allanzhu01

hi applicant12 Are those schools you applied (I see them in you signature) all Econ programs or Finance programs? Just my two cents: Surely you can improve your GRE score, given the maths you took are not bad. That probably help you overcome some "hurdles". I would also suggest you to reach out (through RA work, most likely) to more actively publishing/well-connected professors. My feeling is that it is not the average level of recommendation that helps, but rather the strongest letter that pushes you into a good program.

That I have no information of, sorry...

UT Austin has made several offers to shortlisted candidates.

@seremystery DId you get one? @ Bigtooth Which shools do you think Austin are competing with?

hi hedgequant You really look to have a nice profile. I wonder too what went wrong in 2011, which schools did you apply to? From your name I presume you are interested in asset pricing/quant finance? I guess schools with that expertise are generally highly ranked.

Hi fellows I decide to expand my school range a little and give it a try to Wharton, Kellogg and Duke. How would you assess my chances of getting into one of these school?

Zero Are you also applying this fall? Yes I will be very happy if I'm admitted to those schools. Also I will apply for several top programs to try some luck. I'm not sure about the "safties" because I don't want to apply for some place where I would be very reluctant to go in the end. One of my concern is not having enough advanced math. It would put me under compared with some more quantitative prepared applicants.

Oh, and I forgot to post that I have a GMAT score of 770 and TOEFL score of 111.

Hi all TMers, I have posted my profile before the long summer, and since then there is some progress. I am really interested in empirical finance research, and have decided to pursue an academic career. I have pondered on the possibility of also applying for some accounting program (on capital market research), but so far the conclusion is negative, because I feel it does not provide a breadth like corporate finance does. Here is my brief background: Undergraduate: a top Chinese institution, with a GPA equivalent of 3.88/4.00 Finance courses taken: usual suspects. had a financial economics course which used Cochrane's book, really tortured me but was fun Economic courses taken: micro, macro, two econometris, an intermediate micro which focused on contract theory and game theory Math course taken: Three Calculus courses, Linear Algebra, Intro to Probability, Intro to Statistics, ODE Graduate: Master in Finance in a US top-40 Business School, current GPA 3.90/4.00 Research and teaching experience RAed for a senior finance faculty for half year, rudimentary data collection TAed for a senior finance faculty in a graduate level course TAed for a senior accounting faculty in a graduate level seminar course LORs From the three professors who I RAed or TAed with. One has known me for long and his/her LOR should be very strong. The other two might be solid to strong. SOP Quite standard and solid. I have a good idea of the research I want to do, but have not figured out how to differentiate myself more. Target schools I'm looking at finance programs ranking from late 10ish to 30th. How would you evaluate my chances of being admitted to programs like UT Austin, U of Maryland, UNC, WUSTL or U of Minnesota? I would porabably apply around 10-15 programs.

As I am looking around schools' websites and trying to figure out which one(s) is the best fit for me, I start wondering how can I tell whether a school is more corporate finance-focused or direct more attention to asset pricing. True, the most top schools have both professors doing corporate finance and ones doing asset pricing -- and they all do it well. But I believe in 2-tier schools (maybe 20ish?) there is a leaning towards one direction or another. My mini research on b-schools so far tells me that UT Austin is probably devoted to corporate finance, while Carniege Mellon is mainly focused on asset pricing. (Interestingly one Carniege Mellon guy was placed to UT Austin several years ago -- he is doing corporate finance). What to you guys think about it? Do you have some other (private) information that can be shared with me? BTW, I am interested in corporate finance, mainly empirical.

The good update is that it turns out that I'm going to help a full finance professor do his research. Though it will be basically data collecting, it means I can secure another LOR from this finance prof. And I guess I will take or sit in for one or two advanced math courses, so that I can increase my odds....

Thank you for the suggestion. I will probably take one more math course in the fall to refine my portfolio. And definitely I will keep looking for good recommendation letters. Just curious, what is your portfolio and admission process like?

Does any guy have some idea what range of schools should I apply? (though I know I'm going to apply many LOL)

Thanks for your suggestion. Really haven't thought of that. Anyway since it's not my real name, an English "nickname" may minimize my damage. Still, any though on my chances of application?

Hi drxpac, I read your thread. It seems nowadays our kind of portfolio is a must-have background. That's why I got a bit confused when positioning myself. I know most of the top schools are both strong at asset pricing and corporate finance, and I'm particularly interested in knowing if any high-ranked school are leaning towards either field, so I can focus on/avoid such schools. I have sent you my email address to your PM. Check it.