MsFighter

I've just started my program so I can not tell from my personal experience. However I did do a lot of research and talked to people before I decided to go for J1. The biggest disadvantage of J1 is the 2 yr requirement. If you're not subject to it, then J1 is actually better in 2 ways: (1) more flexibility for J2, J2 can work, study... without adjusting to another visa; (2) post graduation for J1 is Academic training which is up to 36 months while post graduation for F1 is OPT is up to 12 months only (18 months for STEM, but we're not STEM I suppose). The second advantage is not that significant in the academic route though. This is just my own understanding, there's no guarantee that it's accurate. Please take it with a grain of salt. Hope you all make the right choice.

Just to update: I've got my J1 without 2yr requirement and there's no difficulty for my case so far. I think we just need to research carefully and follow the procedure closely then there should be no problem. Best of luck to all of you.

Thanks everyone for the valuable sharing. I'm totally new to the culture so this is extremely helpful to me. I hope we can all share our experience and insights into this quite sensitive issue for future fellas can learn from :)

Thanks TM. So when it is based on level of contribution, how can we establish who goes first and who goes next. Is it a unstated convention that everyone is supposed to know or it can be openly discuss?

Hi everyone, I am reading some advice about building good relationship with your professors and this question come to my mind: what is the convention for putting names of author in a multi-authored paper. Is it alphabetical or in some sort of ways. Please enlighten me. so I can save myself from looking like a fool! Thank you guys.

I have not heard anything from the International Office since then. It's been a month, kind of anxious. How long is the process of issuing immigration form? Should I write to ask? I know several PhD students go on J1 visa, so this is absolutely not something impossible. It's just school-dependent, so I will keep my fingers crosses.

Viking: 'that is just the name for J1. The requirements for eligibility are less than 50% of funding from personal source or loan which I believe most PhD students are qualified. The advantage of J1 over F1 is J1 dependents (J2) can work and study while F1 dependents (F2) can not. This difference is only significant for international students with a family like me :). I'm trying to get J1 so that my spouse can work to help support my two children.

Dear all, I have some questions about visa that really need your advice. I know there is a place for this topic in this forum but it is way more active here so I'm afraid it may take weeks to get them answered if I post them over there. So I'm sorry in advance if this annoys you. 1. Has anyone of you come to us under j1 visa for doctoral study funded by the school? 2. If yes, did you encounter any difficulties in the process of obtaining visa? 3. In my case, my school said "...This might be possible, but I can't make any promises. It is not our practice to issue a DS-2019 this way, but I will submit it for consideration...." which really worries me. What should I do to get a J1 visa now? Thank you all a lot. (I want to give you flower icon as a symbol of thanks, but there''s no such icon here, so)

Ok. I've got it. Thanks. Still very excited :")

Thank Yas and Xan a lot. You guys have always been so helpful to everyone. Xan, when you said you set up for a chat you meant a chat with the professors? Those of your interest or all? You just wrote them an email to ask for a chat?

By the way, some information might be helpful: I will be doing finance at a top 20-25 program. Thanks all.

Thank everyone for your replies. I got the revised letter two days later and already accepted the offer. So now I'm moving to the next phase of emotion: excited yet nervous, really curious about how the taste of PhD life will be. I have read all the posts in the thread A day in life of current PhD student, yet I still have some questions. If you guys by any chance can offer your opinions I really appreciate. Thank you all.

In preparation for a new life style this Fall, I've found this thread extremely helpful. However, I am still struggling thinking about how the first couple of weeks or months will be. I mean there will be a transition period at first when you do not know what to be expected. I have a bunch of questions in my mind that I would really appreciate any thoughts you may have First when you arrive, will there be a formal introduction to the faculty and your cohort, or you just enroll, register.. do all stuff on your own Second, what should I expect about the workload, what should I prepare, academically and mentally to survive? Do we have our own office? do we (I mean PhD students in a program) meet each other frequently? I love cooking, is it OK to bring food to school for other students sometimes? I know these questions are all non-sense and some should be case-specific and I'm sorry if they're wasting your time. I just want to have some ideas about what might happen, so any ideas will be appreciated. Thank you all.

I received a letter of offer from the program director. It was just like any other offers, except for the omission of discussing stipend. One minute later, I've an email from the coordinator saying that it will be modified for the stipend and health insurance coverage. I was a bit confused about how to respond. Should I respond to the director, saying that I will think about the offerm. Does this mean that I am acknowledging the offer, and they will wait for my answer without modifying it. Or should I mention the stipend? Fyi, I have never communicatd with the director, mostly with the coordinator. Or should I just not say anything, wait for the modifed to come, assuming I have not checked my email yet (This sounds a little not right, just some thoughts) As I do not have much experience with US culture in communication, I really appreciate any advice you may have for me. Thís is the school that I will attend for sure, so I kind of put a lot of hopes in this. Thank you all.

I've just finished the interview, 45 minutes, pretty ok, right? We talked mostly about research interest and experience. I think it went on pretty well until the last question about other schools I have applied to. I told them the truth, including rejection, waitlist and acceptance. Do they judge me based on the result? Do they think if I was not accepted into certain programs and only got accepted into lower-ranked programs then I should not be accepted in either? Oh god why do they had to ask that and why do I had to answer!!

Thanks Wannabe, I feel like I can beat the world now :D. There's just one thing I did not expect, none of the interviewers are my POI (actually he's the one to get this interview for me and I kind of feel better thinking about talking to him, but he''s not going to be there) so I'm a bit confused: what does that mean? How am I supposed to talk about their work and my research interest if there''s little in common. I've read all your advice in the forum (thank you XanthusARES for a very comprehensive guideline) but have never seen anything similar mentioned. what do you guys think?

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have accepted it anyway. I was a little nervous but then I thought when opportunity comes, I've got to grab it.

Hi everyone, I've just got a request for interview in 3 days, however I am not feeling really ready for the the interview, I mean I have not prepared much, should I suggest to postpone it to a later time? If so, how should I say it without hurting my chance. Thanks everyone for your advice.

Thanks all you guys. I have contacted my POI and he said no need to be too worried. They understand this thing happens. I guess I will add another recommender. It's also a relief to know that the deadline is just for me and my stuff. I thought they will start evaluating applicants right after the deadline. Maybe I have been thinking too much, putting pressure on myself. Before I had nowhere to share my concerns or ask for advice, so it's kind of on my own the whole time. I wished I have found urch earlier. Thanks everyone.

Thank you for your comfort. I am thinking of writing to my POI at Kelley to ask for advice. Also, I am not sure I can get another decent LoR from a professor from my MSc school. Do you think I should go back to bachelor degree? This can be problematic as I am working at the university I took my bachelor. Will LoR in that case be considered?

I contacted a professor from my graduate school to ask for a LoR and he said yes. Then I put his contact into my application to Kelley. The process here is a bit different from other school in a way that I have to complete my application (with the fee) before the system sends the recommendation request to referees. So I submitted my application and waited. And now the deadline is in 3 days but has not received LoR from him yet. I think I may have to ask for LoR from another faculty I will have to contact Kelley to ask for changes in LoR provider. Will it hurt my chance (which is already low)? what should I say to make it less impact? It hurts a lot to think about how much effort you put into something and all of sudden it's nothing. Maybe I have not prepared for all possibilities.

Thank you YaSvoboden. Well, so far everything seems fine. Do you have any comments for my SOP. Eventually, SoP is what helps one applicant to stand out from the crowd.

Hi everyone, I am applying to PhD Finance programs in the US and here are some quick facts about me: Female, 28 (married, 2 kids), lecturer in Vietnam --> 5 years experience of teaching and research CFA charter holder BA in International Business from a top school in Vietnam but internationally unknown, GPA: ~ 3.5/4 MSc in International Banking and Financial Studies from a UK university (overall ranked in top 15 in UK but business school not so high, too bad, I didn't notice that at the time of study). There are two things with my MSc; The school does not issue a GPA nor a ranking, even though I graduated with second-highest GPA (surely in top 5%). there's no way to officially claim so. I have my professor to make a remark on my performance but not sure if it will work --> Does any one have any advice? Due to my pregnancy I could not take the final exam in the normal period but instead took the resit as first attempt and it is expressed in my transcript. I wanted to say just due to medical reasons because I am afraid that the adcom may think I was immature to be pregnant during a study, however my professor chose to elaborate on this incident in my LoR. His point is to show my perseverance about how I overcome the challenges and managed to graduate on time with high results --> Which do you think I should do? GMAT: 730 (Q51 V37) Some publications but in unknown journals, some working papers and projects but mostly in Vietnam Beside the main SoP question, there is one more question like this "The Admissions Committee would like to know as much as possible about each applicant. If there is other personal or professional information about yourself that you feel would assist the Committee in making a more informed judgment, please feel free to submit it in the box provided below. The Committee is especially concerned about the research interests that you plan to pursue. Please indicate any special strengths, concerns, or weaknesses you would like the Committee to consider" I already discuss a great deal about my research interests in the main SoP, then what should I write about in this question? Should I tell some personal stories to illustrate my personalities? (If I do, it will mostly focus on my passion, my attitude of never giving up and things like that) I've been told that PhD adcoms do not want to hear personal stories, so I am a bit confused about this. This application is for Kelley Business at Indiana Bloomington. Please help evaluate my profile and any advice on what I can do to improve my application. Thank you very much for your comments One more thing, I have contacted both Professors I mention in my SoP but only Professor H replied and he said "I’m very impressed by your background, qualifications, and research interests. I wish you the best of luck in getting into the doctoral program of your choice (be it Kelley or elsewhere)" What does that mean? Is it a positive signal or just him being polite? I didnt know what to say, so I just replied to say thank you and wish to have his support in my application. Do you think I should say something else? SOP (1150 words). As I want to become a successful university professor, taking PhD study is an essential step towards my career goal. What I see as greatest reward in my professional career as a lecturer so far is not awards and publications but the option to continuously study and research to push my knowledge to the border itself. Curiosity is in my nature and, thus, I find a sense of self-fulfillment in the action of asking questions and finding answers. I also find a purpose in my work by helping young students explore themselves through the knowledge and experience I share with them. The interest in finance also came to me in a similar fashion. The first time I learnt about the fundamentals of finance among many other subjects in business, it naturally fitted my background in high school as a Maths-oriented student. Gradually I realized that it interestingly qualified as a subject of both Arts and Science. It was an area defined by precise rules, principles and axioms and yet there was tremendous scope for self-expression in the form of interpretation and analysis. However, it did take me some time to figure out what specific aspects of finance that I want to pursue in long-term. It is my encounter with the CFA program that helped me recognize my interest in investments and financial modeling. I have been curious about what kind of information is taken in consideration by investors when they make their investment decisions, or in other words, what factors can affect asset return. Despite decades of effort spent on studying the topic, the question remain a puzzle which, paradoxically, is exactly why it is so mesmerizing to me. Looking forward into the future, I set out the goal to apply all the knowledge that I will accumulate over the years in developing a framework of financial engineering for investment decision making purpose that can be commercialized to serve the interest of normal individual investors as parents planning for children college, workers planning for retirement, couples planning for a house.... Correct me if I’m wrong but I do think that individual investors are the largest yet most vulnerable group of investors. They typically have to make the important investment decisions by themselves within the boundaries of being ill-equipped with knowledge and unaware of their behavioral biases since professional wealth management has not been made affordable. It fascinates me to think about how my work can offer solutions to real-life problems as well as allow my interest in investment and my desire to design to flourish. Fortunately, during the course of my career, I have had the chance to initiate or participate in several research projects in this area which provided me with great intellectual pleasure and strengthened my knowledge of different channels through which market reacts to information. One of the first significant research was my MSc dissertation. At that time, due to the EU crisis, the topic of sovereign credit was popular and I soon realized, to my surprise, that there have not been many studies on the linkage between the sovereign credit rating and stock market while there should be such a linkage considering the important information that sovereign credit conveys to the market. That question has inspired me to employ a panel regression on a data set of 22 countries over 2001-2011 to examine the effects of different types of rating changes under different market conditions, particularly focusing on emerging markets, on both stock return and volatility. In 2012 when I was studying for the CFA level 3 exam, I was attracted to the topic of behavioral finance as it helps explain several market anomalies that traditional finance failed to. This was particularly relevant in the context of increasing integration of emerging markets into the world market. Taking an international perspective, I saw behavioral traits all come under the umbrella of culture. In the world of behavioral finance, cultural qualities such as assertiveness, competitiveness, decisiveness, tolerance of inequality, group loyalty.. can be important determinants of decision-making alongside the long-recognized orientations with respect to return, risk and time horizon. Using Hoftstede’s measure of cultural value, I have developed a model to test for the relationship between individualism and momentum trading strategy. Recently, I joined a project on earning transparency and firm’s cost of capital in Vietnamese market to see whether and how, if any, investors incorporate evaluation of firm’s earning transparency into their required rate of return. My idea of conducting a survey into investor’s perception of firm’s transparency rather than using the conventional measures of accounting accruals or earning-return regression coefficients contributed to our wining the highly competitive grant of NAFOSTED. I am aware that there remain a number of questions that I will have to answer in order to achieve my intellectual goals. It is true that in the technological world we are living in today, there is little barrier to self-study and I actually managed to learn the fundamentals of financial econometrics and statistical tools as well as stay in touch with current research society. However, I believe that only formal PhD study at a top school can provide me with the chance to have rigorous training where I will be equipped with state-of-the-art knowledge, cutting-edge skill and international network to conduct quality research in the future and, above all, a true academic environment where original ideas can blossom. In my own quest for a suitable graduate program, Kelley came out as top choice on a composite score. I was thrilled to learn that both Professor C T and Professor C W H teach at Kelley. Back in 2012 when I was preparing for the CFA level 3 exam, the execution section of the curriculum did not satisfy me, so I went searching for deeper analysis and came across their paper titled “Do liquidity measures measure liquidity?”. Their comprehensive study of the ability to measure true transaction cost of several already-established and newly-proposed liquidity measures instilled a strong impression in me. Professor T’s expertise in investments as well as his successful experience in connecting academia and the practical world of investments will definitely provide me with valuable insights to achieving my goal. I was also impressed with Professor H’s syllabus for the course on Asset Pricing for PhD (F600). His teaching approach which focuses on active discussion and learning-by-doing philosophy enables students to develop key knowledge and skills for doing independent research. It does not only prove his in-depth expertise of the field but also show one precious quality of a great mentor: dedication to students. I am certain that working under their guidance will help me grow personally and professionally. On a final note, I understand that the career I have chosen is a continuous process of study and research which does not end with the completion of a doctoral program and getting accepted is just the beginning of a very long journey ahead. Yet, I believe, with no doubt, that I will have the strength to walk that path and look forward to the next phase of my career with great excitement and strong commitment.