motivation and engagement, even if faculty is not focused on immigrant issues specifically. But if you do find faculty doing precisely this, even better. I always recommend searching for recent papers in your area of interest, and see where the authors work. Determine if their department has a PhD program, then dig deeper into the author's other work and the program details.

[StrategicMGMT]

I think within the top 5-10 European schools placing in the US is not a problem but it comes down to location preferences and signaling your interest (as well as the normal things: who your advisor is, publications, etc). For example HEC sends several people to the US every year and is well regarded. Obviously LBS and INSEAD are on par with top 10 schools in the US.

Which parts of OB are you interested in and why? You should definitely be able to explain why you want to move towards OB. Especially at schools like Stanford there is a very strong micro/macro (i.e. psych/soc) distinction. So you'll have to be able to place yourself along those lines.

 

If you want to work in the US, getting your PhD in the US is definitely a more straightforward way but INSEAD and LBS both basically only regard top US schools as their peer group and are able to place you in the US as well. Outside of these things become more tricky.

 

INSEAD has an exchange program with Wharton which is not the same as a combined PhD. You are basically visiting Wharton for a bit, but you get your PhD from INSEAD (and will be judged accordingly)/

[TheOneAndOnly]

I think within the top 5-10 European schools placing in the US is not a problem but it comes down to location preferences and signaling your interest (as well as the normal things: who your advisor is, publications, etc). For example HEC sends several people to the US every year and is well regarded. Obviously LBS and INSEAD are on par with top 10 schools in the US.

 

You are, of course, absolutely right. I didn’t mean to imply that only LBS or INSEAD can lead to US offers.

In the end, it’s much more of a question of nuance. If OP knows that s/he wants to work in the US, no matter where, it might be easier to just start in the US as well. If, on the other hand, OP has a more romanticized version of working at a top university in a desirable location, I would advise to follow general criteria of picking the best school (regarding fit, placement, advisor, etc). The job market is unpredictable enough as is and hence such precise plans are hard to see through.