trinhtucseadon

Dear all, Thank you so much for all of your inputs. About recom letters, I'd like to share that two of my ex-professors have just informed that they'd be willing to write for me, even though another 2 didn't reply. Sadly, two of them were very nice to me while I was there, and I performed well in those classes...

Dear all, I'm preparing for my application this year, and I have 2 questions that I hope to have your advice/sharing experience. 1. For recommendation letters: I personally find it hard to get academic recommendation letters, partly because I have been out of school for too long (i think!). It seems that my previous professors don't remember me, and don't want to bother to write recommendations for me. I have contacted two of them recently to ask if they can write recommendations for me, but two of them just don't reply! I did mention that I intend to apply widely to 10-15 schools, but I'm not sure whether that's the reason that turned them off (because they are U.S PhDs, I assume that they understand the process). And it's tough to get the professor in the field that we intend to apply for (in my case, Marketing) to write recommendation letters for various reasons (some switched schools, others don't want to help)... so I have no choice but to resort to the ones that know me and are willing to write for me. I personally don't want to 'disturb' people, so I do feel shy and resistant to ask previous professors to. But even with a very polite, thoughtful letter, the reply is still silence. I would like to ask for your advice/experience on this issue. What should we do? Is there any smart way to handle this? If we apply to 15-20 schools, isn't that a huge burden for the ones who write recommendation letters for us? Should we give them something back (e.g. a gift)?... 2. Research proposal & personal statement: I'd like to have someone (esp. current PhD candidates or PhD graduates) to review these documents and give me some inputs, or else i don't know if I misunderstood or wrote something silly instead. How can I do this? If there's anyone who can help me, I'd be indebted! Thank you very much! Wish you all the best of luck!

Dear Gecko, Thank you so much for your information. I will definitely check out the LSE course. I'm still a little new to the PhD journey, so many things are still news to me. I will do my homework first, but please allow me to ask "innocent" questions along the way! ^^ All the best to you! Ken

Dear XanthusARES, Thank you SO MUCH for your quick response. I’d like to express my deep gratitude to you for such an informative, caring, whole-hearted feedback. You really made my day! I feel so much more encouraged to go on! I will sleep on what you mentioned and do my homework carefully before I come up with other questions, so that I won’t waste your time (and other members’ as well) ^^. All the best to you! Ken

Hello everyone, I am an international student & I intend to apply for a PhD in Marketing (CB) this fall (2017 fall – 2018 matriculation). I’d be grateful if you could help evaluate my profile and give me some advice on what I should do to enhance my application. Here are some information about me: Test Score: expected GMAT score would be in the 700-750 range (I’m studying for the test) Undergrad GPA:7.84 out of 10 (B.A in Foreign Trade Economics from a local university); Graduate GPA: 3.92 out of 4 (MBA from an international business school in Asia, T100 in The Economist ranking list). Concentration in Finance; I also passed the CFA level 1 exam. Research Experience: NONE (even though I did 2 researches at undergrad level – 01 won a research reward in a local competition; wrote a Thesis for my Master degree. Still, I don’t know if those count much in the application) Teaching Experience: LITTLE (working as a T.A. for a language center for 02 years; T.A for financial accounting classes for 02 semesters) Work Experience: 7 years working in the industry in brand management positions Concentration Applying to: Marketing (CB focus) Number of programs planned to apply to: 10 Dream Schools: T10, but it’s just THE DREAM! I’m willing to apply to T50 and lower Other information: 1. I want to pursue a PhD because I am interested in the intellectual motivation that an academic path offers. I enjoy both the intellectual challenges from doing pioneering researches and teaching. I choose Marketing (CB) because I really like to observe people and discover crucial insights about them. 2. About my profile, I do have specific worries that I’d like to ask for your advice: What is the chance that I get admitted? What kind of schools would really accept me (T40, T100…)? I’d really appreciate if you can give me specific advice on the schools that I should apply for (honestly, I’m very nervous and confused because I read in the forum that some people applied to low-ranked schools and didn’t get acceptance nor reply from any). Is there anything I can practically do from now until this fall to enhance my application? For example, I realize that my math background and research experience is not satisfactory, but I don’t know if there’s anything I can do NOW to improve that. Should I apply for a MSc course first to get the necessary preparation for a PhD later? If so, what courses (and what schools, if possible) do you recommend? Should I take a Master in Econs? 3. Additional specific questions: - My undergrad school didn’t issue official ranking for students; but in my batch, I was the top 5% of the class of 400. The only thing I have to prove is the old copy of the class scores, which had my name ranked as 16 from top down. Should I include this in my SOP? - At undergrad school, I did a lot of volunteer works; should I put these in my resume? Thank you so much! I also apologize for my long post. I just want to provide as much information as possible so that you can better understand me. All the best to you all! Ken