Seeking a Profile Evaluation ? Post here

Hello,

Finally, I decided what I want to do in my life: becoming an academician. Could you please evaluate my profile honestly for my chances for a Ph.D. or which B-schools should I take into consideration?

Bachelor's Degree: Business Administration (METU - #2 in Best Universities in Turkey according to usnews[i]
GPA: 2.99/4 (79.80/100) - I had some personal problems at the beginning of my studies, after 2nd year I tried to carry my GPA above 3.0 but unfortunately I failed at 2.999999

Internship: Summer internship at Garanti BBVA

Master's Degree: M.Sc. in Marketing (Hacettepe University - #4 in Best Universities in Turkey according to usnews)
GPA: 3.94/4

Erasmus+: I studied For 1year in Germany as an Erasmus+ exchange student

English Proficiency: The medium of instruction was English in my B.Sc Degree. I usually get between 90 and 95 from local English tests (Official State Tests).

Experience: Currently I work as a research assistant in a private university in İstanbul

No GMAT and TOEFL score yet.

Since my GPA is really low (2.99/4), I would like to hear your evaluations of my chances for a Ph.D.
I am open to both EU and the US but I prefer Europe over the US for two reasons:

1. My low GPA is a huge disadvantage for the US because of a 3.0 threshold that universities usually use in the evaluation process.
2. I prefer Europe because of cultural reasons, my experiences there. Also, when I want to visit my parents it only takes a couple of hours as a domestic flight in Turkey.

I know that many posts here in this forum say, you should get a GMAT score first and then look for the B-Schools. But I am overthinking about my GPA.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi! Happy to help. For Ph.D. admissions, your Masters's GPA is more important than your Bachelor's GPA. Yes, you are! Working as a RA is a great plus.

What concentration are you applying to? What programs are on your list?

Hello again and thank you for your answer CAMANISHPARMAR.

I am more concentrated in management and marketing. On the management side, during my bachelor's I focused mostly on management science and decision tools. On the marketing side, my focus is consumer behavior. Personally, I love working on topics related to technology. Therefore, I would like to apply for a program that can offer this.

Usually, I am checking the topics from google scholar, find the related scholars, and check their pages to understand what they are actually working on. So far this approach was a dead end. Any other suggestions to check PhD programs?

Hello everyone,
Can I request for profile evaluation -

GMAT - 650
Undergrad GPA - 8.7
MBA (Finance) from top 30 B-Schools in India
7 years work experience in Financial Services

Program - PhD (Management)
Schools - McCombs, UCLA, Scheller, Foster

Phd Financial Economics/ Economics Evaluation:
GRE: Yet to Take ( Planning to take in June)
TOEFL: Yet to take ( Planning to take in June)
Undergrad: NIT Durgapur'2017 ( Chemical Engineering)- 8.20/10
Grad: IIM Indore'2019-MBA ( 3.38/4.33, Top 35 out of 540, Don't have a proof yet but I am trying to get one from Admissions Office)
Courses:
1.Mathematics I :Functions of Single Variable,Functions of several variables,Integral Calculus, Multiple Integral, Vector Calculus, A (9/10)
2.Mathematics II:Liner Algebra, Ordinary Differential Equations,Fourier series,Laplace and Fourier Transforms,Probability A (9/10)
3.Mathematics III:Partial Differential Equations (PDE),Numerical Method,Complex Analysis,Optimization: Mathematical Preliminaries: Hyperplanes and Linear Varieties; Convex Sets, Polytopes and Polyhedra,Linear Programming Problem (LPP)A (9/10)
4.Advanced Numerical Analysis: Eigen Values A(9/10)
5.Probability & Statistics:Random Variables and Associated probability distribution,Sampling Distributions and Statistical Inference, Hypothesis testing,Simple Linear Regression Analysis A (3.783/4.33)
6.INTRODUCTION TO QUANTITATIVE DECISION MAKING:LINEAR PROGRAMMING,DECISION TREES,EXTENSIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING: IPP AND MILP,APPLICATIONS OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING, B (3.367/4.33)
7.Microeconomics Introductory Microeconomics Course A (3.867/4.33)
8.Macroeconomics Introductory Macroeconomics Course A (3.917/4.33)
9.Economics of Strategic Interactions Market Structures and Organization,Review of Competition and Monopoly,Homogeneous Goods,Heterogenous Goods,Concentration, Mergers and Entry Barriers, R&D,Advertising, Quality, Durability and Warranties; readings from Industrial Organisations A ( 4.1/4.33)
10.Macroeconomics of Developing economies:Growth Models ( Solow etc)A ( 4.1/4.33)
11.Financial Markets & Central Banking:Stabilisation Policies in Closed and Open economy IS-LM Models,Monetary policy transmission mechanism, Credit Channel Expected Inflation and Monetary Dynamics, Optimum Policy Target,I nflation targeting B+(3.433/4.33)
12.International Finance:Balance of Payment, Exchange Rate, Drivers of Exchange Rate and,Foreign Exchange Market,International Parity Conditions: Interest Rate Parity,Foreign Exchange Risk Management,Hedging B (3.1/4.33)
13.Corporate Finance- Corporate Finance I (A)
14.Investment Analysis & Portfolio Investments (B)
15.Equity Financing (B)
16.Practicing Corporate Valuation B
17.Corporate & Retail Banking B

Research Experience:
1. IIM Indore: Microeconomics - Course of Independent Study Project- Given Presentation to Economics Department. Was working on the paper but it is still incomplete
2. IIM Indore: Live Project ( Cost Analysis) with Idea Cellular (before the merger of Idea & Vodafone) -Worked in a group although- Term Paper submitted
3. NIT Durgapur: Not relevant to econ research. Have a paper published (co-authored) in chemical Engineering in Springer ( impact factor 1.47) and a chapter in a book.
4.NIT Durgapur: Final year Thesis (Chemical Engg) (In a group)

Work experience: Deutsche Bank ( almost 2yrs) - Corporate Banking Analyst
Also, I am CFA L1 candidate- Hoping to pass!
LORs:
1. Microeconomics Professor -IIM Indore under whose supervision I completed the Microeconomics project
2. Macroeconomics Professor- IIM Indore- Who took courses
3. Statistics Professor - IIM Indore - Who supervised the Live project

Concerns: I know my profile is lacking in the following: RA ships, Not enough math/econ courses. I am planning to take up online econ/math courses ( real analysis, measure theory) and R/ Stata courses as well. Which kind of certifications will be considered by admissions committee ( any course certification from US univs?) Can someone specify some certification courses covering the above topics which can compensate for the lacking in maths/econ courses?

I do know I like research , but till now most people have suggested me to go for a Masters rather than a Phd. is there any hope for me to get into a PhD econ program with this profile?
Kindly suggest some schools I can apply to for both Phd & Masters in econ/ Financial economics.

Thank You!

Dear All,

Please evaluate my profile:

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): Yet to take, expecting around 700
Undergrad GPA: 7.7 / 10 B.Tech (Dairy Technology), Rank #1 in class
Graduate GPA: 3.1 / 4.33 MBA Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, India
Research Experience: None; working as a consultant I have prepared research papers for clients - Lithium Pricing, pricing model for a new financial product but none in terms of publications
I intend to get LOR from my MBA college professors indicating I have ability and interest in pursuing indepth research.
Teaching Experience: None
Work Experience: 11 years, 2 years in Banking, 9 years in corporate finance consulting

Concentration Applying to: Finance particularly behavioral finance
Number of programs planned to apply to: Not yet decided
Dream Schools: Targeting Canadian Universities - UBS Sauder, Rotman, Smith School of Business

What made you want to pursue a PhD: I want to research on how behavioral aspects effects corporate decision making in areas of finance especially investments, M&A etc. Having worked as a consultant in this area, I have experienced that decisions are not always objective and driven by facts or numbers.

Concerns you have about your profile: No research experience

Any additional specific questions you may have: Given my profile and target school what kind of GMAT score will be a minimum requirement

Hi.

- Try to get more than 700 in GMAT, and in Quant 50 or 51. Simple reason is because it can help make your application more competitive
- My observation is that work experience does not help a PhD application... but if from your experience you can have some insightful research question, that would help
- Your observation (decisions are not always objective and driven by facts or numbers) has been established a very long time ago... what is your new insight / research question?
- Once you get that, try to develop a research proposal (most schools require you to provide one with application... it also helps with reaching out to professors)
- Try to use some keywords on Google Scholar and find out some recent papers on your area of interest (so that you know the current discussion in that area, rather than talking about something that is dated)
- Reach out to professors with whom you want to (potentially) work... I can not overstress the importance of reaching out to your potential research advisors
- Recommendations from Profs (12 years now) is useless, in my opinion... think about it... will that be credible? I mean how many people you remember from those many years back (if you spend only a few days with them)?
- Some clients (good ones) can give you recommendation
- There is no "profile evaluation" for PhD applications... you can be accepted in one of your dream school, while you can be rejected from one of your "safe school"

All the best!

Hi everyone,

Hi, I'm a working male professional, Engineering + MBA(IIT Bombay + IIM Calcutta, top-tier colleges), from India. I wish to pursue a Ph.D. in Marketing from a top-20 university in the US. I am also open to more options for a safe bet.

What am I looking for?

People with experience in PhD applications or those who've helped PhD aspirants review my profile and help me understand how to move from here to secure a seat at a top-tier US B-school. I would like to understand:
- Colleges to aim for
- what else should I do to present a well-rounded profile

Here's a brief outline of my profile:

Educational Qualification:

MBA from IIM Calcutta (Class of 2015) - 3.0/4.0 (WES)

B.Tech from IIT Bombay (Class of 2011) - 3.3/4.0 (WES)
Major: Aerospace Engineering

12th : 95.3%
10th : 95%

Work Experience:

- I have a total post-MBA work experience of 5 years including research experience as of April 2022.
- I have worked as a Marketing & Sales Manager for an MNC - FMCD products for close to 30 months. Rated well in both years and have received multiple awards for Best Performer.
- I have worked as a Category Manager and Marketing Head for a couple of Unicorns($1Bn Valuation) for a year.
- I have been working as Research Assistant(RA) with the Indian School of Business(ISB) for over 2 years.

My broad interest areas include - Quantitative Marketing & Modelling, and Retail Marketing.

My timelines and current status - I am looking to apply for 2023. I have a GMAT score of 730 (38- 84%, 50 - 87%, IR - 7, AWA - 6) and TOEFL - 115 (R - 29, W - 28, S - 29, L - 29).

Add ons:
- Part of the sports teams in the universities and headed multiple educational and recreational clubs in the University.
- Worked with NGOs on pro-bono projects.


A huge thanks in advance, looking forward to every word of constructive feedback!