nothanks700

I am in the beginning phases of my search. I'm curious to know what ranked universities in the US and abroad have a terminal masters program that can lead to a PhD in either Econ or Finance?

So here's my anticipated profile at the time I apply this December: -4.0 GPA in finance and mathematics from a well known, but non elite school. -calc 2 completed, and all upper level finance courses completed including: international finance, fixed income analyses, commercial real estate finance, equity investment analyses, business statistics 1 and 2. And some other courses as well. - in progress at application: calc 3 (h), differential equations (h), real analyses, linear algebra (h), abstract algebra; h meaning taken as an honors course. -1 semester (in progress) research assistanship with finance professor -2 strong, and 1 medium letter of recomendation -2 8-month finance internships in commercial real estate finance and corporate finance -CFA level 1 candidate (don't know if this will be relevant, but figured I'd put it down) -167 quant, 166 verbal, and 5 AWA on GRE -2 semesters of tutoring finance, 1 semester leading a calc 1 supplemental instruction class -been working as a broker for a year and a half after getting my finance degree. Has helped tremendously in soft skills, among other things, but for a variety of reasons I want to be a professor. so, what schools do I have a good shot at for a Ph.D. In finance? Or possibly, do I have a good shot at getting into a good financial engineering masters program that could get me into a Ph.D. In finance afterward? Or, should I wait to apply to either until after I have finished my math degree.

Top 20, maybe if you also have some very solid letters of rec and had some other very notable accomplishments. Your GPA is clearly a weakness, and is going to be a cause for concern for some admin committees. You can probably easily get on top 50, but top 20 is just much trickier.

650 is not even close to cutting it, but ofcourse you can try again. I don't know of anyone getting into those progrs with a GMAT lower than the 95th percentile. Based on your GMAT alone, I'd say no way, but there may be other aspects to your profile you are not divulging. They would pfcourse have to be pretty epic to make up for a 650. It's not bad, it's just not Wharton material.

I would hardly say a Ph.D. Is an alernatice to an MBA; they are two incredibly different programs. Usually, although maybe not always, if you are going into industry, an MBA from Booth will open just as many- if not more doors, than a Ph.D. Post grad salary is quite significant. Congrats if you got accepted, very tough school to get into.

This is all very helpful. I think my best bet is to continue my current job, and take a non degree math course every semester, including summer, then apply for the masters program at my school for fall 2017. From there I can probably get through a lot of other courses and delay my application to Ph.D. Programs for a year, which isn't so bad. I am still perplexed though. How do these people get into programs like Booth. It seems like they have to be the next Nobel prize winner in econ. Maybe I should lower my expectations to U of I. Not that I think I'm special, just sort of a slap in the face after working that hard for my GPA.

Thank you for your help; sort of a cold bucket of water in the face, but I needed to know. So I can take the following courses this summer: calc 2, matrices & linear algebra, and mathematical statistics fall: calc 3, diff eqts., in addition to my masters program requirements of econometrics, quant methods, and statistical computing applications So, If I do that, and apply this December for 2017 entry, do I have a good shot? In addition, I'd be getting some research experience and hopefully getting better letters of rec. I could also put down that I am taking real analyses in the spring, but it is not on my transcript yet. I'm deadset on becoming a finance professor/researcher, but I'm 25 so I really have to get the ball moving. Thanks again!

Okay. What do I need specifically? It's not like I don't have knowledge in calculus, etc. my transcript shows a year of business statistics and a semester of business calculus as the most advanced, other than the fixed income and other math heavy finance courses. However, if I could test out of at least some of these classes, perhaps I could take se more advanced ones as electives in my masters? If you have me a calc 3 test, I'm sure I could pass very easily. I self tought myself most of this to be able to read finance journals adequately. I just couldn't fit the formal classes in my schedule.

I can't offer any valid guidance for you, as I'm sure you know more than I do at this point. However, I am applying at UChicago, and Northwestern. Would you mind sharing your GPA/GRE scores? What set you apart, and how did you get in?

Non-existent. Thank you for bringing that up; it is a very valid point. Obviously, undergrad finance and econ courses have been fulfilled which would entail some understanding of linear algebra and calculus. However, I have only formally taken business calculus, really couldn't fit anything else into my schedule.

Here's my positives that I'm obviously not worried about: +4.0 GPA in finance +167 verbal/168 quant/5 AWA on GRE +Highly involved in my undergrad career, from tutor, to founding a real estate club, to being state president of a business organization for students +2 finance internships (both 8 month full-time co-ops) +15 page honors research project on real estate finance topic Here are the potential negatives: -No research assisstanship -No published work -Subpar letters of recommendation -My undergrad is from a well-respected state university, but it's certainly not elite So from here, I have a couple options, and I'd like the advice of strangers on the internet. 1. I can do a masters at this respected, yet non-elite university, in order to gain some research experience and potentially better letters of rec 2. I can continue with my current job in finance and apply straight to Booth What are my chances of getting in with either instance? Is it worth it to pursue the masters? Should I be lowering my expectations from Booth wither way? And, yes, I know I should just "apply and see" but this is causing lots of anxiety, so I just need some good old advice here. Please and thank you!