<p>I've been out of school for three years and determined that I want to pursue a PhD in accounting. I've received a bachelors and masters from a top 5 business school, have a GMAT score well within the range needed, a clear idea of the research I want to do, but there is a large gap in my application... I do not know how to go about receiving letters of recommendations from professors. I never considered the need to cultivate relationships with professors while in school (2001-2006) and therefore do not have a network to refer to. I do not foresee obtaining admission in the schools I aspire to attend without strong letters of recommendation. Is there any advice on how to gain relationships with professors at this stage in my life? I live in Chicago and have a handful of universities within my near proximity, is it possible to obtain the relationships needed from professors teaching at universities I haven't attended? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>You need to contact the colleges you attended. Ask the dean of your business schools how to obtain letters of recommendation based on your transcripts. At least ask how you can get these recs now.</p>
<p>this isn’t relatedto your question, but I feel like I asked the wrong teachers to write my recommendations. Do you think it’s too late to change and how should I tell them?</p>
<p>motivated11 -</p>
<p>Dig out your transcripts from your MBA. Write letters to the professors who taught the classes where you did best and/or are clearly related to the proposed Ph.D. program. In your letters tell them about your plans, remind them of the specific year, semester, and grade earned in the courses that they taught, and ask them if they feel they could write you a good letter of recommendation. If you have time, you might want to make a trip back to your old U and meet with two or three of these folks in person to jog their memories. Believe me, these folks are asked to write letters for former students all the time. You won’t be the first one this week even! </p>
<p>You also should clarify with the Ph.D. programs of interest whether or not they will accept one or more letters of recommendation from current or recent supervisors. Sometimes this is acceptable when the applicant has been out of school for a while. </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>
<p>This is not that uncommon an occurance. Get 2 LOR’s from management and senior accountants, and then try to get 1 old professor to look up your grades and try and remember what a great student you were. They know that coming from industry you will not have 3 prof’s singing your praises after 3 years of new students.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the advice. I’ll follow the advice and request to obtain a copy of my transcript in order to determine the best professors to approach (to be honest I only have a vague idea of the grades I received in the classes). Hopefully I’m able to gather up enough to complete my application.</p>