I completed my Masters degree from a pretty good school in October 2017 with a 3.8 almost 3.9 GPA. Not Ivy League but still pretty good (Villanova). I received a 700 on my GMAT. I received my Undergrad from Indiana University where I obtained a 3.5 GPA. I have done some independent research and have presented at a couple different national conferences but never been published. I have years of professional experience at the exempt level, in my field, as well as a couple different industry certifications.
I want to continue on into a PhD program. Research is fascinating to me and I’ve received pretty good feedback on my research and writing skills. I don’t want to attend a Ivy League school, really my interests are more in line with a couple different state institutions. I’ve researched these programs and their lines of study and am really passionate about what they do. I’ve looked into their specific requirements and know all the jargon about what looks good and what everyone always wants to see but what I really want to know are my odds. With what I’ve described above do you think my odds are good?
The information provided is too vague to make a judgment.
What field are you in?
What does your research background look like? What does “some independent research” mean here? That could mean that you completed a semester of an independent study with a professor (which wouldn’t be enough for most PhD programs), or that you have conducted two years’ worth of your own independent research with no oversight (also not really an acceptable thing for most programs), or that you did some research as an assistant or in partnership with a professor or some other researcher with a PhD (which is the ideal kind of research).
The years of professional experience may or may not matter depending on the field and what they are. If you want a PhD in education and you have taught K-12 for many years, or want a PhD in social work and have worked as a social worker, then the professional experience will help you! If you want a PhD in experimental psychology but have been working as a rehabilitation aide or in a mental health clinic, that’s not really going to help that much.
“State institution” is a meaningless designation here that doesn’t indicate quality or competitiveness of the school. In many fields, many public universities are on par with - or better than - Ivy League universities. For example, in my field, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Berkeley, UCLA, UVa, and some other public universities are top-ranked places. And it’s not always elite flagships - Rutgers is tops in philosophy, and Iowa is a great place for creative writing.
GMAT scores are pretty useless to non-business PhD programs. (However, getting a good GMAT score may indicate that you’re prone to getting a good GRE score when you do take it. No guarantees, but it’s likelier.)
The person best equipped to assess your odds if the last professor that you did research with. It would be prudent to have a frank conversation about what you can expect to achieve in terms of the ranking of programs. That professor might also be able to suggest professors in your area of interest.
There are no safety schools for graduate school unless a professor has told you that he’ll definitely take you on
Why do you want a doctorate? Do you want to teach at the university level or work in the field? What degree is necessary for your professional practice? Is there a subarea of you field that you want to study?
Your professional goal helps shape your educational choices. When doing reaearch, do you want to be part of the team or the person who secures funding, writes the grant, determine parameters for human subjects? As a member of the group, you probably make convention presentations and be a coauthor in the list.
The comments suggest your questions are being imprecise, but may really indicate that you need to think about your professional goals. When you get that ironed out you can think about which programs best align with your interests. Gather the application materials from those schools, read program and individual class descriptions, look at publications and or presentations of faculty.
Apply to those schools that interest you. There unlike college admissions where requirements and criteria are pretty much set, grad schools seem to seek qualified applicants who are good fits for the program. Do you want financial asistance?
Apply programs that are good fits for you. Back in the day, I applied to several graduate programs with one being the number 1 program with so the whistles and bells. Got acceptance at several great schools, but with sorry money. Oddly, was considered the number one applicant and exceeded dreams in academics, opportunities, money…at the highest rank program.
Ah, so know what you want to do and why and be able to express that clearly when asked. Among faculty, there is a sentiment about who would be a good member of their professional community. You are selling you!
In my field (Human Resources) the programs that are of most interest to me are located at state institutions. I differentiated them from Ivy leagues because state institutions are not private. I wish to avoid a private institution; I did not differentiate them because I felt they were superior or inferior to Ivy Leagues in anyway, simply my preference. I took the GMAT because in preparation for what I thought was going to be an MBA program I selected the most pertinent test. Although many institutions will interchangeably use a GMAT for GRE.
I prefer a more specific field in HR called Industrial Psychology, but I am also passionate about Organizational Behavior.
As far as my research background is concerned, what I mean by “independent research” is that at the advice and direction of a professor I took the lead on a research project. I generated my own testing constraints, identified variables, conducted statistical analysis, wrote/edited a white paper, and submitted for review. I would like to obtain more structured research experience but I am no longer in school.
My primary interest in a doctoral program is that it will enable me to do two things: 1. Teach, 2. Conduct research…In conducting research I am driven by a strong desire to generate new findings and propose new ways of approaching problems.
In my professional field (outside of academia) a PhD is not really necessary. Generally speaking it doesn’t add significant value unless you’re doing research for a private organization; which isn’t my goal. I want the PhD for teaching and research purposes.
Professionally speaking, teaching at the college level is truly my dream. I feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment when I see a learner suddenly just “get it” and succeed. As far as research is concerned, I truly love reading the work of others and trying to build off that knowledge base. My least favorite part of research is, admittedly, the raising funds aspect. However, I realize it is a necessary evil.
I’ve already identified three schools that are my primary interest because the professor’s research focuses are in line with my interests and passion. I’ve already reviewed their curriculum, and even have ideas for other topics/courses to teach. I feel highly knowledgeable about the programs that interest me. What is deterring me is the competition aspect. While I understand that my opinion in this matter is useless, I do strongly feel that if you demonstrate the ability to succeed at that level you should be given a chance. However, I understand that practically speaking this is impossible.