profile evaluation - from a less competitive undergrad

[sbburnsi]

Hi everyone - was just hoping to get some honest feedback. Anything would be great!

B.S. in Finance from an IU campus
3.67 GPA; 3.8 GPA in finance classes; A+ Intermediate Microeconomics, A- Econometrics, A Public Finance (econ)
GMAT: 600 back in 2009. Set to re-take December 17th. Studying harder and better this time around..Scoring around 700-720 on practice tests.
Work experience: 3 years in sell-side financial services (1 year as an independent contractor w/ Northwestern Mutual)
- current supervisor will write a very strong recommendation letter, chair of finance department and chair of economics department will write strong letters as well
- I think I have a strong story to tell in my personal statements

Goals: Candidly - not 100% sure which direction I want to take. I would like to pursue a PhD in Finance studying Asset Pricing and/or Market Microstructure. I would like to be a professor. Alternatively, I have a strong passion for social entrepreneurship. Still at a cross-roads on which path to take.

I've been told that given my low GMAT and competitiveness of my undergrad institution, it will be better to apply to MBA programs and then to PhD programs. Also - I figure that getting a good MBA will be a nice back up if the PhD does not work out, or if I change my mind at any point. Hoping to score much higher on the GMAT this time.

Still not sure whether to apply to Master's of Science in Finance or MBA programs yet.

Any advice or suggestions greatly appreciated!

[essaysnark]

Hey sbburnsi - wow - ambition, we love it!

Some reactions to what you've written:

- the bschools care less about a name-brand undergrad and more about what you did with the opportunity. Your grades are AWESOME. That's going to be what they look at. Don't worry about the college, you did well with your time there and you should be proud of that record.

- you'll need to boost the GMAT, as you know, if you're going for a top bschool. Glad to hear you're retesting.

- You might also consider the GRE though - many other masters and definitely doctoral programs only accept the GRE.

- In fact, the MBA isn't really seen as a stepping-stone to a PhD program. If you're serious about wanting to go into academia, you should do a lot more research NOW about what's the right path to get there. Yes, you would want to go for a Master's, but the MBA is a professional degree, almost a "vocational" degree, it's designed to prep you for a specific career, not for teaching/research. Most MBA programs do not even require a thesis! We wrote a bit more on this to someone else recently, you might want to check this post out: https://www.beatthegmat.com/post420364.html#420364

Not sure how the adcoms would respond to the "career goal" of going for the PhD - you may want to do more inquiring about that. Generally people use the MBA for a business career.

- If you do go for the MBA, it would be better to get both/all your recs from the workplace. Most adcoms discourage academic references unless you're coming straight from college (if you are, then it would be fine to get ONE rec from school but you should probably limit it to one).

- for an MBA app, you'll be writing essays, not a "personal statement" -- we only point this out because the bschools have specific questions to be answered, whereas other master's programs are more generic in what you'll write. The approach is basically the same, but not completely.

Hope this helps - if you have follow-up questions based on what we're throwing out here, just let us know!

EssaySnark