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About this blog

As I venture through the application process for Summer/Fall 2016 admits to four programs.  Included are DBA - Wilmington University, PhD, Technology Management, NYU, PhD, Technology Management, Indiana State, PhD, Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State.

Entries in this blog

 

PhD - The First Year

So - as I attempt to procrastinate my way into ignoring very real assignment commitments, I figured I'd write a post on "what happens next."  As you may (or may not know) I applied to 6 programs, was accepted 3, and ended up attending my first choice program.  I applied to 4 PhD Programs, a DPA program, and a DBA program.  I got into 2 PhD programs and the DBA programs.  Of course I've gone back to see what the other programs look like.  One PhD program gets 30-40 applications and accepts 4 with
MarkMc

MarkMc

10
 

Final Response & Decision

After an incredibly long day I rolled home.  I ate some swedish fish for dinner (because that's what grad students do, right?!?).  I took a shower and took the dogs for a walk.  I opened my mailbox and the final response I had been waiting for was in there.  Valdosta was the last school to get back to me and had sent an email telling me to expect results last week.  The date on the letter to date of receipt was a nine day difference.  I was rejected.  I was kind of surprised.  When I check their
MarkMc

MarkMc

4
 

Down to the End

So the time has come.  I have to decide among a few acceptances.  Yes, I understand that this is a good problem to have, but it's also challenging to sort through what the best option is.  If it's the best option - will the faculty be who I want to work with.  I'm also waiting to hear from one more program. To recap - I was accepted to Indiana University of Pennsylvania in their Communication Medias and Instructional Technology PhD, Indiana State in a consortium PhD in Technology Management
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Decision Time

So I had intended to start to knock these out one by one as I heard back, but life happened.  I'll walk through what some of the experiences have been and how I thought things would shake out. Kansas State - I thought for sure I'd be in here and it was my first response.  My LOR's were from the department chair, associate dean, and my employer.  The program fit with both the department chair's background who could make a stronger argument as well as my research interests.  In the end I was
MarkMc

MarkMc

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Valdosta State - DPA

So this was in the mix from early on.  I had initially decided not to apply when I started looking for programs.  I was bent on a PhD and was concerned that I couldn't find any where I could continue to work full time and that would be affordable.  I instead opted for the DBA program at Wilmington.  After an early rejection (with more to come on this subject in my next blog) panic set in.  I added (or re-added) Valdosta to my list.  I scored an interview at another program and when I sat down in
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MarkMc

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Indiana University Pennsylvania

So I had completely excluded this program from my plans.  It's setup as a every other weekend format for coursework and about 5 hours from where I live (so I'd be commuting to my parents every other weekend then returning to work and life where I live).  I wasn't going to apply as it isn't a direct fit to my research or course interests.  However I had only applied to 4 programs.  1 had rejected me.  1 had accepted me and I didn't want to go there.  I had applied to 2 other programs, 1 I've got
MarkMc

MarkMc

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Indiana State University

So now we seem to be a bit more sequential in my blogs.  I've arrive at Indiana State 4th, which was also my 4th application to submit.  The University was never on my radar, it was the result of NYU sending me the solicited application for their Technology Management program.  I was typing Technology Management PhD into my Google search box automatically filled "online."  Indiana State popped up.  It's actually a consortium program that includes Indiana State (obviously,) Bowling Green, East Ca
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Kansas State

When I started looking for Doctorate programs, this was the one that started the search.  Having spent 15 years in banking a PhD in Personal Financial Planning seemed to be a perfect compliment (despite working on the commercial/lending side).  Tracking down someone to talk to was difficult.  The department chair was out on leave.  The program admin/coordinator took some time to respond.  The program required a 10 page statement (ugh) and while the application required a writing sample, I would
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NYU

So for my second entry I'll be reviewing the NYU application process.  NYU was nowhere on my radar, nor was a PhD in Technology Management.  After taking my GRE (my GMAT scores that I used for my MBA/MADIR were awful) and scoring in the top half to top third I got a free application offer from NYU.  After looking at the program I thought it might be a fit and at no cost - I was ready.  While the price tag is staggering compared to many programs I looked at - I figured I would see where it would
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Wilmington University - DBA Application

Let's start with the first application filed for this post. Wilmington - Offers the lowest ranking of the programs I applied to.  It is a DBA program (that should in theory focus on practice more than research) that could be attractive should I opt to remain in banking.  It also offered the easiest application process.  There was no GMAT or GRE required.  It required a 2-3 page statement, 3 references (handwritten), and transcripts.  I hit some snags with the program (I was applying prior t
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