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[RumblingRosco]

Started as a Ph.D student in 2008, after starting off strong and doing pretty well, things just... fell apart. Didn't have a committee meeting for 3 years after I defended my proposal in 2010. I finished off one project and then was given another, and when I was given that other project I just... floundered. I never recovered and was told if I didn't meet certain deadlines after a committee meeting in September I would be asked to step down to a Master's. I preempted then when my experiments kept failing and decided to save myself the embarrassment of facing my committee again with barely anything done.

Dang, I'm sorry man, that's certainly rough. I've been extremely on-point to make sure I schedule my annual committee meetings (in my department, it is up to the student to initiate them, which is a pro or a con depending on the student) and have been fortunate that they've gone well so far. Regardless, congrats for almost being done. It'll feel great when you finally get out of there.

 

[GreatMightySymp]

Got a Masters in Computer Science back in Spring 2012.

Thinking of going for a PhD sometime in the future when I'm older possibly.

 

[Bay Maximus]

Quick GMAT questions:

-How long does it take to get the results?

You will get your 200-800 score immediately (it may differ +/- 10 points from the official score but it's usually right) and it will take a week or so for them to mail you your written score and IR. Your 200-800 score is by far the most important but the IR is very young so it's kind of a wait and see thing for many schools

-If I take it more than once, how will that affect my application? Will they know/care if I take it more than once?

They'll know if you took it within the last 5 years. They generally won't care if you can get them a score they like with good splits. Most schools like to see a meaty quant score.

-How is the test actually administered? On a computer or on paper? My handwriting/spelling are horrific so this is an important question for me.

Computer. You'll have scratch "paper" that you can use for your own notes though.

-How many test sections require writing versus multiple-choice or number entry?

Virtually meaningless writing section followed by Multiple choice IR, quant & verbal sections

-As it relates to the math section, can you bring in a simple calculator? If not, how is scrap paper dealt with?

Can't bring a calculater, but there is a built-in one on IR. Scratch paper isn't really paper but little plastic wipey things they will supply.

Thanks.

Answers are bolded.

 

[DavionStriker]

MBA / Engineer here. I highly recommend it for anyone with a technical degree. If you want to be making decisions for your company, you need some sort of business background. It also helps if you want to get into engineering management.

 

[Ken Masters]

Started as a Ph.D student in 2008, after starting off strong and doing pretty well, things just... fell apart. Didn't have a committee meeting for 3 years after I defended my proposal in 2010. I finished off one project and then was given another, and when I was given that other project I just... floundered. I never recovered and was told if I didn't meet certain deadlines after a committee meeting in September I would be asked to step down to a Master's. I preempted then when my experiments kept failing and decided to save myself the embarrassment of facing my committee again with barely anything done.

Very sorry, tough to read that knowing people in PhDs programs right now

 

[Wilsongt]

I plan on working for a little while and then going back for a Ph.D someplace else. The lab I was in and the University... Just aren't a good fit for certain people.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

I got my bachelors in math and am currently working on my Master's I doubt I'll get a Ph.D. since I'm not really interested in teaching. Lately, I've been thinking about switching from the Math program in an Operations Research program because I think it might be more helpful for me trying to get a job after I finish. Does anyone here have any Operations Research experience?

 

[n00bsauce87]

Just past the halfway mark in my Master's program, Nonprofit management. Oddly (not really I guess) enough, a lot of hardcore finance classes. Maybe I should have doubled it with an MBA. I'll ask my adviser about that, but I have no plans on going forprofit. There are a shit ton of nonprofits and with this along with working experience (currently employed as an assistant) in operations management, I could take my pick in whatever nonprofit and in whatever entry level position I should choose.

Wasn't getting anywhere with my african amer studies major/asian amer studies minor. And I tried com sci first, then journalism.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Answers

Answers

Answers

Answers

Thanks guys.

I will probably return to ask more questions over the next few weeks.

 

[Mascot]

MA in industrial design here.

Thought about a PhD briefly, but would only have really considered it seriously under company sponsorship.

 

[Tom_Cody]

I have another fairly specific question about the GMAT:

I've been working through the practice problems in the official 'GMAT Prep' software (with the expansion question pack). I usually do 5 questions of each type at a time (30 total). Occasionally the reading comprehension and reading-intensive 'integrated reasoning' problems will present a written passage and then have multiple successive questions based off that one passage.

Does this come up in the actual test? This is kind of an important issue when it comes to time management since the majority of the time required answered those questions is spent on reading.

If so, is there a set number of passages to be read and then some number of questions based on those?

I can't find an answer on the official site. It shows that there are 41 total verbal questions, but it doesn't say how the reading comprehension questions are broken down within that.

 

[Tom_Cody]

One more:

How does timekeeping work in the test-taking facility? The handbook says that you can't bring in a watch. Are there wall clocks? Are you presented with a clock within the computer terminal? The GMAT Prep software presents you with a timer for the current question and for the total time. I look at it constantly while I'm doing practice problems so I have realized that I need to make sure it doesn't become a crutch.

You can probably guess from my first email and now this one that I'm having a lot of issues related to time management.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Last one:

It is my understanding that you can't bring a calculator and that there is a calculator app within the computer terminal. Is this correct? I have been doing practice problems with a hand calculator and I want to make sure that I'm not using something that I won't have access to while taking the actual test.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Currently getting a combined Master's Degree in English and Secondary Education. I don't particularly enjoy it, but I need to do something with my life... right?

 

[ThLunarian]

I was able to bypass the GMAT to get into my Masters of Accountancy program, which starts next month for me. I'm excited. It's only a year-long program, and then it'll be time to finish up whatever is left of the CPA exam and get a public accounting job.

It will be sweet to never have to deliver a pizza again.

 

[SeanR1221]

I have a masters of science in psychology.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Took the GMAT this morning. Ugh, what a stressful experience. I got a decent score (680, 85th percentile). This isn't great, but its probably about as good as I possibly could have expected to have done based on 3 weeks studying while working full time. I just scanned the thread and I see that a bunch of you are much smarter than me. I salute you.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get everything together for an application to NYU/Stern's part-time program for next fall. I only fully decided that I wanted to do this last month, so I'm either somewhat behind schedule for the fall or very early for next spring depending on how you want to look at it. They do rolling admission so I hope it won't be an issue if I'm a few days late in getting everything together (though I should be able to get everything together in time).

I'm not really sure of how I should view my chances. My GMAT score puts me right in the middle of their admissions profile, but my undergrad grades aren't great. I do have 5+ years experience running my family's small manufacturing business (my title is General Manager) though.
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admissions/part-time-mba-nyc/community/class-profile/index.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/part_time_mba_profiles/stern.html

I guess I'll just have to see what happens. I would feel much more confident if I had done 20 or so points better. Oh well.

/To anyone who cares

 

[Mii]

Is there where you decided to go?

Coming back to this thread now that I know, I'm going with Stern's full-time program. I put in the deposit a few days ago. I put in my two weeks notice with my company today.

For anyone curious and looking at schools for next year, some basic data on Stern full-time:
Class Profile
Overall Ranking: 10
Finance Ranking: 3
Placement & Salary Stats
Employer List

This is going to be the last summer I can take for myself without worrying about a gap in employment, and I'm going to make sure to enjoy it after I get CFA level 3 out of the way. Still deciding where I want to travel to this summer, but I expect a decent amount of time abroad as well as some time catching up on my gaming backlog.

My end goal is corporate development in the tech space or a tech M&A corporate finance function of investment banks. I"ll keep checking back in with this thread every now and then. Also, if anyone has any questions (application process, Stern-specific, etc), I'll gladly provide whatever info I have. Feel free to PM me if this thread is moving too slow.

Took the GMAT this morning. Ugh, what a stressful experience. I got a decent score (680, 85th percentile). This isn't great, but its probably about as good as I possibly could have expected to have done based on 3 weeks studying while working full time. I just scanned the thread and I see that a bunch of you are much smarter than me. I salute you.

For 3 weeks studying while working full-time, a 680 is great. What study materials are you using? Earlier in this thread, I recommended Manhattan GMAT. If you're willing to take a bit more time and spend some on MGMAT materials, you could probably get up to the 740-760 range. What is your Quant score? If your Quant raw score is 48+, I wouldn't bother retaking. Quant score matters most to these programs; English proficiency can be proven through application essays.

I was able to bypass the GMAT to get into my Masters of Accountancy program, which starts next month for me. I'm excited. It's only a year-long program, and then it'll be time to finish up whatever is left of the CPA exam and get a public accounting job.

It will be sweet to never have to deliver a pizza again.

Congrats! Which program are you going to? I remember responding to some of your posts/PMs in the past, happy to see things are coming together well. I'm (now former) Big 4 (first audit, then valuation advisory). Already sorted out your courses for your first quarter/semester?

 

[jkanownik]

Took the GMAT this morning. Ugh, what a stressful experience. I got a decent score (680, 85th percentile). This isn't great, but its probably about as good as I possibly could have expected to have done based on 3 weeks studying while working full time. I just scanned the thread and I see that a bunch of you are much smarter than me. I salute you.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get everything together for an application to NYU/Stern's part-time program for next fall. I only fully decided that I wanted to do this last month, so I'm either somewhat behind schedule for the fall or very early for next spring depending on how you want to look at it. They do rolling admission so I hope it won't be an issue if I'm a few days late in getting everything together (though I should be able to get everything together in time).

I'm not really sure of how I should view my chances. My GMAT score puts me right in the middle of their admissions profile, but my undergrad grades aren't great. I do have 5+ years experience running my family's small manufacturing business (my title is General Manager) though.
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admissions/part-time-mba-nyc/community/class-profile/index.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/part_time_mba_profiles/stern.html

I guess I'll just have to see what happens. I would feel much more confident if I had done 20 or so points better. Oh well.

/To anyone who cares

I got a 1490 SAT with an 800 math. My GMAT prep was similar to yours and it absolutely kicked my ass. It was stressful as hell. Luckily I was just going for a lower tier school and was able to wipe the score from my memory. My problem was I aced the practice math test and didn't realize how much general math knowledge I had lost. I spent all my time studying for the verbal. I'll never forget the sinking feeling I got in my stomach when I got to a problem on the volume of a cone or some shit like that. It was all downhill from there.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Coming back to this thread now that I know, I'm going with Stern's full-time program. I put in the deposit a few days ago. I put in my two weeks notice with my company today.

Congrats.

My end goal is corporate development in the tech space or a tech M&A corporate finance function of investment banks. I"ll keep checking back in with this thread every now and then. Also, if anyone has any questions (application process, Stern-specific, etc), I'll gladly provide whatever info I have. Feel free to PM me if this thread is moving too slow.

I just might do that.

For 3 weeks studying while working full-time, a 680 is great. What study materials are you using? Earlier in this thread, I recommended Manhattan GMAT. If you're willing to take a bit more time and spend some on MGMAT materials, you could probably get up to the 740-760 range. What is your Quant score? If your Quant raw score is 48+, I wouldn't bother retaking. Quant score matters most to these programs; English proficiency can be proven through application essays.

Thanks, but I certainly don't mean to brag. I've always found the "I did X well and I didn't even study!" excuse to be kind of smarmy. I'm sure I will be able to improve my score if I need to retake it but I'm really just hoping that I get in to Stern's part-time program and I can wash my hands of the thing.

I used the official GMAT practice problem program and the official GMAT guidebook. I believe you that Manhattan is good but I simply didn't put in enough hours of studying for that to be relevant. I did practice problems using the program for about 10 days, then I spent a few days going through all of the math fundamentals in the book (just the text, no practice problems), I spent one day going over stuff related to the essay, I took a full practice exam using the official program on Tuesday after work (4:45-8:45, no dinner, brutal experience), I did a few more practice problems on Wednesday, and then I took the test on Thursday morning.

Regarding Manhattan again, it became very clear to me early on that I could have easily taken 6 months to study for this. It's not like I spent 3 weeks studying and was like "I'm good". It's just that, as I said above, I'm in a position where I can either race to get all of my stuff into Stern by the deadline for the fall term or I can take as much time I want to go for the spring 2015 term.

Unfortunately I only got a 43 on the Quantitative section. My total score was heavily helped by my verbal (and IR to a lesser extent). My undergrad degree is in mechanical engineering so I hope that balances that out. Math has always been my strength in school, it's just that I got totally killed with time management on that section in the test. I'm sure I will be able to bring this up if I have to.

Stern's part-time program isn't as selective as their full-time program and I'm also paying full tuition. I feel like the whole theme of my application is "please take my money / I hope I cross your minimum threshold".

 

[Tom_Cody]

I got a 1490 SAT with an 800 math. My GMAT prep was similar to yours and it absolutely kicked my ass. It was stressful as hell. Luckily I was just going for a lower tier school and was able to wipe the score from my memory. My problem was I aced the practice math test and didn't realize how much general math knowledge I had lost. I spent all my time studying for the verbal. I'll never forget the sinking feeling I got in my stomach when I got to a problem on the volume of a cone or some shit like that. It was all downhill from there.

I totally feel what you're describing. By the end of the test I felt like there was blood coming out of my ears. Prior to the score popping up, I honestly thought that I could have gotten a 400 based on how my brain was feeling. The one practice test I took two days before the test really helped my confidence though. I actually got the exact same total score on it (slightly different distribution though).

Regarding basic math knowledge, I went through that during the 10 days I spent doing practice problems. I was continually stumbling upon problems that I either used to be able to do in high-school/college or simply represented gaps in my math education. I'm very happy that I went through the math fundamentals section in the offical GMAT book. It is like a mini textbook containing all of the stuff you need to know for the test. The main issue I ended up having was time management. I didn't do enough math practice problem under the time constraints you face during the test. The 'easy' problems are easy and quick but I was frequently taking 5-10 minutes to do the 'hard' problems in practice sessions. Having gone through the book, I felt very confident that I had filled in the gaps in my knowledge, I just didn't have time to do the proper prep after that to get my speed up. Those damn Data Sufficiency problems...

 

[Mii]

Thought I'd bump this since school starts soon! Maybe we'll have some other GAFers knowing they'll be pursuing graduate education this year.

 

[terrisus]

It feels so strange for a new school year to be starting, and for me not to be in school.

Aside from the brief gap in 2009, this is the first fall since 1987 (or, heck, 1985, since I was in preschool in 1986 and 1987) that I haven't been getting ready to start school now.

 

[jimmypython]

Got my PhD in biochem last year..

 

[thequickandthedead]

How do you guys fund your studies?

 

[sub_o]

MSc. Computer Vision.

 

[LevelNth]

I have a masters of science in psychology.

I'm going to be starting my Masters in Clinical next year, and the plan is to move on to a PhD should I successfully get into a program (I'm in Canada).

Are you pursuing a PhD as well or are you done?

 

[metalslimer]

Getting my masters in neuroscience this year. Happy since it's only a 1 year program.

 

[Mii]

How do you guys fund your studies?

MBA is nifty. For the 3 to 5 years you're basically required to work in the real world before an MBA, you can try to patch up prior undergrad debt and save for the MBA. The right job before MBA can go a long way to making the debt not hurt.

With that said, I'm not exactly excited about wiping out most of my savings and having $40k debt by the end of this, but people say its recuperated quickly.

 

[Timeaisis]

I have a Masters degree. I guess that counts.

 

[ThLunarian]

Masters of Accounting student reporting for duty.

I actually started in the Summer though. The MACC program is only 10 courses, so I'll be done in the spring. Today is the first day of the Fall semester; just took Advanced Financial Accounting part 1, and at 5:30 I start Tax Research and Planning.

All in the name of the CPA exam, of which I hope to take the first section in January!

 

[SeanR1221]

I'm going to be starting my Masters in Clinical next year, and the plan is to move on to a PhD should I successfully get into a program (I'm in Canada).

Are you pursuing a PhD as well or are you done?

Done for now. I'm doing a post graduate certification called a BCBA (board certified behavior analyst). I might do a PsyD some day, but after I get this BCBA I'm taking a long break.

My masters was research focused. I didn't do much clinical work, I spent about 6-8 hours a week in a lab researching autism

 

[Pastry]

I'm working on my MBA, halfway done with my program. I decided I would rather finish my MBA slower and return to the workforce. I'm decreasing my class hours to 6 a semester and job hunting, trying to find a job is a bitch. I've got 4 years of marketing experience with a year long employment gap from being a full time student. Sigh.

 

[terrisus]

I have a Masters degree. I guess that counts.

It's funny, the disappointment at not finishing my PhD almost makes me forget that I do actually have a Master's.

Spoiler

Not being able to get a job making use of my Master's is much more to blame for me forgetting about it though >.>

 

[Vinci]

Took the GMAT this morning. Ugh, what a stressful experience. I got a decent score (680, 85th percentile). This isn't great, but its probably about as good as I possibly could have expected to have done based on 3 weeks studying while working full time. I just scanned the thread and I see that a bunch of you are much smarter than me. I salute you.

People who score higher than you are not necessarily smarter; they are simply better at taking the GMAT, which indicates a greater chance for handling the quantitative/analytical rigors of an MBA program. A higher scored individual diminishes the risks associated with accepting a candidate into an MBA program, so schools lean that direction.

There were people who scored enormously high in my MBA program and people who didn't. In the end, years later, I don't see any sort of trend towards or against each group in terms of real-world success. Nor did I notice any substantial difference between people working in teams with them throughout the courses.

So score as high as you can, to appease schools which are very sensitive to it, but don't feel inferior or at a disadvantage to those who score higher.

 

[jmood88]

I will be getting my master of Public Health (management and policy concentration) in May. Once I'm done, I will be heading to med school in a year or so.

 

[moeman]

How do you guys fund your studies?

I'm working towards an MPH, and unfortunately for the first year I had to take out some loans. I was fortunate to receive some scholarships for my second year, but will still need to take out some loans for the next year.

Mostly for grad school it seems like loans are the way to go, unless you are able to get scholarships. I guess it depends on the field you go into.

EDIT:

I will be getting my master of Public Health (management and policy concentration) in May. Once I'm done, I will be heading to med school in a year or so.

I have the exact same plan as you! Except currently my concentration is in health promotion.

 

[Ivieto]

How do you guys fund your studies?

I am currently getting 100% funding through my university for research work, as well as a decent stipend for living expenses. A lot of PhD and masters programs will fund you if you apply to a competitive and technical field.

 

[Mii]

To answer your question, I took the GMAT, but for getting into a MS Taxation program, not a MBA program.

Headed to graduate school in two weeks! I scored a 700, studied while working full-time as well. Was going to give you some advice, but I see you already took it. 680 is not going to get you into the top MBA programs unless you're an URM, but it's still decent for any local/regional school.

My GPA was sub 3.0, but I took some community college classes in business after I graduated, so I was able to present proof that I had "learned" from my mistakes in UG.

Advice to all GMAT takers: Be sure to study the Official Guide. I only studied/opened the Official Guide, but I did buy the MGMT tests, and took all of them online. The way I found was the easiest for me was to take each section slowly, utilizing the pause button, and then seeing what I got wrong and why.

Have fun in your MBA program! I'd love a Grad-GAF thread where we can bitch about graduate school .

I'm probably going to start treating this thread as one.

Right now I'm refreshing my knowledge on statistics 2 days before our orientation starts. I want to pass the proficiency test that gets me out of doing this course. I'm terrible at statistics, but this class is entirely on the easy shit. I'm hoping I do okay.

I already got out of basic finance, corporate finance, and financial accounting with work experience and undergrad. If I can get out of this too, it'll open up a ton of space for me to do what I want in my first year (advanced finance + entrepreneurship).

If I can pass this statistics proficiency exam, I'll have no classes Monday (or Friday but thats typical for all Stern students and with most MBA programs), and I'll have an entrepreneurship and investment banking course my first semester.

I'm really hoping to angle myself for M&A advisory IB in the tech industry.

 

[LilWayneSuckz]

One more semester till I have a Masters of Science in Accounting.....one semester alone consisting of 2 classes is $9,000 *sigh*

 

[Mii]

One more semester till I have a Masters of Science in Accounting.....one semester alone consisting of 2 classes is $9,000 *sigh*

Congrats! Anything lined up yet for after school? Have you been interviewing with the Big 4 + others?

EDIT:

Jia you! I got my BA in English, so I have many, many, many pre-reqs to take for graduate school. Luckily, Mihaylo will admit you even if you don't have the pre-reqs. I have 0 pre-reqs done, so I'm mentally preparing myself for finance, accounting, etc. Ughhh.

Exciting! My favorite courses =) They can be fun when practiced in 'real-world' application. Building the foundation strong in both topics is very important - both build upon what you learn in the basic classes significantly. If you miss the boat early, its going to hurt later on.

What are you hoping to be doing after Mihaylo?

 

[Lonely1]

I got a MS in CS and started a PhD a few weeks ago.

How do you guys fund your studies?

The government pays it fully, I get the equivalent of 20K a year with tuition covered.

 

[thequickandthedead]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Can anyone help me make sense of the bolded section in this? If you want to do Msc Computer Science then why can't your original degree be in Computer Science?

 

[terrisus]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Can anyone help me make sense of the bolded section in this? If you want to do Msc Computer Science then why can't your original degree be in Computer Science?

My assumption would be that they want you to have a wider base of knowledge.


Since a Master's is required for teaching in my state, my college didn't offer a "Bachelor's in Education," since their expectation was that you would get your Bachelor's in "something else" to give yourself a wider base of knowledge, and then go on to your Master's in Education.
So, that is kind of like that, just in reverse.

 

[metalslimer]

How do you guys fund your studies?

Loans and more loans. I'm setting myself up pretty bad here, but there aren't any other options.

 

[Bacon]

Wow, there's a lot of acronyms in this thread! I just finished my bachelors and have a job but am open to getting a masters at some point, i'm just too burnt out on school at this point in my life though.

 

[The Lamp]

I think I'm either going to do a master's in engineering or MBA before I turn 30. Depends on which route I end up wanting to take with my career.

 

[Timeaisis]

It's funny, the disappointment at not finishing my PhD almost makes me forget that I do actually have a Master's.

Spoiler

Not being able to get a job making use of my Master's is much more to blame for me forgetting about it though >.>

I have a few friends that were PhD students (with previous Master's) and dropped out. They forget they have graduate degrees on a daily basis. Either that or they feel their "lowly master's degree" is worthless. It's kind of amusing, but also kind of sad.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

What was everyone's split on Quant and Verbal on the GMAT? I was trending on my practice exams at around 680-700 and ended up tanking verbal on test day and pulled only a 610. Fucking pissed me off. I'm taking again three weeks. The 8 AM test time I think impacted me. I need to crush se Mountakn Dew before the verbal section this time.

 

[Ominym]

Weird to see this thread pop up as I start graduate school on Monday. I'll be getting an MS in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).