Business PhD Discussion

[acup313]

I just wanted to start a topic for the few of us who are attempting to get in to Business PhD programs. Since there is not too much action in the Business PhD forums you can discuss anything in here, but I thought I would focus on updating on schools we have heard from and maybe a brief profile to let people know. For me I am interested in a PhD in accounting and I applied to the schools listed in my signature. I finished my applications very early and have heard from two schools about interviews. My stats are as follows:

BBA and MAcc degrees from a decent school.

GPAs for both: 3.8

GMAT: 710

CPA

2 years of work experience at an accounting firm.

I have no research experience.

I got 3 really good LORs.

I got a lot of help with my SOP so it should be pretty good.

One other important factor is additional math classes which I do not have. However I have enrolled in Calculus 1 for the next semester and plan to take Calculus 2 in the summer. I have sent this information to all of the schools I am applying to and I think that has helped my cause. If there is anything else you want to know about my profile just ask. I will try to update this whenever I hear from other schools and you are welcome to do the same.

Edited January 3, 2010 by acup313

[alexis]

acup, congrats on getting your interviews!! that's awesome. I haven't heard back from anywhere yet (though the programs I'm applying to have said they don't meet until late January/February).

It seems you & I are the only active business PhD hopefuls on the forum, but hopefully others will join in.

I'm planning on studying organizational behavior, applying to PhD management programs.

My stats...

BA from USN top 25 undergrad, minor psychology, 3.7 GPA

MS (in May 2010) in HR, 3.9 GPA

1330 GRE, 600V, 730Q, 5.0AW (<--definitely concerned about that quant score, since it's 78%...not the best for b-schools)

Math- Calc I-III, Research Methods I & II, Stats I & II

3 years of management experience

Currently a lab supervisor in an OB lab, involved in some other research projects as well, one publication currently in press

Very strong LORs from tenured or tenure-track professors

Good personal statement, but concerned about not having a defined research "plan"/ideas- identified an area of interest, but didn't go into too many details

I'm a bit paranoid of being identified, so I haven't mentioned any of the schools I'm applying to on this forum, but if I get acceptances, we'll see

Edited January 3, 2010 by alexis

[acup313]

I thought you might be the only person to apply Alexis, but I figured I would try anyway. I am not sure why we insist on not being identified since we are not really saying anything that hurts our cause, but it had been bothering me too so as you can see I removed the two schools from my post. I assume I will post them again once I get some acceptances and such as well. I am thrilled about my interviews, though I am pretty sure I heard so early due to a couple of professors being on top of things, I think I just got lucky.

I really like your profile. I know we are trying for different programs but your profile is definitely stronger than mine. Percentile wise your quant test score is actually higher than mine. I don't know where all you applied, but I think you would definitely get some attention from some schools. Also in my personal statement I went in to almost no detail about me research interests outside of the general area. I think that is an advantage of business schools in that the focus can be discovered while in the program. Good luck and I am sure we will add more to this post in the future.

[alexis]

I thought you might be the only person to apply Alexis, but I figured I would try anyway. I am not sure why we insist on not being identified since we are not really saying anything that hurts our cause, but it had been bothering me too so as you can see I removed the two schools from my post. I assume I will post them again once I get some acceptances and such as well. I am thrilled about my interviews, though I am pretty sure I heard so early due to a couple of professors being on top of things, I think I just got lucky.

I really like your profile. I know we are trying for different programs but your profile is definitely stronger than mine. Percentile wise your quant test score is actually higher than mine. I don't know where all you applied, but I think you would definitely get some attention from some schools. Also in my personal statement I went in to almost no detail about me research interests outside of the general area. I think that is an advantage of business schools in that the focus can be discovered while in the program. Good luck and I am sure we will add more to this post in the future.

Agreed, it's worth a shot, hopefully others will add to the discussion.

You're right, I know it's silly for me to worry about being identified, I don't know why I'm so paranoid...I guess one big reason is that I'm applying to some departments within the same schools, and some programs that have different focuses; also, I'm only applying in one geographic region--so I guess I have this fear that an adcom will see me as not committed/focused, and I don't want the slight chance of someone in grad admissions recognizing me on this forum (and really, my application could make both of the above things obvious anyway, sooo...I'm not really fooling anyone!). I figure, if any grad admissions people WERE to look at these forums, they would look for people who said they were applying to their school/program...and that would be the easiest way to identify people. But you're right, it's not like we have said anything bad or disparaging on here that would hurt us, and in your case, you don't have to worry about the (silly) "red flags" that I'm worrying about.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I applied to a range of programs, so even if I don't identify them specifically, I can discuss them generally here. I applied to 3 business programs in management, one is a top 10, one is top 50, one is not ranked (but has a good local reputation and is my second choice, next to the top 10, out of all my applications). I also applied to social psychology programs to study organizational psychology; one is top 10, the other is top 70 or so. So out of those 5 programs (at 3 schools), there is a range, and I will be so ecstatic with one acceptance!

I think you're probably right about the personal statement--since we usually don't specialize until our second year or so in b-school, it probably isn't a harmful thing to be general about our research interest.

Your profile looks good too, even though I know you said your quant percentile wasn't super high, your overall GMAT is good, and since you've already gotten 2 interviews, you are on your way to some acceptances! Your couple years of accounting experience will really help you too I would think--b-schools seem to like that.

[socialpsych]

Just lurking, but wanted to say hello and go team!

And yes, anyone in the field who cared enough to go to the trouble could identify me pretty quickly, even based on my signature...I just try not to post anything I wouldn't want linked with my name. (:

[SomeoneTakeMe]

I actually hadn't seen this forum before, but I'm glad I did. I feel like there are no business applicants on here. I applied to 11 places for Marketing and haven't heard anything back. I know I have a long way to go, but the suspense is still killing me!!!

[acup313]

Yeah the suspense is getting to everyone. I wouldn't be too worried about it though you will probably start to hear some things over the next few weeks.

[waytooold]

Hi. Long time lurker, now waiting, thought I'd chime in. I am an incredibly non-traditional applicant, with 22 years of human resources consulting and experience, so my perspective on all this is quite different from many of the folks here. For instance, the agony over completing apps and getting LOR's mystifies me, as I had to contact graduate professors from 20 years ago, and still managed to get my LOR's submitted on time, and I took the GRE without having set foot in a math class for over, well, lots of years. Nevertheless, Alexis, I am with you in applying to OB programs, both within and outside B-schools.

My stats are a little odd

BA, triple major, top 20 LAC (ancient) Psych, Ed, Bio 3.2, 3.6 in majors

MA Public Admin, mid tier professional program 3.9, academic award

Two books published in HR fields

Lecture and teach nationwide

GRE 800 V 590 Q 6.0 AW Of course the quant looks bad, but I've taken and passed four stats courses and two research methods courses, so I think I'm okay if they can get past the raw number.

Down side -- my age and the lack of likelihood I will be hired on tenure track. Oh, and I flunked yoga in 1976!

Up Side -- I can really make a contribution in my field and won't be leaving to have kids

Applied to five schools, and hoping someone thinks I look interesting. Had a great visit at my top choice school and I think there is a prof who will go to bat for me, but I am aware that age is a real liability here.

Exciting time, isn't it, waiting for a response!

[alexis]

Hi. Long time lurker, now waiting, thought I'd chime in. I am an incredibly non-traditional applicant, with 22 years of human resources consulting and experience, so my perspective on all this is quite different from many of the folks here. For instance, the agony over completing apps and getting LOR's mystifies me, as I had to contact graduate professors from 20 years ago, and still managed to get my LOR's submitted on time, and I took the GRE without having set foot in a math class for over, well, lots of years. Nevertheless, Alexis, I am with you in applying to OB programs, both within and outside B-schools.

Your background sounds really interesting! What areas of HR have you been involved in?

Edited January 12, 2010 by alexis

[waytooold]

Your background sounds really interesting! What areas of HR have you been involved in?

Primarily employee relations and OD with a strong emphasis on forensic and remedial work around diversity, discrimination, harassment.

[chimerical]

*waves* I think I recognize a couple of you from another forum. Thought I'd torture myself by joining yet another admissions board.

I'm applying to management/strategy programs. Way jealous that you've already gotten interview invites, acup. But us business PhD applicants are rare enough that we gotta stick together, so I won't hate you for it.

My stats:

BS Econ from USN top 10 undergrad, 3.97 GPA

760 GMAT (48/48/6.0)

Math: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Probabilty & Statistics

2 years in consulting

Letters: 1 thesis advisor, 1 research supervisor, 1 paper co-author. One of those is a big name in strategy.

Research: Two years as an RA, honors thesis, three conference presentations, one journal article under review.

SOP is fine, I think. It at least impressed all the profs I asked to proofread.

Bit worried about my quant score but there's nothing I can do about that now. Just gotta cross my fingers and hope for the best.

[Serenisimo]

*waves* I think I recognize a couple of you from another forum. Thought I'd torture myself by joining yet another admissions board.

I'm applying to management/strategy programs. Way jealous that you've already gotten interview invites, acup. But us business PhD applicants are rare enough that we gotta stick together, so I won't hate you for it.

My stats:

BS Econ from USN top 10 undergrad, 3.97 GPA

760 GMAT (48/48/6.0)

Math: Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, Probabilty & Statistics

2 years in consulting

Letters: 1 thesis advisor, 1 research supervisor, 1 paper co-author. One of those is a big name in strategy.

Research: Two years as an RA, honors thesis, three conference presentations, one journal article under review.

SOP is fine, I think. It at least impressed all the profs I asked to proofread.

Bit worried about my quant score but there's nothing I can do about that now. Just gotta cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Just wondering how did you prepare for the Verbal GMAT part? Your score is amazing! What books or programs did you use?

[chimerical]

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately I don't really have any advice to share, since I didn't study for the verbal section at all. I just have a knack for the skills tested there.

Sorry! Wish I could be more helpful.

Edited January 17, 2010 by chimerical

[SomeoneTakeMe]

Has anyone who is applying to Marketing PhDs heard from any schools? If so, which one(s)? I know its early, but figured I'd check.

[PSY2010]

Has anyone who is applying to Marketing PhDs heard from any schools? If so, which one(s)? I know its early, but figured I'd check.

I've applied to 10 programs. Though I made contacts to some of programs when I applied, still I'm not getting any from my applications. And I'm expecting early Feb. If not hearing anything from them by late-Feb, then I guess I'll be out.

[chimerical]

There is an HBS marketing interview on the results page.

[SomeoneTakeMe]

I noticed that. Luckily that is not a school I applied to. But man, I wish that were me !

[peterrr]

I got my first rejection today from UNC's Organizational Behavior program. The email said they received 70 applications this year for a single opening.

[SomeoneTakeMe]

Anyone know how many people got short-listed at Yale? I see two on the results page.

[SomeoneTakeMe]

I don't know about you all, but this waiting is tough! And it seems like there are no responses from schools that had responded by this time last year. Anybody lese noticing that? Or do you think people are just not posting results as much as they did last year?

[acup313]

I think maybe it is a combination of both. I know in Accounting a lot of the Professors have been gone to conferences up until this week, so they haven't had time to look at everything. I expect it to pick up any day now.

[chimerical]

I don't know about you all, but this waiting is tough! And it seems like there are no responses from schools that had responded by this time last year. Anybody lese noticing that? Or do you think people are just not posting results as much as they did last year?

Hmm, I can't say that I've seen that. The programs I applied to have, so far, been interviewing/notifying about the same time or even earlier than last year. I guess it depends?

[bandit1084]

Ok, I'll join in. Hopefully this won't be the beginning of checking my email/applications every half hour.

• Currently in 1st year of non-Finance Business PhD program at my alma mater, applying to transfer to Finance PhD program elsewhere
• 3.5 Undergrad GPA, 3.5 Grad GPA
• 3.8 Business Undergrad GPA, double major
• 750 GMAT
• 800Q/630V GRE
• No idea if my SOPs are any good
• 3 years working experience tangentially related to Finance

A little trick I might share with some of you out there: I set up a filter in my Gmail to forward any email with the word "decision" to my phone (no data plan, so comes via MMS). This lets me know as soon as I hear something and allows me to relax a little knowing that it's unlikely that I'd get an email from a school and not see it immediately.

No acceptances (yet)...hopefully I'll get one (or more) soon! Gonna go check my applications now, just in case. Good luck to everyone else!

[shai]

I don't know about you all, but this waiting is tough! And it seems like there are no responses from schools that had responded by this time last year. Anybody lese noticing that? Or do you think people are just not posting results as much as they did last year?

The only reply I got was from Yale, telling me i'm on the short list and giving me an assigment to see if i have what it takes. Still waiting to hear from Duke and U of Chicago

[alexis]

The waiting is killer, I don't know what it is, but once things hit February, I started to get super nervous/anxious.

I called my one b-school program where I haven't heard anything from and they don't have many results on gradcafe. The deadline was Jan 15, and apparently they are meeting over the next 2 weeks and will then contact their top choices and send out interview invites, so it's looking to be the end of February. The other business school I'm waiting to hear from typically informs sometime in February; last year it was late Feb, so I'm trying to tell myself I just need to wait about 3 more weeks.