Phd Finance-Phd Economics USA
Hey, I am interested in applying for a Phd in Finance or a Phd in Economics at a University in the USA, preferably east coast.I have a 2:1 degree in Economics (think it translates to 3.1/4 GPA) and a masters degree in Finance with merit (2:1) (3.5/4 GPA) both from average UK universities. I have not done the GMAT yet and don't really know what Im capable of achieving. I have done a lot of maths in both my degrees mainly econometrics, statistics and the usual quantitative areas studied on these courses. I have no research experience except for my two dissertations (average scores). on the information provided would i have a chance of getting into a half decent university for either of these courses in America. Any particular universities I should aim for? Thanks.
The 3.1/4 might make it extremely hard to get into anything but a low-ranked program. I don't even know if programs ranked around 50 generally take people with that GPA. Who knows though, maybe your master's degree will help you out. Also, you'll have to take the GRE, not the GMAT. Why do you want the PhD? What are your career goals?
Im from Ireland and would like to work on wall street. I figured that the easiest way to get a job there was to study in america. Also more importantly I want a job as a quant or after a few years of work experience as a portfolio manager therefore a PhD would be a big help. I think my undergraduate translates to 3.1 , its 61% so maybe not even that high. I can do a Phd in the Uk if i want but would rather do it in America.
I think the 3.5 masters will help you. Score high on your GMAT and maybe try and find some faculty that will let you help with research. I think you need to show an ability to crank out papers. That will help offset the GPA issue.
You should contact specific schools - re GPA, many American Schools have much grade inflation going on so it might not be fair to compare. You should talk to professors in your school and ask them for the advice as to where to apply
At the minute I attend a university approximately around 450 in the world rankings so i don't expect to get into a top 50 business school in the US. Id be happy with an average university as long as it gave me a good chance of getting a job on wall street. Is there any universities that you could recommend? Im going to study hard for the GMAT and hopefully get high 600's or higher. I just want to get into a well respected university, maybe in the top 100 in the US. Thanks for the help
Are you guys sure it's the GMAT? I thought you have to take the GRE for Business PhD programs? OP, 50th ranked is about average. There are only like 100-150 Econ PhD programs in the US, so I suspect there are a similar number of Business PhD programs. Furthermore, the business programs actually take fewer students each year, making them potentially even more competitive (in terms of admissions only). If you want to do more quantitative stuff, then you probably want to do an Econ PhD, as opposed to a Business PhD.
I don't have that much of a preference between PhD Economics and PhD Finance as I would concentrate on Financial Economics if i did the Economics anyway. What kind of private sector jobs would either of these PhD's get. Does a PhD from most universities give you a good chance of getting into an investment bank or any other highly paid institutions. What kind of starting salary are we talking?, Thanks
It does not. The stats I've seen indicate you need to be at a top 10-15 PhD program in most cases. The starting salaries are good, but getting into a top 15 Econ/Finance PhD program is no piece of cake. Like someone else said, there are generally easier ways to go about it. If you want a PhD for a bunch of other reasons, and would be happy in a few other careers, than it's a good idea - but going in hoping for a solid finance job is probably a losing strategy IMHO.
The whole PhD - IBanking thing has been covered. If you really want to get into IB thought, I think its been established that there are better ways to go than a PhD.
You have to remember too, people that get into top 10-15 Econ PhD programs could easily have gone into IBanking or something similar instead but didn't for whatever reason (Just look at some of the admin statistics at those programs, the average GPA's, GMAT, etc would easily have put those people in a position to get looks from most banks). That should tell you something. If they wanted IBanking, they could have had it but chose the PhD. Its not like they went the PhD route for another shot at recruiting.
Thanks for all the help its really made me think about things. One more thing. I have the BSc Economics and the Msc Finance. Is there any tips you could give me which would help me break into I-Banking. Was possibly thinking about working for a while and saving up to do a masters in computational finance. Would this be a good idea?
Another degree is probably not the best idea. With that said though, the master in comp fin is definitely less-bad than the PhD.
Let me throw this out there. Unless you want to be a tenured professor, just get an MSF. You can teach with a masters, the MSF will give you a significant knowledge increase from what you learn at the bachelors level. It is only one year so the opportunity cost is not huge. It will not hinder you from getting into anything FO and if you want to do research, it will give you the tools and some exposure for you to get your feet wet.
Only do a PhD if it is your passion and teaching is your ultimate goal.
I have family friend who did PhD in Econ(?)/Finance not 100% sure. It was top 30(?), definitely not top 15 program. I believe they are having a tough time from what I heard. I highly, highly recommend not doing a PhD just to get into Wallstreet. Top rated PhD programs are harder to get into than B-school, academically speaking. 4 years of your life. With your stats, not sure if you'll get grants/scholarship needed. PhD program without the extra money is bad investment for majority of people.
MSF is my recommendation. I believe ANT can elaborate more on this.
Yes, they are harder (academically speaking). They're also much harder once you get in. At the end of the first year, most programs flunk out 25%-50% of the cohort (via qualifying exams). And trust me, these are not slackers or idiots. One of the guys who failed in my year was from a highly-ranked liberal arts program, with a 3.7-3.8 GPA, and he studied 70+ hours a week. Even after the first year, it's still ridiculously hard (second year is okay, but I hear third and beyond is pretty rough). And pretty much nobody finishes in 4 years; 5 or 6 years are the new standard.
So why would anybody do this? Well, I agree with what ANT said, you only do it if it's your passion. And, as far as I can tell, a lot of people do it for other reasons - no wonder so many of the students in my program seem chronically depressed. Anyway, as is probably obvious, I didn't enjoy my experience very much, and would only recommend it to a select few. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
PhD is a passion, not a job. You can do a lot with a PhD, but the primary job is a professor. I think a masters is the highest degree you can really get and still work.
There was an article somewhere about PhD programs being a false hope for people. Not enough academic positions. Maybe a finance PhD could go into a research or quant role, but you could do the same with a masters.
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