luke77

So I thought this would be the most-asked question on here, but I did a quick search and didn't see anything directly addressing my question. I'm wondering if there are any good, free sites for GRE prep online that you guys would recommend? Also, any book recs for GRE prep? Finally, if I order a book does it really matter if I get the newest, "2008 edition", or can I save some cash and get an older edition off ebay or half.com? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am considering applying to graduate PhD programs, but I'm worried about LORs. I went to a well-regarded undergrad, got good grades, perform well on standardized tests, and I think I can write a good SOP. However, I went to a large college and struggled with depression for most of my time there. As a result, I never formed any close relationships with professors. I can't think of one professor who would remember me well enough to write a strong LOR. This is going to be a major problem for my applications. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to handle this? I'm guessing that my best (only) bet is to email former professors whose class I performed well in, attach a resume/bio and ask if they'd be willing to write a LOR on this basis. I don't really have any other great ideas... Has anyone else dealt with this? Thanks, Luke

Hey guys, I'm considering a PhD in the future and one of the decisions I have to make is when to do it. I'm wondering whether anyone knows if there is (or has been in the past) a correlation between the economy and the difficulty of getting in to grad school (either econ programs or just in general). I work on wall street and alot of the guys from my firm who are being laid off are at least considering going back to school. Also, it would seem that if there are fewer jobs for new graduates, there will be more graduates who will decide to stay in school for a Phd. I was considering applying this next cycle but it seems like it might be a better idea to wait until the economy improves if my assumptions are correct. Can anyone speak to this?

Hi guys, I'm curious - what kind of hours do business grad students and/or business professors keep? I've only worked with graduate students in the sciences, and it seemed to vary somewhat - I knew a few that treated their studies like a 9 to 5, and made a rule of not taking their studies home with them, whereas others put in 70-80 hour weeks nearly every week. I'd say most worked about 40 hours a week, though, with maybe 10-15 additional hours at home doing work or reading papers. The only professors I've known closely worked about the same, although of course they get summers and breaks off, during which they worked about half as much (research only). What is typical of business PHDs/professors? Is it different at more/less competitive programs? I'm currently working about 65 hours a week in industry, and while I certainly don't mind working hard, I can't picture myself working this much for my whole life.

Wow, that sounds like a great program, thanks! It's exactly what I'm looking for - does anyone know of any similar programs or have more info about the NYU program? I've looked around on a few websites and Harvard hires "Research Associates" that are more like a full-time job - I was thinking about trying for one of those and then taking night classes, but that's probably not an ideal situation...

Thanks, this sounds like sensible advice. I went ahead and contacted a few professors in master's programs that I'm interested in - I wouldn't mind doing a masters if it is funded, and I've found several that are funded with assistantships, but so far the professors I've heard back from have all agreed that they do want applicants who have taken more math than I have, at least to be strong in the running for funding. One professor recommended taking Calculus 3, linear algebra, and real analysis, then applying. So as a follow up question, any opinions on online/distance education courses, from the perspective of admissions committees? IOW could I get away with doing my math courses from an online program, or is this looked down upon? My current work schedule prevents me from being able to take classes in person, even night classes - I work very long hours. I'd probably have to quit my job to do these courses if online learning is not acceptable. Any opinions? Thanks again, Luke

Hi guys, I've posted a few questions regarding PhD programs but I'm still in the process of learning about how things work, and I'm a bit confused about the best way to proceed. Some brief background: I'm 1 year out of undergrad, where I graduated with a strong academic record, Phi Beta Kappa, honors program, etc. from UNC - Chapel Hill. I'm currently working in investment banking in NYC. The pay is great but I've always wanted a career in academic research and I'm very interested in finance. My problem is that I've only taken math through calculus 2 because my degree is in biology, so if I applied right now to PhD programs this would probably hurt me alot (according to what I've read on here). I think that if I did have a stronger math background I would be a strong applicant for top-25 programs once I refine my research interests and am able to write a good statement of purpose. It seems to me that the best way to sstrengthen my profile is probably a Master's program in Finance or Math. I don't really want to go through a Master's program prior to the PhD but like I said, I doubt I can get admitted without more math. My question is regarding funding. I really, really, don't want to go into debt to pay for a master's program. I've looked at some previous threads and several program websites but it's unclear to me whether master's candidates are funded at most schools. I know that in the sciences master's degree students are not normally funded but it seems that some finance students are. Can someone clarify, or suggest programs to look into that do fund their students? If master's students are NOT funded, I think I have a couple of other options. First, I could apply to a master's program at a lower-ranked school where they would give me a scholarship (hopefully), and if I got one I could attend without incurring too much debt, mostly living expenses. Alternatively, I could just keep working and take night or online math courses to try to bolster my application. Can anyone offer advice or suggestions, or alternatives that I may have overlooked? Thanks so much, Luke

Thanks guys, for the insightful responses.

Hi guys, I've been debating whether to go forward with a PhD in business for the past few months, and I'm wondering about research methodology in fields like accounting, management, and finance. To clarify, I'll describe my background in research. I have a science background, and research in the sciences pretty much follows the scientific method: a testable hypothesis is formed, and then you experiment in the lab to determine whether the hypothesis is supported by evidence. Thus, "research" is done by performing repeatable experiments. So my question is, how is research performed differently in a field like management or accounting? In reading over publications in these fields it's pretty clear that financial research is performed in a different way than scientific research. In other words, what do business professors "do" to create new research? In a field like marketing I can see how you could perform surveys, get people in a lab, etc. to gather data and generate conclusions based on this data, but in the more technical fields I guess I have no idea how research is actually performed. If this is something I'm thinking about doing for the rest of my life, it;d be nice to know what business Phds actually do. Thanks for any responses. Luke

I got the impression about econ programs being more competitive than business programs from several "So you want to go to graduate school in economics" articles, although I can't locate any of them at the moment. The authors were econ professors, though, so perhaps they were misinformed. They were writing about admissions to top tier schools, and basically suggested that a business phd program may be easier to get in to for students that are not admitted to the top econ programs. Regardless of which programs are more difficult to get into, I find the admissions stats to the business programs incredibly intimidating. At all of the top 25 schools, it looks like they get hundreds of applications for maybe 10 spots. Looking through the profiles of admitted students there are some pretty impressive profiles, but surprisingly some do not stand out at all. It leaves me confused as to how admissions offers are actually made. I imagine that with hundreds of applications there is a surfeit of qualified students - how do admissions committees decide whom to admit when they must cut so many people? Even the lower-ranked schools only admit about 10-15 percent of applicants. I know that SOP is important, but it seems like any applicant intelligent enough to be considered is able to write a strong, well-thought out SOP. Does anyone know what adcoms truly look for, or is it somewhat of a mystery (or is it just a pretty random process)?

To add to the question in the original post: I've heard that "Business" phd programs are easier to get into than econ programs, even programs with a great deal of overlap like econ and financial economics. First, is this accurate? And if so, why would this be? It seems like business departments are better funded, the job market is substantially better for business school-based phds, and salaries are significantly higher for business professors. Is it simply the perception that business programs are less "academic" because of their more applied orientation?

Thanks, I appreciate the response. I'll probably be applying to a wide variety of programs - a few from the top 10, a few top 50, and a few top 100. I have a 3.8 undergrad GPA and scored a 1600 on my SAT in HS (haven't taken the GMAT but anticipate doing ok on it, based on this), so if I add the math I think my profile will be competitive, but I know how low the acceptance rate is and will not be crushed if I don't go to Harvard or top school - my goal is simply to get through a program which will get me a job at a "decent" school after graduation - I'm actually not sure I would want the (I'm sure) very intense atmosphere at some of the top programs. To clarify my question, though, is there something you'd suggest I read to get an idea of what taking a course in econometrics, or upper level calculus will be like? In other words, what would you suggest to someone who wants to self-teach himself econometrics or calculus? Thanks again, Luke

Hi guys, I'm a 2007 graduate from a top 25 US school with a strong academic record and good test-taking skillls. I'm currently working in banking on wall street but am considering a PHD, probably in behavioral finance, though possibly Public Policy/Economics or Marketing. Like I said, I'm working in finance now, but I am a biology major without formal business training. I'm not quite sure that I will apply to PHD programs because of the math. Both because I don't have the math background required (I took through Calculus 2 and intro statistics but that's it), and because I'm not sure that I would "enjoy" the math enough to go through the math-intensive PHD process. So I guess I'm trying to get an idea of what the math required is "like", before I enroll in a masters program or something like that. Picking up a textbook and starting to read doesn't seem like a great option - are there any resources that I can read (either online or a book) that will give me an idea what the math will be like? I'm also interested, anecdotally, how difficult you guys think the higher level math is, compared to intro calculus or stats. Thanks for any help. Luke