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ruhi
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Joined: 19 Oct 2004
Last visit: 31 Jan 2010
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Location: Missouri, USA
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Please evaluate my profile 31 May 2009, 22:20
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This is the first time that I'm posting in Ph.D forum. I used to be an active member here in 2004-05 when I took my GMAT. :) Anyway, I am thinking of starting my application procedure for a Ph.D in Finance and was wondering if anyone will be kind enough to evaluate my profile.

Age: 25
Undegrad: Bachelor's in Socio-Legal Sciences (3 years course with Law major). Graduated from a Top 3 Law School in India. I don't know the exact GPA though.
Graduate: MBA in Finance. GPA 4.0/4.00. Graduated in December 2007 from a State University (not in Top 50). Some of the courses taken: Investments, Derivatives, Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Organizational Behavior, Financial Management.
Additional Certification: Passed two levels of CFA on first attempt. Plan to take Level 3 next year.
Research: No published work. Haven't presented anything at a seminar. I do have a couple of semester papers that I'd written.
GMAT: I have 620 in GMAT (6.0 in AWA). This was taken in 2004 and I plan to re-take it.
Work exp: 1+ years as a Business Analyst in top agri cultural biotech firm. I was also a Graduate Assistant for 3 semesters during my MBA. Apart from this, I have interned with two law firms in India.

At this point, I'm not sure if it's worth putting in an application. I can confident that I can come up with strong recommendations from my professors. Is it realistic to assume that I do have a shot of getting an admit in Top 25 Ph.D Programs in the US?

Thanks for your help!

Ruhi
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cabro57
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Joined: 25 Apr 2005
Last visit: 14 Jun 2016
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Please evaluate my profile 01 Jun 2009, 04:43
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ruhi
This is the first time that I'm posting in Ph.D forum. I used to be an active member here in 2004-05 when I took my GMAT. :) Anyway, I am thinking of starting my application procedure for a Ph.D in Finance and was wondering if anyone will be kind enough to evaluate my profile.

Age: 25
Undegrad: Bachelor's in Socio-Legal Sciences (3 years course with Law major). Graduated from a Top 3 Law School in India. I don't know the exact GPA though.
Graduate: MBA in Finance. GPA 4.0/4.00. Graduated in December 2007 from a State University (not in Top 50). Some of the courses taken: Investments, Derivatives, Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Organizational Behavior, Financial Management.
Additional Certification: Passed two levels of CFA on first attempt. Plan to take Level 3 next year.
Research: No published work. Haven't presented anything at a seminar. I do have a couple of semester papers that I'd written.
GMAT: I have 620 in GMAT (6.0 in AWA). This was taken in 2004 and I plan to re-take it.
Work exp: 1+ years as a Business Analyst in top agri cultural biotech firm. I was also a Graduate Assistant for 3 semesters during my MBA. Apart from this, I have interned with two law firms in India.

At this point, I'm not sure if it's worth putting in an application. I can confident that I can come up with strong recommendations from my professors. Is it realistic to assume that I do have a shot of getting an admit in Top 25 Ph.D Programs in the US?

Thanks for your help!

Ruhi
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I think your profile looks fine, but the 2004 GMAT score is definitely at odds with your MBA GPA and CFA credentials. I have no data to support it but for a top 25 program in Finance, you probably will need to score at least 720 with a very good quant score.

It doesn't really matter that you haven't had any research done. It may matter, however, that you don't have much of a math/econ-oriented graduate pedigree (Econometrics, Stochastic Calculus, Microeconomics, and so on). I wouldn't say that's a deal breaker (your GMAT score as it stands probably is) but if you could take 1-2 graduate economics or math courses over the next year, that'd boost your profile quite a bit (even if you haven't completed them by the time you turn in your application).
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bipolarbear
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Location: United States
Schools: HBS '15 (D) Stanford '15 (WL) Wharton '15 (WL)
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
GPA: 3.9
Schools: HBS '15 (D) Stanford '15 (WL) Wharton '15 (WL)
GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V44
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Please evaluate my profile 02 Jun 2009, 15:06
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I agree that your GMAT score is way too low to be taken as a serious candidate. At the very minimum you will need to score 700 or demonstrate high proficiency in the quant section. I would recommend brushing up on some statistics/calculus courses since many PhD courses are math heavy. You seem to come from an interesting background though, so i wouldn't be surprised if you were competitive at many places once you up that score.
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