kcr27

I know of a person who was declined in the preliminary application stage but still recevied an interview so if you have your heart set on the school and believe you are a good fit then I would encourage you to apply regardless, particularly if you have a strong profile in areas other than GMAT/GRE or GPA.

Given your GMAT score, MBA GPA, and work experience, I do not think your GPA would be a deal breaker i.e. stop you from getting an interview. When I was writing my SoP (the many, many versions) I found that it is a process of trade-offs. The space taken up in an attempt to explain away the one weak point in your profile could be better used (in my opinion, which is certainly not qualified) discussing the real deal breakers i.e. research experience and life experience. I figure that if the admissions committee care, they will ask but I would be surprised if they did. I am reasonably confident that if everything else is in order, your low GPA will be a non-event. However, if it does come up in the interviews I would caution putting too much emphasis on having to work through undergrad only because it could (I'm not saying this is the case) be interpreted as an indicator of a low work capacity which would be a red flag when applying to PhD programs. If it is of any help to anyone, my SoP was equally balance between discussing extracirricular activities, discussing past research projects, and discussing why I was applying to School X. In my interiviews 90% of the discussion was around the research experience in my SoP.

This is an interesting topic, here's my two sense worth... Personally, I decided that honesty and openness was the easiest way of addressing the application process. I never had to worry about what I had said in the previous interview, what one school might say to another, or whether my interview was consistent with my SoP. It was easier just to tell the truth and this worked for me because my intentions were genuine. Those who choose to be dishonest in the application process may well be able to lie themselves into a good school but that is as far as it will go. The dedication and effort required to be the best, be it in academia, sport, or some other field, can only be achieved by those who are truly passionate about their chosen field. There are no short-cuts and the reputation of your program will only take you so far. Yes, I know, very idealistic but I like ideals :)

There was an interview post on TGC in Feb so I'm guessing rejections will be out on Friday.

Thanks everyone. I think I need to do some homework on the terms of the J1 visa. The reality is that I wouldn't want to return to my home country as there is no exciting research going on here at the moment in my area, nor has there been for some time. If I only have to leave the US then I'm sure I could find work in Canada, Europe, or even some Asian countries, in which case I would seriously consider taking the Fulbright. If not then I think I will have to decline the Fulbright as I don't think it's worth putting my career on hold for 2 years, assuming of course that a waiver is out of the question.

I received a completely unexpected phone call yesterday offering me a Fulbright Scholarship. The award includes significant $$ including airfares and insurance. BUT, I already have funding from the program (PhD) I will be attending and I am quite concerned about the J-1 visa requirement of having to return to you home country for two years on completion of your studies. I get the feeling the program I am attending would like me to accept the award as it helps them with funding and I also believe it would look good on my CV. So, what do you think? Is there enough prestige attached to Fulbright that I would be mad to turn it down? Has anyone had any experience with successfully getting a waiver for the J1 visa requirements? Would appreciate hearing any thoughts or experiences anyone has with Fulbright :)

@doingfine I'm not sure how Indus came up with that list, however he/she does seem to be quite knowledgeable about the admissions process in the general sense. I applied to three of the schools on that list and was accepted to one, all the other schools I applied to I found through my own research. I literally went through every faculty member in a Department and looked at where they got their PhD, the areas they published in, and who they published with. I also tried to pick schools I believed I had some chance of being accepted to. My stats were not wonderful so if I got the impression that test scores were overly important (I believe if you read between the lines sometimes you can pick this up) then I didn't bother applying unless I thought I had a really strong research fit. It was VERY time consuming going through the schools. I'm international student so I didn't really know were to start. I ended up with a massive spreadsheet with 50 schools on it and went through them one by one. I'm sure I missed some great programs but I'm stoked that I even got interviews, let alone offers!

I don't think any of those programs would be considered Top10. It is program dependent - I applied to management/organizational behavior programs. In this area I would think the top tier schools would be University of Michigan (Ross), Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Duke (Fuqua), Kellogg, Columbia, INSEAD? The more I looked into rankings, the more I realised that I shouldn't put too much emphasis on them at all. Most of the rankings were based on MBA programs or they incorporated the entire business school, making very easy to overlook some excellent programs within a 'not so famous' school. In my mind, the biggest advantage of going to a Top10/20 school is the networks your develop while you are there. There are not that many secrets in academia - I don't believe that you will be told the magic forumla for getting published, or the secret methodology that yields significant findings. I figured that the chances of getting into a Top10 school were slim, so I looked at lower ranked schools who had faculty who did their PhDs at Top10 schools or who published with the people from Top10 schools that I would like to work with. I received three offers and I the offer I accepted was not the highest ranked school but the one that had the most faculty in my area and that had the closest match to my research interests. I don't know if my strategy will pay off but at the end of the day your career is what you make it. You are only limited by your own desire to seek out the knowledge you need - it's all out there in one form or another. The people who do well in Top10 programs do well because they are intelligent, they are creative, and they work hard. Getting into a Top10/20 school might make breaking into top journals or securing tenure at a top school a little easier, but there are many paths to the same destination. If you are good at what you do and you apply yourself in a Top50 program I think you can end up in the same place as you would have had you attended a lower/higher ranked program. Just my thoughts - could be entirely incorrect. I do acknowledge that having a Harvard PhD will take you a long way, but people will only tolerate a certain amount of uselessness so you can't rely on your reputation for more than a couple of years after you graduate.

Hi everyone, Just wanted to post a note of thanks to those who have contributed to this thread now we are nearing the end of the application season. Here's an update on my journey so far.... My GMAT exam was horrible - didn't got to plan, timing was terrible, stress levels overloaded and I ended up with only a 10 point improvement for all my hours of study (so 650 overall). Worse still, my quant. was 50th percentile. I was absolutely devastated but decided to submit my applications anyway and see what happened. I am extremely happy to report that I have had three interviews and one early offer with full funding and stipend. I am waiting on the other two schools - one is T20 and one T50 (actually the program is ranked in the T10). I don't want to name the schools yet at this stage as I haven't received decisions from them and don't want to risk messing up at his point. There are a number of schools I haven't heard back from, some of which I am quite sure will be rejections, others had very late deadlines. I am over-the-moon that I have an offer in hand and the possibility of two more. One of those is particularly exciting for me and was very high on my list of dream schools. I guess GMAT isn't everything, and while in an ideal world we would all score 700+ with 80th percentile + quant. scores it's not the only way in to a good program. So thank-you all for your advice and encouragement. I look forward to assisting and easing the nerves of next year's applicants! :)

Hi everyone, Thank you for all the updates - it is such a long wait and like many of you, I have been refreshing my emails every 15 minutes. I have received interview invites from PSU, UConn, and Case Western (all management/OB). Haven't heard anything from any of the big name schools but my stats are not great (my GMAT is pretty terrible) so don't really expect to. I'm really excited about the interviews I have received - as far as I can work out they are all good schools and they all have excellent faculty in my area. Now I just have to get through the interviews and hopefully get an acceptance!

Hi Sriramphd, Try posting in the Business PhD forum - you will probably have more chance of receiving a reply in there. I would edit your post first though: 1. Should I take quant or CB? Not sure what this means - are you considering a PhD in Methodology? CB is part of Marketing. If you decided to do a PhD in Marketing/CB you would likely use a quantitative methodology. I may be wrong, but I don't think you can do a PhD in Quant. 2. If you can't find a list of Top10 Colleges in your area then you shouldn't be applying for a PhD. 3. Change CV to 'profile' - this would make more sense. Your GMAT score is impressive! Good luck posting in the other forum. Hopefully you will receive some useful advice.

I would start with the most obivous errors, eliminate and then pick the cream of the crap. Here goes: Advocates is plural so we need 'were' advocates - eliminate D. A, B and C - them/they could refer to the men or the papers. Eliminate So we are left with E. I agree that because should be causal but we actually don't know that it isn't causal. If you weren't an advocate of the Constitution maybe you wouldn't have written the article. What is the correct answer?

I would pick A. My reasons are: The question asked: the information above, if true, best supports which of the following HYPOTHESES - this is the key IMO E: Not an accurate hypothesis-we know nothing about RH non-painters. There are probably more RH people overall so this wouldn't work. D: This is stated in the question (LH painters are still LH therefore still contract viruses etc.) If the question asked us to support the argument this may be the answer, but we're asked for a hypothesis. C: Inaccurate - for this to be true the majority of LH people would have to be painters. B: Inaccurate - mixes number of people who contract viruses with the frequency they are attracted. A: Correct. Given that left hand people have an advantage over RH people on tasks controlled by right hemisphere (evidence), painting is one of these tasks (evidvence), it would be fair to HYPOTHESIS that there is a greater proportion of LH persons among painters than there is among non-painters.

Karen has exactly 6 quarters, 5 dimes, and 10 nickels. If she withdraws a number of these coins at random, how many would she have to withdraw to ensure she has at least a 50% chance of withdrawing at least one quarter? A) 1 B) 2 C) 5 D) 6 E) 7 I obviously read this question completely incorrectly as I figured she could never ensure she had 50% chance of drawing a quarter. I figured that currently the probability of drawing a quarter is 6/21. Two scenarios: 1) First coin she picks is a quarter, her probability of withdrawing a quarter is now 5/20. Second coin she picks is a quarter, probability of a quarter is now 4/19 etc. 2) She picks 7 coins (largest answer choice), none of which are quarters, probability of withdrawing a quarter is now 6/(21-7) = 6/14, which is still less than 50%. Help?! Can someone tell me why my reasoning is incorrect and the correct reasoning?

I have spent the last 6 weeks studying for the GMAT and cannot seem to improve my quant. score. I am taking the Kaplan GMAT Classroom course which is nearly finished. I understand everything we have covered on the course, have done all homework assignments, and have done 6 of the 9 practice CATs. Timing has been a big issue for me in the CATs because I am stubborn and like to get to a correct answer before moving on. I have been in the 51st percentile for quant. in the last four CATs I have done and I'm starting to freak out. It's not that I don't understand, I just seem to either make lots of careless errors, or mis-read the question, or miss so important link that makes the question easier. Would appreciate any suggestions! Kylie

Thank you! @sdv: That form is a great idea, it has the potential to save you a lot of time and money. As soon as I have a better GMAT score I will send it in...if I get GMAT score. The Kaplan CATs are destroying me at the moment (only in quant., verbal is always in the 90-99th percentile). I am too slow and have relied on a calculator for too long. I'm getting better though, my problem is I always know how to get to the answer so I persevere and end up wasting a whole lot of time. It's so hard to understand why doing these questions in under two minutes as opposed to three is going to increase my chance of success at graduate level study. I have decided that what they are actually testing is how many hours of your life you are prepared to dedicate to studying for that test and that this is a reflection of your work capacity and desire to do well at graduate level study. That makes me feel a bit better about the whole situation! Speaking of which, I need to get started on another day of x,y, and z's...

Thanks everyone. At this stage I have applied to three schools with an average GMAT in the low 600s, two schools with average GMAT in the mid-600, and three schools with average GMAT of 700. I have came to America on the 20th September this year to take the Kaplan GMAT course, sit the GMAT, and complete my applications. My life for the past 2 months has literally been GMAT and applications with a bit of bike riding and tourist activities to keep me sane. I have one more month before I return home to New Zealand. I am hoping to have all my applications out of the way by then. The application process here is amazing - at home I could pretty much walk into any of the four major universities and sign up for a PhD on the spot. This forum is great for international students - it has really helped me to understand how competitive the admissions process is and how strategic you need to be when navigating it. My credit card is certainly taking a hit with the application fees!

@finphdhopeful Thanks. I will look into the research interests of the faculty and if it looks like some of the 'better' schools have an excellent fit then I'm happy to spend the money to apply to them. Worst case scenario is they say no. I really just want to make sure that I have some realistic schools on my list so I don't end up not getting in anywhere. Are you applying to schools also (just asking because of your username)? If so, how are you applications going?

@Indus Thank you! I will look into these schools :-)

@Indus Very briefly, I am interested in positive organizational psychology, leadership, and organizational theory. I find the interplay between social norms of mediocrity and exceptional performance intriguing, particularly if social norms of mediocrity reduce the desire of individuals within an organization to strive for exceptional performance, and how these norms influence the process by which organizations gain support from organizational members for change initiatives aimed at achieving exceptional levels of performance. My masters thesis was based on institutional theory and examined the role of exposure to the global environment and strength of national identity of the formation of shared beliefs. My honours degree included papers on organizational change, sense making, positive leadership, organizational theory, and communication management, all of which I found to be interesting and enjoyable. To be honest, I am curiousl about a lot of things and I expect that my interests may change or at least broaden as I make my way through the first two years of course work. I am a firm believer in theory but also believe that the ultimate aim of a scholar should be a meaningful contribution to society through research - hence research questions should be formed with practical implications in mind. I open to any suggestions of schools. Like I said, I don't want to end up with a pile of rejection letters and nowhere to being my PhD! :-)

Great thank you. I'm excited to see Case Western on that list. This is actually one of my preferred schools. They have excellent faculty in my area (PhDs from Harvard, MIT, and Michigan), it's a small program, good student to faculty ratio, and a nice area. I'm surprised that the average GMAT is low, but that's good for me! I will take a look at the other programs also. Thanks again for your help, much appreciated. :-)

Thank you for all the replys. Here is a little more about me... Undergraduate and graduate GPA: 4.0 Masters of Commerce (1st class honours), Bachelor of Commerce (first class honours) Graduated first in undergraduate class of 600 and gradaute class of 20. Research experience Fulbright Alternate (I will only get this if somebody turns down the award) International student from New Zealand GMAT: currently 640 but I am re-sitting December 3rd now I have done some study Other: represented my country in karate and triathlon; sportsperson of the year at my university; a few academic scholarships and prizes I genuinely want a career in academia, I LOVE research and I am just a curious person. It will break my heart if I can't get in anywhere - however it is a lot more competitive here than at home so I am prepared that this may well happen (which is why I am trying to find some lower ranked programs). I would like to go to a good school because I believe I will come out a better academic, and I will be able to secure a position at a leading research university. Reputation is not an issue, it is more about targeting schools who have faculty with similar interests. It is unlikely that I will get a 700+ GMAT - I think realistically it will be closer to 690. I can do math, I have a good understanding of quant research methods but for some reason GMAT quant. seems to stump me. Really appreciate those who have replied. Kylie

Thank you! That is very helpful. Kylie

Hi everyone Is anyone able to give me a list of some second-tier Management PhD programs I can look into? I would dearly love to go to a top 10 school but am also realistic about my chances. My profile has some very strong points, but also has some weak points. From what I have read, even with a strong proflie, it is a little hit and miss with admissions. I would really like to start my PhD next Fall which means I need to get in somewhere. I have spent a considerable amount of time searching the Internet but so far I have only managed to find one school with an average GMAT of below 700. I am not from America, so I am not wondering (hoping) that I have missed some schools. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Kylie