saeedt wrote:
Dear reader:
I am a Masters' student at university of Tehran. I need your advice about my chance of getting into one of the top B-schools. This is my situation when I apply for a PhD in Marketing, fall 2012.
I am:
1- Iranian/24 years old/male
2- BA is English language and literature, GPA 3.8
3- student of Masters in marketing, Tehran university (absolutely no.1 in Iran and top 4 in middle east), GPA 4
4- GMAT 700 (1st and last time)
5-TOEFL (ibt) 110
6- translated two books, "Developing leadership talent", "Marketing principles" (by Phillip kotler)
7- written 3 articles, 2 indexed in ISI
8- TA for two courses
9- good recommendation letters(with professors I have done research with and in whose class I was the top student)
10- one book written, "English grammar for M.sc students"
11- recognized as a exceptional talent in the Iranian Young Researchers Association
12- Founder and editor-in-chief of a studentship scientific journal called "A window to the world of management"
13- effective SOP (have been thinking about my real aspirations and goals and editing it for 15 month)
14- The top student in all the four semesters of Msc. the top student in the graduating group.
15- recognized as a top student in the faculty (formal certificate)
16-offered an honorary PhD place at Tehran university
I LACK work experience, which is my main fear. Of course I have many years of teaching and research experience but no experience in marketing. How strong do you find this weakness!?
Please assume that I do the job of contacting the faculty well and have found some profs with similar interests.
I really need you to give me my chances since I can't wait for another year. As a resident of Iran, we have many obstacles. I hope you figure me out.I know there are other factors affecting your decision, but please let me know your most educated guess based on the history. Please give me a percentage.
Please just tell me if I need to provide more info.
PhD studies do not have the same work requirement as MBA programs. If your test scores and recommendations are good, you do stand a chance at your program choices because of the academic work you've done and the textbooks you've contributed to. I do believe that consulting experience could help in your applications, so perhaps you could take on some projects in which you share your marketing insight to help organizations (for profit or not-for-profit).