<p>Hi everyone. It has been two years since I posted on this forum and it feels funny to return and be nervous about school.
Two year ago, I transferred to UB Berkeley as a math major. First semester, I got A and A-s and a B- in probability. In the next two semesters, I kept getting A-s and As.
And last semester, i decided to finish a minor which is easier than math, in a semester so I took four classes in an unfamiliar department (industrial engineering and operation research) and was stupid to not treat them seriously. It was basically a bad semester. I got a Pass, a C+, a B-, and a B (graduate course).
My GPA, which was 3.7 before, dropped to 3.478 now.</p>
<p>Cannot believe this happed right before I applied to grad school!!!</p>
<p>My advisor asked me to look at top 20-30 grad school before, and I am not sure what schools I should look at now.</p>
<p>I am interested finance, and Asia culture. I want to study how governmental control affects the current market in Asia. So phD programs in B-schools fits my goal pretty well.</p>
<p>My recommenders can be:
1. My finance instructor. He is a PhD student who will be graduating soon but he knows me well. I plan to ask his advisor who also knows me to co-sign it.
2. My math professor (I took a class with him and randomly say hi to him afterwards).
3. A professor in Asian studies. I took her class and he liked me. I also know her GSI well.
4. The CEO in a major insurance company in China. I did my summer internship with him.</p>
<p>two questions</p>
<p>1 What kind of schools should I apply to (I don't think I have any problem getting into tier 1. but schools at what ranks should I look at?)
2 who should I ask for letters of recommendation from?
3, should I say anything about my bad semester. how much will the bad grades affect me?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I assume you will be applying to graduate schools for math. What other qualifications do you have?</p>
<p>I want to study finance or econ.
I did not shine at UCB at all. I tried to do a research in mathematical biology for a semester but I did not have a background in bio and I am not even interested in it. I did an independent research in knot theory for a summer and had a poster presentation (go a fellowship) but did get any paper published.
I have been working as a resident assistant (RA) and organized many programs, that’s the only leadership experience I had in the pas two years.
I am such a loser. =(</p>
<p>I emailed the advisor in the math depatment from another UC to asked about what my chances were. here is her reply:</p>
<p>Its very hard for me to assess what your chances will be because it is based on your transcripts, letters of recommendation, research experience, etc. Your grade point average is above our minimum and near the average for our admitted students, therefore you would definitely be considered for admission. You also went to a good university. Based on these things I would recommend that you apply, but I really can’t say what your chances are exactly. Please let me know if you have any other questions about the program or the admissions process.</p>
<p>EWWW
I hate myself</p>
<p>Finance PhD programs have brutal competition and admit very few students per cohort. I would be leery of assuming that anyone necessarily can get into a top tier program (depending in part on how you define that). How is your GRE/GMAT? The TestMagic folks seem to believe a GMAT of 730+ is required for admission to top programs, and of course the quant. score should be nearly perfect. Also, I believe with finance programs that you will want to pay close attention to the research match between yourself and faculty at programs to maximize your chances of success.</p>
<p>Sorry everyone. I apologize for my bad grammar and typos. I posted this question when I was really sleepy last night. I just woke up and reread it. I am embarrassed.</p>
<p>hi one<em>eyed</em>rex,
Thanks for your answer
I meant to say top 1-200 when I said tier 1.
I haven’t taken GRE yet(PhD programs in B-schools also accept GRE) I think I can do well in the quant section, ok in verbal, and I am not sure about writing, yet, I don’t think it will be hard for me to score at least 3.
I am trying to find out what kind of schools I should look at before matching my interest with the profs. I found some profs who I love to do research with (I read their paper and research topic) but they are all in top 10 schools, which I think will be hard for me to get in.</p>