Schools Going back to graduate school after 3 years, any advice?

AI Thread Summary
When planning to apply for a PhD in Physics, securing strong letters of recommendation is crucial. It's advisable to reach out to former professors, even if communication has lapsed since graduation. While letters from employers can be included, they may not carry significant weight unless the employer holds a relevant PhD, as they may lack the expertise to assess the applicant's suitability for a graduate program. The applicant has already taken the GRE, achieving a 90th percentile score on the Physics subject test, which is generally considered strong and valid for five years. Overall, maintaining connections with academic references is essential for a successful application.
Xelloss
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi there,

I am planning on going back to graduate school to get a PhD in Physics. I plan on applying during the fall of next year, and then going back the year after. However, I still need letters of recommendations, and its already been a while since I've last communicated with any of my former professors (I graduated about a year and a half ago). On the other hand, I do work a full time job. So I'm wondering if it would be ok to have my employers send letters of recommendations.

I've already taken the GRE's, I scored a 90 percentile on the Physics subject test. Is this score good enough? I believe that they are good for 5 years, correct?

I also have research experience, but that was a while ago while I was still in school. I don't know if they would remember me after a few years...
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Letters from your employer are OK, but worthless. Unless they have PhD's in physics themselves, they will not have a clue as to whether you are suited for a graduate program or not, and their letters will be weighted accordingly.
 

Thread 'Self Learning Math/Physics'

Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
View full post »

Thread 'What should I do if I found a paper with same result as mine?'

Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
View full post »

Similar threads

Admissions Sincerely seeking graduate school admission advice
Replies
20
Views
2K
Admissions What are my chances of being admitted into good graduate schools?
Replies
11
Views
2K
Admissions How to improve graduate school applications after college?
Replies
32
Views
3K
Admissions Advice on how best to spend my time for graduate school applications
Replies
15
Views
2K
Admissions Latebloomer with many past mistakes applying to graduate school
Replies
9
Views
2K
Admissions Graduate school admission chances
Replies
7
Views
2K
Admissions Advice to enhance my profile for grad school
Replies
2
Views
2K
Admissions Need advice on how realistic my graduate school prospects are
Replies
8
Views
2K
Graduate School Advice regarding Arvix
Replies
5
Views
2K
Other Would it be advisable to take an extra year before graduating?
Replies
8
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top