wlm12 Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 Hi! I'd greatly appreciate any assessment of my chances of admission to an OB program. I have defined research interests (that are in the qualitative realm) and believe I can craft a cohesive narrative about my background. That said, I am curious as to how much my lack of direct experience in OB and/or quantitative research methods may hinder my odds. Undergrad GPA: Summa cum laude at top 30 university Undergrad major: History (received research awards and 1 publication). GRE: 164Q, 169V, 6AWA Work experience: I've spent the past 5+ years working in a sector directly related to the type of research I hope to do. My role provided significant exposure to relevant subject matter and involved thought leadership and conference presentations, but was not primarily a research role. LORS would be from undergraduate history professors and current manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB 1117 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Current doctoral student in OB. Scores and GPA seem good. For qualitative there are certain programs that will honestly provide you with better training that others. Boston and the schools there (not just MIT/Harvard, BU/BC as well) are known for qualitative research. That said there are a number of places with top qualitative scholars (many of whom incidentally got their PhDs from programs in Boston). If you feel strongly that you want to do qualitative you need to make sure that you are mentioning people who do qualitative work in your statements. Its a bit of a gamble to only say you want to do qualitative work as there are only so many, but if there is also interest alignment with specific scholars at a school it could work out well. History is not super relevant, but if you are a strong writer I would lean on that and try to focus on the qualitative research dynamics that might be similar between History and OB. Depending on how much you ONLY want to do qualitative work I might hedge a bit and tailor based on the school/professors. ie for schools with qualitative professors focus on that while for others dont be pigeon-holed by that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalorian Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 You're a competitive applicant to any school, but keep in mind there are always more competitive applicants than spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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