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Granps

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  1. Granps
    Not being in accounting, I want to echo what YaSvoboden said. I think that the stress, and difficulty, between programs is not massive. I have seen grad students in top tier programs shell out mediocre dissertations and students in non-renowned programs write amazing dissertations. But in my experience, given the type A people that tend to go to business school doctoral programs, much of the pressure is gained passively by looking at your peers and (usually falsly) assessing how awesome they are compared to you. The better the program, the more apriori accomplished (as a very broad generalization) these peers will be. This, however, is also a motivator. As YaS said, go to the best program that you can.
  2. Granps
    Hi tsot, Your numbers are good. By that I mean that you are not likely to be desk-rejected by any school you apply to (i.e., you will pass the automatic bar for having your profile read by someone in admin). Before I continue, just know that very broadly, the lower the program tier, the more congruent your profile and the "classic" profile for a department you will be. That is, top programs are sometimes more difficult to predict. At least in my experience. That being said, business is not a core discipline, but more of a mish-mash of others. OB is oft sociology and psychology, Micro OB is sometimes also behavioral econ. Strategy will often be econ/psych, Marketing is psych (in my school), Business economics is, well, econ. Your profile is very mathy. It is not impossible to switch to a psych-oriented program, but you will need to do some heavy-lifting in your SOP to show (as in show, don't tell) how your life experience have led you to pursue psych interests. Programs, especially top programs, and uber-especially in this COVID climate in which budgets are smaller, are very risk-averse. That means that they want as many signals that an applicant can (a) properly handle the coursework and load (you have got that checked), (b) that you plan on staying in the academia (many programs will reject you if you do not plan this), © that you know what you are getting into. Lest talk a bit about ©. The best way to show this is by having (a) previous research experience in the field, (b) a publication in said field, © education in the field, (d) LOR writers in the field. Since you do not seem to have any of those, you may be in a bit of a problem. A fairly simple solution is to get a master's degree in something related (e.g., not Business Analytics) - and do as much RA work as you can take on yourself --> this will get you research experience (note - do a thesis), LOR, and a track record = reduce risk, and give you the ability to gogogo when you get to the program. I am an OB macro student. The difference between us the the micro folks is massive. Most of the macro peeps have no sociology experience, but a very large proportion of the micro peeps have been lab managers, RAs for professors in good programs, and/or have pubs. I don't mean to be harsh, just give you the best advice I can. Another thing to do (keeping in mind that research experience is very important) is to apply to Strategy or Marketing programs. Your mathematical prowess will be more appreciated there than in Micro OB (generally psych people are lousy with math, and they use experiments to control away all of the things that make for complicated statistical models for the rest of us - only half joking ;)) since they will do coursework with econ peeps. But both will give you access to psych faculty and types of work. Look at current PhD students in programs you are interested in and look at their backgrounds. If someone is semi-similar to you - reach out and ask the hard questions - it truly helps.
  3. Granps
    Wonderful news!!
  4. Granps
    I am not sure anyone can be sure. But here's mine. I got 163V 168Q 4.5W and am studying in one of those T10 OB programs. Some schools have a higher historical mean (e.g., Wharton), but in my program there are people with lower. I believe it should be enough to not get desk rejected if its above 90th percentile. Regarding grades, it should not be an issue if improved (I dropped out of college with a GPA in the 2's before going back). Make sure you have awesome LORs and with your experience you should be good. T10 are always a crapshoot (e.g., I have someone in the program with 2 LORs from industry). Good luck!
  5. Granps
    Hi agilist, Regarding your first question, don't. It seems high enough to get you where you want to go. I have the same scores as you do and I had interviews with two of the schools you listed (I'm also OB). GRE is a foot-in-the-door kind of a thing - If it's high enough to pass the desk-reject phase, that's enough. Regarding your second question, if you have two very solid academic LORs and the choice is between a professor that just knows you as a student (not an RA) and a boss who has very good things to say about you - I'd go with the boss (unless the professor has warm things to say and is very known). If I look at my cohort, there are some who have industry experience (mean ~3 years, maybe less). If you can connect the dots (in your statement) between research and your experience in a cohesive narrative that takes the reader through the path to your research interests, you should be fine. If the RA you have done however was not very substantial, I would recommend considering taking a 1 year RAship. Good luck!
  6. Granps
    Yup. There is a saying in the Talmud that goes 'Heve zanav la'arayot, ve'al yehi rosh la'shualim', which literally means that it's better to be a tail to lions, than a head to foxes. You get my drift.
  7. Granps
    Generally, there are two crucial elements to an application that matter besides grades (and test scores - both serve as a foot in the door, not more) and previous experience - LORs and SOP. As Xanthus and BrazilianPhD said, working with a well known professor is great. I do not necessarily agree that a well-known professor will give you better experience or knowledge than a not-so-well-known one. Nor will he necessarily give you a better LOR. He just can potentially give you a better one. So if you have two really good LORs, go with the famous professor. If you don't, go with whoever seems like a good person, with whom you connect and one who will give you substantive things to do (e.g., not just literary reviews). It has been my experience that a strong SOP weaves your current research interests through your previous experience. So even if the project you will be working on is not your (current, as Xanthus said) main interest, it should be a tool for you to explain how it shaped it. It can be in a wide theoretical way, in a specific anecdotal way or in a methodological way. No matter what - you should be able to use it to enhance your main statement - what you want to do, why you want to do it, and what tools have you acquired to enable this.
  8. Granps
    I will be spending about 60% of my stipend on housing. It will be a rough year. But when I will be there, understand where everything is and how to be efficient with traveling - and especially after the initial two years of coursework - I will move further away from the campus.
  9. Granps
    For competitiveness - think of improving the Quant score in the GRE. It is hard to know in advance whether your statement is really good or not. If a professor that went to a similar tier program as you aim at read it and thinks it's rockin', than it's likely good enough. I would focus on research fit to the faculty and name specific faculty you want to work with and briefly state why (although this should be self evident from the rest of the statement). If you did research for a professor, make sure she/he is an LOR writer. I might be odd if not. The better the program the more research-focused it wants your own profile/LORs/Statement to be (generally speaking). Hope this helps.
  10. Granps
    I am also newly admitted, and to Macro OB, so take this with a grain of salt. Stata is important. I taught SPSS and while it is limited in many ways, many a research in psychology can be done with it without problems. R is a favorite of mine, but when taken with other software packages in mind, its strengths lie in the data carpentry stage (as well as its uncanny statistical prowess which is truly beyond my reach). All this is good and fine, but the best thing to do is: (1) look at the methods courses and see which statistical packages they use - that's your no.1 priority, and (2) talk candidly to your potential advisor(s) and ask them outright what they use in their research.
  11. Granps
    Very nice! Celebrate a little :)
  12. Granps
    Yes. I have heard from around 10% of my programs. This will likely rise to 80% by late-February though.
  13. Granps
    I can only speak from my very limited experience with what I was told by a professor in a top-tier program about faculty advisors. In order to get accepted they need to find a faculty member (there it's the younger faculty members) to agree to mentor you. This has to do with availability, sure, but a lot to do with research fit as well. Not all programs do this, not all use just young faculty members. Stating specific faculty you want to work with doesn't necessarily prevent other faculty members from working with you, and if done in an integrative way, you can show that you did your research, and that you can think in complex ways of connections between various scholarships, which is a good sign.
  14. Granps
    Nice Management and bzholle! Celebrate some! :)
  15. Granps
    Probably around twice as many as the offers they will be extending (not twice as many as the matriculated class). So, depending on the program, this could be between 5 to 10 percent of the applicant pool.
  16. Granps
    How is your AWA? The Verbal score is not great, but it's not bad, and as I understand, they care much more about the Quant. I do not know how the cutoffs are made. It seems obvious that you are at the very least half-way in Wharton, so I wouldn't worry too much. Most programs claim not to have a cutoff point.
  17. Granps
    I can tell you what Xanthus will say - that you should not limit yourself to T-25 schools, because a rank is not the be-all end-all, some programs are a better fit than higher ranked programs, etc.. That being said, and since you have already applied to most of the T-25 programs, and given how good your profile is, I wouldn't bother. Unless you completely botch the statement, it would be amazingly unlikely that you will not be accepted to a top program.
  18. Granps
    I am not sure I understand the questions here, really. You have already applied - what does it matter which schools are backup or some-such? See what you get. Besides, no one can tell you what your primary of secondary choices should be - it depends on fit with research interests which only you know. You have an amazing profile. You must know this. And talking to top professors who want to work with you is a good sign in any language. Good luck, I am sure you worked very hard to get here, and I am sure you will get into a top program.
  19. Granps
    Just helping out - through an HTML parser: ------------------------------------------------------------------ Test Scores: GRE: Verbal 156 (73%) Quantitative one is 164 (87%) the other is 169 (96%) Undegrad GPA: Top 30 US University, major: economics, special coursework: mathematics, Overall GPA: 3.2, Econ Major GPA: 3.8, Math/statistics GPA: 3.8, Dean's research fellowship (1 out of 500+ students) Graduate GPA: Top 1/2 European Business School, EU grade scale: Very Good/ Excellent; US GPA: 3.9/4.0. Top 1 out of 100 on the master dissertation. Research Experience:5 years, with Top 10 US university professors and Top 2 European B-school professors. have been selected as Ph.D. Candidate in other department. One competitive paper on AMA( sole-authored); one interactive paper on AIB (solo authored), one co-authored book with Top 10 US university professors. Some other research papers and writing samples. Teaching Experience: have mentored MBA students in business school and drafted course note for them. Work Experience: Junior Manager at Internationally well-known luxury group(HQ), part-time consultant for Top 3 consulting firms. Recommendations: one from master dissertation supervisor (chair of a department), one from another professor in my graduate school (we have a collaboration), one from Top 10 US university professor (we co-authored a book) Concentration Applying to: Marketing, my previous paper is in the field of Quant MKT, my current paper is more about social psychology. So I select the track based on the research fields of faculty members in that school. Any other suggestions? Number of programs planned to apply to: 15-20 Dream Schools: I have applied for top marketing program this year. Since the deadlines for some schools are in Mid. January, I expect to receive more comments and suggestions for these programs. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? -I am a research holic. I am extremely passionate about marketing research. -Enjoy teaching and mentoring, enjoy writing cases for B-school students. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? 1. I have taken GRE twice, not sure V156 could pass the cutline in most B-schools, and I am not sure whether I need to send an early GRE report with Q169 (but the Verbal section is lower)? (I mean if the school did not clearly mention whether they use the combined scores) 2. I think my major GPA and math/stat GPA should be fine, and I have provided a list of relevant courses for all the schools I've applied. But I am not sure whether a low overall GPA will be a big drawback ( I have lower grades in some courses that are completely irrelevant, such as Astrology, French cinema, etc.) Where could be the relatively safe choices for me, and where could be my backup choices? Thanks for all your help!
  20. Granps
    Hi Woods, what is a safety school for one, is a reach school for another. This is very subjective. I have seen people to whom Duke would be a safety school (well, not in marketing, but still). There are different approaches, and as I am still unadmitted, mine might turn and bite me in the...back. But you should only apply to schools which you will be excited to go to, if admitted. What is the point in getting admitted but feeling unenthusiastic? That being said, if there is a program to which you want to go, and it happens to be lower-ranked and you have a great chance of being accepted? All the power to you.
  21. Granps
    I did a similar thing in my thesis - scraped with Python (but with beautiful soup) and visualization with ggplot.:encouragement:
  22. Granps
    Awesome! I have applied to a different track there, see if I even get an interview :) I have applied to only seven programs. But some already sent emails that they wouldn't be making interview calls before early February. It's always like this with top schools - more great applicants than spots.
  23. Granps
    Yeah, I also replied but suddenly a moderator needs to approve it.. How did the interview went yesterday?
  24. Granps
    Woah woah, I know exactly what I want to do after a PhD - just not where. Given that so many (most dare I say) of the professors in my home country are US trained, I do not believe that this is true. As an international student, it does seem reasonable to return to your home country. Why would the where matter so? I will continue to do research after the PhD, because that is what I am doing before it. Why does it matter if I do this In Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina or South Korea? Nope. It's illegal - and for good reason. Because if you put in the time, you will likely succeed family or not. Even if it does negatively effect all parents, it is still illegal to discriminate. I am sure that a PhD student with panic attacks, having a sick grandma, ADHD or whatever is also disruptive - but you shouldn't ask about it either. One should be judged by one's merits. Having kids and/or family should not be a part of the schools decision process, because it lets bias in the door. Definitely. But I should be making this calculation, not the school. When (if) I get multiple offers to choose from, I will be thinking it over and then decide. If my kid is sick, he will go to the doctor, because he will have insurance. This is a part of these calculations. Irregardless, my wife is a citizen and so is my kid. We have saved some money and my wife will also be in grad school (again, hopefully we will manage this). But again - this type of decision making does not - and should not - fall on the school. It is mine and mine alone. Just like the school shouldn't ask a single candidate if he is good with money. Yes, I know these will be difficult years, both financially and otherwise. But this is on me. The schools can see that I worked almost a full time job (well, between two teaching acquaintanceship and three research ones) and still graduated magna cum laude. If they think I can't handle it (which is obviously a possibility) than tough cookies. Never said that it is not difficult - a PhD is difficult. But having a support system at home means something too. While I have no corroborating statistics, I find it personally hard to believe that PhD candidates with kids drop out more than single PhD candidates do.
  25. Granps
    Woah woah, I know exactly what I want to do after a PhD - just not where. Given that so many (most dare I say) of the professors in my home country are US trained, I do not believe that this is true. As an international student, it does seem reasonable to return to your home country. Why would the where matter so? I will continue to do research after the PhD, because that is what I am doing before it. Why does it matter if I do this In Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina or South Korea? Nope. It's illegal - and for good reason. Because if you put in the time, you will likely succeed family or not. Even if it does negatively effect all parents, it is still illegal to discriminate. I am sure that a PhD student with panic attacks, having a sick grandma, ADHD or whatever is also disruptive - but you shouldn't ask about it either. One should be judged by one's merits. Having kids and/or family should not be a part of the schools decision process, because it lets bias in the door. Definitely. But I should be making this calculation, not the school. When (if) I get multiple offers to choose from, I will be thinking it over and then decide. If my kid is sick, he will go to the doctor, because he will have insurance. This is a part of these calculations. Irregardless, my wife is a citizen and so is my kid. We have saved some money and my wife will also be in grad school (again, hopefully we will manage this). But again - this type of decision making does not - and should not - fall on the school. It is mine and mine alone. Just like the school shouldn't ask a single candidate if he is good with money. Yes, I know these will be difficult years, both financially and otherwise. But this is on me. The schools can see that I worked almost a full time job (well, between two teaching acquaintanceship and three research ones) and still graduated magna cum laude. If they think I can't handle it (which is obviously a possibility) than tough cookies. Never said that it is not difficult - a PhD is difficult. But having a support system at home means something too. While I have no corroborating statistics, I find it personally hard to believe that PhD candidates with kids drop out more than single PhD candidates do.
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