SEEKING A PROFILE EVALUATION (for FALL 2016 ENTRY)?? (PLEASE POST HERE)

[HorsesInVA]

Fantastic, really good news!

 

My main areas at the moment are Organisational Ecology and Institutionalism - apart from the big names I'm struggling to find too many schools that count as 'macro schools', especially outside of the top 30. Is there a handy list or quick way to tell these?

 

Sadly, Org. ecology has become a somewhat isolated and niche discipline. (pun intended). Really there aren't that many people who work in the classical tradition of Freeman, Hannan, and Carroll. The two most interesting developments that have sort of never peaked were the "community ecology" of Martin Ruef which brought discourse as a way of articulating form distinctions and emergence and the "category and markets" literature developed by Hannan, Polos, and Carroll. However, the category literature has meant there's a lot of studies of online restaurants and wine in practice.

 

The schools that do org. ecology or where you can still find support for it are Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan, Emory, Durham, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UC Davis, University of Lagano, Princeton sociology (sort of) off the top of my head.

 

As for institutional theory, well where does one start. Institutional theory has become a victim of its own success and there are now so many branches and variations of it.

 

For just neo-institutional theory, there's standard institutional theory and world polity at Stanford, the institutional logics approach at Northwestern, Duke, and Alberta. There's work in Boston College, HBS work in historical institutional legacies and change. Coppenhagen has a tradition of that. University of Oslo, and Stockholm apply as well. Then there are folks who try to use institutional theory to explain entrepreneurship, which is at Santa Clara and Stanford MS&E. Heck, maybe UCLA still has some of the institutional theory from the more micro perspective.

 

If you want a good overview of all the players in the field just borrow a copy of the big green book. http://www.amazon.com/The-SAGE-Handbook-Organizational-Institutionalism/dp/1446270491

 

Look up the authors and where they are and that's a list of the places doing neo-institutional theory.

 

If you're more of a realist or econ oriented there's the whole Douglas North tradition and TCE approaches at Berkeley.

 

Also I'd apply a lot more to the top 10 or top 5 schools. If this is what you'd like that's what your going to have to do to get exposure to the people who work in these areas. You have the paper stats to be in the running for it. The thing to keep in mind is that in the case of org. ecology the field has gotten quite narrow and in the case of Institutional theory, the situation has gotten very broad. Both can be disorienting experiences. So that's just something to keep in my mind as your considering what to do.

 

Also I'd be a bit careful if you want to express an interest in unifying both theories. There has been, shall we say, unpleasantness, from both schools over what they think of the other.

[ob2016]

Sadly, Org. ecology has become a somewhat isolated and niche discipline. (pun intended). Really there aren't that many people who work in the classical tradition of Freeman, Hannan, and Carroll. The two most interesting developments that have sort of never peaked were the "community ecology" of Martin Ruef which brought discourse as a way of articulating form distinctions and emergence and the "category and markets" literature developed by Hannan, Polos, and Carroll. However, the category literature has meant there's a lot of studies of online restaurants and wine in practice.

 

The schools that do org. ecology or where you can still find support for it are Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, Columbia, Michigan, Emory, Durham, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, UC Davis, University of Lagano, Princeton sociology (sort of) off the top of my head.

 

As for institutional theory, well where does one start. Institutional theory has become a victim of its own success and there are now so many branches and variations of it.

 

For just neo-institutional theory, there's standard institutional theory and world polity at Stanford, the institutional logics approach at Northwestern, Duke, and Alberta. There's work in Boston College, HBS work in historical institutional legacies and change. Coppenhagen has a tradition of that. University of Oslo, and Stockholm apply as well. Then there are folks who try to use institutional theory to explain entrepreneurship, which is at Santa Clara and Stanford MS&E. Heck, maybe UCLA still has some of the institutional theory from the more micro perspective.

 

 

Thanks! This has significantly changed how I approach things :)

[HorsesInVA]

Thanks! This has significantly changed how I approach things :)

 

For what it's worth you may want to pick up a copy of Logics of Organization Theory. The book literally tries to use modern logic to reformulate all of classical and contemporary org. ecology. It's a slog to read though, since there are two new quantifiers that get introduced. Also you can definitely apply with an interest in org. ecology, you just have to say why you still think it's interesting. There remains a number of interesting unanswered questions such as the environment/population cross influence, the durability of partitions, and the rediscovery of boundaries in populations. (This is the category and markets literature's most important contribution)

[phbslt]

Test Score: GMAT 720

 

Undergrad GPA: 91 BS is Financial Engineering (One major university in finance and economics in my country, but maybe not very famous in US)

 

Grad GPA: 90 (expected) (Double-Degree-Program jointly offered by one the Top 3 university in my country and one of the Top 3 university in Singapore, MS in Economics & MS in Financial Engineering)

 

Research Experience: 3 RA positions related to economics and finance (one with undergrad professor, and two with grad professors); two working papers; four conference presentations (including FMA annual meeting and AFA annual meeting); but no publications in journals.......

 

Teaching Experience: 2 TA positions in graduate-level courses (Research Methodology, Behavioral Finance)

 

Work Experience: No

 

Concentration applying to: Finance (research interests are empirical asset pricing and behavioral finance)

 

Number of programs planned to apply to: 15 (3-4 in Canada)

 

Dream schools: Top 30

 

What made you want to purse a PhD: I like exploring questions in finance and the RA experience inspires me to pursue an academic career.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: The LOR are not from well-known professors. Also, I have a concern about the language test. My oral English is not very good. I took IELTS previously (Overall 7, but only 5.5 in Oral part). I am going to take TOEFL soon.

 

Additional questions:

1) It seems that the competition in Finance program is much more severe than that in Economics program. Is it reasonable to first apply for an Economics PhD program and then transfer to a Finance Program?

2) Are my target schools realistic? What should I do to increase the probability of getting admitted by these schools?

 

Any comments and suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

[pbpie]

This is great! Thanks for starting.

 

Test Scores (GRE): 161 (Quant)/ 164 (Verbal)

Undegrad GPA: 3.74 (top US university, psych major)

Graduate GPA: n/a

Research Experience: RA position: 3 years in a top judgement and decision making/consumer behavior lab (Cornell and Wharton), senior honors thesis in the same lab

Teaching Experience: none related, 6 years figure skating coaching experience

Work Experience: ~1 year at a management consulting firm, specifically research on how organizations can approach strategic employee recruitment better

 

Concentration Applying to: Marketing (Consumer Behavior)

Number of programs planned to apply to: 6-10

Dream Schools: Wharton

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I have had a passion for psychology, particularly consumer behavior and happiness research, since first being introduced to the field. I began working in a lab on campus immediately and spent the majority of college learning about research and consumer behavior. I tried my hand at the working world (as I have only ever had academic research jobs) and just haven't found the same passion.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: GRE scores, 3 quality recommendations (I have 2 great academic references, debating a third, weaker academic or a stronger professional one)

 

Other Info/Questions: I worked with a professor at Wharton, one of my recommenders, and my 2nd academic reference is a top researcher in the field. I'm originally from Philadelphia, if that makes a difference for Wharton admission? Any input on the most influential type of recommender (Academic v. professional) would be appreciated as well.

[YaSvoboden]

Unless the professional reference has a phd, you should do the academic one. It sounds like you already have 2 excellent letters, so a third that is from a class you did well in our something like that won't hurt.

[XanthusARES]

Other Info/Questions: I worked with a professor at Wharton, one of my recommenders, and my 2nd academic reference is a top researcher in the field. I'm originally from Philadelphia, if that makes a difference for Wharton admission? Any input on the most influential type of recommender (Academic v. professional) would be appreciated as well.

 

Overall you look like a solid applicant. Your GRE scores will hurt your chances at the top schools, but this can be mitigated by scoring awesome LOR's from top professors at both Wharton and Cornell. Because of your less than stellar test scores (at least I assume they are less than stellar, I don't understand the GRE system), you should really try to get that third LOR from a professor, even if it will be slightly less awesome than the professional one. The fact that you originally come from Philly will have 0 impact on your application. In fact I can only assume that it will have a negative impact on your admission because you probably have a preference for horrible sports teams (kidding of course).

 

Overall you'll probably do well. Good luck!

[strategerist]

Hi all - new member here, so thanks for the help!

 

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GMAT - 730 (96%), Q48, V41

Undegrad GPA: 3.99 BBA - Management of Information Systems (Summa Cum Laude, top grad in major), 50-100 ranked 4 year university

Graduate GPA: 3.98 MBA - Finance concentration (top graduate), 40-60 ranked MBA program

Research Experience: Minimal - 1 semester as RA in MBA program with marketing PhD

Teaching Experience: None

Work Experience: 9 years in financial services and healthcare doing business analysis and project management (the most recent 4 years of which as an independent consultant performing data analysis for large scale system implementations). I also had a 1 year internship with a Venture Capital firm during my MBA program.

 

Concentration Applying to: Strategy

Number of programs planned to apply to: 5 top 20, 3 top 40, 8 total (my hybrid ranking system used 50% Texas A&M weight after OB / Psych journals taken out, 50% UTD rankings)

Dream Schools: UNC, Duke, USC, Arizona State

What made you want to pursue a PhD: Realizing that I want to do something that I love for the rest of my life. I love analyzing data and I love teaching, so I thought being a research professor is a good fit. I am an independent person by nature, so the idea of collaborating with other intelligent professionals while mostly pursuing my own research sounds perfect. Also, I never felt like I was really making a difference with my life being a consultant. I feel like by researching how to increase innovation and improve strategic decision making, I will be promoting economic development and innovation (which I think leads to a better life for all).

 

Concerns you have about your profile: My letters of recommendation are from my alma mater, which is not a research university. The faculty loved me, but they are not heavily published researchers. Also, I have such minimal research experience and no published papers.

 

Any additional specific questions you may have: I am going to try to apply in the earliest wave (October for most schools), but I am also going to try to volunteer to be a research assistant with the aforementioned professors over the next couple of months to gain more RA experience. I realize that it would be ideal to volunteer with more respected faculty, but I don't have relationships with anyone at a top university. Is this a good idea? Is there anything else I can/should do over the next 4 months to help my chances?

 

Also, when I took the GMAT the first time I scored a 760, but I had to retake it since it was over 5 years old. Since I have listed that score on my resume, will that help me at all?

[ra334]

Another eval here.. much appreciated in advance. Applying to Finance and some Econ Phd programs

 

Test Scores (GRE): 160Q/150V (taken in 2012)

Undegrad GPA: Drexel University, 3.56 (1.5 first semester freshmen year, 3.9 average over final 3 years - 5 year program), BS in Econ, Finance and Acct

 

classes: econ/finance dept: Micro/Macro sequence, econometrics, time-series econometrics, mathematical economics, game theory, applied portfolio management, invesments, corp finance, derivatives

math dept: calc1 , calc2, linear algebra, mathematical finance

Graduate GPA: University of Chicago 3.1 , MS in statistics (very theory-intensive program) - harsh grading policy, was not as well prepared mathematically as peers; still this was one of the best investments I've made in myself.

classes: Linear models (phd core), experimental design (phd core), generalized linear models (phd core), numerical linear algebra, statistical theory I, statstical theory II, pattern recognition/machine learning, financial econometrics, data mining

 

Research Experience: Pending sole author - low ranked applied stats journal (paper topic is finance) (under review) - topic: optimal cross-hedge ratios

Pending first author (with finance professor as second author) to a mid tier finance journal (under review) topic: predictability in equity implied volatility

Masters thesis written on statistical arbitrage and applied financial time series, advisor says it was in his top 5% of masters papers he's advised

Private sector quantitative research (see Work experience)

 

Teaching Experience: None at the university level, tutored statistics (undergraduate data analysis, graduate quantitative methods in public health masters program, after school math teaching program for underprivileged middle schoolers)

 

Work Experience: 1 year at bond trading firm in debt capital markets role underwriting fixed income issuances;

2 years at global derivatives exchange, 1 year in a quantitative research function (assisting chief economist with research) - projects include: modeling systems of exchange volume - volatility relationships, effects of adjusting contract minimum tick size, market demographics/health, liquidity analysis, client trading behavior/patterns, market implied probability modeling (fed rate hikes, etc.), 1 year focusing on energy derivatives (crude, refined and natural gas products), including new derivative product launches, and optimal trading fee structures and pricing - firm has a good reputation among finance and econ academia

 

Concentration Applying to: Finance, Econ

Number of programs planned to apply to: ~20

Dream Schools: MIT Sloan, CMU, Columbia, Duke

Programs: MIT Sloan Fin, CMU Fin, Columbia Fin, Columbia Econ, Duke Fin, Duke Econ, UNC Fin, Cal Tech Econ/Fin, USC Fin, USC Econ, UWashington (Seattle) Fin, UWashington (Seattle) Econ, BC Fin, Johns Hopkins Econ, Yale Fin, UCLA/Berkeley, need more programs in 20's 30's 40's

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I want to conduct and contribute to the body of rigorous research on financial markets. I believe my graduate training in statistics and research experience show that I'm serious about pursuing a doctorate. I've given this a great deal of thought, and leaving industry to go back to school is an enormous opportunity cost that I am gladly willing to pay to follow my passion. Research areas: empirical asset pricing, macro-finance, microstructure, contagion & systemic risk. On the technical side, financial econometrics namely modern time-series and volatility modeling. Last but not least, I have a real interest in teaching at the university level- this is something I will finally be able to experience, for better or worse.

 

I have 3/4 letters of recommendations: 1 is a tenured statistics professor from my graduate program that has published extensively in the area of financial econometrics, another is a tenured finance professor i'm co-authoring with, another is a tenured economics professor from undergrad. I expect all three letters to be strong since I have good relationships with these individuals. Lastly I may be able to get a 4th letter from the chief economist of my current workplace - I've worked closely with him on various research projects and he is very well connected and has published academically.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: My test score is not stellar, Is it worth re-taking my GRE at this point? How about my low GPA - how bad will this hurt my profile? Are my dream schools realistically out of reach - if so what rankings should I be competitive for? Will my research experience and potential publications help mitigate my weak points? Any additional advice would be appreciated.

 

 

 

[law123]

Dear prospective and successful graduate students,

 

I am an international student and need your suggestions for my application.

 

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GMAT - 690, Q49, V35

Undegrad GPA: 3.56 BBA - Management from a US public state U

Graduate GPA: 3.41 MBA with a thesis component - from a local university (non-aacsb)

Research Experience: RA for 1.5 years during my MBA; hopefully my thesis got accepted or under revision and one more co-author conference paper by the time for application.

Teaching Experience: TA for 2 years (16 classes in total)

Work Experience: two years hospitality industry

Letters: one from thesis supervisor, one from RA and the other from TA supervisor.

Concentration Applying to: Management (OB); concentrate on business ethics such as ethical leadership, organizational justice and business ethics education etc

Number of programs planned to apply to: 6; target school: Washington State, U of Kansas, U of Arizona, Rutgers; dream school: Penn state, UC Irvine.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: 1. Will my master thesis which is not related to my research interest affect committee perception 2. Low master GPA and GMAT (it is my third attempt).

 

Thank you for your words and your suggestion are highly appreciated.

[tm_associate]

Dear prospective and successful graduate students,

 

I am an international student and need your suggestions for my application.

 

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GMAT - 690, Q49, V35

Undegrad GPA: 3.56 BBA - Management from a US public state U

Graduate GPA: 3.41 MBA with a thesis component - from a local university (non-aacsb)

Research Experience: RA for 1.5 years during my MBA; hopefully my thesis got accepted or under revision and one more co-author conference paper by the time for application.

Teaching Experience: TA for 2 years (16 classes in total)

Work Experience: two years hospitality industry

Letters: one from thesis supervisor, one from RA and the other from TA supervisor.

Concentration Applying to: Management (OB); concentrate on business ethics such as ethical leadership, organizational justice and business ethics education etc

Number of programs planned to apply to: 6; target school: Washington State, U of Kansas, U of Arizona, Rutgers; dream school: Penn state, UC Irvine.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: 1. Will my master thesis which is not related to my research interest affect committee perception 2. Low master GPA and GMAT (it is my third attempt).

 

Thank you for your words and your suggestion are highly appreciated.

 

 

Your profile actually looks pretty solid. Aside from the below 700 GMAT scores, I think you can shoot higher than the programs you are applying to. It is likely that the ivy leagues may not look favorably on your profile, being that you have a sub-par gmat, gpa, and your degrees are from public/local universities.

 

 

Check out the welcome link:

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-business/152661-welcome-forum-please-start-here-important-past-threads.html

 

Points to consider:

 

1. Look at Texas A&M management program productivity rankings. Anything that's in the top 20 - top 50 range I believe is possible with the limited information you have provided.

 

2. You should be targeting a larger spread of about 12-18 schools. You never know on any given year if your application package may be competitive at any given school.

 

3. Business ethics, leadership, org justice seem similar on the surface level, however they are all very different areas of research that don't overlap too much. You may have interests in these areas, but are you 100% certain those are the areas you are interested in? I ask this because if you would like to learn more about these specific concentrations, but are not limited to only them, then your pool of potential schools increases dramatically. Look for faculty who work in those broad areas and also others that may peak your interest. Any programs faculty should have at least 3-5 faculty members that you feel you would be able to learn from and could help motivate different components of your research interests.

 

 

Hope that helps, best of luck.

[HorsesInVA]

Also, when I took the GMAT the first time I scored a 760, but I had to retake it since it was over 5 years old. Since I have listed that score on my resume, will that help me at all?

 

Now this is up to you, but many schools prefer a GRE over a GMAT and some schools don't even consider it. So if you're going to retake a standardized test, I'd recommend a GRE since every school accepts it. The only other thing I'd suggest is if you can pick a question in strategy that intrigues you. And by question I mean, "I don't know why this is true or that is false. That intrigues me. Maybe it's this." Strategy is just a bit too broad a topic to enter without some sense of what part you find interesting.

 

You've mentioned innovation and economic development. There's quite a bit about innovation and strategy, Jim March's exploration and exploitation kicked off that literature, so if you can get your hands on that paper, you get a good sense of how the field has decided to position itself on this topic. I'm not aware as much about economic development and strategy. If I had to guess, it'd be about what strategies work best at what stages. In that case, the only book I think deals with it is kicking Away the ladder, by Ha-Joon Chang. It's a good book, but I haven't seen it sighted all that much in the orgs literature. (But that obviously could just be my own blinders)

 

Otherwise, I think you're a strong fit and quite honestly you should apply to only top 20 schools.

[strategerist]

So far, every school I have researched takes the GMAT, so I think I am OK there.

 

Thanks for the book / article recommendations - I will be sure to read them.

 

Thanks for the evaluation! Very encouraging.

[buffaloboy]

Test Scores GMAT: 710 , V 39, Q 49

Undegrad GPA: 8.2/10 Engineering (Metallurgy) Top 7 in a class of 50 , NIT Jaipur

Graduate GPA: 3.2/4 MBA (IIM), MS (Purdue University USA)

Research Experience: Not really. Though I have prepared a report and proposed few feasible models for bridging Last Mile challenge faced by organised and E-retailers, I doubt if this work qualifies as Research ! This work was a 4 credit course . Also I interned with Top Nuclear Research center in India during my summers in Engineering, if this information makes any difference.

Teaching Experience: I love teaching. I taught under privileged students during my summers but have no certificate.

Work Experience: 8 years in operations management in manufacturing, metals/mining , E-Commerce, and logistics companies.

 

Concentration Applying to: Operations management (Interface of operations management, technology and business analytic)

Number of programs planned to apply to: 8 to 10

Dream Schools: Cornell, Carnegie , Michigan Ross, NCU Chapel, Kelley, Georgia Tech, Purdue,Rotterdam, Mannheim. (I can sacrifice ranks for higher stipend: Need you guys prudent remarks)

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I got excited by intellectual work and want to associate with such community and work for the rest of my life.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: Low grades (I never bothered to score good grades), lack of Research Experience, age (32 years ). I can have one LOR from IIM director but for other two LOR I am not sure whom to contact. Are my target colleges too unrealistic? Seriously need your help here guys as I am devouring almost 4-5 hours daily for colleges , faculty and admitted students. Any other information/ advice you guys seems appropriate .

 

Thanks

Edited July 16, 2015 by buffaloboy

[HorsesInVA]

Test Scores (GRE): 160Q/150V (taken in 2012)

Undegrad GPA: Drexel University, 3.56 (1.5 first semester freshmen year, 3.9 average over final 3 years - 5 year program), BS in Econ, Finance and Acct

 

 

I don't think, realistically, you're going to be competitive at a lot of places if you're applying with a GRE Quant score of 160. In finance, I'm not even sure if I've met someone who didn't get two points within the maximum. I'm reasonably convinced a lot of places actually use that threshold as an easy desk reject. The same can be said for your GPA. While you did get a masters in Statistics in Chicago, your grad. GPA is lower then your undergraduate GPA. A simple SQL query is all that's needed to make an assessment about your numbers relative to others.

 

Given the literal hundreds of applications every econ/finance PhD program in B-schools receive, there has to be something real special to make them look past your grades. Not to be real blunt about this but, imagine an admission's officer looks at your packet and the packet of some BS math/econ major from Princeton who only a week ago started going to bars without a fake ID. The kid from Princeton has a 3.9+ GPA and already took the intro. grad classes for econ and maybe even some measure theory analysis. If not, she's going to this year. I'm sure you had to come across someone like this when you were at U of C. Just for fun, imagine she's won some competitions for cleverness (Olympiad, hacking tournaments, undergrad research grants, etc) and is like the kid sister/brother their advisor always wanted but didn't get to have with their actual sibling.

 

Now imagine 10-15 of these characters, because that's probably the minimum number that are going to apply this year with that kind of background. Now take that person and lower their accomplishments by about 10-20%, raise their age by about 10 - 20% and that's another 25-35 applicants. Repeat this process until you get to someone who resembles your background.

 

Now consider the fact most programs are only going to read (i.e. someone on staff actually opens up the folder and looks at the words) of about 20-30 applications. From that read, about 15 will actually have a faculty person advocate for that person, so that in the end, they'll give offers to 3-8 people.

 

That's what you have to get through.

 

The question that has to be looming in your mind is why me? Why is your application going to be read, and why would someone advocate for you, given the other options they have. A research publication is good, that's why most applications have a special box for it, but honestly, people are going to look at your application and without reading anything, wonder if you'll even be able to pass the first year course work. Not to say, you can't get in somewhere, but I wouldn't put any top 20 school into consideration.

 

(Also I should mention, I'm an OT person so this is just my observations of the econ/finance people in my school and having to occasionally be in a class with them. So that's the caveat. Actual finance/econ people should correct me, if what I'm saying is ridiculous)

Edited July 16, 2015 by HorsesInVA

[phd16]

Now consider the fact most programs are only going to read (i.e. someone on staff actually opens up the folder and looks at the words) of about 20-30 applications. From that read, about 15 will actually have a faculty person advocate for that person, so that in the end, they'll give offers to 3-8 people.

 

Only about 20-30 applications are read! :upset: This seems quite harsh if this means that other applications don't even get a pair of eyeballs looking at them, ever. Is this true for all fields? Is the initial rejection always on the basis of GPA, even if other parts of the application are really strong?

 

~newbie, first post here!

[phd16]

Profile evaluation request for OM PhD application

 

GMAT: Have not taken yet. Expecting 750+ based on some sample tests.

 

Undergrad:

- Industrial Engineering from IIT; 8.04/10

 

Graduate:

- MBA from IIM; 5.84/9 :dejected:; Good grades in OM courses though.

 

Research Experience:

- No publications.

- Undergrad thesis in Decision Support Systems. Got selected for presentation at IEEE conference. Good reco possible from advising professor.

- Research in Machine Scheduling at a European university. Not a famous professor. But strong personalized reco possible from him.

- Research internship in Revenue Management with an IIM prof. Normal reco possible.

 

Teaching Experience: None

 

Work Experience:

- 3.5 years in programming, operations management, technology-product management.

 

Applying for:

- Operations Management (OM + Optimization + Technology; Decision Support Systems; Revenue Management; Dynamic Pricing; Scheduling).

- I haven't yet decided upon a narrow area for my research.

 

Number of planned applications:

- 6 in Top10; 4 in Top 20

- Suggestions on what schools I should apply to are welcome.

 

Dream schools:

- Any T10 (Since I am fairly open about my research area, I think I will go with UTD rankings for defining top 10. I read somewhere though that OM journals mentioned in UTD rankings are not the top journals. Does anyone have any info on this?)

 

Why PhD:

- I have enjoyed research whenever I have invested time in it. I am a very independent person, and very very analytical. I think the best usage of my strengths can be done in an research environment, and I intend to do the same in a PhD program. I realize that my research work might never be life changing for the masses, but I want to be in a place where I can make the maximum impact with what I have to as many lives as possible. And this is best done in an academic setting rather than in a corporate setting for me.

 

Concerns around my profile:

- Pathetic :grief: GPA at MBA.

- No publications.

- No reco from famous professors. :sorrow:

 

Specific questions:

- What can possibly be done at this stage to wash away the sins of a low MBA GPA and other negatives of my profile?

[HorsesInVA]

Only about 20-30 applications are read! :upset: This seems quite harsh if this means that other applications don't even get a pair of eyeballs looking at them, ever. Is this true for all fields? Is the initial rejection always on the basis of GPA, even if other parts of the application are really strong?

 

~newbie, first post here!

 

It's a small number, maybe 45 in certain places that get a lot of applications? I'd be surprised if it's more then 45. But a lot of the insta-reject pile is done by sorting of grades and GMAT. A quick glance at some of the other boxes checked, names of where the rec. letters are coming from. All this can be done prior to actual reading of the application. Just from meta-data.

 

Econ and Finance have more standard tracks, i.e. people know they can go straight out of undergrad. Places like OT (not OB, which can get applicants from psych or psych labs), are more round about. But they get fewer applications also. I've heard the number caps at 30 for applications read.

[phd16]

It's a small number, maybe 45 in certain places that get a lot of applications? I'd be surprised if it's more then 45.

 

Woah. That is very surprising info. for me. Almost a shocker.

 

...

 

But a lot of the insta-reject pile is done by sorting of grades and GMAT. A quick glance at some of the other boxes checked, names of where the rec. letters are coming from.

...

 

Does that imply that an application consisting of a very strong, and personal recommendation letter from a not-so-good university/not-known prof. would get insta-rejected just because the GPA is bad? How, then, do the people with low GPA ever get a shot at good schools if they don't have reco from good places?! :cower:

[HorsesInVA]

Usually rec. letter people are asked a couple of questions about the applicant prior to letter submission. Basically, is this person the best you've ever come across, top 3%, or top 5% etc. That's how they sort that information. But most B-school fields are small enough that anyone who should be known is known for the most part. No school wants a bad incoming cohort, for reasons that are obvious, they take the best they can get.

 

What you're saying is that if someone with bad grades gets abnormally glowing recommendation from some prof. then that would trigger some further inspection. It would, because ipso facto that's very rare on average. But even so, people will conclude it's a personal favor written more out of affection than honesty. If there is nothing to suggest an incoming individual can pass a qual/comps and publish, the better schools would have no reason to look at someone who's not going to give them some impression of that possibility, much less admit them.

 

I think the bottom line is people with low GPAs do not get considered for good places without good rec. letters from people. But even that case is doubtful. If you're an admissions person, ask yourself what would you have to see to consider this person above and beyond everyone else who on paper has done better in course work and/or demonstrated the ability to produce papers?

[phd16]

Thanks for the explanation, HorsesInVA. This makes sense ...

 

... and also makes me worried about my chances at good schools. I have a distinctively bad GPA at my MBA and I fear this might cloud out the other good things in my application. Am I someone who would be insta-rejected by good schools?! :cold: Could someone please review my profile. :blue:

[buffaloboy]

Test Scores GMAT: 710 , V 39, Q 49

Undegrad GPA: 8.2/10 Engineering (Metallurgy) Top 7 in a class of 50 , NIT Jaipur

Graduate GPA: 3.2/4 MBA (IIM), MS (Purdue University USA)

Research Experience: Not really. Though I have prepared a report and proposed few feasible models for bridging Last Mile challenge faced by organised and E-retailers, I doubt if this work qualifies as Research ! This work was a 4 credit course . Also I interned with Top Nuclear Research center in India during my summers in Engineering, if this information makes any difference.

Teaching Experience: I love teaching. I taught under privileged students during my summers but have no certificate.

Work Experience: 8 years in operations management in manufacturing, metals/mining , E-Commerce, and logistics companies.

 

Concentration Applying to: Operations management (Interface of operations management, technology and business analytic)

Number of programs planned to apply to: 8 to 10

Dream Schools: Cornell, Carnegie , Michigan Ross, NCU Chapel, Kelley, Georgia Tech, Purdue,Rotterdam, Mannheim. (I can sacrifice ranks for higher stipend: Need you guys prudent remarks)

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I got excited by intellectual work and want to associate with such community and work for the rest of my life.

 

Concerns you have about your profile: Low grades (I never bothered to score good grades), lack of Research Experience, age (32 years ). I can have one LOR from IIM director but for other two LOR I am not sure whom to contact. Are my target colleges too unrealistic? Seriously need your help here guys as I am devouring almost 4-5 hours daily for colleges , faculty and admitted students. Any other information/ advice you guys seems appropriate .

 

Thanks

 

I am wondering where are those expert guys :) particularly guy with white beard and pipe !

 

Anyone

[XanthusARES]

I am wondering where are those expert guys :) particularly guy with white beard and pipe !

 

Anyone

 

 

Part of the issue is your specialization, not many of us know about it. For me the other part of the issue is that between researching, teaching and taking care of my beautiful and 8 months pregnant wife, I've not spent a large amount of time on here.

 

But, because you asked kindly, here goes. Your low GPA in your MBA is going to be a huge problem for all programs in the top 30 (possibly the top 50). Match that with a sub-optimal GMAT score and no research experience and I'd say that you'll have a hard chance getting into a top 50 program. That being said, there are plenty of great schools not in the top 50. The programs may not be as well known, but you'll get a great education and come out with a PhD. I would take all of your dream schools and apply to 2 of them. You just never know what will happen, but the odds are against you. I would then focus your efforts on the lower half of the top 100.

 

That is my advice based on an extremely limited view of your profile and field of study. You definitely need to get in contact with your professors at Purdue to get some solid LOR's. It would also be helpful for you to retake the GMAT and get it near a 750. That will almost guarantee you a spot at a lower ranked program.

 

Good luck!

[scholar1]

Hi folks,

 

This is my first post on here so let me start by first thanking the wonderful posters on here for posting some excellent advice. I have been lurking around for some time but finally got the courage to make a profile and post here. Will be grateful for a profile evaluation

 

I am going to put my profile on here and would like to ask as to what the reviewers think my chances are of getting into a Marketing PhD Program in the US are.

 

Some background

 

Age will be 31 when I send out my applications

 

Undergrad: From private university in Pakistan major in economics, minor in math Overall GPA 3.21

MBA from top program in Pakistan with Overall GPA 3.56

About 5 years in industry (2 years in Marketing Research which was pre mba, then after mba 2 years in Management Consulting, and 1 year in Pharmaceutical Product Management).

 

Since my MBA program had been quite interested in the academic side of business and have been reading marketing literature on and off for about 2 years. Did have to recover the finances spent up in MBA and so did have to spend some time in industry. Within marketing i am quite inclined towards Consumer Behavior. Areas of interest include persuasion and decision making in different cultural contexts. Haven't really thought through the methodologies but am not sure if I should be that focused at this point. Having talked to some professors (not b school ones) i think its ok to keep myself open but any advice would be welcome.

 

Research Experience: This probably is a HUGE drawback but I do not have any prior academic research experience (beyond writing term papers for social science courses in undergrad).

Also I hadn't done any "serious" academic study since my undergrad (not counting MBA as "serious") so have enrolled in a Masters program in the US. I was getting an opportunity to do a non-paid RA ship for the summer but given that i have family here with me i couldn't afford paying out of my pocket for 3 months here in the US of A. So opted for an internship :( to pay the bills and keep my head above the water.

 

Currently doing an MS in Statistics in one of the top public universities in the US (located in the mid west). Current GPA is around 3.4 (this should go up since I totally bombed one of the courses which i hope to repeat this fall. A 3.6+ gpa to end the program is quite realistic in my opinion. Am doing a TA ship to help fund my studies.

 

GRE score 158Q and 163V. Am planning to give it again end of August and expect Verbal in the same range and given my volatility in test taking I think I should end up aat 160+(not sure exactly how far above 160 i will land).

 

Have 2 recommenders locked down at my department in my current Masters program. One is a full time professor (quite senior in the dept) and the other an associate professor both in the Statistics department. Both have said that they will give me STRONG recommendations. I can also get a very strong recommendation from the profs in my business school in Pakistan (so am thinking of opting for one of them as a 3rd rec). Or should i get a 3rd one here in the US?

 

My plan is to target schools in the following manner

 

2 schools in the top 10

2 schools in top 10-20

6 schools in the top 20-50

8 schools in the top 50-100

 

So given my profile the questions I have are as follows and wil be grateful for feedback.

 

Question: What do people think my realistic chances are of getting into the tiers that I have defined above?

Question: What are the things I might be able to improve in order to make my profile better in the next half year until app deadlines?

Question: What are the biggest weakenesses you see in my profile and should i make an effort to explain that in my SOP?

Question: Would you suggest me to change my mix of application from current i..e should i apply to more 50-100 places or more 20-50 places?

 

Any other information that you feel might be useful in order to make a more informed evaluation of my profile, please do ask.

 

As i said, i would be quite grateful and will appreciate the posters on here for my profile evaluation.

 

Thank You

[riley007]

Hello, I am aiming to get accepted into a top-tier marketing (consumer behavior) PhD program, and I was wondering what my chances were.

 

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): I haven't taken the GRE yet, but I'm taking it in August.

Undegrad GPA: 3.56 (Biology)

Graduate GPA: 4.0 (MBA)

Research Experience: I have one publication in a science journal in which I was second author. I have another publication that I am co-authoring (2nd author) with a marketing professor which should be published by the time I apply, so I will have two publications by the time I apply. I took 9 credit hours (3 classes) as a DIS during undergraduate and 3 credit hours (1 class) as a DIS in marketing as a graduate student while working as a research assistant.

 

I have also given poster presentations at three conferences and given talks at two conferences.

 

Teaching Experience: I have been a middle school teacher for two years.

Work Experience: Same as above

 

Concentration Applying to: Marketing - Consumer Behavior (though I would also consider Strategy)

Number of programs planned to apply to: 20

Dream Schools:Harvard, Cornell, MIT, Caltech, UC Berkley, Washington, Standord

 

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I fell in love with both research and teaching and I think a professorship would fulfill both of these passions.

 

Any additional specific questions you may have: I am the first individual in my family to ever go to college, so I'm not sure if that will be an additional benefit.