hopefulapp

Thank you guys! I sort of figured that these sort of things would be what I need to do, but it's nice to have the confirmation that I am moving in the right direction. I plan to continue reading more financial literature to gain insight into what sort of topics are still open to being researched and to get better ideas of what I want to do. Even though I won't be in the finance department, do you guys think I will be able to do research in the finance department? I would offer to work for free if nothing else since the experience is more important than the money at this point. Or would research in the statistics department be as valuable?

So, my admissions (Finance PhD: empirical asset pricing) season has come to an end unfortunately with some disappointments. To give you a little background, I am about to graduate with undergraduate degrees in Finance and Mathematics with a 4.0 GPA. However, this is from a mediocre school, not especially known for either of those degrees. My GRE scores were 164 Q and 160 V with a 4.5 Analytical Writing. I had recommendations from people who completely supported me and thought I had the potential to be a great researcher, but they are not especially well known in their fields. I also have little formal research experience. I think that I wrote a pretty good Statement of Purpose though I wish I had included more detail about who I wanted to work with and been more specific. I could have tailored them to each school. I only applied to top 20 schools. So, with this background, I was able to get interviews with Cornell, Boston College, and Duke. I think I did well in each of the interviews, but when it came down to it, I am only an undergrad (not even 22 yet!) with no research experience and no graduate work (other than a few math classes). And if they are choosing three to five people out of twenty, they are going to choose the ones with backgrounds that will prepare them better. This was especially evident at the Boston College interview where it seemed that most people I was interviewing with already had grad degrees and/or significant research experience. I think I was the youngest one there. One of my professors even told me that he thought I might not get accepted because I was so young and that they want people with some experience in grad school and know that this is definitely what they want to be doing. Plus, they know that if I really want it, I'll just apply again. With all this said, I take this as a good sign that I was even chosen as an undergrad to interview at good schools. However, I would still like to hear your opinions on this. On the bright side, I was accepted into a M.S. program in Statistics at UNC. I am actually really looking forward to that and believe it will prepare me well. I am hoping to be able to take classes in the Finance department and possibly get to know some students and professors in the PhD program. So, do you guys think this will help me get into a top school in two years when I apply again? I'd really like to go to the best school I can go to. What should I make a point to do with my time at UNC to maximize my possibilities of getting into somewhere like University of Chicago, UCLA, or Duke? I know it's all random to a degree, but I just want to make the most of my time there. Feel free to offer any advice you may have. Thanks for your help!

Does anyone have a good idea of when the waitlists will start moving (assuming they do)? It's so hard to wait around. I know I will be doing something somewhere in five or six months, but I don't know what or where yet. I have a back up plan so I can at least find peace in that.

Thanks for the heads up!

I had a Skype interview and it was two professors interviewing me though one took the lead and did almost all of the talking. We did video chat. I might suggest chatting with some friends on Skype just to get acclimated to how it is set up and so your interview isn't the first time you use Skype.

I thought they were supposed to release them last week but that didn't happen!

Thanks for the info 196sigma. So I saw that there was both an acceptance and a rejection for Boston College today. There was also an acceptance and waitlist posted previously. However, I received neither. The rejection said via email and the acceptance said via website. However, I checked the website and I don't have an admissions decision available. I interviewed with them so I was at least being considered. Does anyone know what's up? Should I email them to make sure they didn't send an email to the wrong address or something?

Anybody hear anything?

I think there was a waitlist. I hope so for you!

I received a rejection almost a month ago. Maybe you are on a waitlist or it was a glitch and you haven't heard yet.

Does anyone know the date for Duke finance? I am wait listed but really want to get in! Please decline if you don't plan on going.

I'm waitlisted at Duke and while they haven't told me where I am on the waitlist, they have been up front and kept me in the loop about what all is going on. So to anyone out there who has an offer from Duke that knows they don't want to go there, please go ahead and decline them :)!

I applied for finance and there are no results on mine just as a heads up for some of you out there.

Did they say when they might be taking action?

Thanks for the heads up!

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign finance sent out rejections today. Also, according To grad cafe, someone was accepted to UNC's finance program.

I deleted all of them. It should be able to send now. Thanks.

I'm not sure. I emailed the professor that contacted me to ask him, but he never emailed me back. I guess he's probably pretty busy right now. @BrazilianGuy: Yeah, hopefully that is a good sign. I'm hoping their top choices get accepted other places too so I'll get bumped into a slot for next year.

Does anyone else here know anything about being waitlisted at Duke finance? Does it usually move? They claim is very short and that they might be able to accept me. Hopefully anyone out there with a Duke finance offer who doesn't plan on going will decline for my sake :)!

Who said anything about hiding? I see it as showing off your personality a bit. The way in which you present yourself (clothing and mannerisms) sends a message to people about your personality. In an ideal world, people would only be judged based on the merit of their thoughts and arguments, but that isn't true in most cases. Everyone judges (maybe I could use a nicer phrase like "has preconceived notions about") people based upon the way they present themselves physically. I can see where you are coming from though. People who just put on shiny clothes to distract people from their BS do suck. But I plan to be prepared and look nice :). And if you are well versed and read to make conversation about the subject you want to study, why not make yourself look even better by dressing well. You wouldn't look sloppy on a first date because you have an excellent personality, would you? I think you are right about them already having made up their mind though. They have already studied our profiles and read our essays. Unless you just go crazy, you will probably only solidify their ideas about you with an interview. All this being said, to each their own. I'm not going to judge someone on their clothing, but more on how they present themselves as people. However, I would probably wear a suit everyday if possible (like someone from Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire), but that's just me.

This is what I think as well. I didn't apply to any schools I wouldn't be happy to attend. Of course, I had a hierarchy in mind, but I would still attend any that I get accepted to. Sit down and really evaluate why you didn't get into the top schools you wanted to. Are you in a position (financially, opportunity wise, will it match up with your lifestyle) to change your profile much?

If those who were accepted to UCLA Finance via Postal are on this forum, were you contacted beforehand or did a letter just show up in the mail?

It shows a lack of respect for the interviewer to not dress up for an interview. You dress up to show honor and respect for the situation. Unfortunately our generation has lost sight of this. You spend time on your resume, your essays, and every other part of your application; why wouldn't you wear something nice for an interview. Besides, if your clothes fit as they should, they will not only be comfortable, but also will flatter you and make a good impression.

Which concentration? Finance?

For what it's worth, Cornell finance has made offers and I think maybe gotten their acceptances. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. Has anyone heard if Duke finance has made any offers yet?