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Hi Balapan, OP here. I have replied your previous post but somehow my replies are not shown. From recent placements, UBC dominates Rochester and I am leaning towards UBC. But I am curious why many people think Rochester is the significantly better choice.

Thanks for your helpful advice, Balapan. Part of the reason I'm considering re-application is due to some family reasons. And it's hard for me to have a better idea of the risk because the institute is new and only one student has applied Phd (admitted by Stanford operation research phd). BTW do you mind sharing your application results? You can just PM me. Thanks

Please see below

Thanks, ted23. Yup, I agree that Rochester probably has the strongest legacy and alumni network outside of the top 10 schools.

Thanks for your reply YaSvoboden. But the recent placements of UBC finance are very strong (UC Irvine, Columbia Business School, UVA Darden) while Rochester' are relatively weak. So I really have a hard time making my decision.

Thanks very much YaSvoboden. I have more research exposure in corporate finance (already have a conference paper presented in many schools) and some exposure in asset pricing (e.g. collecting data and constructing variables in AP projects). But my research interest is still open. BTW do you have any suggestions on the school choice between UBC and Rochester? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I have finance PhD offers from UBC Sauder and Rochester Simon, but now I have a chance to work as full-time RA for an institute led by Prof.Thomas Sargent and will hopefully get a letter from him if I re-apply for finance PhD this December. I know there is some opportunity costs and I might be rejected next year due to all possible reasons and the subjective perception of being rejected once. So should I reject my offers and re-apply? And if you were me, which school would you choose? Why? Any advice will be immensely appreciated! BTW OP is a applying with a master degree from China.

Hi everyone, I have finance PhD offers from UBC Sauder and Rochester Simon, but now I have a chance to work as full-time RA for an institute led by Prof.Thomas Sargent and will hopefully get a letter from him if I re-apply for finance PhD this December. I know there is some opportunity costs and I might be rejected next year due to all possible reasons and the subjective perception of being rejected once. So should I reject my offers and re-apply? And if you were me, which school would you choose? Why? Any advice will be immensely appreciated! BTW OP is a applying with a master degree from China.

Thanks for your info. My professor also got offer from US schools but he told me he prefer China since he found living in US quite boring

Thanks a lot! I'll stick with GRE. Good luck!

Thank you dtu! I'll certainly apply for some dream schools, target schools and of course a few random safeties. But as far as I know, finance/economics phd applicants should take GRE rather than GMAT. Anyway, we have the same biggest concern and I wonder how much I should worry about it. Good luck!

Test Scores: GRE 322 (Verbal: 152; Quantitative: 170; Analytical Writing: 4.0) and I will take it again. TOEFL:111 (Reading:29 Listening:30 Speaking:23 Writing:29) has expired. Undergraduate GPA: 90.45/100 from a non-world-famous university in China with a degree in finance and economics Master GPA: N/A. I'm now a first year student in a finance and economics program of Peking University. And I'm taking phd-level courses like advanced micro/macro/econometrics, financial economics and plan to take other advanced theoretical courses like empirical finance, industrial organization, labor economcis, behavioral finance, etc. Math courses: calculus 1,2,3; linear algebra 1,2; probability; statistics; operation research; mathematical modeling; stochastic process; real analysis; ordinary differentiation function; applied multivariate statistics (and i will take two out of master-level applied (continuous) stochastic process, Bayesian statistics and numerical analysis. Seeking advice on which two to take) Research Experience: 1)1.5 year RA experience on liquidity and asset pricing with my undergraduate thesis supervisor and is coauthering with him. Work involves collecting and processing data with SQL and Matlab, statistical analysis with Stata and reviewing literature. 2) 3 month research experience for CHFS(China House Hold Finance Survey, pretty much like the Chinese version of PSID and SCF ) Work involves statistical analysis with Stata and writing reports and literature reviews on urban economics 3) RA with a professor in my master program on VC/CVC since Sep. and will keep working on the project and probably coauthor paper with the professor. The current work involves collecting and processing data with Matlab and Stata, reviewing literature. Teaching Experience: None. But I can expose myself to TA next year. Work Experience: None; but I have some student organization and sport activities experience. Concentration Applying to: Finance (first choice); Economics (second choice) Number of schools planned to apply to: 15? Dream Schools: top 15 What made you want to pursue a PhD: I enjoy learning and exploring and like the life style of being a faculty at business school Concern about my profile: 1)My major concern is that I have no overseas education background nor exchange experience but I noticed that most Phd candidates in top programs have a US or European degree. 2)Also I can get strong recommendation letter from my professors I worked with but they are not estabilished in the marketk. One professor graduated from Umitch Ross with a finance phd. I wonder how much it will help if I apply for Ross. 3)I have no working experience in finance industry. I noticed that some phd candidates in top 15 schools worked in big names such like JP Morgan/Citi before applyig for phd, but they do not have any RA experience Any additional specific questions you have: which tier of schools should I apply to? How can I increase my chance of getting into top 15 finance phd program since I plan to apply next year?

Test Scores: GRE 322 (Verbal: 152; Quantitative: 170; Analytical Writing: 4.0) and I will take it again. TOEFL:111 (Reading:29 Listening:30 Speaking:23 Writing:29) has expired. Undergraduate GPA: 90.45/100 from a non-world-famous university in China with a degree in finance and economics Master GPA: N/A. I'm now a first year student in a finance and economics program of Peking University. And I'm taking phd-level courses like advanced micro/macro/econometrics, financial economics and plan to take other advanced theoretical courses like empirical finance, industrial organization, labor economcis, behavioral finance, etc. Math courses: calculus 1,2,3; linear algebra 1,2; probability; statistics; operation research; mathematical modeling; stochastic process; real analysis; ordinary differentiation function; applied multivariate statistics (and i will take two out of master-level applied (continuous) stochastic process, Bayesian statistics and numerical analysis. Seeking advice on which two to take) Research Experience: 1)1.5 year RA experience on liquidity and asset pricing with my undergraduate thesis supervisor and is coauthering with him. Work involves collecting and processing data with SQL and Matlab, statistical analysis with Stata and reviewing literature. 2) 3 month research experience for CHFS(China House Hold Finance Survey, pretty much like the Chinese version of PSID and SCF ) Work involves statistical analysis with Stata and writing reports and literature reviews on urban economics 3) RA with a professor in my master program on VC/CVC since Sep. and will keep working on the project and probably coauthor paper with the professor. The current work involves collecting and processing data with Matlab and Stata, reviewing literature. Teaching Experience: None. But I can expose myself to TA next year. Work Experience: None; but I have some student organization and sport activities experience. Concentration Applying to: Finance (first choice); Economics (second choice) Number of schools planned to apply to: 15? Dream Schools: top 15 What made you want to pursue a PhD: I enjoy learning and exploring and like the life style of being a faculty at business school Concern about my profile: 1)My major concern is that I have no overseas education background nor exchange experience but I noticed that most Phd candidates in top programs have a US or European degree. 2)Also I can get strong recommendation letter from my professors I worked with but they are not estabilished in the marketk. One professor graduated from Umitch Ross with a finance phd. I wonder how much it will help if I apply for Ross. 3)I have no working experience in finance industry. I noticed that some phd candidates in top 15 schools worked in big names such like JP Morgan/Citi before applyig for phd, but they do not have any RA experience Any additional specific questions you have: which tier of schools should I apply to? How can I increase my chance of getting into top 15 finance phd program since I plan to apply next year?

Test Scores: GRE 322 (Verbal: 152; Quantitative: 170; Analytical Writing: 4.0) and I will take it again. TOEFL:111 (Reading:29 Listening:30 Speaking:23 Writing:29) has expired. Undergraduate GPA: 90.45/100 from a non-world-famous university in China with a degree in finance and economics Master GPA: N/A. I'm now a first year student in a finance and economics program of Peking University. And I'm taking phd-level courses like advanced micro/macro/econometrics, financial economics and plan to take other advanced theoretical courses like empirical finance, industrial organization, labor economcis, behavioral finance, etc. Math courses: calculus 1,2,3; linear algebra 1,2; probability; statistics; operation research; mathematical modeling; stochastic process; real analysis; ordinary differentiation function; applied multivariate statistics (and i will take two out of master-level applied (continuous) stochastic process, Bayesian statistics and numerical analysis. Seeking advice on which two to take) Research Experience: 1)1.5 year RA experience on liquidity and asset pricing with my undergraduate thesis supervisor and is coauthering with him. Work involves collecting and processing data with SQL and Matlab, statistical analysis with Stata and reviewing literature. 2) 3 month research experience for CHFS(China House Hold Finance Survey, pretty much like the Chinese version of PSID and SCF ) Work involves statistical analysis with Stata and writing reports and literature reviews on urban economics 3) RA with a professor in my master program on VC/CVC since Sep. and will keep working on the project and probably coauthor paper with the professor. The current work involves collecting and processing data with Matlab and Stata, reviewing literature. Teaching Experience: None. But I can expose myself to TA next year. Work Experience: None; but I have some student organization and sport activities experience. Concentration Applying to: Finance (first choice); Economics (second choice) Number of schools planned to apply to: 15? Dream Schools: top 15 What made you want to pursue a PhD: I enjoy learning and exploring and like the life style of being a faculty at business school Concern about my profile: 1)My major concern is that I have no overseas education background nor exchange experience but I noticed that most Phd candidates in top programs have a US or European degree. 2)Also I can get strong recommendation letter from my professors I worked with but they are not estabilished in the marketk. One professor graduated from Umitch Ross with a finance phd. I wonder how much it will help if I apply for Ross. 3)I have no working experience in finance industry. I noticed that some phd candidates in top 15 schools worked in big names such like JP Morgan/Citi before applyig for phd, but they do not have any RA experience Any additional specific questions you have: which tier of schools should I apply to? How can I increase my chance of getting into top 15 finance phd program since I plan to apply next year? Thanks a lot !!!