bjm8

Don't let Arizona and Michigan schools be an indicator of the entire US. Sure the economy stinks right now. Sure it's going to be tough to get in anywhere. But I think Arizona, Michigan, and maybe California are probably worst-case scenarios. In Arizona property values have plummeted worse than almost anywhere. California has some of the worst budgetary and unemployment issues in the country (which means less state funding for schools). Michigan has Detroit... 'nuff said. Don't let those three areas get you down. I'll remain optimistic that the rest of the nation is in better shape.

All i have are "instructions, app. form, supp. forms, recommendations, payment, and submit confirmation". None of those items show my status. Arrg... guess I'll have to e-mail Nancy, though from what I've read, it may be a futile effort.

How do you check your app status at Cornell? It says that there should be a "check your status" online, but i'm not seeing it. Am I an idiot or something?

Don't worry - once I make a final decision regarding a school, I'll be sure to post all my results. It's the least I could do to recompense all the valuable information I got from this board. I'm not marketing, accounting, or finance though, so general interest in my results will probably be minimal.

Somewhat expected, I guess; I would have been more surprised if I got in. I thought it went well until my lunch break. I don't know if the profs got together and determined my fate during my lunch break or what, but my interviews definitely took a turn south after lunch. I think the feeling about my 'fit' with the school was mutual. After my day there, I knew deep down that I wouldn't mesh well with the culture there. Probably the only reasons I would have considered the school after my day there were the school's name and placement potential. At least they made my decision easy for me! :)

Let's post this to the proper thread this time: Just got rejected from Harvard, after my interview at the end of January. :( Oh well, I have 2 other solid acceptances in-hand. Plus just getting the chance to interview at Harvard gave me some confidence about my profile. We'll see how my remaining 12 schools turn out.

Whoops!

Search this forum for "interview". You'll get more than enough information regarding the interview process.

I would say "it depends". I've had a few schools where the director/dean of the program e-mailed me directly to express that they received my application, and went into detail about the program, its benefits, etc, etc. I'd say cookie-cutter notices aren't really a short-list notification, but personal notices from faculty could be construed as a good sign... I didn't apply to Wharton (I know, I'm kicking myself right now), so I can't comment on which side of the fence these notification fall.

Every school has its own rules for latin honors. My school (top 25-to-30-ish Engineering School in US) has 3.75 as the summa cum laude cutoff. As previously implied, GPA's are not an apples-to-apples comparison for students in different schools. I know that the 3.75 GPA was higher than the top 5% of the student class at my school. My guess is that the 3.75 cutoff was around the top 2 to 3 percent of the class. At another school, a 3.75 GPA would be the 30th percentile. Really, there's no standardization with regards to GPA's, latin honors, etc, etc. Which is why we have standardized tests...

My opinion - most professors / faculty are VERY busy during school semesters, and don't have time to meet with many potential applicants. They usually wait until you've submitted your formal application before they are willing to devote any time out of their schedules to meet w/ a student. Your best bet is to make your application the best you can, and let it speak for itself. You can't improve your uGrad GPA, and your GMAT is near-perfect. The only thing left is to focus on your SOP and get that to become immaculate. Then, you'll have a pretty competitive application. Also, top-10 schools are often a crapshoot, depending on the applicant pool for the year, AdCom's moods, etc, etc. You definitely want to spread the risk, and apply to a few top-25 programs and maybe a top-50 or two if you want to "guarantee" and admit letter.

Yes, I expanded my application list quite extensively from what I posted on this forum. Part of the reason was the deteriorating economic situation (and the subsequently competitive PhD applicant pool) since I first posted. Another part was me coming to the resolution that "I'll only do this (PhD applications) once in my life, so might as well give it my all".

I would never have expected this in a million lifetimes, but I got a phone call (and an e-mail) requesting an in-person interview from Harvard. Obviously, I'm going to follow through with this. Also (and perhaps more obviously), I would like to be as well-prepared for the interview as possible. Does anyone have any advice for me? Anyone know how many people get interviewed, and how many (very rough percentage) are offered admission afterwards? Also, I've been on a few school interviews already (with a few more in the very near future), but most have been mid-to-upper tier schools, not elite like HBS. I'm worried that this interview will be less "wooing" of me, and more "grilling" of my technical knowledge or (even worse) actual tests during my interview. Has anyone heard what the interview day will be like? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Check out Pharmaeconomics programs. It might be up your alley. There are a few schools that offer this as a specific field, while other have this as a branch of their economics department.

Among the multitude of reasons I can think of, below are two that exemplify why there's absolutely no reason for you to go for a PhD: 1) What benefits do you think that a PhD would provide if you just want to own a business (other than having 'Dr.' on your business card)?? A PhD will teach you to research and become a scholar, not "how to become a consultant". An MBA will suffice for your needs. 2) If you go to schools with an SOP that says "i want to become a consultant", you likely won't be admitted anywhere. Get the experience. A PhD won't teach you how to run a business. It might even be a detriment, as you'll become very focused in one particular field, and will try to apply your one field of expertise to every situation you encounter. Your customers may not like that. If anything, take more MBA classes to better prepare you to start a business. Your best bet would be to go after a job with one of the big consulting companies. They'll train you, and best prepare you for a consulting career, as long as you are willing to put in the grueling hours and travel. Just my .02.