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[pattri]

I am interested in applying to graduate school for a Ph.D. in the sciences.  However, I graduated from college 8 years ago and have not kept in contact with any of my professors - I am sure I am not alone.  Has anyone had experiences of how they approached this matter?   Would professional recommendations from those not in the field (in my case non-science related) be of any benefit?  Thank you for any recommendations.

[yemaya]

You're better off contacting your professors to see if they remember you.  Professional recommendations from outside the field won't count for much.  At this point,  you're really looking at applying in the fall of 2008 for matriculation in the fall of 2009.  Are you in a position to maybe take a class or two that's relevant to your field?  As long as you did well, you could then that's one way to get a more current recommendation. 

[bewilderedta]

I had been out of school for about 6 years when I started thinking about going back. While my major adviser from undergrad remembered me, I don't think anyone else did. I took some classes to reacquaint myself with people and to give myself a chance to produce a better writing sample. So I second yemaya's suggestion to take a class or two if you can.

Another thought about letters of recommendation - even if a professor doesn't remember you well, they may be able to help you out. I used one professor I hadn't spoken to since graduation, who had since moved to a different school. I had some of my old work from her class that I was able to send over to her, along with my SOP and a newer writing sample, so she was able to write me a letter based on that. If you've got any old papers tucked away, this might be something you could try.

[yemaya]

I had some of my old work from her class that I was able to send over to her, along with my SOP and a newer writing sample, so she was able to write me a letter based on that. If you've got any old papers tucked away, this might be something you could try.

This is really good advice.  And for any lurkers who may be considering grad school - it never hurts to try to stay in touch with your old professors if you finish undergrad, but aren't quite ready to go on to grad school.

I will say that it's not unusual for former students to contact professors for recommendations long after their graduation.  So, OP, you should not feel "weird" about doing so.  I will say that you should be prepared to offer them a draft of your personal statement and your CV (ideally, have these ready before you even approach them), so that they know what you've been up to since you finished undergrad.

[post_doc4now]

This is really good advice.  And for any lurkers who may be considering grad school - it never hurts to try to stay in touch with your old professors if you finish undergrad, but aren't quite ready to go on to grad school.

I will say that you should be prepared to offer them a draft of your personal statement and your CV (ideally, have these ready before you even approach them), so that they know what you've been up to since you finished undergrad.

Yes, I agree.  One thing we did in my grad school lab is if a research assistant/student was planning to go to grad school but not in the immediate future would be to put together an outline of a recommendation letter with info from everyone in the lab who would have been involved in the letter at that point.  That way when the student was ready to apply they would send their updated vita, personal statement, and summary of what they had been up to since they left the lab and we could easily piece together a letter for them.

[dr_prephd]

It had been a few years since undergrad. when I applied to grad. school for my master's degree. At the time, I happened to be working in the same field, so I did use a letter from my supervisor. I also contacted former professors, gave them a brief synopsis so that they would remember me, along with what I had been up to.

The notes sounded something like: "Dear Dr. X, I was a student in your X class in the Spring of XXXX. I wrote my final paper on topic Y & received an A. I have attached a copy of the paper for your reference. Since then, I have done XY & Z. I have attached information from my work in Z, as it corresponds to the subjects you covered in your course. I am in the process of applying to graduate school for X, and would very much appreciate it if you could write a letter of recommendation for me."

[ahhh_history]

All around good advice.  If you do decide to take some classes somewhere, find out first if programs you are considering allow transfer of credits (and how many), or classes taken non-matric at the school to count towards the program, and if so, which.  Sometimes you can take a couple of the courses, use them to get letters of recommendation, and then apply them to the degree. 

[yemaya]

All around good advice.  If you do decide to take some classes somewhere, find out first if programs you are considering allow transfer of credits (and how many), or classes taken non-matric at the school to count towards the program, and if so, which.  Sometimes you can take a couple of the courses, use them to get letters of recommendation, and then apply them to the degree. 

This is good advice.  You should definitely *not* assume that much or any of any courses you take can be transferred for credit.  This depends widely on both the program and the institution.

[seniorscholar]

A couple of years ago someone who was an undergrad *twenty* years ago contacted me for a reference, enclosing (1) detailed information about the course, the semester, and the work she'd done for me (2) a copy of the "A" term paper for the class (3) a copy of the c.v. and notes on what she'd been doing (4) a draft of the personal statement and (5) a snapshot showing what she looked like as an undergrad. I keep all my grade books, so I could pin down the marks for things like attendance; the academic adviser was able to fish out the undergrad record so I could see what other classes she'd taken; and it was not really too difficult to write a persuasive and specific letter.

It's "specific" that can be the problem; grad admissions committees want to hear evidence of the applicants' skills, and they want to be able to see how those skills apply to the kind of course & the goals of the applicant. So when you contact anyone for a reference -- former teachers or recent employers -- make sure you give them as much information as possible about what you've done that makes you suitable for the program. When I was  grad director, I found that letters from employers often offered praise that had nothing to do with academic skills and vague statements such as "always a pleasant person to work with" that had no evidence attached. If an employer letter is going to worth-while -- and the employer has nothing to do with academe -- you've got to provide lots of help.