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Algo

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Everything posted by Algo

  1. You have to be patient. Doctoral admissions is a very inefficient process; and if you think this is bad, you should see how the job market works... My university makes offers for however many spots are open and works its way down the ballot as people decline the offer until the spots are filled.
  2. You should definitely accept a fly-out if you are on the fence. Visiting the campus and the community around campus could help you make up your mind, and the university knows that. They are betting that you'll decide in their favor afterwards!
  3. While focusing on one specific professor is generally a good idea, what you want to study when you begin your doctoral program is not necessarily what you will study by the time you leave your doctoral program. I think you may find isolated cases where needs are filled based on some merit system, but generally what i have observed is that schools fill their program with the best candidates available to them. I applied to programs with the intent of never studying banks. But now I am working on a bank failure paper. Go figure!
  4. First year PhD Finance student checking in. Just wanted to say that I was thinking about all of the applicants and said a prayer for everyone to be able to stay calm for the next few months. I didn't receive my decision until the last week of May! Yes, it was frustrating. Yes, I had a few very hard days. I would have reapplied this round had I not got in. One thing I wish I had read from previous applicants (and I may have, and just ignored it) was to absolutely NOT read the forums from the time the last application was sent to the time I had received my final admission or declination letter. You will gain nothing from reading other people's tales of success. Every school's process is slightly different and the timelines are not always fixed. Go live life! The hard part is OVER! I would define the year of my admission as one of tremendous change. I would certainly do it all over again. I just might not check the forums as much ;)
  5. 90 days ago, I was submitting my resume to jobs and on the edge of a small crisis because I received rejections from every school I applied to. Today I am an admitted PhD student in Finance at a regional school in Florida. I am also a non-typical applicant (age and sub-650 GMAT score) but I made great relationships with research professors during my graduate degree. Those professors advocated for me to be admitted well after the formal admissions round had ended. In the end, it wasn't that my scores weren't awesome or that my undergrad GPA was sub-par. I was caught up in departmental politics. I was a single vote away from being admitted in the normal admission round. Professors who knew me voted for me. Professors who did not know me, did not vote for me. I was told that 3 spots were open for admission, but I am the 4th admit this round. Bottom line to me is that who you know, combined with aptitude and a willingness to work very hard, goes a lot further than test scores. I am very fortunate to be in my program and I will not squander the opportunity. tl;dr - if you've been out of school for a while, go back and get a Master's. While there, get to know the professors, indicate an interest to do research, ask for letters of recommendation from research-producing professors and be very patient.
  6. Columbia might be a good fit with your accounting/CPA interests. I am sure you can explain away your undergrad GPA given your performance in graduate programs. Do try to get your letters from only research professors. Skip industry references unless they do co-authorship papers and present at conferences. You've chosen excellent schools that are heavy research producers. Show that you are a good fit for a research institution, but be prepared to answer why a CPA was necessary if doing research is what you've always wanted to do. One thing is for sure, you'll get in somewhere with that profile. Apply to plenty of schools in case they get scared of your CPA. To me, it looks like you could run to industry in a heartbeat.
  7. Incredible turn of events! I was admitted! I will join many of you as a peer beginning this journey in the Fall term.
  8. well my worst-case scenario occurred. I was wait-listed and told by a coordinator that I was in either if someone rejected their offer or if the dean allowed an extra spot to be filled. Needless to say, no one rejected their offer and the Dean did not allow an extra spot. So, last night, I received the dreaded "log in to view your admission decision" email. I graduate with my Master of Science in Finance on Thursday (Just 5 days away)! But, I am now adrift, applying for jobs very late in the hiring cycle, pondering what my next move will be. I guess I can try again next year, but damn... I hate starting a job knowing that I would quit in a heartbeat if I were to be accepted into a PhD program next year... Congratulations to everyone that received offers! I've enjoyed reading everyone's tales. Best of luck to you all!!!
  9. the silence is deafening. My dread level is pretty high, but I remain optimistic. This feeling shall pass. I feel most sorry for my friends and family - I am a bit short tempered and don't want to speak about what the future holds. I find it rather hard to be fully exposed and all-in on a very important life-changing endeavor with absolutely no insight into what may come. I am reminded of something I heard from a political guru about a candidate's campaign. "If you really want to serve the people, you will run again if you lose this time." I will certainly apply again next year if I am not accepted this year. I am keeping busy by fooling around with different portfolio strategies using quantopian :watermelon:. Congratulations to those of you who have offers in hand!
  10. the dread has finally kicked in... I managed to avoid gradcafe for a whole week but the itch had to be relieved. 3 of my target schools sent out interview requests and obviously I have radio silence. I am going to bury myself in work to calm the nerves. Have a good weekend everyone! Let me carry the dread for you :)
  11. I spoke with the Finance PhD director at my university last night. He said that they plan on doing interviews at the end of February and they plan on making offers in mid March. He said they haven't even started to screen the applicants. Really testing my patience here...
  12. I asked about this very subject before I set about writing my SOP to one of my letter of recommendation writers. I was told that very few people know exactly what they want to research prior to entering a PhD program. He said that I should list broad topics with some specificity, for instance, corporate finance as the major category but governance as a sub category. He also said that I may get into a program to work with one professor, but after working with all of them, move to a different professor entirely. He said intellectual curiosity was more important than knowing what you will research in 3 years, along with a genuine interest to learn more about the field. I also thought that perhaps I should have been more specific in my SOP, but in reality, I don't want to attend a program that pigeon-holes my career on day one!
  13. I expect this week to be very busy. Good luck everyone!
  14. Yeah, looking at previous years is starting to get my nerves on edge...
  15. my school hasn't even begun the initial screen for applications submitted by 1/15. Still LOTS of time to sweat ;)
  16. I wouldn't expect anything for at least another week. Monday January 16th was a holiday. This week might be the initial screening phase. I will ask my professors today when the adcom meets to get an idea. I currently attend a 100's-rank school for a master of science in finance program. Top-rank schools with early deadlines may have the most rapid movement but I didn't apply to many of them anyway ;)
  17. I submitted all of my applications, and now I can join the sweat club :) I am also waiting on CFA level 1 results. Congratulations to all of my fellow Finance applicants, and good luck!
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