Re: PhD Schools Suggestions
[#permalink]
17 Jan 2011, 17:54
Your GPA is great, but you graduated from a relatively unknown program, and brand name does play some role in admissions. If you wish to get into a PhD program in the top 50, you will probably want to aim for much higher than just a 640 GMAT score, as 700 is generally accepted as sort of a bare minimum, and 730+ is probably preferred. Many schools will place their official minimums lower than 700 but the reality is that these days admissions is extremely competitive, and unless you have some other things that greatly differentiate you (e.g. awesome work experience, LOR from famous professors, graduate of an Ivy League, etc) will have a hard time getting in with less than 700.
I don't know much about Pitt, but Iowa Tippie is actually a very decent program, and you will likely find it difficult to get accepted with your current profile, and nigh impossible with a GMAT score less than 650. You didn't mention if you have any work experience, as it is something that is preferred (though not absolutely necessary.. again they will evaluate you as a whole).
Another minor red flag that you have raised in your post is the fact that you say that you may be interested in a PhD in business administration, followed by finance and finally, accounting. This shows that you may not have put a lot of thought into the PhD yet. You should be able to communicate exactly why you are interested in a PhD, why you are interested in a specific discipline, what kind of research and research methodology you are interested in, etc. You are probably already aware of this, but the sole reason for obtaining a PhD in business is to conduct academic research.. not to teach at the University level... not to go into industry. If you communicate anything other than that, you would be hard pressed to receive acceptance into most programs. Also, I am sure that you are already aware that there are only 2-3 spots per year per institution and possibly hundreds of applications, so competition is very fierce at any of the top 50 schools.