mmb1126 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Hey there! I've recently joined the site after reading some extremely informative posts here. I appreciate the willingness of everyone to share in their experiences and knowledge. I've been a little shy to post, because I'm a (slightly) older applicant, having spent a decent amount of time in industry and everyone here seems so focused and accomplished in academia even prior to applying to programs. That being said, I have a call this afternoon with the doctoral coordinator for marketing at one of my top target schools. I have previously spoken at length with a POI (learned that term on this site) there and a current doctoral student. So, I sent the guy an email and he graciously agreed to carve out a bit of time to speak with me. Their website is a bit limited on the program, so I have a list of things I'd like to ask about. But I wanted to reach out here to get some advice on key things to cover. I've seen where people have given a profile of sorts in other posts. I'm not sure if am posting the right information but here goes: B.S. Business Admin 3.6 GPA & MBA Finance 3.9 GPA from a regionally known (but not nationally ranked) state school M.S. Healthcare Financial Management 3.6 GPA Top 50 B School 13 years of post MBA work experience in pharma corporate finance/licensing & acquisitions, pharma market research/new product development, and management consulting (strategy) 2 articles published in non academic journals 1 Conference presentation at 2014 AMA Summer Educators Conference (research with a professor is ongoing, and soon to be submitted for consideration in what I think you would consider a B journal) Twice served as ad hoc reviewer for AMA conferences Sadly, my test scores have long since expired...and the exam has changed...so I am scheduled to take it in 2 weeks. Thank you to anyone who can offer some advice. mmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XanthusARES Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I hope that this isn't too late. I'm not positive exactly what you should ask because I didn't do something like this beforehand. Generally I would ask: 1. About the program specifics (classes, structure, when you get to start researching, qualifying exams, summer papers, grade requirements, etc...) 2. About the office culture (how often professors are in, collegiality, holiday parties) 3. Her/his specific research (what they are working, what they see themselves working on in the future) 4. About the city as a whole (what do they do in their "time off", what are winters like, cost of living, favorite pizza place [quick aside, if you ask them this and they don't have an answer immediately remove this school from your list of possibilities, never ever go to a school where professors don't eat pizza. period.]) 5. About the schools athletics (if you are interested this might be a common ground to talk about. Definitely not a necessity, just if you are trying to make up time) Other than that I'd bet you'll be fine. Just be calm and confident. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDPlease Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 5. About the schools athletics (if you are interested this might be a common ground to talk about. Definitely not a necessity, just if you are trying to make up time) . There are also schools where the median professor or grad student will have no idea what you are talking about if you ask this. The football team? Didn't they win a game a few years ago? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaSvoboden Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 There are also schools where the median professor or grad student will have no idea what you are talking about if you ask this. The football team? Didn't they win a game a few years ago? lol I am most definitely not at one of those schools. Today I walked out of the office and all of the Ms were crossed of the side of buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XanthusARES Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I am most definitely not at one of those schools. Today I walked out of the office and all of the Ms were crossed of the side of buildings. You sound like you are at the best school in the nation (at least football wise). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppInfo Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 I've been a little shy to post, because I'm a (slightly) older applicant, having spent a decent amount of time in industry and everyone here seems so focused and accomplished in academia even prior to applying to programs For what it is worth, a handful of us (including myself) who are currently in PhD programs have similar levels of industry experience. So you can certainly make the transition if you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmb1126 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 XanthusARES , Thanks for your response. I definitely covered points 1-3 that you mentioned above. I had also covered them with another professor last week and was glad to see that the two of them gave answers that were in line with each other. Particularly with regards to culture . I've been asking the doctoral students about life in the area, because I think their take will be much more aligned to what my experience would be...primarily due to salary difference between profs and students...great pizza only counts if its stipend priced! All in all, it was a very productive call. I was able to get details on how many students they are bringing in, in which areas of focus, and recent GMAT/GRE score ranges. I was also able to get some referrals to speak to other professors in the department and he agreed to let me come sit in on a seminar. I didn't need to ask about the football team...they are SEC East, and I'm from Missouri so I'm well acquainted with the conference...but I think its safe to say I'll leave that reference out of my SOP. Thanks again for the suggestions. mmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmb1126 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Appinfo...that makes me feel much better. I've spoken with some people who've made me feel like chopped liver for having over 10 years of industry experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppInfo Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Appinfo...that makes me feel much better. I've spoken with some people who've made me feel like chopped liver for having over 10 years of industry experience. You will definitely find some programs that view a lot of industry experience as a negative, however there are many who view it as neutral and a few that even see it as a positive (I'm fortunate to have ended up in a department that sees it as a good thing). Unfortunately, I'm an OB guy so I can't tell you which departments are which in marketing, but my guess is that you can ask around and look at the average age of admitted students to get a feel for things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XanthusARES Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Appinfo...that makes me feel much better. I've spoken with some people who've made me feel like chopped liver for having over 10 years of industry experience. Yeah there are some elitist jagoffs out there (I'm from Pittsburgh in case anyone doesn't know that word). Frankly I think that industry experience is a huge benefit in teaching. MBA students couldn't care less about your research, but they care a lot more when you have industry specific anecdotes for them. Good luck with the apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDPlease Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I think that at least half of people in this program have some industry experience. IMO industry experience would be a problem if the applicant didn't seem to distinguish industry from academia or thought what he/she did in industry was equivalent to academia, but if presented from the perspective of having developed interests in particular questions while working in industry that were best addressed from an academic perspective and thus wanting to leave industry, I wouldn't think of that as a negative. Also I'd have a negative opinion of anyone who is so impolite as to make you feel like chopped liver. It is good to be polite and respectful to all applicants, even if someone won't be admitted. Of course this is just my personal opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myndfood Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 I agree, enthusiastically, with PhDPlease. I would also encourage you to not feel shame for having 10 years of industry experience. I'm aware that many schools don't like to admit folks with experience and, while I think that inexplicable, that's OK. I think that you'll find that your industry experience will lend you some credibility when you're finally teaching MBAs. And that's a good thing. And there are many programs out there (many very good ones, too, I'd add) that recognize that, and see it as a + in an applicant. So be proud of it--while making it clear that you recognize that you are making a pretty significant career shift, that you understand what academia is all about, and that's what you're excited about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmb1126 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks for all of the advice...especially as it relates to my industry experience. I haven't been ashamed of it, but a little gun shy about it after a few less than ideal encounters. However, the call went well, and it turns out the coordinator went into his own doctoral program (many moons ago of course) after about a similar amount of time in industry. So he actually valued it *** Appinfo, PhDPlease, and myndfood have suggested. He's even doing research in an area where I have a significant amount of industry experience. It seems to be a good match culture and research wise. I'm absolutely applying next week after I get my preliminary scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myndfood Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Thanks for all of the advice...especially as it relates to my industry experience. I haven't been ashamed of it, but a little gun shy about it after a few less than ideal encounters. However, the call went well, and it turns out the coordinator went into his own doctoral program (many moons ago of course) after about a similar amount of time in industry. So he actually valued it *** Appinfo, PhDPlease, and myndfood have suggested. He's even doing research in an area where I have a significant amount of industry experience. It seems to be a good match culture and research wise. I'm absolutely applying next week after I get my preliminary scores. Good! Congrats and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheetrockero Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I've spoken with some people who've made me feel like chopped liver for having over 10 years of industry experience. I know the feeling (9 years in sales), but it just seems odd that anyone would consider me too old to start a PhD considering I get carded EVERY time I take customers out for a drink. I bet if the ADCOMs looked at my face before my CV they'd probably wonder if I was actually applying for their undergrad program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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