MSF 讀完繼續在同一個學校讀phd的可能性？

ice_cheese66

今年fall會去美國讀msf，學校是前50的。想問如果想留在同一學校讀phd的可能性有多大。。因爲現在對讀finance phd還是挺有興趣的，想問下前輩們...因爲本人對phd的申請沒有什麽了解，要是不在同一個學校讀，想申請別的學校，豈不是一去到美國讀master的時候就要開始申請了？因爲我master的program是一年的，所以感覺要申請其他的學校時間上面比較緊...

neo1001

at least it should be easier for you get into the phd program of your current school, as for other schools, it depends on whether you can get good RLs from the finance prof. of your current school. Of coz, it depends on your GPA, GMAT and other stuff too.

Good luck!

ice_cheese66

I Kinda feel that applying for PHD is even harder than getting a decent job in U.S. To ls, say i am graduating for my msf degree in 2009, so it means that i have to complete my phd application by the coming x'mas. It would be a tough job for me to do that. My undergrad is HK top school, decent GPA GMAT and T, and i will probably go to either UIUC or Vandy for master. I dont have full-time working experience. So is UIUC or Vandy already good enough for me to do PHD? or do i stand a chance to go for a better one？Ｃａｕｓｅ　ｉ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｈａｖｅ　ｎｏ　ｉｄｅａ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｈｏｗ　ｈａｒｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｈｄ　ｐｒｏｃｅｓｓ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｂｅ～ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ　ａｎｙ　ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔｓ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｓｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎ

darcie

I guess the two schools are good, but as to finance phd good is never "enough" ex-ante.

neo1001

what is your undergrad major?

for finance phd, UIUC is great, Vandy is also very good. You can check the background of ppl who got offers from these schools (you can search it in this board)

Are your programs strictly one-years programs in UIUC/Vanday? Depending on your undergrad background, you may consider spending 2 years in your master program so that you have time to take some phd level courses and have better preparation for PhD application.

ice_cheese66

My undergrad major is finance too. it's more like BBA (finance), so i do take lots of courses in other areas too. The master program in vandy is strictly one year, but one of the tracks is PHD track, probably a good preparation for finance phd. However, the program is strictly one year, and i was told that the program cant be extended. For the program in uiuc, i guess the max length for the program will be 1.5yrs. I might choose vandy over uiuc at this moment, how would you guys rate its phd program...and btw, how long does it normally take for one to complete phd after a undergrad and master (both in finance)ｄｅｇｒｅｅｓ

neo1001

typically 5 years nowaday, whether you have your master or not. if you do your PhD in ur master school and you take some PhD courses in your master program, then you may save some time in your doctoral program...

For finance PhD, UIUC is better than Vandy. UIUC is top 20 and Vandy, I would say, is top 40. (But it is very good already, considering the fierce competition when you apply for a finance PhD). But Vandy is a private school, which means they have more money to bring in famous prof.

Considering your undergrad and master major, it will do you good if you can improve your math and/or econ background while you are in ur master program. But if Vandy has a PhD track in their MSF, I would say doing your MSF in Vandy is better, if you have decided to do a PhD later on.

jimmycen

最佳方案：去了以后跟自己的Supervisor和任课教授多探讨，更重要的是直接和PhD Director以及Finance的Coordinator或者Chair约时间仔细询问。

ice_cheese66

以下是引用neo1001在2008-4-7 22:21:00的发言：
typically 5 years nowaday, whether you have your master or not. if you do your PhD in ur master school and you take some PhD courses in your master program, then you may save some time in your doctoral program...

For finance PhD, UIUC is better than Vandy. UIUC is top 20 and Vandy, I would say, is top 40. (But it is very good already, considering the fierce competition when you apply for a finance PhD). But Vandy is a private school, which means they have more money to bring in famous prof.

Considering your undergrad and master major, it will do you good if you can improve your math and/or econ background while you are in ur master program. But if Vandy has a PhD track in their MSF, I would say doing your MSF in Vandy is better, if you have decided to do a PhD later on.

So actually, from a finance phd student point of view, finance in UIUC is better than Vandy? Cause at this moment, i need to decide for my master school first, and i have been struggling between these two. I havent made up my mind to continue with a phd degree, but i do think it could be a decent choice for me. So i need to choose between these two based on two factors: phd possibility and quality + job placement. neo1001, do you have any comments on my choices? Any one.here.please feel free to put your opinions...

neo1001

I am not a Finance PhD student yet, but will be soon. But in terms of overall qualify in finance doctoral program, I think no one could deny that UIUC is better than Vandy. (But again, I am not saying that Vandy is not good. It is just a comparison.)

Also, keep in mind that you don't have any guarantee that you could get into the PhD program of UIUC/Vandy once you get into their master programs. It is just that you may have a better chance.

Based on your information,

UIUC: longer time in master, better school for finance PhD; but the master program is more of a professional degree (I assume)

Vandy: shorter time in master, PhD track in the master program; but not as good as UIUC in terms of finance PhD

I agree with you that your choices should be made based on phd possibility and quality + job placement. But just like finance, there is always trade-off between risk and return. You have to decide yourself...

You can hear what other people say. By the way, you can ask current students in UIUC/Vandy about prospect of doing a PhD in UIUC/Vandy as a master student there (I think they are kind of active in the master board.)

Good luck!