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2018 Business PhD Interview/Admission/Rejection Results


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Great news! Some time ago you were struggling with the GMAT and thinking about 2nd tier programs, when I suggested you to think about the GRE and aim higher. It seems at least I was right about aiming higher, since Kellogg is really amazing.

 

Thanks! I feel that my other parts of the application (recommendation letters, essays, etc) overcame my test scores which I think were decent enough to get a look in. I applied for both second tier and top schools so I am hoping that I get a few more interviews in addition to this one. Do you know how many people make it to the interview round? Or is the cull from interview to offer the bigger leap?

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Thanks! I feel that my other parts of the application (recommendation letters, essays, etc) overcame my test scores which I think were decent enough to get a look in. I applied for both second tier and top schools so I am hoping that I get a few more interviews in addition to this one. Do you know how many people make it to the interview round? Or is the cull from interview to offer the bigger leap?

 

TL;DR, - My guess: about 5% of total applicants get offers, and about 50% of the applicants who get an interview will get offers.

 

I have no direct experience, so it's only a general guess based on what I've heard or read somewhere. I'd say that approximately 90% of applicants get rejected without the opportunity for an interview. From the remaining 10%, 40%-80% will get offers (sometimes without an interview) and the range is wide depending on the school. Some of those applicants who got offers will not accept them (mostly because they got better ones from other schools), data from Duke shows that only about 50% of those who are admitted actually become matriculated.

 

For a Kellogg's Finance PhD, using the data they have at its website from 2013, that would mean that from approximately 250 applicants, 225 would be rejected without an interview. From the remaining 25, almost all would be interviewed, about 10 would have an offer, and 5 would enroll.

 

So, getting an interview is a huge leap, but of course it doesn't mean a sure thing yet.

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TL;DR, - My guess: about 5% of total applicants get offers, and about 50% of the applicants who get an interview will get offers.

 

I have no direct experience, so it's only a general guess based on what I've heard or read somewhere. I'd say that approximately 90% of applicants get rejected without the opportunity for an interview. From the remaining 10%, 40%-80% will get offers (sometimes without an interview) and the range is wide depending on the school. Some of those applicants who got offers will not accept them (mostly because they got better ones from other schools), data from Duke shows that only about 50% of those who are admitted actually become matriculated.

 

For a Kellogg's Finance PhD, using the data they have at its website from 2013, that would mean that from approximately 250 applicants, 225 would be rejected without an interview. From the remaining 25, almost all would be interviewed, about 10 would have an offer, and 5 would enroll.

 

So, getting an interview is a huge leap, but of course it doesn't mean a sure thing yet.

This seems about right. Finance is a bit tougher than other disciplines, partially because there are more applicants. I doubt Kellogg interviews 25 people for finance. I would guess that they interview more like 10 and the admit rate is 2-3%.

 

I know a few years ago in accounting they interviewed 8 and all were admitted.

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This seems about right. Finance is a bit tougher than other disciplines, partially because there are more applicants. I doubt Kellogg interviews 25 people for finance. I would guess that they interview more like 10 and the admit rate is 2-3%.

 

I know a few years ago in accounting they interviewed 8 and all were admitted.

 

I assume you mean 2-3% of the total applicants?

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Yeah. According to Kellogg's data for 2013, there were 253 applicants for Finance PhD and 5 enrolled (so, 2%). I guess they extended offers to more than 5 applicants and a few didn't accept, but Kellogg did not provide that number.

 

I see. I don't know if you are looking at Summer/Fall 2013 but the statistics they show are:

 

Number Applied: 254

Number Admitted: 13

Number enrolled: 5

 

I assume there were just 8 admitted candidates who opted to go for better offers? Also the number of applications seem to have decreased consistently as the 2016 application number is 174 but the number of admits and enrols are roughly constant.

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All right, the page I had seen didn't inform the number admitted.

 

13 admitted, but 5 enrolled... I had used the data from Duke to estimate 50%, but it seems that for Kellogg the drop between admitted and enrolled is even worse. We can't know for sure why those 8 didn't enroll, but a common reason is that they accepted offers from other schools.

 

The competition for the top schools is fierce, but the competition for the top applicants is also hard. Many applicants who get offers from a school like Northwestern also get offers from other top schools.

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Thanks for the info. so it seems they already shortlisted the candidates. Do you have any idea how many people they shortlisted for the interview?

 

 

Not entirely sure about that. I know there were at least three other interviews at the minimum.

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hey guys.In an interview what do you think is the right response when they ask you at the end if you have any questions?

 

Depends on whether or not you have questions. It's important to be interested in the school, but they are usually asking that to make sure they cover everything.

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Depends on whether or not you have questions. It's important to be interested in the school, but they are usually asking that to make sure they cover everything.

 

So its perfectly acceptable to say no questions if you have no questions? It's not considered in a bad light if you don't have anything to ask?

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So its perfectly acceptable to say no questions if you have no questions? It's not considered in a bad light if you don't have anything to ask?

 

So long as you have been talkative and it seems like you understand the program and what you are getting into, I think it is fine.

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This seems about right. Finance is a bit tougher than other disciplines, partially because there are more applicants. I doubt Kellogg interviews 25 people for finance. I would guess that they interview more like 10 and the admit rate is 2-3%.

 

I know a few years ago in accounting they interviewed 8 and all were admitted.

 

Just wanted to ask your opinion on the percentage of interviewees who get an offer? I would assume the odds are better than 2-3%. :)

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Just wanted to ask your opinion on the percentage of interviewees who get an offer? I would assume the odds are better than 2-3%. :)

Yeah, I wasn't too precise in that comment. 2-3% overall admission rate. Given an interview it is generally 50% or more. Most of the relevant information comes from transcripts, test scores, and letters.

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So its perfectly acceptable to say no questions if you have no questions? It's not considered in a bad light if you don't have anything to ask?

 

I don't think it's considered in a bad light, but I think it would be a wasted opportunity.

 

At least for me, that was a very good part of my interview, probably the best because the rest was pretty standard stuff. For me, it's not only the school that is interviewing me, but I'm also interviewing the school. It was a chance to understand more about the personality of potential advisors, what is their style when advising a PhD student, what kind of resources I could expect from the school to help with my research interests, and it was very interesting to see some questions that they were not prepared to answer.

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I don't think it's considered in a bad light, but I think it would be a wasted opportunity.

 

At least for me, that was a very good part of my interview, probably the best because the rest was pretty standard stuff. For me, it's not only the school that is interviewing me, but I'm also interviewing the school. It was a chance to understand more about the personality of potential advisors, what is their style when advising a PhD student, what kind of resources I could expect from the school to help with my research interests, and it was very interesting to see some questions that they were not prepared to answer.

 

I see. Thanks!

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Another question I have since I am preparing for an interview. When I filled out my application I had to answer a question like this:

 

"Are you applying for other post-graduate programs? If so, please give details."

 

I am assuming they will ask me which other schools I have applied to. Again I'd like to hear opinions on the best response to this question.

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I vividly remember last cycle when these types of questions were exchanged between Silvia, Brazilian and PobleNau (or something like that).

 

Yeah, this is actually an exciting time for applicants because the hard work is done and now you just have to stay positive and wait for the results.

In one year from now you will be stressed out and overwhelmed as a first year student thinkink back to this time when it was all calm and quiet. ;)

Good luck!

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Another question I have since I am preparing for an interview. When I filled out my application I had to answer a question like this:

 

"Are you applying for other post-graduate programs? If so, please give details."

 

I am assuming they will ask me which other schools I have applied to. Again I'd like to hear opinions on the best response to this question.

 

As far as I know, it's not common to ask for details about that during interviews. At least sometimes, they ask for details during the application so that schools can have a better idea about which schools are considered the main competitors from the perspective of applicants, or something like that.

 

But they can talk a little about that during the interview. My opinion is: just avoid weird answers or answers that are hard to explain.

 

Saying that you applied to a school that is completely different from the one interviewing you or that doesn't make sense according to what you've been telling them, for example. Let's say that you stated that you love empirical research, but then you say you applied to lots of schools that are much more focused on theoretical research. It would sound like you don't know what you are doing, what are your real research interests, or that you're lying.

 

But usually they don't care much about which other schools you're applying to.

 

However, if you got offers from other schools, they may be very interested in that. In this case, many professors will be willing to help you to compare between schools to help you to make the best decision regarding which offer you should accept. Of course professors will be biased, and they acknowledge that, but they try to be fair in their assessment of the offers you have.

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As far as I know, it's not common to ask for details about that during interviews. At least sometimes, they ask for details during the application so that schools can have a better idea about which schools are considered the main competitors from the perspective of applicants, or something like that.

 

But they can talk a little about that during the interview. My opinion is: just avoid weird answers or answers that are hard to explain.

 

Saying that you applied to a school that is completely different from the one interviewing you or that doesn't make sense according to what you've been telling them, for example. Let's say that you stated that you love empirical research, but then you say you applied to lots of schools that are much more focused on theoretical research. It would sound like you don't know what you are doing, what are your real research interests, or that you're lying.

 

But usually they don't care much about which other schools you're applying to.

 

However, if you got offers from other schools, they may be very interested in that. In this case, many professors will be willing to help you to compare between schools to help you to make the best decision regarding which offer you should accept. Of course professors will be biased, and they acknowledge that, but they try to be fair in their assessment of the offers you have.

 

I see. This makes it almost looks like some schools already have an eye to accept you if they are interested in how you will choose between that school and other offers you get. In this case, the school I am interviewing with is my dream school so there are no circumstances that I would reject if they gave me an offer. It would be good for me to mention this in the interview?

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Notification type: Skype interview

Institution: Indiana University

Concentration: Accounting

Type of Notification:email

Comments: plenty of dates to choose from so unsure how many they are interviewing. Mention of campus visit if Skype interview goes well

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