How do I get into a research intensive PhD program?

Note: These are opinions of current and past PhD prep students who may or may not have even gotten into a good school. Treat them as such.

• Study for the GMAT and get a good score, preferably 750 or higher. Remember, the GMAT you take and the score you report will really be only a sample from your "true" GMAT score. Only by taking it many times could you really see what your true GMAT score is. If you take it the first time and think you picked a sample from the lower end of your distribution, consider retaking it. Discuss this with many people, especially people at schools you are applying to. The thought here at BYU is towards not retaking(which certainly has its strong arguments), but, if you want to go to Wharton, ask someone who knows what the Wharton people think.

• In the end, all BYU students will work with faculty, take the prep courses, have good GPAs, have good letters of recommendation and all that. The only across the board differentiator is the GMAT, so if you are applying to the same schools as a BYU student with a higher GMAT, expect to take second chair to that student. In the end, the GMAT is king, and so if you are on the bottom of the pile GMAT-wise, you may want to consider taking it again, or applying to many different schools your BYU peers are not applying to. While at first this may not seem fair, it is, because, again, the GMAT is really the only across the board differentiator schools have. Take it seriously.

• Take your PhD Prep-track courses seriously and learn as much as possible. This will help you once you get into a program, but, realistically, schools you are applying to do not know how seriously you took your classes, and the accounting professors who write your recommendations don't either. Getting into good schools is based on what information those schools can see.

• Make a good impression on professors so they write good letters of recommendation. However, while this may be useful on the margin, again, all BYU students will have good letters of recommendation as well.

• Get research going with faculty. Take your ideas to them and take initiative so you have the opportunity to have co-authored work in progress. However, if you are looking to go to a top-tier place, do not publicize any non-top tier publications you have or are working on. Also, it may be better to just talk about working papers, and not provide them to the schools.

• Seek the advice of current professors and doctoral students so you know which schools you should apply to. This is tricky. You may literally get polar opposite responses from two professors who know a lot about what they are talking about. This is not because they don't know or are wrong, the problem is, what the "right" schools are is kind of tricky. Ask A LOT of people independently and take all opinions into account. Make sure you ask non-BYU professors as well.

• Apply to programs that fit your needs and interests.

• Some BYU faculty will urge you to apply at a lot of schools, others will say to limit your applications. Especially if you are on the bottom end of the GMAT continuum at BYU, apply to lots.

• Remember, as the prep-track grows, there will just be more and more competition among the BYU people. DONT GET NASTY OR BITTER.'Bold text' You will be dealing with these people for the rest of your life, and strong friendships will make your life in accounting academia much more pleasant. The BYU network is a very strong one, so keep every part of it healthy.