Suggested institution for PhD in Marketing

Question

Hi,

I'm planning to do my PhD in marketing and I would really like to get suggestions on which institutions I should apply to.

My details:

1. BBA- CGPA 3.34 (US standard)
2. MBA- 64.46% (UK standard)
3. GMAT- 720 (q49, v40, aw4)
4. TOEFL- 100
5. Work experience- 4 years (1 year in marketing of renewable energy technology including non-academic and unpublished corporate level marketing research)
6. Expected topic for proposal: - Customer adaptation to renewable energy technologies in developing countries (consumer behavior)
 - Successful dissemination of renewable energy technologies: public vs private enterprises (marketing modeling)
7. I can arrange reference letters from my MBA faculty, but I've only done my dissertation and no research with them.
8. Did quite a few papers during my undergrad which required research and actual data collection, but those were part of the course works.
9. I'm still interested to pursue a life of research and teaching (I actually love it), but it is almost impossible in my country (hence the current corporate job)
10. Resident of a developing country

This is pretty much my background. Now, I'm really interested to apply to top universities (preferably but not necessarily in US). The questions are:

1. Should I go ahead and apply to top universities or would that be a waste of time and money?
2. Which universities should I apply to (name)?
3. Which topic should I select to use in my proposal/statement of purpose?

Thanks in advance for helping out.

awal_786 · Answer

your profile looks really good but it all depends how admission committees see, you can easily get admission in mid range Universities with this profile but I am not sure about Top Universities. On the other hand, I would suggest you to apply for 2 top ranked and 2 mid range universities. Getting GMAT 700+ is not the only thing to get admission, your complete profile matters, especially your SOP must be written exceptionally good.
I can't name Universities because there are hundreds of universities offering your program, it your own job to find those universities according to your profile and also share your views and names of universities because this is the most common question on this forum:)

shibly · Answer

Thanks for the heads-up, but you see, various sources have different ranking patterns and the so called 'mid-ranged universities' has no specific list. That's why I wanted a few names picked-up!

awal_786 · Answer

That's the main issue, but I suggest you to communicate with few universities and ask them about average accepted GMAT score for PhDs, In this way you can make your own list. just find at least 5 universities and that will be enough. I can give hint to start just go to Google and type your program with the name of state (where you want to apply ex: Virginia, DC, Michigan etc ) send them emails one by one but avoid top of the list universities. don't forget to share those names here

Suggested institution for PhD in Marketing

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