<p>OK, so I did my undergrad in history, 3.83 GPA, 4.0 in major, but for various reasons could not go right into grad school. I taught social studies for five years during that time. Now I want to go on to grad school. Because of my background, I'll do my MA first and then move on to my PhD. My problem is my letters of recommendation. There is only one professor I worked with in my field that is still at my school (I went to a small lib arts university, all my major classes were with three professors). The one that is still reachable was my advisor, and he is now the chair of the department. The other two are utterly, completely gone (one died, one went to a university in Africa somewhere - that's where he was from). I can get professional references, but I question how much good that will do. How do I handle this?</p>
<p>I had a friend in this situation, she had taught and been out of school for 6 years. The fact she was involved with teaching and had real life experience helped her out a lot more than scores or lecs could and she was accepted to a pretty solid program (top 40). She did however manage to get one letter from a professor she knew which was more personal, another from one she had remembered she had got in A with and a professional letter. I had your same question and she said that explaining the situation to the place you are applying helps a lot and also explain it to an old professor you got an A with, sure they cant write the best letter but they can attest to the fact you were a good student.</p>
<p>Real world work experience and the maturity and focus it brings I beleive will far out weigh any issues with letters of reccomendation from udnergrad professors. As long as you highlight your work experience I think youd be fine.</p>
<p>Get a letter from a professional supervisor, the higher the better, and have them emphasize how you commit strongly to the things you want to achieve, and are very good at seeing jobs, long- and short-term, through to completion. That is the main message schools are looking for, and let your GPA and GRE take care of the rest.</p>