kansrini

Congrats Rohny!

If you have done a graduate course in real analysis, then you should be able to manage. Numerical analysis will not help much. You are better off doing econometrics. Take a PhD course in microeconomics/game theory and get a good grade - that is a good signal for any admissions committee.

Very useful advice! I am 2nd year, finance. My school has packed too many finance courses this semester (we were wandering into other departments the previous one, I have no idea why) Here's an awesome article (recommended by my Prof) William Shockley on what makes a person who publishes a lot of papers (and the superstar researcher system) | Dynamic Ecology

What does this mean? In any case, why do you want to waste your time doing 2 years of coursework in another PhD? You are better off trying for a post-doc position (US or Europe), getting some publications and directly applying for tenure-track jobs. A better strategy than starting a PhD (especially if your school doesn't give you course waivers)

I don't see why it should be a negative. ANY research experience >>> no research experience Just make sure that you keep your SOP broad enough.

Here's a suggestion. Read ANY 5 papers (yes, any) in the Journal of Finance. If you manage to do that, you will realize how vague and generic your question about statistics is. You seem to have no idea of finance research (which is totally fine BUT), you need to get SOME idea otherwise you will continue to think the responses above are "unhelpful".

Agree. I look at asset pricing as mainly the study of risk. How do we measure/characterize riskiness of financial assets using our understanding of macro-factors (interest rates, consumption patterns etc) ?

Unfortunately, this will really work against you. But your RA and MBA GPA will mitigate it to some extent. You should apply widely. Top 10 admissions is more competitive/random than you think.

+ UC Berkeley Nobody conducts a 'stress interview' for PhD admissions (and interviewers are much much nicer than corporate guys!). So you really shouldn't be anxious about them

I think the problem with economic theory is that behavioral ideas (loss aversion etc) are relegated to the background. They are not as actively studied as they should be, IMHO, because they are not easily "mathematizable"

Don't waste your time getting corporate references. It will count next to nothing. However, your corporate experience can be used in the SOP. During the interview with an adcom last year we spoke about research questions/ideas that were motivated by my corporate experience

Interestingly, the field of asset pricing was largely created by people who started off with degrees in physics ( Steve Ross, John Cochrane etc...)

Totally right !

Agree with rsaylors above. It is much easier to leave US than to enter it. Also, you have a larger research community (sheer size) , so that should make collaboration easier.

. I don't intend to scare you away, but my spouse is on F2 and I can tell you that it is very difficult to get sponsorship for H1B. But you are certainly not "doomed for life" on a 20K stipend. A colleague of mine who is from a European country was telling me about the J1 - J2 option. So it is definitely worth exploring that further. Good luck!

Speaking for finance...knowing econ theory (read MWG, learn game theory etc) is a huge plus. It makes your first-year life a lot easier.

I had a similar experience last year with a school that was pushing me to make a decision while I was still waiting to hear from a "better" one. The Admissions director at this "better" place was kind enough to assure me that the CGS resolution was on my side....(In fact, it is exactly meant to handle such situations) My advice is - be polite but be firm - tell them you can't confirm your admit this early in the game.

Well, if you are particularly looking for people who regretted leaving their industry job, you may not find them on this forum :) I moved from MBA -> Industry -> PhD. There is definitely an opportunity cost. But instead of looking at it only from a financial standpoint, I would ask myself if I am comfortable with the academic way of life/thinking -whether abstract theory that is far removed from the "real" world can be appealing to me. Also the peer group in academia can be quite different from what you find in the industry.I would advise you to make your decision based on such factors. Good luck!

I am not in accounting but I can't imagine where differential equations could be critical for accounting research. At my school, the accounting PhD guys are not mandated to take advanced math classes. My advice - stick to your linear algebra and you should be fine.

Highly recommend Cochrane

The short answer to OP's question is that work experience doesn't count for much, from an admissions standpoint. Now, whether work experience will help you come up with interesting research questions during the PhD is a completely different point (it most likely does, in my opinion). Bottomline, adding one more year to your work experience (with the hopes that it will somehow count towards a better admit) is a bad strategy. You are better off doing research at a university or enrolling into a Masters program.

hedgequant : I remember you from 2010. We had similar profiles (industry experience etc) and I too went 0-14 or something like that. That's when I decided to break from work and enroll in a Masters program. Luckily that worked for me. So I am very sure it will turn out well for you this year - good luck buddy ! And to all you folks applying this year, hang in there - I know the wait can get stressful !

Unless the school you are applying to has specifically stated the TOEFL sub-section requirement, there is no reason to worry. It is not really an important criterion.

Just to repeat what others have said, it is almost impossible to graduate in less than 4 years. PhD coursework is NOT a waste of time. It is very very different from MBA coursework. For example, if you have never seen advanced game theory - however good you are at math, you WILL take time to learn.

I think it boils down to both your personal constraints and ambitions. If you are willing to wait one more year and spend the necessary money to do the program (assuming you don't get a tuition waiver) , then go for it. Otherwise, it is difficult to get a Top 25 admit with low grades (I had the same problem). This is really your call...