Admission to Wharton School at Penn

Graduate School
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<p>Hey everyone. I am a Pharmacology undergrad at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. I have a 3.96 GPA, 1400 GREs (800 math, 600 verbal, 4.5 analytical writing), research and presentation experience, and teaching assistant experience.</p>

<p>I want to apply to Accounting or Finance for Graduate School but I have a couple of problems:</p>

<li><p>Which field will give more job opportunities and better pay for academia?</p></li>
<li><p>Am I a viable candidate for Wharton?</p></li>
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<p>and</p>

<li> My BIGGEST problem is the personal statement, which is as follows: Please discuss your research interests and career objectives. Be as specific as you can about the area in which you plan to study and your reasons for wishing to study at this university. Include any research work, publications, or fellowships and awards that are part of your academic record and experience.<br>
How can I relate my field to finance or accounting? Any suggestions on what I can include in my essay? I am COMPLETELY lost with it.</li>
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<p>Wow pharmguy, it sounds like you had a personal crisis recently. Your experience in pharmacology surely won't go to waste...I would stress the desire for different types of challenges available in the financial world. I might mention something about the isolating nature of scientific research and how you have always been such a people person. You could also stress your highly defined analytical and decision making skills from your science background. </p>

<p>On a different note, what happened? Last week you were talking about grad school in the sciences and wondering about admissions processes, but now you are asking about the differences between finance and accounting. Everybody has freakouts and reassesses their life goals and career plans, for awhile I seriously thought about data analysis in the world of investment banking, but then I was just being *****y about the low salaries and limited job stability in science at the time.</p>

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<p>haha...no, no belevitt. I'm not freaking out. I have been planning on applying to the Wharton School along with science for a while now, but I just can't get rolling on the personal statement. </p>

<p>I'd like a career in academia no matter what I do, and I know business is universal and has fairly high pay. Business is not my priority, but if I could get into Wharton, it would be tough to pass up. Thanks for your ideas!</p>

<p>If anyone has any other ideas for the essay, feel free to let me know.</p>

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<p>Pharmguy,
I'm not sure on this but I would check on admission requirements to Wharton. Some prestigious MBA programs require or strongly suggest some work experience prior to admissions. The Wharton site does not specifically say that but it does say they prefer rec letters from supervisors. Just something to consider.</p>

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<p>thanks for the heads-up teefore...but I am applying for a PhD in either finance or accounting, not for an MBA. the wharton site says that people from all backgrounds get accepted and that work experience is not a requirement.</p>

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<p>What other backup plans have people hatched throughout the years in case academic research doesn't pan out? I have had a few that I am embarrassed to share...sea captain on a cruise vessel (for real), airline pilot, investment banker, criminal law attorney and most laughably, family practice doc.</p>

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<p>As a backup plan, that seems like a heavy duty detour! ...seeing how it requires 3 years at a law-school (>$150K debt), passing the state BAR, and trying to find a career-worthy job (not temp attorney work), etc.</p>