Search the Community

Hi, I'm applying to PhD economics programs for Fall 2022 entry and would like to receive some evaluation. Should I be more realistic with my chances and apply to lower ranking schools or do I have a decent shot with the top 15? I come from an applied math background but want to switch to econ/ finance departments. More on my research interests below. Profile: Undergraduate school: National University of Singapore Undergraduate Major: Quantitative Finance Undergraduate Minor: Statistics GPA: 3.72/4.00 in US standards GRE: Q 163, V 158 Messed up GRE Quant here... disappointing. Retaking it as I know I can do better. Math classes : Analysis 1 & 2 (A), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Graduate Stochastic Analysis (A), currently taking a PhD class in Measure-Theoretic Probability, and then there's those fundamental classes like calculus, linear algebra, multivariable calculus (A/A- in them). I got B+ and B for numerical analysis and machine learning. Econ classes: PhD Continuous Time Financial Economics (A-), game theory (A-), Mathematical Finance 1/2 (A, B+) Statistics classes: Probability (A-), Mathematical Statistics (A-), Stochastic Processes (B+ but I exercised the P/NP option), Regression Analysis (B) All but one of the B+, B classes were taken during the COVID outbreak and I was affected by it so I couldn't focus as well. I am explaining this in my SOP. Research experience: 3 projects - One is related to financial market microstructure (uses stochastic control, Bayesian learning) and we plan to publish it in a top MS/OR journal; another bore no substantial fruit because someone published the idea in JFE; last project is my undergrad thesis on automated market makers (Fintech). My thesis centers on stochastic control and machine learning. LORs: I'm getting letters from the 3 people I researched with mentioned above. One is writing me a strong letter, is a finance professor with an OR background. The other 2 are math professors who afaik, are only connected to Columbia IEOR, for the States. Research Interest: Honestly, I'm most interested in financial market microstructure theory at the moment. However, it intersects with mechanism design (market design, auction theory, IO alike), which is why I'm considering the econ program. I like studying mechanisms/ systems, with an engineering flavor hence the interest in microstructure/ mechanism design. However based on what you have read so far, is it obvious to you that my profile fits a business PhD better than an econ PhD? Teaching Experience: Tutored 3 high schoolers math and they all got As. For economics schools, I'm considering those that are strong in micro theory/ market design. Stanford, Princeton, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU. I probably missed out some schools within the top 15 region that are strong in these area. May you suggest some schools to look at? What about Duke, UCLA, Michigan, UPenn, Maryland, NYU, UCSD, CMU, Cornell? For business schools - Stanford GSB, Columbia, Toronto Rotman. Thanks :)

Hi, I am from Pakistan. I have recently completed MS Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I seek evaluation and advice on how should I proceed with my PhD application for US. Previous Educational Track: BS (4 year) Psychology MS (2 Year) Industrial-Organizational Psychology Test Scores: GRE: V= 151 (51th percentile), Q =151 (41th percentile), AWA =3 (14th percentile) I wrote the GRE last year and I know these scores are not competitive. I am preparing for a GRE take again to improve these scores especially AWA score. Retake was delayed due to my research work and PhD applications in other countries. IELTS: Overall: 8 Band (Writing= 7, Speaking= 7.5, Listening = 8, Reading 8.5) Undergrad GPA: 3.51/4.00 Graduate GPA: 3.23/4.00 Research Experience: I have both qualitative and quantitative research experience, studied psychology (with a specific focus on industrial-organizational psychology) during my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, steered several research projects as part of degrees requirement as well as internships. More, I also performed in diverse work roles at various public-private organizations and extensively advised undergraduates in their research projects. Currently, one of my paper (based on MS thesis) is accepted for publication and two others are in the peer review process and I am hopeful regarding their acceptance. The targeted journals are well recognized locally. Quantitative analysis are my strongest points. I am proficient in complex quantitative analysis and statistical tools (e.g., Multilevel Regression, Multivariate and Path Analysis) Teaching Experience: No teaching experience so far Work Experience: I served in public sector before pursuing MS. I did two internships in HR (as HR Intern) and one in management consulting (as research intern) during my MS Concentration Applying to: Organizational Behavior (micro) Number of programs planned to apply to: Max 3 to 4 – Because I only want to work with those professors whose interests are relevant to mine. Dream Schools: Wharton (a Longshot with the scores I have) Beside that I will target only those universities where I can relate my work to advisor’s goals and efforts. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I am looking forward to advance my research in knowledge workers engagement and knowledge teams’ creativity (Yes, I am mentioning two of these interest areas but I am more inclined towards the later). I am not only interested in antecedent to these favorable outcomes but also the variables governing these processes. I consider PhD as the next step for my academic journey. I will surely move forward in academia after this because I like research work. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? I am lacking on the numbers side. GRE is not good so far and I need this whole month to at least move the needle on this test. Especially on Quant. AWA is ready and I expect to achieve 4.5 or above now. Other concerns are the GPA. They are not stellar by any means. I seek advice on what areas can I improve? Is retaking the GRE essential? Or should I spend more time on reading the work of professors whose work interest me and contact them with relevant material? (Because this take time) Your time and advice are highly valuable to me

Hello, I am a second-year PhD student in Strategy & Entrepreneurship at LBS and want to share details of my admissions and first-year experiences with potential applicants in the following post: https://twitter.com/NinaTengLi/status/1313737825079226369?s=20 I discuss why I chose to apply to LBS, the admissions interview process, course requirements, culture and work-life balance. Hope that it can help interested applicants make more informed choices when applying. All the best with your applications!

Hello, everyone, I need some help in assessing my standing and prospects for a Ph.D. in Marketing (or potentially in Management). I will be applying to the Fall 2021 (Autumn 2021) terms. Here is my profile: GRE test date: 10/8/2016 GRE quantitative score: 165 (89-90th percentile) GRE verbal reasoning score: 163 (92-93rd percentile) Graduate Degree: Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering Degree GPA: 3.83 (will have a full-time course load with straight A grades, in the most recent 5 semesters) GPA for all courses taken: 3.63 (Was originally planning to continue for a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering, but well......anyway, hence the additional courses) Degree Institution: Texas A&M University, Arguably the best petroleum engineering program in the world Additional Certification: International Petroleum Management Certificate, 4.0 (6 graduate business courses from Mays Business School) Undergraduate Degree: B.S. Astrophysics/Astronomy Degree GPA 3.62, Magna Cum Laude Degree Institution A large state university, well known in the field but nothing special about the program TOEFL Test Date 11/04/2016 (Expired, not needed because I got my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the U.S, but still might be relevant to post here) TOEFL test score 118/120 (S: 28, L: 30, W: 30, R: 30) (99th percentile) Publications & Presentations: Current: Three publications with refereed/peer-reviewed conferences. These conferences are well known in the Petroleum Engineering and Mechanical Engineering fields. (ASME- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SPE - Society of Petroleum Engineers). Received 5 citations and 150 downloads on one of the papers published in 2019. The other two are fairly new and published in 2020. Future, at the time of application: Possibly a total of 4-5 conference publications with renowned engineering organizations, 1-2 refereed journal publications with the Society of Petroleum Engineers). Invited research talks at Texas A&M, and two other little known international institutions. Academic Research: Have been working as a research assistant since Spring 2018 in the Petroleum Engineering department. Research funded by the National Academy of Sciences, assisted significantly in securing funding from multiple sources. Academic Teaching Experience: Teaching Assistant for two graduate level Petroleum Engineering courses (Spring 2019, 2020). Teaching Assistant for two undergraduate upper-division courses, (Fall 2018, Fall 2019). Alternate Instructor for one upper division, undergraduate petroleum engineering course, (Fall 2017) Notable Projects: Pitched (along with a group of 9) a student project idea to NASA and secured a spot and funding for their HASP program. Successfully completed the proposed project by going through their notoriously rigorous review process. The project was launched in December 2017. (Tools used: Python, Raspberry Pi 3) Successfully rebuilt, and re instrumented a 140 ft. tall flow loop at Texas A&M University. Ran experiments to collect data from this flow loop and currently trying to publish results. (Tools used: Lab View, VBA) Built a miniature mars rover and won a competition where it had to follow efficiently, and take pictures of an unknown object. (Tools used: Python, Calico, IR sensing and imaging tools) Leadership: External outreach committee chair, AADE Texas A&M Chapter, (2019-present) External outreach committee member, AADE Texas A&M Chapter, (2018-2019) co-founder and current board member of a non-profit organization that helps visually challenged children Professional Experience: Credit Risk Analyst Intern (May 2018 to July 2018) Transaction Advisory Services Summer Intern (May 2016 to July 2016) Project Evaluation Summer Intern (May 2015 to August 2015) University Shortlist: Definitely Ambitious- MIT, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Wharton, Harvard (maybe a 1-2% chance I will get a call back?) Maybe Ambitious: Kellogg-Northwestern, Cornell, Marylan-College Park, Yale, Duke Good Chance: USC Marshall (Data Science), Georgia Tech, U Michigan, U Minnesota Very Good Chance: UC Irvine, Texas A&M, UT Austin, UT, Dallas, UNC Chapel Hill, U Iowa (Data science or analytics, I forgort) WHY AM I INTERESTED IN PH.D. IN BA, MARKETING, MANAGEMNT, DATA SCIENCE? Will not be writing the whole essay here, but just a few bullet points: 1: Had exposure to Data analysis and visualization through my research as a petroleum engineer, absolutely loved doing it. Want to keep doing it but the current situation with COVID and the oil markets makes that nearly impossible. I am particularly good at, and really enjoy analyzing data to recognize patterns, visualizing complex concepts, analytical modeling of complicated situations. I can support all these statements in the actual essays by relating them to my research work. 2: Experienced teaching to undergraduates and graduates as an alternate instructor and TA (had to teach classes when the professor left for conferences). Received an average rating of 4.8/5 from students, loved the experience, interacting with students. Also watched my advisor very closely for 3 years and I feel that a career in academia is a perfect fit for me. Already have a funded Ph.D. offer to continue in the department as a petroleum engineer, and was already leaning towards becoming a faculty member in a petroleum engineering program. Again, I am not sure if that will be a wise decision given the circumstances and the uncertain future. 3: Experienced the business school environment while working on my International Petroleum Management Certificate from Mays business school. I realized that I thrive in those settings where you have more freedom to express yourself. Also the exposure to the concepts of marketing, corporate accounting, management peaked my interest. The IPM certificate, which started as a resume enhancing exercise, turned into a passion project. Please keep in mind that I started seriously considering a Ph.D. in BA/Marketing/Data analytics/Management about 3 days ago. So, forgive the rough ideas, obvious goals, and possibly "DUH!" statements. My ideas will evolve as I research more into the specific colleges, degrees, topics etc. After all if nothing else, I have time. CAREER GOALS Short-term (1-5 years after graduation: Stating the obvious here, joining a reputable school as a faculty. Medium-term (5-10 years after graduation): Taking up the position as a director of a business school back in my home country. Long-term, potential passion projects (20-50 years? maybe never!): Starting and building my own marketing/management consulting company. Founding an independent business school and developing it into a world class institution. Founding an international group of schools for K-12 children. Any and all comments are welcome! Need help adding/eliminating universities, formulating my ideas properly for the essays, managing expectations, support, encouragement, reality-check?

Hi there! I am a high school student who is been admitted by two fairly renowned b-schools (hkust and bocconi), and I am seriously considering the possibility of becoming a b-school professor in strategic management, which requires a Phd. To better prepare myself, I started learning the basics of the subject several months ago, but I've really no idea as to whether my method is appropriate or not: this is why I would like to ask for your kind help! I would like to list my learning approaches, and I was wondering if I might have your opinion on them. My current approach is to read undergraduate-level textbooks and the works/papers by the most authoritative figures in the field. I also write my understanding/insights and then aggregate them into my OneNote notes. I've used this approach for several months now, but somehow I think that I am really not doing enough: by doing this, all I can gain is probably an undergraduate-level understanding of strategic management, which is really far from enough. So I have been thinking about adopting another approach. I have been browsing prestigious/good b-schools' websites to find out their Phd curriculums for almost a day, and luckily, it seems like that Bocconi and Wharton were generous enough to publish their Phd curriculums in detail, specifying their materials used and so on (Bocconi: PhD IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT - Bocconi University Milan ; Wharton: PhD Course Descriptions - Management Department). Of course, the essence of a Phd education is discussion and exchange of ideas, not just some study materials. But my study options are really somehow limited, and I think the following will be my study plan: 1. Knowing the basics. I still need to learn the basics of the field, and I think I am going to do this by 1)reading some undergraduate-level textbooks and 2) following undergraduate/mba level curriculums published by Wharton. 2. Delving into the field. This phrase somehow troubles me. I have been able to find several good textbooks (e.g., "TheBehavior Foundations of Strategic Management," EconomicFoundations of Strategy," and the like). And I intend to use them in conjunction with the curriculums published by the two above-mentioned b-schools and the most widely cited papers/works. But really, is this a good way? Without proper guidance, I fear about losing myself in the immense field of strategic management. Would you say that this is a proper way to study phd-level strategic management concepts? What would you do differently? 3. Choosing a small topic on which to focus my study and hopefully produce some papers that are worth of being published by some journal. This is because I would like to apply for prestigious/good universities for my phd/masters study. Also, this is the ultimate purpose of all my study: to land a job as a professor at a good b-school, which necessitates publishing papers in well-regarded journals. However, I have really no idea whatsoever as to how to pick a small topic in the field. Some people on the Internet suggest that I should read the conferences documents released by the top management journals. Would you say that this is a good source? Might I know how do phd candidates and b-school professors find ideas/topics to write about? Thanks for your time and reading! Any advice will be highly appreciated!

Hello all, I am posting because I have really wanted to be a professor and am thinking I may actually pursue a phd. I haven't done much work and am just sort of seeing how competitive my profile may be and what I can do to improve it. Undergrad GPA: 3.73 from a large state school with a top accounting program - double major acctg / finance Masters GPA: 3.5 Macc from same school - (integrated program) Research Experience: None Teaching experience: None (was a TA for a couple semesters early on in UG but responsibilities were mostly grading) Work Experience: So far 1 year of investment banking experience CPA Licensed as well as several FINRA licenses needed for IB Math: Only 1 business calc class but if I ended up applying for programs I would take necessary courses at the CC or online. I can probably get good LOR's from some professors and / or people at the bank I work at. I know that since I have not taken the GMAT or GRE yet it will be hard to say exactly where I will be competitive, I am a good test taker so assume I can get at least a 700. Will I be competitive with this background at top schools assuming a good GMAT score? Further, I am not set on an accounting PHD but figured since I am a CPA, I will have a better chance of getting into a better program than a finance PHD program. Is that correct? I want to go to a top program but will settle for a lesser one that is still good if it means that it is not as crazily research focused as I hear the top top ones like Penn / MIT / Stanford / Chicago would be because ultimately I am more interested in the teaching aspect. Have no idea what I want to research yet - have not gotten that far, but just want some feedback if with this background I would be at all competitive at good schools.

Hi. I am planning to apply for the business school doctoral programs, specifically for the (management) information systems major. I have to finish my applications until this December and I would appreciate any type of advice or commentary regarding my admission possibilities. Basic Info Type of Undergrad: Business Administration major (Top 5 university in my country) Undergrad GPA: 3.64/4.0 Type of Grad: Business School, Management Information Systems major (Top university in my country) Grad GPA: 3.58/4.0 (I still have my last semester left, but this is my latest GPA) Research Experience: Research in Progress Paper submitted to an international conference (First Author) Teaching Experience: Only worked several times as a teaching assistant, but none as a lecturer Work Experience: None (I don't have any work experience, and started my bachelor program directly after my graduation. I am not sure if this works as an advantage or a disadvantage.) Requirements Test Scores GMAT: Verbal 34 / Quant 50 / Total 700 / AWA 4.5 / IR 7 Test Scores TOEFL: Total 116 (All subjects are 29) Research Interest: Data Mining and Big data analysis. My research interests are mainly in the intersection between social and technical aspects of information technology, especially extracting managerial insights from big, unstructured data. Courses Information Systems (Major): IS Seminar (4/4), IS Methodology (3.72/4), Electronic Commerce (3.72/4), IS Development (3.72/4), IS Research(3.44/4) Statistics: Quant (3.72/4), Statistics (Planning to take in next semester) Programming: Social Data Mining (4/4), Social Computing (3.44/4) Applying to Dream schools: University of Arizona, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Texas-Austin, University of Maryland at College Park, University of Georgia, Indiana University at Bloomington (These are the schools that I am interested in. I would like to hear realistic comments about whether to search for more schools.) +) I am worried about my overall profile, but my time is limited and I am not sure where to focus on more. (Should I take GMAT again and raise my scores or should I focus on my research and start on a research paper?) Again, any type of advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance :)

Hi everyone -- I'm applying to programs this fall, aiming for a top school in OB/Management. I just took the GRE and feel like it's a strong score, but was a little lower than I was hoping for. I'm thinking I'll retake it just to see if, but I'm hoping for some feedback. I got 162 V and 165 Q -- haven't received my writing score yet, but I'm anticipating a solid score. I know competitiveness depends on other factors, so here is some info on the other pieces: I've been working for a while, but I have a fair amount of research experience: 2 psychology labs in undergrad and 4 management projects over the last year or so. For my LORs, I have 2 full professors with excellent reputations and 1 associate prof. I'll have one publication in a B/B+ journal with 3 reputable co-authors and 1 conference presentation with a top prof. Undergrad GPA is 3.5 from Michigan -- not great, but not terrible (3.9 upper division which I am listing on my CV...hoping this helps show that my first year or so was not especially great but I pulled things together!). Bottom line: if I'm aiming for Michigan/Stanford/MIT-type schools, should I retake and try for a higher score? Thanks for the help!

Hi Friends, I could not make it to my dream universities during the current year. I would like to know your choice of Universities which are considered good but not great. Universities near New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington DC would be good for me. But feel free to suggest your choice of Universities. Only Universtied which provide Funding. Thank you.

Hi Friends, Happy to be here. Should have visited this thread few years before. Better late than never. Eager to make new friends in the path of PhD in Business.

Hello Phd peers, I received an offer for a PhD in Fall 2019. I am given a week and a half to reply with my response. T Many of the schools that I applied to have had a deadline of February 1st. That being said they haven't reviewed applications yet. I reached out to them and some replied saying they need another 10-12 days. Is it acceptable to not withdraw from application even after accepting an offer?

Test Scores (GRE): 314(not sent), Target: 330+ Undergrad GPA: 7.54/10 in Civil Engineering, NIT (Institute of National Importance, India) Graduate GPA: 8.99/10 in Structural Engineering, BITS Pilani (Among India's top 10 technical universities for decades) Research Experience: 8 papers in National/International conferences (all in nearly different fields), none in SCOPUS indexed journals Teaching Experience:1 year as Assistant Professor (under probation, without PhD) in private university (affiliated to Indian Govt. organisations) and Teaching Assistant for 2 years during Graduation Work Experience:10 months as a Project engineer in a local Engineering and Architectural firm (after Undergrad) and Private consultancy as a Structural Designer after Graduation. Concentration Applying to: Operations, Data Science, Management Number of programs planned to apply to: 6

Most of the PhD applications are done and now we are just waiting it out. Call it musings of an empty mind, but I was wondering if being an international applicant reduces my chances of getting an admit. Recently I'd come across some US-MBA aspirants who were discussing how the % of international students is falling year on year, after Trump's stringent immigration policies and how universities are refraining from handing our admits to international students. Students applying for MBA and PhD have an entirely different outlook and I understand how some international students would be hesitant in opting for an MBA in the US if they have difficulties in finding work there after their education (to pay off the loans). But are these policies likely to affect the decisions made by the admissions committee, especially when it comes to a PhD program that is funded by the Univ itself? Also, is a PhD applicant likely to be overlooked for funding/tution fee waiver if they are an international applicant? I did my bit of research and couldn't come across anything conclusive regarding whether or not this affects the decision by admissions committee, but maybe someone here can shed some light on this....?

Hi, I am a working professional in the Indian IT industry. Having completed my education (bachelor's and master's degree) from India, I am planning to pursue PhD in Marketing (Consumer Behaviour track) from the US . GRE score : 326 (Q166, V160) in the first attempt, expecting ~330 (Q168+, V163) in the second attempt Undergrad: B.E. (Electronics and communication) from an not so known Indian University Scored 73%, equivalent to a 4.0 GPA as per the GPA calculator Masters degree: M.B.A. in Marketing, From Symbisis International University, India CGPA 2.6/4, (seems appalling but Indian GPA systems are a bit different, was still in the top 30% , also the highest GPA ever achieved by anyone in the univ is 3.3) Work Experience: 6+ years in product management, user experience and marketing strategy for mobile apps and SaaS based products. Have worked in small to mid level technology start-ups, where my role has had a direct say in product/market strategy. Was granted ESoPs by one of the start-ups as well. Have analysed live user data of over 80 million users over a period of 2 years, hence have a very empirical understanding of different aspects of consumer behaviour, especially in the digital marketing environment. Research experience (while pursuing MBA) Market research projects for 2 start-ups Dissertation: Factors influencing churn and user retention for the telecom market in India Industrial research :Social vs operational factors, which ones being the most influential in making users switch to another telecom service Industrial research: Effect of six-sigma process implementation (by telecom companies) in reducing the customer churn Reason to pursue PhD: Several realizations while working in the tech sector for over 6 years. One of them being that there are no or very few standard models available for the tech- businesses to assess consumer behaviour. Also given that data analysis has always been my forte, I want to pursue something intensive, and something that can be standardized for a long term use. Applying to : 12-14 B-schools(US), spread across evenly but all within the top 30 Dream schools: Kellogg, Duke Fuqua, Columbia, USC Marshall, UT McCombs I have a few questions regarding my profile for which I am seeking inputs: 1) Would my MBA CGPA negatively affect my chances? Should I mention in my SoP that the university just had a mandate that only 1-2% students could score above 3.0? Or rather than blaming the univ, I should justify it in terms of having a different focus back then (4 years ago), which was to be honest getting as much of industry experience as possible. 2) My letters of recommendation: The one from my employer might be more stellar than the ones from my professor as my employer would be able to give an account of more recent account of my quantitative skills. Will this even matter to the admissions committee though (as it is a given that they prefer letters from academicians) ? 3) No published papers at all. Not sure the extent to which this can affect my chances. 4) No academic research experience, the only experience I have is of industrial research Any sort of feedback regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): Q164(86), V163(93), AWA(4.5) Undegrad GPA: Bachelor of Computer Science from BMSIT, Bangalore, 81% (4th in my class) Graduate GPA:N/A Research Experience: 8 months with a professor at HAAS, Berkeley Teaching Experience: N/A Work Experience: 5 years - founded the technical team of a start up, working in a unicorn for the last 3 years. Strong engineering knowledge. Have side projects featured extensively by the press. One of these included a crowd sourced flood map which has been repurposed and re-used by individuals/governments in multiple countries and received recognition from the United Nations. Another project studied the gender of street names. Strong recognition and media/press presence in the open source communities in India recognised Concentration Applying to: Information Systems, Organisational Behaviour/Studies Number of programs planned to apply to: 7 Dream Schools: * NYU Anindya Ghose * Minnesota Information Systems * Maryland Information Systems * MIT * Harvard Business School * Wharton * HAAS Berkeley In addition to information systems programs at business schools, I am also applying to Information Science programs at several universities. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I have been part of the open source movement for a while now, and I am interested in using qualitative and quantitative methods, and openly available materials like Wikipedia stats and mailing lists to study themes of culture - so studying contributor motivations, influence of application design in inviting crowd-sourced contributions Questions or concerns you have about your profile? * My GRE quant score. I know it's not too bad, but I think it's pretty bad for the schools of my choice. Should I retake the test? * Research experience - I have no publications of my own, even though I have been doing research that has made a significant difference to the paper that the professor and I are working on. * Letters - I have a strong letter of recommendation from a business school professor at HAAS who's an MIT alum with whom I am working on a review paper that studies the effects on information seeding on contributions in an open source project. My other letters are from an MIT alum who's the director of an open source project and another person from my company who also founded a large open mapping platform, which are also strong. My prof is also reviewing the latter two letters to vouch for my research capabilities. Any additional specific questions you may have: Should I be looking at other programs?

Hello Everyone, I am a 26-year old Indian male national looking to do a PhD from a leading US/European business school in preferably a quantitatively - inclined field. My profile for your reference: Class X: 94.00% (ICSE) Class XII: 96.25% (ISC), school topper; 100% in Maths. - Among the 110 candidates in India (out of 50K) to clear ISI's B.Stat admission test. - Ranked 9th in WBJEE (out of 100K) - Cleared IITJEE successfully. UG: B.E. Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering (Jadavpur University) - GPA: 9.0/10 - GRE: 330/340 (AWA: 5.5/6.0) - Among the top 5% of the graduating class - Published 1 international journal (SCOPUS indexed) and 9 IEEE/Springer conf papers on bio- inspired Machine Learning algorithms. - Summer internships: NTU Singapore & a highly ranked tech R&D firm based in India (got a PPO) - Got fully funded MS/PhD offers from Georgia Tech, Purdue, UPenn, Penn State, CMU .(rejected all). - Scored 99.87% in CAT & 99.97% in XAT =× Joined IIM A PGDM. Technical skills: C/C++, Java, MATLAB PG: GPA: 3.1/4 (top 30%) Focus - Finance, Data Science & Strategy Papers: - Reaction-Diffusion Equations with Applications to Economic Systems [book chapter] Econophysics and Sociophysics (Springer) - An Unbiased Critique of the Fluid Relationship between Happiness and Advertising. (IIM C research conf) - An eclectic demystification of Operation Barga (National Law Uni research conf) - Towards a model National IPR policy for India (independent SSRN submission), recommended for publication by Noam Chomski. Summer Internship: Quant Strategy at a US bulge bracket IB (final interview offer) Final placement: With a European bulge bracket IB. past 2 years: - Cleared both levels of the FRM exam - awaiting certification post completion of relevant work experience. - Quant Strategist/Analyst on the Synthetic Equity Trading desk of the bank (specifically, have a good understanding of how Prime Finance as a business works with a fair understanding of smart beta products & thematic/CROCI baskets). - Promoted to "Associate" in the first cycle. Skills picked up: Excel/VBA, postgreSQL, R, Bloomberg, Eikon Reuters and a whole list of trading risk management systems. GMAT: 750 (42 VA + 49 QA), 5/6 AWA & 8/8 IR. Could you please help me regarding how I can build my profile and the tracks/concentrations/areas I should apply to in order to get into the best schools? I intend to start in Fall 2019. Thanks,

Hi guys, I'm a senior at a top-3 ranked U.S. university who's interested in a career in academia, and I would love to hear some of your recommendations. Background: Black female, US citizen Test Scores (GRE): 314 (157Q 157V 5W) (taken w/ no prep as a sophomore - practice tests are now ~162 on Q and V) GPA: 3.15/4.0 in Psychology (Psychology GPA - 3.4) Minors: Neuro, Cog Sci Research Experience: Published as second author in top medical journal (a study on memory), published independent project in undergraduate journal (a study on social perceptions), junior research project (critical review of amputation research), and currently conducting an honors thesis that will be submitted for publishing (more on memory) Work Experience: 3 months as a Program Manager at a school in Thailand, 3 years of Calculus and R tutoring through UG university, 2 years at private tutoring companies, 1 year I/O Psychology research assistant at Rice University (helping a student with a dissertation and a Prof with a publication), 3 years of memory research at MDACC Awards/Honors: Presented at 3 conferences, received several top merit and athletic scholarships before entering UG and disability scholarships/research grants in UG Concentration Applying to: OB (micro) Number of programs planned to apply to: 15 Questions or concerns you have about your profile? Low UG GPA - I was a pre-med student suffering from an undiagnosed autoimmune condition. After switching out of pre-med and being put on proper disability, I earned a 3.8 GPA as a junior. I have heard your last 2 years of UG matter most - is this true? Will having a recommender explain my situation help? I don't think PhD programs will really care why my GPA is low, it will still hurt me heavily, but I'd appreciate honest opinions. My university is also known for deflating grades. I will likely be able to raise my Psych GPA to ~3.5 and my UG GPA to a 3.3 if my senior year goes well. Do you think I have a shot of getting into a top pre-doctoral program? There's a few research associate positions and more tailored programs (Stanford Research Fellows, NYU pre-doctoral, etc.). Some programs offer free GRE prep. I would like to get into one of these programs or work as an RA while taking a few graduate courses to boost my chances of matriculating at a top program. Any thoughts on this plan? I'm trying to avoid an MBA because of the cost, but is this a better option? Would a 324 GRE be a competitive enough score considering my GPA? Lastly, should I focus more on taking graduate courses or gaining OB research experience? Many thanks in advance!

Hi Folks, I am looking for PhD programs in Management focusing on sustainability part of business operations along with stakeholder management. Any leads would be helpful.​ Post MBA, I have worked in livelihoods sector (NGO) for 3 years and is currently associated one of the largest Coal producing company of the world since last 4 years as a part of social outreach land acquisition team. GRE: 324 (V&Q), AWA:4.0 Thanks

Hi ! I am a prospective Phd Business applicant. Can anyone recommend good MA Economics Programs as a preparation for a Phd in Business in Canada? I cam across UBC, Waterloo and Concordia. These programs require a good economics undergrad, and are geared towards a Phd in Economics...any suggestions? Thanks! :eager:

Hi everyone, I am CIS country citizen and plan to apply for PhD in USA and Canada. I have an undergraduate degree in World Economy from top university in my country (GPA 4.0); MSc in Accounting and Finance (research oriented )in top 10 UK universities (GPA 3.0-3.33, but thesis grade - 4.0 (distinction), that accounts for 60 credits out of 180 received from MSc). Work experience: 2 internships ( Ministry and major telecommunication company) during 2nd year of BSc studies 2 years as part-time tax consultant at one of the Big4 companies during last 2 years of bachelors 1 year (after my master's degree) in audit department at another Big4 company. I got promotion in half a year and currently work as an advanced staff. Also I am a lecturer at state university in my country (teaching Economics to 2year bsc students) GMAT Score: 650 My master's degree was research based and contained lots of econometrics, which at first lowered my gpa due to lack of sufficient knowledge. But then with the help of my Econometrics Professor who was my thesis supervisor I was able to advance my knowledge and got distinction on my dissertation. I loved doing research and currently enjoy teaching. Therefore I would like to continue my career in academia. Would be glad if anyone could advice me whether my background is enough to be admitted to PhD program in USA? And which range of schools should I consider?

Hi there, I am K. M. Saqiful Alam. I have just joined this forum for a single purpose - I would like some of your expert advice on getting admitted in PhD program in a good business school. I have given my GMAT, with a score of 700 (89th percentile) and now, I plan to apply for the session starting next year. I plan on targeting good universities in USA. Hoping to get some good directions from you all Saqif

Originally Posted by hedgequant In an effort to steal a well thought-out idea from the econ board, I propose we keep all admissions results in this thread. I think rumors/rumblings/unsubstantiated talk should stay in the sweat thread, and leave this thread to be only actual results. Please try and keep comments (even congratulatory ones) to the sweat thread so that this thread has a high signal/noise ratio. I suggest other disciplines make a similar thread so we can keep things compartmentalized. I guess I'll get the ball rolling for this thread. I believe the following information would be helpful for management applicants: Institution Name: Concentration (e.g. Strategy, OT, OB): Date of Notification: Type of Notification (e.g. email/phone/snail mail): Notification (e.g. Interview / Waitlisted / Accepted): Posted on GradCafe? Comments: Good luck everyone P.S: Since we already have a thread for Management started by fourteenstix, and since I mis-posted there, here's the dedicated thread for OM/IT :) Hope to hear from you guys soon!

Hi! I am planning to apply for a phd in OM in the next academic cycle. Here is my profile. Undergraduate: IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) GPA: 8.7/10 GRE: not yet taken Math Courses: Have taken courses in Calculus and Prob/Stats but haven't studied Linear Algebra or Real Analysis in great detail. Research Experience: 2 papers in Intl' Conferences, 1 paper submitted in an Intl' OM Journal. LORs: Hoping to get a solid recommendation from my ug thesis adviser and positive ones from other faculty members. A few quick questions: Can you please recommend some programs I should apply to? Do I stand any fighting chance in a T10 program in a B School (as per UTD rankings) without a MS? Getting a MS without any financial assistance would be a bit difficult for me. Is it absolutely essential for getting admitted to a good program? I have read about the disadvantages of getting a phd in Industrial Engineering when compared to a phd from a B School while browsing through the older posts here. Can I afford to limit myself only to B School programs with this profile? Thanks for any suggestions and advices!!!

Hello everyone, I'm an undergrad in economics but I recently have taken an interest in going for a PhD in OB. Age: 22 Undergraduate: BA, U.S. "public ivy" Major: Econ, minor in stats (3.58 overall, 3.94 major, 3.81 stats) Relevant Undergrad courses: None in psych/sociology, stats may be relevant? Math courses: calculus I-III, linear algebra, diff eq, real analysis GMAT: none, GRE: 167Q, 161V, 4.5W LORs: 1 from econ professor that I did RA work and who is current thesis advisor, 1 stats prof, 3rd undecided Research experience: RA in econ department, writing undergrad honors thesis in labor econ Work experience: Summer internships at small local hedge fund and boutique management consulting in asia It appears to me that OB PhD students typically studied psychology or sociology for their undergrad. So my question is, how necessary is coursework in psychology/sociology for admissions and what do you suggest for improvement until I apply? I'm graduating this spring, so adding on a double major in psych is no longer possible but I can take a few courses. What range of programs should I be looking at for my profile? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there,:drunk::drunk: I am from India, a student as well as an entrepreneur in gamification industry. I am a MBA (PGDM) in HR and marketing and planning to re-apply for a Ph.D in management after withdrawing from Ph.D program in India. I plan to take GRE+ TOEFL and apply for fall 2014 admissions in the top 10 management institutes/universities. Regards, Achint :proud::proud: