kpm1972 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Hi, I'm planning to apply for admission to PhD programmes in finance and am having trouble finding appropriate people to provide me with references. The thing is that the schools need references from academics or people who are willing to vouch for my ability to succeed in academia. However, I last attended any sort of academic institution 10 years ago and my professors don't remember me and so are unable to provide a reference. Is there any way i can submit an application without a reference and expect to be taken seriously? Is there any other sort of reference i can provide that might help? thanks in advance, K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaylors Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Hi, I'm planning to apply for admission to PhD programmes in finance and am having trouble finding appropriate people to provide me with references. The thing is that the schools need references from academics or people who are willing to vouch for my ability to succeed in academia. However, I last attended any sort of academic institution 10 years ago and my professors don't remember me and so are unable to provide a reference. Is there any way i can submit an application without a reference and expect to be taken seriously? Is there any other sort of reference i can provide that might help? thanks in advance, K. It will be difficult and you are VERY late in the game to be asking this question. Had you asked 6 months ago I would have advised you to try and work with some professors locally: tell them about your interest in research and so on. As is, the system filters out practitioners in numerous ways, this is one of them. Really though, if you have no experience or exposure to academic research, how do you know that's what you want to do with the remainder of your life? (this question is not rhetorical) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wittmic Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Letters of recommendation are required. Your application likely won't be reviewed if you don't have them. So if you are applying, you need at least references from the industry that can vouch for your intellectual curiosity or your work ethic or quantitative ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDPlease Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 I had some industry references as I was out of school for a while and hadn't kept in touch w/professors as much as I should have. However, they were from people who had PhDs (although in a different field) and had some qualifications to comment on my research potential. I wouldn't automatically assume that industry references will always kill you, but you need to ask yourself whether a potential industry reference has the ability to comment on your research abilities in a way that will be credible to the admissions committees. Have you done anything research-related or where you've acquired research skills such as quantitative abilities, ability working with data, or anything else relevant over the past 10 years? If you want to apply this year, you need to talk to your recommenders ASAP as they will need time to write the letters. What I'd probably do if I were you would be to find some recommenders such as employers even if they aren't ideal, and still apply, and then if you get rejected, spend time trying to build relationships with new potential recommenders to reapply next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpm1972 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I'll lay off this year and rsaylors's advice and develop some relationship and try next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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