tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378136392024-02-20T11:12:29.846-08:00The Business, The PhD, The LifeD.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-70609891754833936532007-04-08T19:53:00.000-07:002007-05-28T22:59:25.316-07:00My Second OfferI got my second offer from RPI. Now it's the time for me to make a decision.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-86742593167772452682007-03-29T19:05:00.000-07:002007-05-28T22:59:52.322-07:00My First OfferI finally got my first admission from the Syracuse University, PhD in Entrepreneurship. Thank God.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-36710223443309492892007-03-05T19:09:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:06:42.479-07:00My Trip of 2 On-site Interviews in The US - Part III droped by the school S after conducting the on-site interviews with school R. I received an email invitation during the interviews with school F two weeks ago. <br /><br />The interview was conducted by 5 professors in the meeting room. The questions they asked were very diffirent from those asked at school R. The director of the PhD program asked some tough questions in the beginning, such as what data should be collected if I would like to measure a company's performance. After I squeezed a rough answer, he asked "ok, what else?" Well, I totally had no idea this time. Then he said, "how about tax?" I nodded, and the 5 professors began to discuss on this blah blah blah.....as a seminar began. Honestly, I learned a lot from their discussion and enjoyed listening to their conversations, but this interview was really a tough one to me, especially as an international applicant.<br /><br />The professor told me that they had received 14 applicants this year and planed to take in 2 while interviewing 4. Great, I have a chance of 1/2. When asked about my motivation to be a professor, I said that I liked the academia life. Then I was interupted by the professor, "life? There is no life in the academia. Look at Professor XXX. He doesn't even have a wife!" OMG! Professor XXX looked like over 55 already.<br /><br />After the interview, I was also invited to talk with the current doctoral students. No lunch invitation.<br /><br />The financial aid provided is very generous, compared to other schools I am applying to. The professor is very famous in this field and seems very strict. I am quite sure that I can get a very good placement if I graduate from this school. The question is not whether I can get admitted, but whether I can graduate.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-74527224814521904112007-03-05T18:28:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:06:32.874-07:00My Trip of 2 On-site Interviews in The US - Part IHaving not heard of anything form the school phone-interviewing me two weeks ago, I begin to wonder whether I have been waitlisted or rejected already. I expected to receive an admission from school F and some rejections after I returned from the US two days ago but heard of nothing. <br /><br />Anyway, speak about my trip to the US for the two on-site interviews. I have been in contact wih a professor, who asked me for an on-site visit, at school R for 6 months. I finanlly made the trip last week. I was interviewed by 4 professors separately, including the director of the PhD program, who mentioned that there are 28 applicants this year competing for 5-6 admissions and that 7 of them have conducted or are conducting on-site interviews. Luckily, I am one of them. I also asked about what qualifications the school is looking for in its doctoral students. The professor said that he would not allow this on-site interview if I am not qualified for entering the program.<br /><br />He also asked several tricky questions, such as am I visiting the US only for the interview and why did I choose to switch to the academia as I am more like a businessman. <br /><br />During the break of the interviews, I was invited to have a lunch with current doctoral students, speaking about the PhD life, the placement, the financial aids, and, of course, the professors. The lunch was on the department.<br /><br />After I got home two days ago, I wrote thank-you letters to the professors separately and got a reply from the one I would like to work with. He said that I met all the requirements that he would like to see in the doctoral students and that there should be someone from the department in touch with me shortly. I take this as a positive sign but wouldn't like to expect too much for I haven't heard of anything from the professor at school F, who said the similar thing to me two weeks ago.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-69303962313751671112007-02-13T17:21:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:06:14.884-07:00The Second Interview Completed這是F學校約好的第二次面試,上次打來的是我想跟的那位教授,這次打來的是Admissions Committee的人。<br /><br />十點教授準時打來,然後叫我等一會,然後接上另外兩位教授,共三個人。<br /><br />這次的問題比上次多了很多,我幾乎招架不住,主談的是一位印度教授,有點口音,但不是很重,他問了許多問題,其中幾個我稍微"I am sorry"了一下,兩回後他就問其他兩位教授願不願意接替他來主談(不曉得會不會被減分)。下面是我記得的問題。<br /><br />- Why this school?<br /><br />- What's your research interest? <br /><br />- What motivates you to pursue this line of research?<br />motivation問了兩次,第一次是開頭時問的,我說我的過去經驗使我想要去念這一方面的東西blah blah講了一堆,過了幾題後,另一個教授又說想要多了解我的motivation,我當場傻了,不是該講的都講了嗎?怎麼又問,愣了半天,只好硬著頭皮說: As I just mentioned, my past work experiences motivate me to ....; besides, I am chasing a life style,因為工作這些年下來我發現自己比較喜歡學術生活呀,我可以做自己想要的研究,並找尋一些問題的答案,我喜歡這樣的lifestyle...<br /><br />- What's your decision factors if you get admitted to more than 2 schools<br />我又blah blah 的講了一堆,說你們的學校在大城市,比較溫暖,很好呀,又說faculty interest如何如何,大概一個教授聽不下去了,就叫我舉三個decision factor,我說location, financial aid, 跟faculty research interests<br /><br />- Whom do you want to work with at this school?<br /><br />- Does your quatitative ability more strong than English writing ability?<br /><br />- Career goal<br /><br />- Any preference school that you wanna work at after you earn a PhD?<br /><br />- Reference letters<br />他先問我認不認識我以前學校商學院的某幾位教授,我說我聽過名字,但不認識,他又問我的reference letter誰寫的,我說了名字,他似乎不認識,就問是在哪個院的,我說是computer science,他說看我能不能再找些美國教授的推荐信給他們寄過去...<br /><br />- Any papers you have read<br />我說我看了關於XXX, OOO, VVV 方面的papers, 很有趣啦,他還不死心,繼續追問,要我多講一些,好讓他們了解我是如何準備攻讀這個專業的,我只好瞎扯,說我除了看了你們學校那位教授的文章外,還看了C學校教授的文章,對XXX方面很有興趣,又看了R學校教授的文章,對OOO方面很有興趣(本來不想講的,因為C校和R校的這個專業都比F校好),說我申請的學校都是我想要的學校,也是因為先看了這些學校教授的文章後,覺得有興趣,才申請的。他終於就沒在追問下去了<br /><br />- How did you find the school?<br />我說美國提供這樣專業的學校很少,我上各大學的網站一所一所找,找了至少兩百多所吧,好不容易找到他們學校,就發 email 給 chair, 那chair寄了papers給我,我看了看,覺得挺有趣的,就決定申請他們學校了。<br /><br />- Research experience<br /><br />- Any research topics are you interested?<br /><br />- Did you find any interesting questions you want to study?<br />我舉了幾個例給他,他又不肯放棄了,追問我這些問題當中,我認為哪個問題最重要,有沒有什麼解決方法,我又傻了,只好說,我目前沒有解決方案,這就是為什麼我要去念PhD的原因。他說"ok",接著問別的...<br /><br />- What kind of Math background do I have?<br />我說我有修過Calculus, Metrices & Vectors, and Applied Mathmatics, including diferential equations nad probability <br /><br />- Did you take any courses related to statistics?<br />沒有,回答的很心虛<br /><br />- Did you take any MBA courses related to strategy?<br />沒有,心開始在滴血<br /><br />- Your second Mater's degree is more about management or technology?<br /><br />- Any programming languages skills? Like Excel(我懷疑自己是不是聽錯了,Excel可以當作programming language? 還是Access? 但 Access是database,應該也不算吧) and Visual Basic?<br />我說我會C++和Java,掛電話才想到可以多講一些,說像是Visual Basic不是問題等等<br /><br />整個 interview 沒聽到什麼 positive 的話,每次回答完,教授就說ok, 然後下一題,讓我愈講愈沒信心。整個interview時間大約30分鐘。令我比較訝異的是最後一位教授說他有一個comment給我,說他們沒有我大學和研究所的成績單,要我趕快準備,並且先把複本傳真給他們,我又傻了,搞了半天,原來剛剛interview的過程以及之前的聯繫我的教授都沒看過我的成績單!我不曉得該哭還是該笑,於是說我記得我將成績單放在同一個包裹中寄給他們了,要是他們沒收到的話,我再寄一份給他們。<br /><br />面試完後真是百感交集,教授們追根究底的精神真是令我佩服,使我幾乎答不上來,過程中也感覺不到他們對我的回答滿不滿意,總之是盡力了,過完年還有三個interview呢,真是折騰。如果今年沒有申請到,都不知道自己明年是否還有勇氣與精力申請呢。D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-44319465886402486312007-02-12T18:32:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:05:53.635-07:00The Second InterviewAfter completing the first interview last week, I got an email from the admissions committee asking for the second interview tonight. The professor who called me last week said that the admissions committee may ask me the same questions. I believe that the first interview is for screening purpose and that the second interview has something to do with the decision. I hope that I can get my first offer soon.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-42422470067623236112007-02-05T19:25:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:05:44.775-07:00First Interview Completed昨晚刚完成了第一所学校的电话面试,约了晚上十点,教授约莫10:20打来,开头先跟我抱歉,说是找了我的电话很久,找到后却怎么也打不通,后来发现是他拨错国码了,说完自己呵呵笑了,然后就开始问问题:<br /><br />1. Your research interest <br />2. Why this school<br />3. What's your career goal after you earn a PhD <br />4. Your previous research experience<br />5. Do you have any preference about job location after you earn a PhD?<br /><br />我回答第二个问题时没回答好,我说”I think your school is resourceful…” 还没说完教授就把我打断,说他不觉得这个学校的这个专业很resourceful,只是因为他本身有这个兴趣,所以他个人尽可能地提供各式各样的协助给PhD students….我心凉了一半,心想肯定没戏了。不过他没继续就这问题追问下去,开始往下问。<br /><br />第四个问题问我有没有research experience,我说我有,但是那是science field,他要我叙述一下,我说就在实验室做实验,帮教授准备data,并指导研究生,他问我做什么实验,我说我的field是在超导体,做了大量的实验,他就说我对 science 一定很了解,然后接着问第五个问题。<br /><br />我说我目前没有特别的preference,只要能让我继续做我有兴趣的研究anywhere and anytime,and as long as I have a good idea…他听了之后说It’s a good answer(这是整个interview中我唯一听到他positive的话),又说他们学校是research oriented,有些applicant希望毕业后能教书,但对他们来说,做research是比较重要的,也希望敎出来PhD学生能有solid publishing.<br /><br />他花了很长时间介绍他们学校,说虽然学校已经一百年啦,但最近十年才有商学院PhD课程,非常新,所以在学术界还没么名气,比不上”brand name schools”。但他们非常注重学生质量,为了跟brand name schools竞争,他们会非常严厉的要求PhD学生产出许多papers,因为毕业后找工作时,名牌大学的毕业生因为名牌的关系,所以不大需要担心,但其它学校的毕业生必须靠publishing及参加conference来积累实力及名声,因为你的publishing多的话,找工作时人家就不会注意你是从哪个学校来的,讲到这里他自己又笑了起来,我都不知道该说什么好。<br /><br />他又说因为必须出版很多论文的缘故,他们学校特别注重学生的English writing,他说从我写给他的email看来,我的英文应该没问题,我的writing sample也ok,虽然quantitative也很重要,但是比起writing,quantitative还是次要的。<br /><br />最后我问了”May I ask about my chance of being admitted to your program?” 他又笑,说我可以问,但是他不好回答,说我应该在他们申请者的top30%,学校最后应该会录取10%,他因为手边没有我的资料,不知道我是否在top10%,虽然我的application应该是toward positive,但还必需和其它faculty讨论才知道,又说”I am not comfortable to comment…”<br /><br />这所学校不是那么知名,但跟他聊过后我还挺想进的。不过整个interview中没听到什么positive的字眼,加上今早又收到一封另一所学校寄来的怪怪email,一边要求我interview,一边又说我是”remaining candidates…”,心情极差,还要写thank you letter…D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-72433512132731918822007-01-30T20:03:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:04:42.341-07:001st InterviewI got an email from another professor at School F after I replied yesterday. He would like to "discuss my research interest in more detail." I take it as my 1st phone interview and am a bit nervous and excited about it.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-28994967407379490592007-01-30T00:51:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:05:23.339-07:00Progress<strong>Progress of School C</strong><br /><br />The professor I have been in contact with asked me for my resume and PS last week. I supposed that he had not reviewed my application, that he had not been on the admissions committee, or that the committee review had not started yet. <br /><br />After I emailed him the documents, he replied to me, "I sent an email to the head of the PhD program speaking about our correspondence, saying that you were a very strong candidate and that the timing was good. I should have a chance to talk with him before any decision."<br /><br />A couple of hours later, he sent another email to me, "It would make sense for us to have a conversation on the phone at some point. My home phone is XXXXXXXXX...."<br /><br />I took his letters as a positive sign but tried not to be over-optimistic. After all, the official decision is made by the admissions committee rather than a single professor.<br /><br /><strong>Progress of School F</strong><br /><br />I got an email from a professor on the admissions committee. He would like to know the progress of my application to other schools and my interest in the school's program relative to others before the admissions committee makes a "short list" in one or two weeks. I guess that I am already on its "short list." The school is not very famous and renowned by many applicants, and the field I am applying to is not open to application every year. To sum up, I think that my chance of getting into this school is high. After I replied to the professor, he emailed me again, saying that he will contact me again after the admissions committee reconvenes.<br /><br />Well, I hope that these signs will bring me luck and do get me into these schools, not a dream.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-19344997497217206602007-01-13T00:18:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:05:34.452-07:00InterviewersI got an email yesterday from a secretary at the PhD program that granted me an on-campus interview. She is arranging the meetings with the professor who asked me for the interview and two co-Directors of the PhD program. She mentioned that the Senior Associate Dean of Enrollment Management would also like to meet me. I am not surprised at the meeting with the two co-Directors, but I am wondering why meeting with the staff at Enrollment Management. Does this sound sort of like meeting with HR in addition to the future supervisor during a job interview? this reminds me of my job hunting and interviews in the US six years ago.<br /><br />I will meet another professor I am in touch with the first thing in the morning that day. She is the instructor of my friend who just got his PhD last fall. She has reviewed my PS and CV and gave me a very positive comment. I hope she will give me some advice and even tips about the interview.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-79081394859495581922007-01-07T23:17:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:05:11.234-07:00The Mistakes I Have Made in My ApplicationsI made many mistakes in my applications. This article is to summarize them.<br /><br />Schools at level A:<br />University W: Application completed<br />University B: Application completed<br />University G: Advised by the professor to retake GMAT, but I didn't do so.<br /><br />Schools at level B:<br />University R: A minor mistake in the PS; TOEFL is required, which I have scheduled to take in April. Not sure if the school is willing to wait for my score.<br />University S: Application completed<br />University C: Informed by the school that the evaluation forms, which I had not attached to my referees, along with the recommendation letters are required.<br /><br />Schools at level C:<br />University F: The school's name was misplaced on the recommendation letter for the other school.<br />University I: Application completed<br />University D: Application completedD.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-52315660076423574592007-01-03T01:30:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:06:53.224-07:00The Timeline of My Application09/2004<br />-Began to prepare GMAT<br /><br />11/2004<br />-GMAT, 1st take, 600, terrible<br /><br />10/2005<br />-Began to review and prepare GMAT<br /><br />03/2006<br />-GMAT, 2nd take, 580, horrible<br /><br />04/2006<br />-Continued to review and prepare GMAT<br /><br />07/2006<br />-GMAT, 3rd take, 690, unexpected and accetable<br />-Began to contact recommenders, collect transcripts, and draft PS.<br /><br />08/2006<br />-Got permissions from 3 recommenders.<br />-PS ready.<br /><br />09/2006<br />-Email touting started.<br />-Read papers<br /><br />10/2006<br />-Submitted the online applications.<br />-Asked by Professor C to arrange a campus visit in early 2007. <br />-The luggage including the recommendation letters from the Professor S in the US was lost by the airline.<br />-Professor S agreed to send a copy to me again.<br />-The luggage was found and arrived.<br />-Request GMAT to be sent to the schools.<br /><br />11/2006<br />-Sent out all the application packages.<br /><br />12/2006<br />-Joined an online chat with the Graduate Admissions at one of the schools that I am applying to and confirmed that the school, the only one, requires that I submit TOEFL.<br />-Got an email from a Canadian school, asking me whether I can ask my recommenders to send the letters again along with the evaluation forms, which I didn't include into my application package.<br />-Got an email reply from Professor K at one of the US schools, which I want to get in most, as a late Christmas gift.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-38540940532807511562006-12-27T18:14:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:07:01.617-07:00Unexpected emailThis morning I got an email from the professor whom I sent an email on Oct. 1st. I had not heard from him until this morning. I was very surprised. He said, "I would encourage you to apply first. XXXX related research is still in its infancy and there is a lot opportunities. Good luck." <br /><br />I have already submitted my application to this school one month ago and have no idea about why he replied to me at this time, three months after my email to him, especially as the only possitive word in his email is "encourage". Does it mean that he is interested in me? I am also curious about why he kept my email for three months. This professor is the one I would like to work under most during my PhD study, but the average GMAT at this school is a bit higher than my score. Since I emailed him and got no reply in Oct., I had already put this school on my "waiting list" as I had no clue about my chance of getting in. All of a sudden, I got his email today, making me nervous again. If this school admits me, I will no doubt take this offer and give up on the others. Am I wondering too much?D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-50092307694196859122006-12-26T00:29:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:07:27.387-07:00Time as a Measurement InstrumentIt's very interesting to estimate the possibility of getting admitted by time measurement. I used to estimate the possibility of a deal by measuring the time the customer spent with me, my service, or my product. If a customer spends significant time talking, meeting, or working with me, the chance that I get this deal/contract is high. Otherwise, the chance is low. <br /><br />This time measurement strategy could, I believe, be applied to applications to schools. The trick is trying to get the faculty's interests and its willings to spend time with me. I have been trying to make contacts with the faculty and asking for a campus visit as possible as I can. Besides, I always left a room for further discussion in the future as communicating with the faculty. If a professor spends, in total, more than two hours exchanging tens of emails with me, the case is rare, I guess, and my chance of getting admitted is high. If a professor is willing to talk with me via phone for more than half an hour, the chance is higher. If a professor would like to spend half a day meeting with me on campus, the chance is sky-high. <br /><br />The time measurement is a prevailing approach in the real business world. Since the professors I would like to work with are all with B-schools, they should know this approach. Thus, the feedbacks that I have from them at present should be a positive sign.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-79279264175886550222006-12-21T20:24:00.001-08:002007-05-28T23:07:38.206-07:00Pros and Cons?念PhD有什么好?都到了这个大多数开始发福的年纪,还打算去读PhD?有些家人朋友都认为我疯了,本来我也是这么认为,一度想要放弃,尤其是当GMAT考不好的时候。不过,一想到小平同志70来岁才出头,李摩西也是40多岁才去Cornell读博,这才重新燃起了希望。<br /><br />出来年纪都一把了,还能干嘛呢?况且,也不见得四年就能毕业,即使毕业了,也未必能找得到教职。不过,若是这样想,就什么事也都不必做了。毕竟,这么多年的工作经验下来,entrepreneurship research是我真正感兴趣的东西。有passion是很重要的,至少我还知道自己的passion是什么。回想刚出社会时,原本有个领股票领到饱的工作机会,但却为了自己的兴趣进了某大计算机公司,后来又为了自己的兴趣离开前途似锦的职位,花了$$$$去美国念硕士,谁知念完碰到Internet bubble,在美国找不到工作,只好回国创业。这一创就创了五年,钱是没赚到几个,但却跑了不少国家,见了不少人。若是待在那家领股票领到饱的公司,现在应该快退休了吧?后悔吗?好像不会?<br /><br />对我来说,人生好像不是只有赚钱而已。财聚人散、财散人聚。钱只要够用就好,如果能够做我喜欢的研究、在我感到舒适的环境、有充分的自由、可以去全世界各地参加seminar,同时交交异国的朋友,或许在不同的城市各待上几年,作作visitng/guest scholar,和喜欢的人在一起;也许我可以出一本书,像Good to Great一样畅销,让我的爸爸妈妈感到骄傲,人生如此,也就够了吧。D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-38802952574122931782006-12-18T18:18:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:07:52.518-07:00The 3rd and 4th years in the PhD studyC 校我想跟的那位教授建議我聯繫他的PhD學生以了解學校的現況。這位教授是非常資深的學者,我和他交換了十多封 email ,他也建議我去看看他在1990寫的一本書。上個月透過 eBay 買了 一本二手的看了看,真是豁然開朗,明白了為何每個學校的 entrepreneurship 專業差異這麼大。<br /><br />這教授的學識素養以及專長研究似乎就是我要找的,但他卻打算在2009年退休。他的學生T 今天回信告訴我,我可能會面臨在 PhD 第三年及第四年需要找其他的 professors 來 guide 我,但問題是這學校其他的教授對entrepreneurship沒有太大的興趣。T 告訴我市場上很缺PhD-trained instructors in entrepreneurship,是件好事也是壞事。好事在於PhD 畢業後應該很搶手,壞事在於很難找到老師敎你...It's a dilemma.<br /><br />想太多了,先拿到 admission 再說吧。D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-43257900143245768392006-12-13T18:27:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:04:15.923-07:00Email to professorsI think that emailing the professors before you decide to apply to the school where they teach is very crucial to the Ph.D. application. Doing so should greatly increase the chance of getting admitted. First, after getting their replies, you will see which professors are still active in research, which professors are planning to shift their research interests, which professors are switching to other schools, and, most importantly, which professors are considering taking a Ph.D. student in the following academic year.<br /><br />Second, if you don't get a professor's reply, this implies that he might not be interested in you or too busy to emailing you, or that he is not willing to open a dialogue to you before he begins to review your application. It is no harm as long as you keep your first email short, concise, and polite. You can still apply to this school, but it's difficult to predict your chance of getting in.<br /><br />Third, you should have a better understanding of the professors' current research from their replies and thus be able to rule out some whose field of interest does not interest you. This could narrow down your "shopping list" and help you find accurate matches. Sometimes a professor will send you his recent research papers. This is a good sign. If you are interested in his research, you could easily find out some research questions in the papers he sends you. If you can not find any questions in his papers, then he may not be the one you would like to work under for four or more years.<br /><br />I emailed 13 professors in different schools in North America and Europe and got 10 replies. From my experiences, the chance that the schools with higher ranking will reply is lower. It, however, really depends on each professor, the school policy, and your "touting strategy", I think. I once got an email back from a nice professor at MIT but no reply from a professor at the school out of top 100. So, this really depends.<br /><br />From the "touting process", I narrowed down my "shopping list" to 9 schools in North America. 7 of them replied to me (I dicided not to apply to MIT). From their replies I selected 4 from the 7 schools as my "high priority", which doesn't mean that I want to get in them most but just means that they are highly interested in me. I exchanged many emails with the professors in thses schools to talk about my research interest. I think I am on their candidate list already.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-88183841151096698262006-12-12T19:13:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:02:35.398-07:00TOEFL waiver<p>刚刚和研究生院的staff online chat聊完,他告诉我只要不是从学校里直接毕业的外国学生都需要托福(比MIT还囉嗦,MIT说如果有faculty对你有兴趣,则可以讨论免掉T)。不过他说T可以在deadline后补交,又说除了T外只要我的材料齐了会直接送到department去审,有可能在make decision之前要我的T。言下之意似乎是T的问题要找department去谈了,不知会不会像MIT一样只要有教授愿意收你,就可以免了?</p><p>反正既然打算明年二月去一趟学校拜访,就到时候再问问 Professor C吧。现在问似乎不大好,他可能会叫我去考T。问题是最近ETS的T网有问题,无法网上报名,又听说三月前的位都满了,要考也得等到四月了。明年二月问问Professor C,如果他愿意收我,我就去考T,若是他对我没兴趣,就别花$$了,毕竟我申请的学校当中,只有这所特别难搞。</p><p>我想如果我是professor,又看到你花了$$大老远跑来美国找我谈,你的credential也不错,research interest又match,也有个英语系国家的Master’s degree,我应该会收你吧?要是我对你没兴趣,就不会让你大老远花$$飞一趟了。剩下就是TOEFL的问题,如果我是professor,真要想收你了,大不了让你去补个T,应该没事。如果真不巧,因为T而把我拒了的话,那就是天意吧,就不去这所学校了,我应该还有别的学校可去。Wish me a luck.</p><p></p>D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-6046042527088782772006-12-06T01:45:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:02:06.703-07:00偏執狂這兩天把過去看過的 papers 拿出來複習並用 Excel 做總結。準備GMAT的過程的確帶來不少好習慣,比如說做總結。我把 papers 拿出來分類、歸納、分析、給 tags、並加上自己的 comments & questions. 這樣做有個好處,幫助我在準備即將來臨的 interview 時可以更準確地找到所要的論文內容,並 refresh my memory. 除此之外,也為將來在做研究時,可以更有條理地在心理建立邏輯圖,也可以說是個 reference index. 感謝GMAT,感謝ETS.<br /><br />我的個性是很屬於很 paranoid 的那種,雖然已經預訂了明年初去兩所學校 interview, 該做的準備也都做了,申請文件也都寄了,理論上我想應該不會連一所學校的 admission 都拿不到,但是我還是忍不住東想西想,想著萬一最壞的情況發生了怎辦?真的一所學校都不要我的話,該怎辦?再重新申請?我沒法開口跟那位幫我寫推薦信的美國指導教授說請他再幫我寫一次。況且,即使他願意,我也沒把握今年申請不到明年就一定申請得到。把GMAT考到750嗎?我也沒把握考到750就一定進得了。所以,要是真一所學校都進不了,我打算明年就申請MBA吧,我想以我的背景申請MBA,進MIT或Stanford應不是問題,進去之後唸個一年拿 straight A's 再轉PhD,這樣總進得了了吧?想起李安在拿到奧斯卡獎後接受媒體採訪說的一句話: If there is a wish, there is a way.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-38837349809951093282006-12-03T23:04:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:01:50.808-07:00Interview RequestI just got an email from a manager of student service in one of the schools that I am applying to. She was referred by the professor with whom I have been in touch since I decided to apply to the school where his research team is. I have exchanged several emails with the professor, talking about his research projects, my research interests, and the school. He encouraged me to consider a campus visit early next year to meet him and asked the manager to coordinate the meeting. That's why I got her email this morning.<br /><br />She would like to know my schedule to arrange a meeting with the professor, the current PhD students, and the Director of the PhD program. I am not nervous of meeting the professor, but am hesitated to meet the Director. I guess it's because I have plenty to discuss with the professor, but less to say when meeting with the Director. Since I have submitted all of my application materials, I have plenty of time to prepare the interview. I suppose that some of the interview questions be like:<br /><br />1. Why Ph.D.<br />2. Why this school<br />3. Why this professor/research team<br />4. What motivates my desire to pursue a Ph.D./Why leave my current company<br />5. What's my career goal<br />6. My research interest<br />7. Asking about the papers I read<br />8. Asking about my work experience/current company<br />9. Asking about my research assistant experience<br />10. Asking about the courses in which I got B's at the graduate school<br />11. My questions regarding the program and the school<br />12. How will I cope with the inevitable setbacks during my research?<br />13. How do I cope with pressure and deadlines?<br /><br />My questions to ask:<br />1. Stipend<br />2. Working/studying hours<br />3. The progress of the current research project the professor is working on<br />4. Questions I encountered when reading the professor's papers<br />5. What motivates the professor to pursue research in this field of interest?<br />6. How many applications the program received this year?<br />7. How many applicants will you accept this year?<br />8. Do you think if I have a good chance to join your research team?<br /><br />Thing to do before the interview:<br />1. Refresh my memory about the results and further research of papers I have read<br />2. Refresh the research questions I have taken notes.<br /><br />Things to avoid during the interview:<br />1. Dismissive attitude<br />2. Arrogant attitude<br />3. Convoluted story of why persuing a PhD (just tell a concised, sweet, and emotional version.<br /><br />Things to do after the interview:<br />1. Thank You letter<br /><br />Any others? I am still thinking...D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-65271836376183201312006-11-28T22:58:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:01:30.097-07:00专业我有兴趣的专业在business school里并不常见,甚至可以说非常稀少。大部分学校都没有相专业,少部份的学校放在Strategy下面,极少部份的学校才提供专门的课程。连Harvard、Stanford、Chicago、Kellogg这些牛校也都没有这方面的研究,仅仅有一两位教授的研究方向有相关。牛校当中只有MIT有提供完整的课程,虽然之前套过MIT的一位教授,也接到令我惊讶的回信,但以我的背景,最后还是决定别浪费申请费了。<br /><br />我一直认为申请PhD和申请MBA不同,申请MBA的过程很荒缪,以商业的观点来看,买家想要购买卖家的服务,除了得付出高昂的费用之外,还必须经过冗长的申请、面试、第一轮通知、第二轮通知等等程序,才能买到买家想得到的服务。天底下除了MBA,还有如此艰难的购买经验吗?我知道某些名牌专卖店的购物流程也是这样,有钱想买名牌包,还不一定买得到,必须先在店外排队(因为店里人太多)、拿号码牌、等候、进场、寄包、购物、等候、结帐、拿包…<br /><br />申请PhD像是在求职,像是Trump的 The Apprentice 里的应征者一样,要杀出重重关卡才能得到mentor的青睐。申请MBA是拿着钱去买商品,申请PhD是拿着你的履历去找老板,本质上不同,申请策略也必定不同。<br /><br />想想自己在过往应征新人的时候,最看重应征者的哪些特质?嗯,passion、fit、personality,都对。Skills? Well, maybe. 所以mentors也在看这些吧。这样看来,或许我被录取的机率蛮大的,因为我想念的专业应该不会有太多的人申请,在不会有太多竞争者的情况之下,我有很强烈的动机与兴趣,只要mentors们不是太看重量化成绩,应该没问题。Well, we will see very soon.D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-73242840918914430322006-11-28T22:21:00.000-08:002007-05-28T23:00:37.236-07:00終於告了一個段落經過幾個月來持續與學校教授的聯繫,終於在昨天把所有的文件都寄了出去。從7月底考完GMAT到現在,剛好4個月,這期間挑出了9所美國學校,及2所歐洲學校。由於歐洲學校的deadline都比較晚,所以先準備美國學校的申請。<br /><br />過去的4個月裡除了準備申請材料之外,就是忙著跟學校教授「套瓷」。9所學校中有7所學校的教授有回信,都還算正面,感覺希望比較大的有4所,也計畫明年初去拜訪其中的2所。可惜我最想去的W學校的教授沒回我信,但無論如何還是決定申請W校,希望他能收我。<br /><br />我的背景其實不是很好,GPA不高、GMAT不高、有一點研究背景卻沒發表過任何論文,唯一看起來還算不錯的就是工作經驗,但聽說工作經驗對申請Ph.D.沒太大的幫助,不知真實情況是不是如此...<br /><br />有些PhD的論壇還不錯:<br />English: <a href="http://www.gmatclub.com">www.gmatclub.com</a><br />Simplified Chinese: <a href="http://www.chasedream.com">www.chasedream.com</a>D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37813639.post-1164706022029349802006-11-28T01:26:00.000-08:002006-11-28T01:27:30.796-08:00The opening dayThe reason I created this blog is to record my application progress to Ph.D. in management/entrepreneurship, to trace the future research development in my doctoral study, and to store useful links and information for those who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D at a research-oriented business school. Good luck to me and other applicants...D.K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15836204816470254022noreply@blogger.com0