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Profile evaluation - PhD accounting / finance


PHDhopeful99

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Hello all,

 

I am posting because I have really wanted to be a professor and am thinking I may actually pursue a phd. I haven't done much work and am just sort of seeing how competitive my profile may be and what I can do to improve it.

 

Undergrad GPA: 3.73 from a large state school with a top accounting program - double major acctg / finance

Masters GPA: 3.5 Macc from same school - (integrated program)

Research Experience: None

Teaching experience: None (was a TA for a couple semesters early on in UG but responsibilities were mostly grading)

Work Experience: So far 1 year of investment banking experience

CPA Licensed as well as several FINRA licenses needed for IB

Math: Only 1 business calc class but if I ended up applying for programs I would take necessary courses at the CC or online.

I can probably get good LOR's from some professors and / or people at the bank I work at.

 

I know that since I have not taken the GMAT or GRE yet it will be hard to say exactly where I will be competitive, I am a good test taker so assume I can get at least a 700. Will I be competitive with this background at top schools assuming a good GMAT score?

 

Further, I am not set on an accounting PHD but figured since I am a CPA, I will have a better chance of getting into a better program than a finance PHD program. Is that correct? I want to go to a top program but will settle for a lesser one that is still good if it means that it is not as crazily research focused as I hear the top top ones like Penn / MIT / Stanford / Chicago would be because ultimately I am more interested in the teaching aspect.

 

Have no idea what I want to research yet - have not gotten that far, but just want some feedback if with this background I would be at all competitive at good schools.

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It's tough to say much right now. You have a decent GPA and can probably get decent letters from well known people. Being a CPA and having a little work experience is helpful. GMAT is a big factor and I would advise you to aim for 750 if you can.

 

Assuming you get 720+ on the GMAT and take Calc 1-3 and Linear Algebra at a community college and get As you should be competitive at the good state schools. The more you can learn about accounting research the better. If there is a workshop at a nearby university, it will serve you well to sit in on it.

 

If you can narrow your research interests down and do some prep, then I could recommend some schools to apply to.

 

Hope that helps.

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I would say that research experience is the one thing that's missing from your profile. I think that it's quite key to the adcomms, and getting a good reference letter from someone you've done research with can really help boost your chances of getting in.

 

Seeing as though you are already in the workforce, it may be difficult to get additional research experience. I would suggest what YaSvoboden suggested above, which is to narrow down your research interests as much as possible, so that you can convince the admissions committee that you understand the motivations to pursue a phd in your chosen field.

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