Fall 2007 - Good news, bad news

Most schools participate in an agreement that has April 15 as the deadline for responding, though I have seen mention in my case of responding ASAP due to waiting list considerations.

Thank you for your response.

Another big ding: Wharton, 03/07, e-mail/website, Phd Finance.

My morale is going down and down.

Perhaps I'm not a competitive candidate for top schools.
_________________
Offers - Dings: 2-4

UT Austin, Management, OB, rejected, checked website

I wasn't optimistic about this school either, but it still sucks.

ding, Wharton Finance. Mail to check website. Expected. My fourth reject.

Maybe they only want people with experience/papers not people with potential and enthusiasm like me :p

robbie1981, I looked at your profile. I think we are candidates of the same "type", hehe.
Bachelor+Master in Finance, similar GPA, similar GMAT score, little work exp, 1 small publication.
I thought I was competitive too, but not so much after 4 rejects. There are just too many people out there with PhDs, people with top GPA, people with stellar GMAT, people with lengthy work exp, people with several publications. We are good, but there are always someone better...This is life.
Anyway, good luck on the rest of your application

Yes, we are on the same boat. Maybe we will meet in a top school that is looking for this kind of candidates. I have probably overestimated my chances after early admits from UT Austin and U. Florida... but I'm trying to look at the bright side: I have two good offers (e.g. UT Austin the 9th school in the World with reference to publications on top 3 finance journals in the last 4 years- https://citm.utdallas.edu/utdrankings/rankingbydate.aspx) and I'm still in the running at MIT, HBS and - in particular - at NYU.

Good luck!!!

Maybe you're not from this country or something, but I just have to say that UT Austin is a top program! It may not be the single #1 program in the world or the U.S., but here in the states, if you tell someone you're studying for a PhD at UTA, they are going to be extremely impressed if they know anything about academia.

Please, do I have to digitally slap you here? Your morale is "going down and down" with an offer at UTA in hand? Are you kidding? If you had any notion how prestigious it was, how many people would saw off a limb to be in your position, how all the doors for a six figure starting salary job at a major research uni will be open to you when you graduate, I don't think you'd be in this lamentation mode.

Maybe you do know something about the prestige of it, but you've just lost perspective. Let me give it back to you: you are kicking butt, Robbie!

Yes, you are perfectly right... but don't misunderstand me! I know, UT Austin is a wonderful school, and I am very happy (and I feel lucky) to have this chance. Furthermore Austin is a great city to live in, and they are offering me a huge financial package. But you hit the point: I'm from Italy, and I don't know whether I will return in my country after the Phd (of course, if I will manage to complete it). Here, there is a huge bias in evaluating a school prestige. Few people know McCombs, whereas - for instance - everyone knows MIT, Wharton, Berkeley and even Purdue (!). Thus, my dream is to be admitted in a school both with high research quality and with a brand that is famous in Italy too. I'm sorry if I have been rude in my post, but I have written it about two minutes after Wharton ding. Thank you for the reply.
[LAMENTATION MODE: DEFINETELY OFF]

robbie - did you, by any chance, indicate to the schools that you like to go back to Italy after your PhD?

I talked to a current PhD student sometime back. He mentioned that his school is very concerned about the placement potential of the applicants, especially within the US. Placement is a big issue since it affects the reputation of the school. 2 years ago, an international student was on the waitlist partly because the school had reservation about ability to be placed in the US. (This school is a top 10 for the particular specialization that the students are in.)

And I will share with you, sharpshooter and all with a Wharton ding what a friend left in my blog:

"In this fierce competition at Wharton, you are just less lucky than somebody out there."

robbie,

From a practical standpoint, wouldn't you be able to get a good academic job in Italy graduating from UT Austin? I'm not certain about these things, but I would think that UT has a good rep within the in-field academic community there.

No, I didn't indicate this. And, to be honest, my long-term goal is to become a good researcher and teacher. I know that, nowadays, in Italy there are no well-known schools where you can accomplish excellent research work. However, I can't exclude either I won't be able to get a placement in a top U.S. school after my PhD or that I will be forced to come back because of any other reason. In both (worst) cases, I will probably return to my home country. Thus, a well-known university brand would represent a sort of "insurance policy" on my future. But, as I mentioned in the previous post, I know I am lucky to have a good offer, but a ding always hurts.

Good luck for the face-to-face interview. I had the same opportunity last week, and I hope the outcome will be the same in your case (he personally gave me my offer letter, what a surprise!).

You weren't rude at all. Well they need to learn over in Italy that UTA is a more prestigious program than Purdue and nipping at the heels of Wharton, Berkeley, et. al. In fact, I'd come close to tossing a coin as between Berkeley and UTA; I think the latter's a program on the move up. And yes, I just drove through there, beautiful city--sure beats Philly or San Fran for quality of life.

Yes, I will probably manage to get a good academic job, but I would have a completely different reputation. A professor who studied at Berkeley (just to make an example) is perceived as an extraordinary one, while a person who studied at a less known university (e.g. Duke) - even if of either comparable of superior quality - would have to overcome more hurdles. By luck things are (slowly) changing...

Ding from UT Austin, Marketing, 3/7. Another ding--so no more complaining of morale dropping! PhD may not be happening for me.

And, just as an FYI from somebody who used to live in the great state of Texas to refer to UT Austin simply as UT or UT Austin. UTA is generally taken to be UT Arlington - also in Texas, and part of the University of Texas educational system, but not the same as UT Austin academically, programatically, or geographically. I don't mean that to sound rude at all, but it could easily be confusing to someone just jumping into the conversation.

Of course, I should know that. I'm aware of UT Arlington; we have long time friends who live minutes from the campus; one of them, in fact, did her grad work at Austin. I just assumed Robbie being from Italy didn't know the distinction and wouldn't care. That, and I was just being lazy. I suppose the best way of describing it is just THE University of Texas--they are the flagship with a capitol "F".

Dear All,


I have been working in Bocconi University since 1999 and now I am going to take my PhD in management at Wharton (or Duke). Trust me: when you'll have to enter the tenure track in the future the "brand" of univeristy where you studied is worthless than the specific professor you have worked with.
So you should address your choice mainly looking at the specific faculties rather than the specific university. For example working in Bocconi University with Professor Giavazzi is much more important for a PhD student (in terms of placement and knowledge either) than working with a lazy prof. (in terms of publications) from a well known school.

However, since you can't be sure to identify your advisor as soon as you are admitted you would prefer a school with a "prolific faculty" on average. But what you will need after the PhD is not the name of the school but the name of your advisors (and obviously your research works).

I hope I have added something more to your interesting discussions

best wishes!!

Ale