sublimer23

Hi All, Recently came across this forum and thought I would put my profile out there for feedback on my admissions chances. I'm looking to apply to several schools this coming fall for a PhD in Organizational Behavior or Human Resources (somewhat dependent on the school in question). I am a 2008 Magna Cum Laude graduate of two honors programs of The University of Texas at Austin (Business Honors Program and Plan II Honors, both highly respected undergraduate programs). My GPA is a 3.88 and my GRE is a 1490 (720 Verbal and 770 Quantitative) and my senior thesis was selected as a model thesis (10 total selected, though mine was a creative writing thesis). I've spent the last 4 years pursuing a mix of volunteer positions (Americorps) and consulting (two top 20 firms in healthcare and environmental consulting). I've had a PhD in the back of my mind since late in my undergrad years and that voice has grown louder with time. I can't say that I have a dissertation topic locked down as I anticipate my interests could change some during the course of graduate study but some potential research interests include: 1) the effects of flexible working arrangements on employee retention and success for new fathers, 2) how results-only workplace schemes can drive bottom line results, 3) differences in long-term employment outcomes between external hires and internal promotions, and 4) career effects of formal mentoring relationships in the work place. I have a good list of extracurricular endeavors (mostly volunteer based) but am a little concerned that I have a handful of B's in some of my quantitative courses (Engineering route Calculus, Advanced Physics, and a few others). 60% (three out of five) of these occurred as a freshman, so I'm hoping the admissions councils will be understanding of that. Still, I'm considering taking a few graduate applied statistics classes to offset this potential weakness. Schools I'm looking to apply to include: 1) Cornell (not having visited, this is my #1 as I feel it lines up best with my academic interests) 2) UCLA 3) Berkeley 4) Northwestern 5) Virginia 6) Michigan 7) Duke 8) UNC 9) Minnesota 10) Vanderbilt I assume that I would have a tough time getting into H/S/W though if any of you disagree, please let me know (my ego will thank you, haha)! All feedback, constructive criticism, advice appreciated. Let me know if you would find any additional information useful.