I'm interested if anybody has experience applying to grad school several years after finishing undergrad. I'm in a bit of a weird situation - I have a B.S. in math from a top 10 school and graduated with very high GPA, but I didn't really make strong connections with any professors. I technically have one publication, but it's a very short, obscure paper from a random summer project and unrelated to my actual research interests.
After undergrad, I made the worst decision of my life, which was to get an M.A. in education and become a high school math teacher. I'm re-evaluating my career and considering attempting to apply for math PhD programs, but I feel like there's nobody who could write me a decent recommendation. It's been over three years since I've last spoken to any of my former professors, and despite having very good grades, I mostly kept my head down and didn't stand out from the crowd. I've continued to seriously study math in my own time, and I could probably pass quals at most schools right now, but there's not really anybody who can attest to that ability.
Has anybody experienced a similar situation, and if so, what advice would you give?