somedayprofessor

No experience, but I applaud your courage to pursue what you're passionate about. I'm changing from a professional career with an advanced professional degree to a PhD path. So far, it is very liberating. Best of luck if you make the leap.

There are some PhD programs in business that award master's degrees en route to the PhD. This may be a good option for an uncertain future. Then if you decide mid-way that the PhD is not for you, your time is not totally wasted. This is a disconnected thought that came from reading through your question and all of the replies, but it may be something for you to investigate.

I took a different (but perhaps comparable) graduate admissions exam (GMAT), and studied for 2 months. I'm going into the management field. I scored in the 94th percentile and had a perfect AWA score (6.0 - 91st percentile, apparently 9% of test takers get a 6 on the GMAT). I'm glad that I spent the time studying (about 40 hours over two months). I did not score as well on the practice tests, but they told me where my stregths and weaknesses were. Then I spent time drilling on those subjects, answering practice questions and seeking immediate feedback on my answer for each question. The answer rationale my study guide provided either confirmed what I was thinking (supplied confidence) or told me how I should be thinking (revised my thinking). That drill work was better than anything in my opinion. The 40 hours consisted of big chunks of diagnostic time up front (taking practice tests) and smaller, more frequent chunks fo time (answering practice questions) as the test date approached. Good luck finding a method that works for you!

I took the GMAT last November. I used Princeton Review's guide and the GMAC-published official guide. I scored well and will not be taking the test again. The best advice I received when preparing was, "Practice, practice, practice." this was good advice. And I would say that the best type of practice is doing problems with immediate feedback (rather than taking practice tests over and over again). The practice test is useful to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. Then you can focus on which types of problems to practice. The immediate feedback helps you retain what you did right and what you missed. The timing of the test is such that it is difficult to retain anything that you are tested on (practice or actual). This is why I suggest a full digestion of as many practice questions as you can, the ones that you can get immediate feedback on after you answer. The official guide published by GMAC is long on these types of questions, and I trust their explanations/rationale. I spent a total of 40-50 hours to prepare over two months. I started out with large chunks of time a couple of times each week and finished with 30-40 minute sessions (one each day) during the last couple of weeks. Best of luck!

I was happy when I saw my total score after taking the GMAT. But after reading many threads on this site and others, I'm a little spooked and need feedback. I am applying to management PhD programs around the country. I'm interested in organizational behavior (OB). All applications are in and the waiting is almost unbearable. Verbal, writing, and integrated reasoning are all pretty good. But I have heard that admissions committees go straight to the quantitative score after looking at the total. And that score is the weakest for me. Is that low score cause for concern if you put yourself in the shoes of an admissions committee?

Some finance programs require the GRE, some the GMAT. I would find a program your are interested in and be sure to take the right test, maybe both. I took the GMAT and was not able to apply to one of my top targets because they required the GRE (and I had very little time left when I found out). The school's website can also give you insight on what type of scores they are looking for in qualified candidates.

Hi CrudeS. I recently decided to return to grad school for a PhD in management. I spoke with some of my former professors who have sat on faculty admissions committees. I needed letters of recommendation and application advice. We spoke about your specific question. One professor of management at Gonzaga University (a Stanford PhD) said, "A good GMAT score will not get you in to a PhD program, but a bad one could keep you out." This makes me think that the GMAT, for many schools, is a first-look screening to see if your application will be viewed further. Your score of 610 does not sink you, but if you are applying to top-level schools, there are likely many higher scores that will receive consideration first. Sixty-five percent of people scored lower than you, so you are well above average, but this includes MBA and PhD applicants. In general, PhD programs are more selective than MBA programs. Many programs publish the average scores of recently matriculated students. If you have a program that you are interested in, I would suggest poking around their website and finding out what scores they are expecting to see (sometimes in the admissions tab, sometimes in FAQs). This will probably be better than anything I can tell you about whether your score stands a chance or not. Best of luck with your finance PhD aspirations. I'm playing the waiting game right now after submitting several applications last month...