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PhD Finance, Fall 2007

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bella
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PhD Finance, Fall 2007 [#permalink] New post   25 Jul 2006, 10:43
Hi guys,

finally a forum on DBAs!!!
Here;s my story, very short:

I want to get accepted in a DBA in Finance.

Undergrad Romania, Accounting, GPA 3.8 (top 10%)
MBA, US School not in top 20, GPA 3.7

GMAT 680, (Q49, V 34). What can u do, I am not a native English speaker, and haven't prepared for too long. I also have GRE, but it is similar in terms of percentiles.

Research exp: 4 years in undergrad, on projects developed in collaboration with intl institutions, I have a paper which was presented in a conference, 2 published works. SOme teaching exp during summer courses in undergrad (statistical analysis and research design). I am now working as a lecturer for one year already, will have another research paper finalized by Dec.

Scholarships: merit based during undergrad, US STate Dept and Graduate Fellowship during the MBA, a third prize for a paper presented.

Work exp in Finance - 2 years, in commercial banking in Romania.

I will get very good rec letters (one from romania, 2 from my MBA professors)

My choices:

UofChicago
Northwestern
UofMichigan
UofIllinois at Urbana Champaign
Purdue
BC
UofMaryland - SMith
LBS
UofWashington - Seattle
maybe a master in applied statistics at UofIllinois (I will use my GRE scores for that, scored 780 on math).

I know I am in range for most of these schools with my GMAT, I also know the score is not that high. I don't wanna sit for it again, at least not this year.

I need an opinion on my chances for these schools. I know the chances for UofChicago are almost inexistent, but I thought I would give it a try anyway....what about the rest, should I go for other schools, not that highly ranked? I tried to cover the whole range of top 30, plus BC, which is below top 30, but I like the program a lot, and the school is in a special program with the university from where I was awarded the MBA.

Thanks.
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air1980
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[#permalink] New post   31 Aug 2006, 20:20
I think your profile is fairly strong, but maybe more for a PhD in Accounting. I am also applying for PhD finance programs (I write the GMAT on sept 5th) and I think that one of the important points that you may be missing is a strong math background. I have spoken to numerous schools and all of the profs or directors at these schools stress the importance of math, one prof even wants his students to have measure theory (graduate level). That is probably an extreme case, but I think that at least the calc stream, calc based probability, and linear algebra are required.

That being said, your research experience and publications (assuming a respectable journal) will give you an edge. As far as the GMAT is concerned, you have a 90% quant which is nice.

If I were you I would add a couple more safety schools to your list, as the ones you have listed are mostly top programs and admissions are probably around 5% odds.
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[#permalink] New post   31 Aug 2006, 20:59
Hi air,

thank you very much for your reply. Good Luck on your GMAT!!!!
Well, I know that math is not my strong point on this app, but Romanian education system in undergrad is particularly strong in math - I have actually done one class of math, stats, econometrics in each year (so I have four semesters) and I got very good scores to all of them) - I also graduated from an intensive math program in high-school (which I know doesn't count too much but I actually did most of the undergrad classes by then). I was thinking to start doing a Masters in Math in Romania, but to be very honest noone here recommended me to do this, cuz it will only take time w/o learning anything - the masters level here is very low.

My quant methods class within the MBA in the US was an A score class as well, so I am guessing that might count as well - and the Prof from there will be one of my recommenders.

But, I took out UofChicago and will consider Wisconsin-Madisson and Baruch College instead - will that work out better, u think?

Thanks a lot again and good luck on your GMAT - let me know how that went.

Bella
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bella
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[#permalink] New post   31 Aug 2006, 21:01
Hi air,

thank you very much for your reply. Good Luck on your GMAT!!!!
Well, I know that math is not my strong point on this app, but Romanian education system in undergrad is particularly strong in math - I have actually done one class of math, stats, econometrics in each year (so I have four semesters) and I got very good scores to all of them) - I also graduated from an intensive math program in high-school (which I know doesn't count too much but I actually did most of the undergrad classes by then). I was thinking to start doing a Masters in Math in Romania, but to be very honest noone here recommended me to do this, cuz it will only take time w/o learning anything - the masters level here is very low.

My quant methods class within the MBA in the US was an A score class as well, so I am guessing that might count as well - and the Prof from there will be one of my recommenders.

But, I took out UofChicago and will consider Wisconsin-Madisson and Baruch College instead - will that work out better, u think?

Thanks a lot again and good luck on your GMAT - let me know how that went.

Bella
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[#permalink] New post   31 Aug 2006, 21:12
Madison, is a terrific school, I am considering applying there as well, but I think that it is pretty hard to get in. Baruch is also good, if it were not in NYC (just too expensive to live) I would probably consider applying there as well. All though it may not have crossed your mind you may want to apply to some of the Canadian schools in Ontario such as York, U of T and U Western Ontario. I get the feeling that these schools, though well regarded don't seem to have the stringent math requirments and there average GMAT scores are in the 660 range.

Also check out UC Irvine, Texas A&M, Penn state, and some other schools in that range. I think these schools are also very good, but don't attract the number of applicants as some of the more well known schools do. I think that there are small differences between these type of schools and the ones that are really hard to enter (eg UMich), but the odds of entry are higher.

good luck.
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[#permalink] New post   01 Sep 2006, 02:14
Hi Air,

well, to be honest in choosing schools I considered also my long-term goals, that is I wanna live in a city or close to one, as much as possible, and I need 4 seasons:) I come from a temperate climate and I need it so badly:), so no, California, Texas, is not for me. But I am already looking into Penn State, thank you very much for your advice.

What r your plans, what schools did u choose? Maybe I can offer some help as well...

I am gonna sit for GMAT again, probably after I send all the files, after Nov the 15th and hopefully I will get into top 5% in math and will score better in verbal, I feel there is space for improvement in my GMAT results...

Bella
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[#permalink] New post   01 Sep 2006, 11:26
Well my plans are to apply to several schools that have professors working in the field I am interested in, namely risk managment, asset pricing and options/derivatives pricing. I am particularly interested in energy (electricity, oil and gas) work. So I will probably apply to:

University of Calgary (I am a graduate student here right now so may as well)

University of Toronto (Hull and White are there)

University of Rochestor (just a great school)

University of Houston (good for energy work, but probably not great in general)

UT Austin (very long shot, but great school and good in energy)

UNC Charlotte (back up school and will probably lead to private sector job after)

UW Madison (excellent school, great math and econ departments and thier quantitative Masters is excellent)

Some of these will change after I write the GMAT (if I don' get 720+ Austin is out) and I am still not sure about adding some others, what do your think?

My background:

BSc. Electrical Engineering, GPA~ 5.5/9 (not great)
BSc. Applied Mathematics , GPA~3.7/4
MSc. Applied Mathematics (research based) , courses will be this year

I won a research scholarship this summer and am currently working on a paper right now with another to follow after that. My research is focused on developing new stochastic models for the energy markets. I also have several econ and qunatitative finance courses through out my course work. And will be taking some advanced courses this fall and winter in Econ and Finance.
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[#permalink] New post   01 Sep 2006, 11:43
Air,

u have a very strong math background and if I were u, I would aim higher - I feel that your choice of schools is too much on the safe side, to be honest. U should be more confident, I think.

See how GMAT is gonna work out, try to get good rec letters (from well-known professors). I would say that if u have a well prepared application, u should try to at least 2 schools from top 20...u gotta aim higher !!

Good luck and keep in touch!!
Mihaela.
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[#permalink] New post   05 Sep 2006, 14:28
Bella,

Well, I got a 690 (91%) on the GMAT (49Q,35V), I am pretty dissapointed as I was scoring in the 710 range most of the time, but it is what it is. So it looks like UT-Austin is out, probably UW-madison as well.
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[#permalink] New post   05 Sep 2006, 21:07
Air,

your score is very good, I think. I believe u r in the range for U of W Madison, why do u think you're not? GMAT is not even 40% of the decission process, as far as I understood u only gotta be in some range to move on to the next level of assessment and I think u will be able to pass that....maybe we don't have the same infos about the admission process at good schools...UofWMadison is not even in top 30 schools in Finance -based on USNews classifications.

If Northwestern says that their successful applicants score in the 90th percentile overall and Northwestern is in top 10, then I think that u shouldn't worry....at least this is what I think..

Congratulations - after some time will pass, u will realize that u scored very well!!!
Bella.
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[#permalink] New post   06 Sep 2006, 07:51
air1980 wrote:
Bella,

Well, I got a 690 (91%) on the GMAT (49Q,35V), I am pretty dissapointed as I was scoring in the 710 range most of the time, but it is what it is. So it looks like UT-Austin is out, probably UW-madison as well.



I think you are very likely to get in U of Calgary since you are studying there. Your GMAT is ok for U of C. An unofficial stats indicates that its average GMAT is 670, and an internal document in U of C stating the school's strategic plan claims that it will maintain a 690 average GMAT by 2007. Although GMAT scores of financial applicants are usually higher than the overall average, your strong Math and U of C backgrounds can stand you out. Just try to talk with some professor in Haskayne School to secure your chance.

I scored 690 in GMAT. I also plan to apply to U of Calgary because of its major in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. This major is very rare in the US and Canada, and faculty members barely have such a field of interest.

I also plan to apply to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where I earned my second MS degrees in Information Technology. I hope I can get in at least one of UC and RPI.
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[#permalink] New post   06 Sep 2006, 07:53
air1980 wrote:
Bella,

Well, I got a 690 (91%) on the GMAT (49Q,35V), I am pretty dissapointed as I was scoring in the 710 range most of the time, but it is what it is. So it looks like UT-Austin is out, probably UW-madison as well.



I think you are very likely to get in U of Calgary since you are studying there. Your GMAT is ok for U of C. An unofficial stats indicates that its average GMAT is 670, and an internal document in U of C stating the school's strategic plan claims that it will maintain a 690 average GMAT by 2007. Although GMAT scores of financial applicants are usually higher than the overall average, your strong Math and U of C backgrounds can stand you out. Just try to talk with some professor in Haskayne School to secure your chance.

I scored 690 in GMAT. I also plan to apply to U of Calgary because of its major in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. This major is very rare in the US and Canada, and faculty members barely have such a field of interest.

I also plan to apply to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where I earned my second MS degrees in Information Technology. I hope I can get in at least one of UC and RPI.
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[#permalink] New post   07 Sep 2006, 08:02
hsudk,

I think you are correct about U of C, I think I can probably get in there. But, my GMAT may be to low for all of the other schools except maybe U of T and UNC-Charlotte. But, I think U of T is looking for more of a Econ or Finance background then I have... I may have to rewrite the GMAT.
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