Jump to content
Urch Forums

Sangria

Members
  • Posts

    11
  • Joined

Converted

  • My Tests
    No

Sangria's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

1

Reputation

  1. I second this. Explaining a low GPA is fine, but also having a lowish GRE score doesn't help your argument. However, I don't think your scores will leave you out of the running at a lot of programs since you have some good research experience. That being said, you want to do your best and make your application as consistently strong as you can. I saw you have some experience working in the area of I/O psychology - this is good, because I was going to ask why you're moving from pre-med/cognitive psych to OB. You have some experience in the area, so you have some idea of what you're getting into. Gaining more OB research experience will probably be the better option (as opposed to taking grad courses). Strong upward trends in undergrad GPA are considered, and it seems you are trending well, so I don't think getting good grades in one or two grad courses will be necessary or make a substantial improvement to your applications if everything else is strong. Focus on your GRE, research experience, and identifying pre-doctoral and/or PhD programs with a good fit for your interests.
  2. I assume when you say, "apply to all top 50 schools," that you mean that all schools you apply to will be top 50, not that you'd apply to 50 schools total, correct? You do have a decent GMAT score and grad GPA, but you are making a move from marketing to management. What area of marketing? If you had a consumer marketing background, some of the theories (psych) will translate to OB, just for different problems, so it's not a huge jump. I think applying to top 50 schools is okay, but don't disregard lower ranking programs that are a great fit for you. The "superstar" researcher in your area of interest just might be at a top 100 program. You'll still need to explain why you want to make a change. I saw this as the clue: This sounds like your specific research interest, and it sounds like you are motivated by your observations in the workplace. Discuss this in your personal statement, briefly. Don't dwell on your work experience in your statement, since faculty are more interested in your research ability and interests. Mention it as a motivating factor for your switch and move on. Are any faculty members researching something similar to this at the schools you mentioned? It doesn't matter if you apply to 5 or 50 programs; if you are a poor research fit and only applying for the name factor, you will have little chance of admission. Make sure that every program you apply to has at least one, preferably more than one, faculty member doing research in your specific area of interest. You shouldn't have trouble finding programs focusing on employee motivation and engagement, even if faculty is not focused on immigrant issues specifically. But if you do find faculty doing precisely this, even better. I always recommend searching for recent papers in your area of interest, and see where the authors work. Determine if their department has a PhD program, then dig deeper into the author's other work and the program details.
  3. I would recommend doing keyword searches for papers on the topics you're interested in and seeing where the authors are from and if their school has a PhD program. Even if you're no longer in school, some papers can be accessed online for free through various sites, but you also might find be able to get by just reading the abstracts and identifying what seem to be interesting papers, then looking into the authors' backgrounds. Note that papers often take a long time to publish, possibly many years, so they aren't always representative of faculty's current research interests, even if they were just published this year. That doesn't mean the faculty would definitely be opposed to advising similar projects with students, but it'd be better if you matched on some of their current interests since you would be assisting with these projects as an RA. Also, sometimes authors are on a paper because they lended their expertise on a particular method and don't necessarily study the paper's topic in their core work - this is more common for 4th, 5th, 6th authors, etc., though you should primarily be looking at first or second authors who, at least in the field of management, are known to have contributed the most to the paper. This problem shouldn't cause you much trouble, but worth a mention. Despite these issues, this is probably the best method for locating faculty and then digging into their work a little deeper to see if they're a good match for you.
  4. My first thought is that your research interests would fit well in management. Qualitative research is still a minority among published studies (although their numbers are rising in some journals), but many strategy researchers also publish in economics journals using complex quantitative analyses. The level of qualitative emphasis in a program will depend on how many faculty members are doing qualitative work (for whom you may work as an RA); some departments might not have anyone who has extensive qualitative experience. You may or may not be required to take a qualitative methods course depending on the program. I don't know much about the specific approaches you're interested in, but I recommend you try to find some articles using these approaches in areas you find interesting in order to locate potential PIs. I would focus less on the specific field and more on specific researchers when choosing what programs to apply to. Keep in mind that faculty may change directions, so they may not be doing the same type of research that was published a few years ago. You should check their bios on the department website, look at their most recent work (which may technically be a few years old due to the publication process), and perhaps reach out to them directly to discuss their work. You may end up finding a good fit in a few of the fields you mentioned, perhaps applying to a few management, a few economics, and a few operations programs, provided they all have researchers doing work that is relevant to your interests. In short: It is the program you're applying to that matters, not the field per se. You want to find programs where the faculty are doing work you find interesting and would like to pursue. You may need to take some courses that don't seem relevant for you at the time, but what is important is that the stats and methods courses and the expertise of the advisors will provide you with a solid foundation and resources to pursue your research goals.
  5. I am not familiar with Canadian programs, but I am in the management field. I'm not sure how "upper second class honors" translates, but typically a strong masters-level performance can outweigh concerns about undergraduate performance - although I don't think your undergrad GPA is low, but this may depend on how your undergrad institution is perceived and whether some of these programs have a hard cut-off. Having some research experience coupled with relevant work experience from which you can generate interesting and important research questions will help you, and should also make for a good SOP. If you have strong letters from Oxford faculty (or strong letters from any research-active faculty), that will also be a benefit. Ultimately, your chances come down to the particular applicant pool in which you fall, the quality of your research experience and how you articular that and your research interests in your SOP, your LORs, and your match with the department; do your research interests align with faculty at all of those programs? GMAT and GPA are usually the first factors to be considered in order to narrow down candidates, but if you pass that threshold, the rest of your application becomes much more important. You can't do anything about your GPA now, so I suggest writing the best SOP you can, discuss your plans with your faculty, and secure letter writers. Be sure your targeted schools are diverse enough that you are not only applying to top programs, but that you'd be happy attending each one if it was the only one to accept you. I also completely agree with tm_associate - I had a higher GPA but a low GMAT, and I'm sure that kept me out some programs. I still received a good offer and am grateful to work with faculty who realize "things happen," and are not only focused on numbers, but also want to know the person behind them. The environment can make a huge difference in your ability to push through the difficult times and be successful.
  6. To clarify, are you considering Marketing Strategy vs. other Marketing concentrations, or Marketing vs. Management Strategy? Management Strategy is quite different, but given your MBA concentration in Marketing, I'll assume you're looking at Marketing programs (I am a Management student). I agree with Brazilian - a low-ish GMAT score won't necessarily keep you out of Top 50 programs; however, without some other strengths in your application (i.e., research experience, strong letters of recommendation, etc.), I strongly suggest applying more broadly to T75 and T100 programs. You will need to find the right "fit," meaning that you need to identity programs with PIs doing research in areas you're interested in. I'm not familiar with the Marketing programs at any of the schools you mentioned, but if their faculty are doing different kinds of research, it will be time-consuming to write strong SOPs for each program, and a generic SOP (i.e., one that doesn't identify research interests) won't help your application, and could actually hurt it. A statement that identifies research interests that the faculty at a given program doesn't share will be even worse. Overall, given no research experience, if you can identity departments where you share research interests, write a strong statement of purpose (the "what made you want to pursue a PhD?" question requires more insight, as Brazilian noted), and have 2-3 strong letter writers, you do have a chance to attend a good program if you apply broadly enough. Pay attention to the student placements of the programs you apply to. You may need to ask faculty about this if they do not publish anything on the website. Some "lower ranking" programs have excellent placements, and/or have productive and well-known faculty, so do not discount them based on perceived prestige. Further, University A may have highly productive consumer behavior faculty and less productive strategy faculty, whereas University B may have very productive strategy faculty and less productive consumer behavior faculty; this is why you need to focus on specific faculty and departments rather than the rank of the university as a whole. University A might be ranked much higher than University B, but if Uni B has a better fit, you will likely be more successful there than at Uni A.
  7. Sorry for the double post - I thought the first one didn't go through, but it just took some time to get approved.
  8. I don't often see Likert scales being used in strategy, except for some micro topics that may involve administering surveys to CEOs or TMTs. Strategy researchers often use proxies based on public data since survey responses for CEOs and TMTs are usually quite low, and such info could be measured in other (perhaps less biased) ways. However, those that do use Likert scales and qualitative research such as case studies can be published in A journals. But keep in mind that qualitative research can take a long time to do (a few months to several years, depending on the project) and all papers take a long time to publish (maybe a minimum of 6 months, which is rare, or as long as 2-4+ years depending on the number of revisions and any additional data requests), which is why StrategicMGMT said it was an ambitious goal. You may struggle to publish qualitative research before getting your PhD, and struggle to publish enough qualitative articles in top journals to gain tenure. So I do not suggest relying on case studies (or Likert scales) only because they're comfortable for you. This will stunt your growth and success as a researcher. Keep in mind that everything is learned in steps. Some of the more advanced math may seem difficult now, but to a lot of people, regression seems difficult, too, and you've already learned that. You will learn the basics necessary in your courses to help you develop additional skills over time. And not all strategy researchers use complicated economics approaches. I suggest keeping an open and curious mind and try out many different techniques once you get through your foundational courses. You will want to build some competitive advantage by having expertise in areas that not everyone is using (everyone is familiar with regression). I suggest searching online for articles. Many authors and publishers provide full-text copies that you can access for free. You might not get the exact article you want, but should be able to find some that are in your general area of interest and see what kind of methods they use. Also, check if your undergraduate institution offers an alumni account with the library. You might be able to use their databases.
  9. I agree with what startz mentioned. I would add that it can be good to eventually develop a rapport that extends beyond just work talk. For example, if you know they went away for the weekend for a family event, ask how it was, or share something interesting that you've done lately. Find some common ground, such as having quick chats about the latest sports victory or whatever your shared interests are. It may take some time to build up to this kind of relationship, and it might also depend on whether your advisor has a personality that allows such discussions, but it can really deepen the quality of the relationship. This can not only improve your working experience, but provide a more genuine and well-rounded letter of recommendation. It can also foster a long-term collaboration beyond your schooling if they enjoy working with you. But of course, all of this is only possible if you also do good work, on time, and with adequate communication skills.
  10. Keep in mind that you learn things in steps. Some of the more advanced economics approaches may seem daunting, but you won't be learning them your first week of class; you'll have to learn the basics first. As Brazilian stated, you already understand some basic regression analyses, and even that seems daunting to some people. Most things seem more difficult than they are, and when we approach them with the mindset that we can't do it, they will seem all the more difficult. As for access to journals, I would go on Google Scholar and see what you can access there. There are plenty of articles that may be accessible from the author or publisher. You could also access key books in the field from a local community library. Also - if you are in strategy and looking to do research on how the environment affects firms, I'm thinking that you won't be doing much with Likert scales. This depends on how micro your interests are; maybe you'll distribute some surveys to top management teams, but you'll likely be using a lot of proxy measures through public data to answer your questions. Yes, qualitative research is published at top journals, but can take a really long time to complete and get published, which is why StrategicMGMT said it was an ambitious goal. You may end up finding that using mixed methods is a better approach to ensure you are productive enough for publication and tenure. As for Likert scales...I've maybe seen a few articles in top journals using that type of survey of CEOs or TMTs, but as I stated, proxies and public data is more common because it's difficult to get a good response from TMTs on surveys, and they may have an agenda to not report certain things that could otherwise be determined through observational and public data sources.
  11. I would not recommend either extreme. You definitely want to take a break, but doing *some* prep can be very helpful. Reviewing some basic statistics, basic matrix algebra, integrals, and derivatives will be valuable. If you aren't already, I would recommend becoming familiar with some sort of reference/citation software. Also, depending on your field and what is most used in your department or by your advisor, learn some basic coding in a stats software, such as how to import data and running simple statistics (means, quartiles, etc.) or cleaning the data. I wouldn't go crazy - maybe just a few hours each week, such as taking 2-3 hours 2-3 days each week. I think if I had done this, my first semester would have been so much easier and more organized. Other than that, I would just recommend some light reading into topics of interest, your advisor's interests, etc. If your PhD program is in the same field as your masters program, then much of this advice may be unnecessary since you may already have been doing this for a while. If that's the case, then just continue doing some reading and enjoy your break. As for the OP - I had a similar background with no adequate math prep. It was time consuming, but I was able to keep up although I, too, felt like the weakest link. But as another poster stated, everyone comes in with different strengths and weaknesses, and while you might be envying your peer's math skills, they might be envying your writing skills, or ability to theorize and come up with interesting research questions and studies. You should only be comparing yourself to yourself - are you learning? Are you growing? Your peers are not your competition. Look at them as partners and help one another grow through the program, and you will have a better time than if you're always trying to compare and outdo each other. The way I overcame feeling like the weakest link was to recognize my own strengths and focus on them, and sharpen them in addition to working on my weaknesses. I realized that I do have something to offer, and that it's silly to expect to be perfect at everything because no one is. Even among the faculty you will see strengths and weaknesses, and once you learn how often a tenured, highly-cited professor is rejected by top journals, you'll realize that everyone feels that way to some extent at some point in time. It's your attitude about how you handle it that matters most.
×
×
  • Create New...