anupag wrote:
That is one of the best advices I have seen.
I agree with the idea that we haven't been able to develop ideas and info about many schools, that is a fair challenge. I have myself not seen many people posting about their experience, perhaps it is because this PhD forum is still in its infancy. As it grows and alumni return to the board to give advice, perhaps we can find better advice for a lot of schools. But being in a PhD program myself, let me say that there is nothing like a lower ranked school for a Phd. What is the criteria ? student numbers ? MBA rankings ? Papers published ? Well, it could depend a lot on research area and the individuals at the schools. A PhD program is a very high investment for a School, you need to schedule separate classes, faculty needs to get involved, and you need to forego tution as well as pay scholarships to students. Hence most PhD programs are quite good, mediocre programs do not survive - unlike MBA. Do not therefore worry about rankings, getting into a program suitable for you is what is most important. That is very un-MBA like.
Hope for the best for both of you, and best of luck !. And please do return to advise others who seek your views. There aren't many forums on the net where people can post questions about PhD programs and can be assured of genuine responses.
Thanks to you for your advice and help. It's funny about rankings and such, you're certainly right that vis-a-vis the type of schools discussed on this forum, UMass as well as most of the big state universities--the Berkeleys and Michigans of the world notwithstanding--is "lower-ranked".
When I look at the totality, however, I think "Hey, UMass is a pretty hot program there, ranked top 10% of all business schools in the U.S., ranked top 20% of all AACSB-accredited schools in the U.S.".
There's no shortage of people who have MBAs from local little schools that are just fine and often AACSB, but not prestigious--the Business Department Head at a little college where I teach PT is just as happy as a clam with his MBA from Pittsburg State (tiny little school in Kansas, not big uni in Pennsylvania), and obviously, he was able to get a teaching position with it at the college level. Compared with many schools like that, a PhD from UMass or the University of Colorado or Mississippi or Nebraska looks like some type of jewel on a CV.
I've no aspirations to someday secure a tenure-track post at a top-20 school, so I don't feel compelled to do the "top-10 or bust" thing for a PhD program. I've got a wife and a slew of kids, I don't want the stresses that would go with a teaching post at a really prestigious university, even if they would have anything to do with me.
It's all about context. I'm sitting here wondering if somehow I can be good enough for a very solid PhD program like UMass to catch their attention when I apply late this year.