For potential PhD applicants

A truly strong rec from a prominent prof in the field, where the applicant has worked closely with the prof, might be uncommon (?). If the applicant has only taken a class from this prof, the rec would be solid, but perhaps not a "dealmaker" since this type of rec is probably more common and not as strong an indicator.

One takeaway for me is that we shouldn't get too mired down by all the myths and get completely discouraged out of putting a strong application to good schools. This is not to say that getting in is easy (with single digit accept rates this would be foolhardy), but it is worth a try for those who have some strengths in their profiles.

Nice summation. I will now say I know much more about whom the faculty would admit to their shortlist at my University (top 10)

(a) GMAT score >700
(b) Research Experience - Nil/RA /Publications all are ok
(c) Industry experience - Nil to 12 years experience is ok
(d) SOP - No spelling mistakes, not more than 3 pages. Talks about why you want to do PHD, and if you have either experience of research or industry - you do explain why you want to do PhD NOW. Theme of SOP - Want to enter academic life - for the rest of my life.
(e) Decent Undergrad and Grad school
(f) If you do not have masters degree , you have a 4.0 (or about that GPA .... )
(g) Recommendation letters - At my Univ 3 letters are needed, at least 2 need to be from Professors. Even If you have not seen the professor for 10 years, it still has to be written by a professor. IF you have a masters degree, at least one LOR from Grad school is compulsory. If you have masters and some experience, you should have ideally two Grad LOR's and one from your supervisor or one undergrad LOR, One Grad LOR and one supervisor LOR. Theme of LOR should be - Capability of doing research. General LOR's saying how great a person you are, are useless.

Hope it helps... May not hold for every univ, but it would be quite similar for most.

This all sounds good, but remember it depends on the school/program you are interested in. The magical term "fit" is probably more critical. Also, making a connection in some way with faculty... if any of them are on your side, that is a HUGE advantage to getting in. Faculty want to know you will finish the program and be a productive researcher, they don't want to take a risk on someone that they don't know.

Remember, the "top 10-20" schools thing really means very little, it depends more on the research being produced and who is producing it. If you want a particular area of accounting or management, or want a certain size program or quality of life during the program, or are interested in more of a teaching position, then the exact "right" school will vary depending on what you want. Ideally, the PhD is for career academics. At some level, it doesn't matter where you go if you can produce research, you will be successful. If you go into a program that takes you from your family for the next five years and want to work at a major research school that requires a major effort to make tenure, it matters where you go and a "top 20" (whatever that means) might be for you. So, talk to as many people as possible and remember there are fantastic schools out there that aren't Stanford, Harvard or Wharton. And the right school might be the one that accepts you

BTW:I do not have a stellar GMAT, yet I was accepted to a good program.

cheers