<p>I am planning on applying to finance phd programs this fall... but I'm not sure if I stand any chance. I graduated with a BS in mathematics (minor: business) from a small liberal arts college in the US (spring 2011). I graduated with an overall GPA of 3.43. (First two years GPA: 3.0. Last two years GPA: 3.72). Since I finished my undergrad I returned to my home country and have been working in a small corporate finance company (doing some accounting, taxation and assisting in making some investments). I will take my GMAT in a month and so far I've been getting 680-720 from the practice tests. I have very little research experience (My topic was "Black&Scholes option valuation" for my senior research presentation).</p>
<p>I am not looking into getting top schools... more like into a top 75 program (preferably a state school in the south east). Of course, the competition is very though to get into any phd programs in finance therefore my question is: Do I have a chance? or should i rather concentrate on applying to a master's programs in applied math or finance before even dreaming about getting into a phd program? Oh in the future I want to work in the academic world (teaching and doing some research). </p>
<p>Thank you for reading my post. I really appreciate any help.</p>