Getting to the Know the V.I.P.'s

[phdhope]

There is a lot of hard truth to swallow concerning letters of recommendation. Admissions committees would rather have a letter from a professor of large reputation, an alum, a professor in their niche focus, a friend of their university, or a person who you have done extensive research with to write the letter of reference. DO NOT ask around for LORs!!!!! That would be phd application disaster. The hard reality is that you really have to be in a masters or undergraduate program with professors with whom you have developed a relationship to write the LORs. Any of the other ways you mentioned are going to backfire and more than likely destroy your application.

[young&ambitious]

Haha, sorry guys. I guess that was just my frustration showing about the barriers to mobility I’ve been coming across in academia. I totally agree with you all though. Hence why I said its the inevitable reality of the economics of any social system that one has to accept. Competition is important, but I just find it unfortunate that academia is all too often about who knows who, and who can get the highest numbers. It makes you wonder sometimes does it come at an opportunity cost of true learning and scholarship? I understand information comes at a cost (it’s my research interest), but should it really be this hard to try to learn something from someone? I mean imagine if some of the great teachers in history, like Socrates, “screened” their studentships through an admissions process!

[possible_phd]

You're right. Professors have unlimited time to give to anybody who asks of it, so it shouldn't be so hard to prove that you're worth their time...

Maybe a few years out in the real world would help you understand things a bit better.

[chimerical]

If "true learning and scholarship" is your motivation, then it should not matter whether your mentor is famous or not. You attended a business school; you have plenty of resources available there.

And if you think that the importance of networking is unique to academia, I second possible_phd's sentiment that some real-world experience would help grant you some perspective. The kind of mentorship and investment in a student (or any kind of protege) that leads to a good recommendation goes beyond just "learning," and I don't think you fully understand what you are asking for.

[young&ambitious]

Possible and chimerical, I completely understand reality. Sure, the reality is that there are many demands on a professor's time: research, classes, and even many situations, service and administrative obligations as well. Not to even mention personal responsibilities at home! Both time and energy of an individual is limited and thus should be regulated and delegated appropriately.

But hopefully as a potential future professor, if I encountered a student (no matter of their status, institutional affiliation, or intelligence) who genuinely approaches me with interest in something that I've dedicated my life to learning about myself, I hope I will try my hardest to make time in my day to help the student in whatever capacity that I could (be that finding a way to integrate them into on one of my current research projects--hey, it's free labor--or just a 5-minute conversation between classes on how to pursue their own life objectives). It's something that you two do altruistically all the time on this forum!

I feel that academia's exposure to the "real world" has somewhat lost this pedagogic spirit. Now, knowledge is packaged and sold in the most efficient way possible to mass auditoriums. Should we really blame the students or the system for student apathy when we don't provide the support to foster and equip them for wherever they desire to contribute to this society?

I realize that at research institutions, teaching is not a priority, but really what is the purpose of our "new" knowledge if we don't have anybody in industry to implement it? There should be a balance. Neither I nor do I think anyone on this forum is seeking somebody to hold our hands and walk us the entire way. I actually would see that would be restrictive, but for a community that rests on the creation and dissemination of knowledge, should learning really be stifled because of "lack of time"?

I'm not saying that I haven't encountered many great professors (some of them at the top of their fields and many at great schools) who have been great mentors. I'm certainly not degrading them whatsoever, but I just find these admissions hurdles and lack of pedagogic spirit in some in the field ridiculous. Why do I need to beg to gain the opportunity to learn from you? Sure, it's a matter of reality, yes...but a matter of how things ought to be? I'm not quite sure.

[possible_phd]

You're completely missing the point, but it's not worth repeating what has already been said. Best of luck!

[young&ambitious]

Haha, true! Although I don't think we were every discussing contrasting perspectives, I'm glad that we were able to take this forum to a higher philosophical level than just posting numbers! Great discussion!