anothermetoo

From what I can tell, the goal of nearly all of the PhD programs, particularly those at research schools, is to produce more academic researchers. They want to mold you into someone who can publish in JM, JCR, JMR, or MS. Once you get tenure, you can think about contributing more to the practitioner world if that's your goal, but I wouldn't go into an applications process with that goal at the front of my mind. The B school faculty is not in any way opposed to contributions to the practitioner world, but if you express too much interest in that, they may worry that you'll have a hard time producing the abstract, academic work that is the bread and butter of the trade.

You'll never be too good at data analysis. The more time you put into it, the better off you'll be, but try to focus and become proficient at one data analysis program. You haven't started yet, and you're already trying to master 3 platforms. You'll have a class this fall that will probably make that 4 platforms. It's not that easy to go back and forth. I'm an R guy myself. It does everything for me except my taxes.

Thanks. Definitely two areas that I don't know much about. I appreciate the feedback.

I am trying to create a better understanding of the separation between marketing sub-disciplines as part of an assignment for a readings course that I am doing this fall (getting an early start because I'm also teaching in the fall). I've made the chart below as my initial attempt, but I don't know a lot about many of the areas, so I would really like some input. Sorry if it's over-simplified or offensive to anyone. My intent is to make it easier to understand our field, so some generalization is necessary. I also need to talk about the goal of each discipline (example: "understand the consumer", "improve managerial decisions", etc.) and I would like feedback on that too if anyone has an opinion. I will share the outcome of this effort when I'm done. Thanks in advance for the feedback. http://www.www.urch.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7032&stc=1

That's great news.

Strange that they voluntarily told you where you stood with them even though you didn't ask. Seems petty, but I'm glad they were polite about it.

Of course. It's like a hiring process. Fit always trumps qualifications in any hiring process. They have to focus on their goal, which in this case, is to produce top-quality academic researchers. If they only focused on profile, they would be much more likely to get stuck with a bunch of people who don't know what they want to do with their lives. $300k could easily be wasted on a person who doesn't know what he wants to do when he/she grows up.

That's awesome! Good job!

Also, - UT Austin - University of Missouri (Columbia) - Washington University in St Louis (Olin)

You only need to get into one school. The fact that you've had an interview already is a great sign in my view.

I noticed on Gradcafe that Michigan and Indiana sent out some interview invitations today. Good job to whoever got the interviews!

Good job! I don't see any red flags here. It's normal in any interview process for the recruiter to question whether the candidate really knows what she's getting herself into. That doesn't mean they don't want you. They probably do want you in this case. It's just all part of the process. I wouldn't over-think this one too much. It's also normal for the interviewer not to want to show their cards or over-commit too early.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Wait a second... ...I hope that wasn't me. Oh darn:upset:

Post-application identity crisis: The more I learn about academic marketing research, the more I think I should have applied for strategy, not consumer behavior. Luckily, the professor I spoke with today via phone seemed open to taking on students who aren't 100% sure what kind of research they want to do.

Sweet! Love it!

I don't know much about fellowships, but that sounds cool! My main thing is that I just hope earlier deadlines for fellowships does not equal exploding offers.

I was surprised to receive an interview request from a school whose deadline hasn't passed yet. I guess that means that they have all of my application materials. I posted it on Gradcafe: marketing • thegradcafe.com. Wish me luck!

I know! This waiting stuff is really stressful.

Too late to second-guess yourself now! Looks like a good score to me.

Nice! Good luck to you.

This is really good advice and what I've seen on Gradcafe really confirms it. Now, if I could only follow your advice and just relax. I can't help myself.

Alcatraz, I like your voluntary research idea. I think it does two things: 1) it shows that you are interested in it and you are capable of doing research, and 2) it hopefully gets you the references you need. Academically, you seem pretty solid and I'm not sure that getting a masters degree would help you as much as you think in terms of academic references and research experience.

I think you could probably cover that stuff in your statement of purpose. I'm no expert, but I would only fill the diversity statement out if I were an orphan or overcame cancer to get here, or if my parents were drug dealers. I have 132 months of work experience since undergrad myself, so I'm kind of in a similar situation. I just used the statement of purpose to show why my experience makes me a really good fit for academics. I figure some schools will not be interested at all in experience, while others may think it's cool if it somehow relates back to being an academic researcher.