John Watson

My watered eyes are filled with tears as I'm reading the comments on this thread. Some people said that mental illness is "stigmatized," especially in academia. But I have seen quite the opposite on TheGradCafe: every one is showing empathies and trying to help. I will definitely keep your kind words in mind as I move on, and I will never forget that there is still kindness that exists in this world.

I'm happy that you have a lot of things completed for now. Now maybe do some editions or revisions on your admissions essays, like statement of purpose for each program, before you click "submit"

Yeah, I do believe that most PhD programs in the US require a minimum of 3 recommendation letters for the admissions purposes. The PhD programs that youre applying to seem to be more academically oriented, so I reckon that academic recommendation letters will be more helpful, for example, letters from your past professors and the (if any) supervisors who once supervised your research. Nevertheless, considering your individual circumstances and the fact that you have been out of school for ten years, I think that professional letters from the workplace should also do the job, if professional recommendation letters are accepted as part of your applications. I understand that the deadlines may be near, usually they are in early to mid December. However, the deadlines for recommendation letters are generally very loose, and recommenders do have grace period, they can submit their letters later than the deadlines for applicants, say two weeks later. And most schools tolerate that. So, if some certain recommenders dont really do things in a very "timely" fashion, I will say that you will still be polite to them, and send them kind reminders at some certain points, if necessary. Good luck with your applications!

It's already late for you to apply to schools for further education after your current graduation. If you cannot find a job but still wish to stay in the United States, I recommend that you do so through legal means. If you cannot prolong your stay in the US by legal means, then please comply with the US rules and regulations and leave the country.

Hello there! This is a new thread for people who are applying to PhD programs in Business for Fall 2025. Glad to meet you here! As for me, I'm applying to about 15 schools, all of them are in the US. I wish to concentrate on Management/ Organizational Behaviour, but I do have a mix of programs with different concentrations. Feel free to leave a post here, if you're ready to share! Cheers!

Yeah, sure, if you're applying for the Fall 2025 cycle, I of course think that your time could be better used elsewhere, rather than being wasted on the GRE. Especially if you need to contact your professors for recommendation letters, and you need time to draft some good admissions essays and/or writing samples (if any)

If your Writing score is good, I don't really think that it's necessary to retake the test. For PhD studies, it's all about research, and research is totally different from doing a standardized test, or having a good test-taking ability. Doing a PhD and taking the GRE are almost irrelevant, I can say that, among all application materials, the standardized test is of the least significance. The only thing you need to do about the GRE is that you don't get too low a score. Any mediocre score is sufficient. That said, regarding the importance of the GRE, different subjects will demand high performance in different sections of the GRE. It varies from subject to subject. Only STEM programs such as Natural Sciences or Engineering, which have a strong emphasis on the student's Quantitative skills, require a high score in Quant. In your case, you study American Literature, so the Verbal and the Writing sections will be far more important than the Quant section. You Quant score is okay, don't worry about it. However, I'm not sure whether your Verbal score is competitive, and I certainly think that a Writing score of above or equal to 4.0 out of 6 should be a requirement for anyone serious about any subject in Humanities or Social Science. If you do want to retake the GRE, just focus on the Verbal and Writing sections. Good luck!

I dont have a very strong background in business, so I might be wrong. You didnt seem to mention your academic background. Is it that you only have a Bachelor's degree? Is it related to business? Of course, MBAs are for people who have a few years of work experience, and you certainly qualify for doing an MBA, it is just whether it is worth it to do an MBA before you start the real thing in consulting, etc. You seem to have some ambitions and high standards regarding your new job in consulting, do you have a self-evaluation as to whether you can accomplish your goal without an MBA? One idea might be that you apply for consulting jobs and MBA programs in business schools simultaneously, and you see which track gets a more desirable outcome. MBA offers usually come together with a financial aid, especially if you're American, so pursuing an MBA should not be too much of a financial burden. Also, you mentioned that you want to focus on networking, remember that getting some networks is one of the most significant benefits of doing an MBA, MBA is not about very serious or vigorous academics, MBA is more about the people you will meet and the networks that you can potentially make. In short, you may wish to evaluate these two paths before you decide forward. In an ideal world, you may be able to get whatever job positions you want to get, without the effort of getting an MBA in the first place. But an MBA degree is for life and does not expire, and it can be potentially helpful if you try to get one. Nobody on the internet can know your situation better than you do, so the decision is entirely yours

I agree, your GRE should be high enough in order to be considered by you to be included into your application. Also, different programs of different subjects may assign different levels of importance to each section of the GRE. For example, programs in Natural Sciences or Engineering may ask for a high score in Quant. As for you, your Divinity program probably cares about your scores in Verbal and AW, and your Quant score will be far less important.

Yeah, your professors will submit your letters of recommendation via an online portal. They will do that when it's convenient for them, and they may or may not do that in a synchronous manner with respect to your own applications. If your professors are not submitting letters on time, you can send them a gentle reminder or resend the link of recommendation letter prompt. If some of your letters are still missing, you should submit your application by the deadline, your professors will be able to submit the letters after the deadline of your application (there may be a deadline for letters of recommendation, which can be later than the application deadline, depending on individual school and program). A recommender may not get access to your application materials, at least not in America, or it should be extremely rare in America. However, a recommender may ask you for your CV, transcripts, and/or statement of purpose, before they write the letter. In such a case, you may give them your materials

Oh I was looking super quick. But, yeah, a recommendation letter should be positive and have something solid in it, I don't think that Professor Number Three can do as well as Number Two. A short paragraph of some broad, generic statements usually do not do good

I agree that 1 and 4 are easy choices. Between 2 and 3, of course I recommend 2. Indeed, you're doing Statistics, and Biomedical Engineering is not that close to Statistics. However, one thing valuable about your experience with Professor Number Two is that you are a research assistant in his lab. That's research experience, and it will be valuable and important for your PhD applications, remember that doing a PhD is all about doing research. Your other three recommendation letters are all coursework letters, they can only say something like you did well in some specific courses, but only Letter Two is a research letter, which can testify your research abilities and potential. Don't worry if you don't have any super big research achievements or publications, we all know that having publications in fields like Maths and Stats can be difficult. Also, don't worry if your research experience in Biomedical Engineering appears to be not closely connected with Stats, some research experience in another field can also be helpful. Many people study some non-Business subjects as undergrad, and they happen to do a PhD in Business, so previous research experiences in another field will also be helpful. As for Letter Three, you already know that that professor doesn't know you well. A solid recommendation letter should certainly come from someone who is close to you and knows you well.

I'm not familiar with the grading system in the UK, you say you get As in all but one course, does that mean you can get a First or Upper Second? If you can get a First at a TOP 10 UK university, of course you can have a good chance to go to an American TOP 20 or even TOP 10 university. Previously I know a guy who did their undergrad in Maths in America. Their school is not as good as yours, and probably grades as well, but they can get to go to Georgia Tech.

I'm sorry, USC or Pomona I mean, Pomona is technically not in Los Angeles, but still a good school

If it's not UCLA, then I may think my estimation is indeed too optimistic. I personally know someone who is doing a PhD at ETH Z and their academic background is not as good as yours. They are in a different discipline, but still it's within Natural Science. I totally understand that you're worried about your undergrad GPA, but it's partially due to the fact that you encountered an accident. You can explain it in your personal statement for it to be included into the consideration. If your major GPA is still high and it's just some random general requirement courses that make your overall GPA low, then it's not a problem. You have listed a lot of your major courses within your discipline, and you have a good grade in almost every one of them. Rest assured that your future school and supervisor will be more interested in how well you can do in your concentration, rather than focusing on some random, irrelevant courses that you happened to not do well in. One last word is that, if your school is USC, then I still insist that you can have a good chance to go to a decent school. However, if it's not USC, then disregard what I have said in my previous post.