justanotherface wrote:
hello friends
i just gave my gmat a few weeks back and got a 650 (83 percentile overall ) with a 73 percetinle in quants and a 76 percentile in verbal...
i was keen on applying to phd finance programs and know thats too low a score...so am retaking gmat in september and hoping for a 740 or thereabouts....
i just wanted to take your advise on these...
1) should i take the gre maths subject test? i have an electrical engineering and an mba degree...but my engineering transcript in maths is not stellar...with a few B's....
2) should i give the cfa ...although i have a major in finance in mba my current job profile is more of sectoral research and devlopment finance rather than corporate finance....so shall i take a year off and try to clear atleast two levels of cfa before i apply?
3) i was also thinking if it would be a good idea to get in touch with some of my finance profs and work on some papers/publications
all this would mean i defer my apllications to fall 2009...
please advise ...
thanks
my own take on the subject is this:
don't be too focused on the application process and acceptance requirements. think about the longer term future: what would you like to do after your PhD? what would you like to do during your PhD (i.e. what kind of research, what area? with whom? what interests you?) etc...
once you have a detailed vision of your career - then you could probably answer your short term application questions yourself.
after all... the application process is basically providing evidence that your career plans are attainable and practical and match the school's program.
so first make sure your career plans are indeed practical and attainable. then find a school that match them. then the application process become easy.
more specifically...
1) if you have a good gmat quant score after you retake - no reason why you should take the gre math. if you don't have a good gmat quant score, maybe it is because your math/quant is not as good as you thought it is... gre math won't help then.
2) you should give the CFA only (my opinion) if it serves a purpose other than "raise your chances".
3) that's the most productive thing you could do. provable (i.e. publishable) research experience in the field (together with recommendations from the profs you worked with) will make your application more competitive than any gmat/gre/GPA you can provide.
also - working with professor you'd get some invaluable informal advice how to enhance your career.