samil

1 rejection and 2 interviews here. I'm elated (about the interviews, I mean). :)

So... during the interview, do we address professors by their first names or as "professor"?

Perhaps a solution would be to require applicants to rank the schools they apply to? Say we're in a thought-experimental world where PhD applications are via a centralized system, and everyone is required to rank their applications in order of preference. I think this might help to the extent that the problem (or inefficiency, if you will) we're discussing here is that relatively low-ranking schools underestimate their importance to the applicant relative to other schools he or she is applying to. :) just a thought

I'm referring to the idea I sometimes see discussed that schools may overlook applicants they think will get an offer from a better program. To those who know a bit more about admission systems: is this effect actually significant? I've been thinking about this because business schools seem to have a startlingly good ability to offer places to students who end up accepting the offer. Considering that most applicants would apply to significantly more than one or two schools, it's actually quite a feat that schools often achieve an offer/enroll ratio of two or less. It's probably a combination of applicants being proficient at not applying to schools that will reject them for not being good enough, and programs rejecting applicants who they think will get a better offer, but if the latter is very significant, doesn't it mean that, well, what one would consider a "safety" school is actually quite the opposite?

jthorn, just to add my two cents to some of the interesting points raised in this thread particularly by you: 1. Age and tenure I think you'll find that a lot of PhD applicants are in the ballpark of 30; I'll (hopefully) be starting an accounting PhD this year, and I'm approaching 30 myself. Anyway, from everything I've heard, tenure is mostly to do with research output. I suspect you'll be hard-pressed to find a university that will refuse tenure because someone is in his late 30s, ceteris paribus. 2. The job market and interest I agree with other posters here that interest in the field is a huge requirement, and in my opinion it's a lot more important than the state of the job market, especially if we're comparing two sub-fields within business. I would recommend that you prioritize spending some time learning about the research work in all the areas you're interested in. I usually recommend looking for RA work or collaborations with professors, because I learned from my own experience that pursuing one's own research ideas without much prior research experience or supervision isn't a terribly good idea. 3. Understanding accounting research I understand that you might feel a bit lost when you start dipping into accounting research, and might think that it's due to the lack of an accounting background, but the fact is that most undergrad accounting degrees focus on accounting practice and give only a taste of the research and theories that underlie accounting practice. It's the same as many other fields - you learn about the research by reading the research. 4. Research whose value you question Out of nothing but sheer curiousity, could you give some examples of research whose value you question due to methodology? Or perhaps a description of the kind of research you're referring to?

I was thinking that I'll be all calm and cucumber-cool about my applications this year, right until I had to hang up on a call from an unknown number because it came in the middle of a lecture. It's going to be a long few weeks. That was my experience when I applied two years ago - one of my recommenders submitted a letter late even after one or two reminders from me. My recommenders this year have been really enthusiastic and prompt, though. It was great to see the letters starting to get acknowledged on the online application systems within days of my submitting the requests.

I'm finding it quite funny that you mention the game as part of your interview. Imagining adcoms seated a few rows behind you carefully recording your every movement in little notebooks during the game. :)

You applied to 25 schools? Wow. And it's a huge range of schools too. In all honesty I'll be surprised if you don't get admitted to at least one of them.

With regards to your being a little "all over the place" with your research interests, as you put it, I'd highly recommend gaining some research experience by doing some work with professors, either as an RA or a co-author if possible. Working with professors has been the main thing that helped me narrow down my own interests.

Accounting applicant here... I'm leaning towards detail in my SOPs. I typically mention the broad areas of interest, then go into detail on my specific papers. There's definitely the risk that being too specific turns away adcoms due to misalignment of interests, but I think that that research fit really should be exogenous to deciding content of the SOP because it should be a given by that point (assuming, of course, that an applicant does have specific research interests). I admit, though, that the risk of displaying ignorance by "talking too much" is a tough one. Is minimizing the risk of appearing ignorant worth removing a good deal of detail about my research? That's probably something only the applicant can answer...

It depends, though: there's at least one school I've come across that requires, on application, proof of sufficient finance to cover the first year.

And out of curiosity, is Skype the norm?

10+ apps here too. 1500-1700 word SOPs for schools that don't set a word limit means it's pretty slow going... sent out 7 so far. :)

I know how you feel. For me every single submission (four so far, about to send the fifth) has been a matter of telling myself to stop re-re-checking every last detail of the application. :)

Is this really the case? I'm an Asian myself, and don't really see why Asian students would be more "desperate" for a US doctorate than any other student. PatentClerk's argument was that Is there really a perception that many/most Asian students are desperate to settle in the US? From my own experience I don't have any friends or colleagues at all who hoping or even wanting to move to the US for good. (Although if we're talking about settling in the US in the short or medium term—as opposed to relocating altogether—then there *may* be an argument there.)