Zorah

@Sigaba - you're going to be a great professor.

I'm probably much older than anyone on this forum. I've held and hold lots of executive level positions and just reached ABD status after two half years of course work at a pretty prestigious university. This is one thing I know - Life is too short to let someone's opinion of your worth/value/intelligence deter you from going after your dreams. You seem like you are buying into the professor's assessment of your abilities. Stop. Do what you want and worry less. Just Do It.

"But what really does deter me is that if I cannot get LOR from anyone on my committee, then the chances of my PhD application being successful is low". First, how would anyone reading your LOR know that you could not get an LOR from any of your committee members? Secondly, how important are LORs anyway. Probably, not important at all. Do you think an admission committee member has ever read a bad LOR in an application package? No never, because LOR are all the same. Everyone writes and submits the same letter... John Smith is the best candidate for admission that ever existed. LOR are all BS.. Life is too short to let someone's opinion of your worth/value/intelligence deter you from going after your dreams. You seem like you are buying into the professor's assessment of your abilities. Stop. Do what you want and worry less. Just Do It.

On the practical side, I find it works to first read all of the relevant articles and put them aside and then just write your paper from your head. After you're done writing from head, use the articles to pull citations to support your argument.

Don't just summarize the articles. Weave the articles together through a narrative thread based on a point of view. What do you want the readers to believe after reading your document?

You are over thinking this. If you want to apply to a PhD program - simply apply.

You don't need your advisor's blessing or LOR to get into a PhD program. Apply.

Too casual. Don't reference your mother. Get rid of the first two paragraphs.

Again a resume is not a legal document.

Lots of people running nonprofits have law degrees because the legal field is over saturated with attorneys and people have to work somewhere. Get a MPA or MBA in nonprofit management. There is no need for a law degree.

I had oral and written comps (closed book). The oral comps were done as a team of 3 to 5 students. We studied together as a team at least 32 hours a month for four months. The week before comps we spent 5 consecutive days of 14 hours days together.

A year in a life is a short time. There is no resume legal requirements. There is no need to include an item on your resume that does not advance your professional goals. Again, a resume is not a legal document.

Why list a degree you did not complete?

None of the faculty will care where you live, but you might just get tired of the commute. Try it out and if it becomes to tiring move closer to the school.

I'm in a full time doctorate program and I have a full time job.