LifeIsGood

We actually work together. I think we'll be able to keep him working on the same clients, just remotely. We'd considered selling the business, but it looks like that's not going to work out, so we'll need to hire a manager to replace me. About socializing, I can tell you from my experience in my MA program, that there are plenty of people my age (39) and older. There are 20-somethings too, but they're actually in the minority. I carpool to class with a woman who is in her late 50s and our oldest PhD student is probably mid-60s. I wouldn't worry to much about that. Also, you'll want to make some friends outside of the program to keep things in perspective, so... ...you could find a running club. The one I belong to is small, but the people are great and it's helped me find like-minded friends. We're doing a Cake Run this weekend: 6 miles, then birthday cupcakes to celebrate January birthdays. At the two schools I'm applying to, one has a club on campus and one has several in the community, so I'm all set.

+1. And do it quick.

I'm with ya. I own a business as well and would be giving up a fairly comfortable existence and clear career path. I'm getting an MA full-time while I let my employees run the place for a while. In addition, I have a husband and three kids that I'd be uprooting from their friends, work, and schools. I want to move on to the PhD and I love my field, but I often think I'm shooting myself in the foot. I could probably work part-time for the rest of my life and make plenty of money doing what I do now, so why do I want to mess that up by moving into a field where I'll start out making less money and will certainly have to work a lot harder? It seems like a completely irrational decision. The thing that makes me move ahead is that I don't love my current work. I can do it, and do it well, but I don't love it. I want to be doing something that I love, even if it's more difficult. On edit: In organizational behavior, they'll love your non-traditional background. I've done a lot of professional work around that field (as a vendor to it, not a practitioner of it), and I don't think any of my clients had gotten their PhDs before their 40s or 50s.

I think they probably don't look at it at all. If they did, they would have just said, "We look at the GRE scores," not specifying which of the sections they look at. Which makes me sad, because I did really well on the quant. I think an argument could be made that doing well on the quant section shows an ability to do analytical work. Not that doing poorly on it disproves analytical ability, since it is based in learned skills, but it's another data point. Then again, I didn't apply to Stanford, and it may be different in other places.

Smart guy. So the real question is, do I want to be 45 with or without a PhD? That's an easy answer. That's actually kind of close to how I decided I wanted kids. Totally weird, I know. I wasn't excited about kids, but I really didn't want to be 80 and not have grandkids. I may still end up without grandkids, but at least I've got a shot. So there ya go.

This could be totally wrong, but this sounds like the catalogs I get all the time from university presses trying to sell me new books in my field. Are they from MIT Press? Could it just be a coincidence that you applied and got on their press mailing list at the same time? Or maybe they put applicants on the mailing list?

Rising_star, I'm sure you're right. You probably don't get to see anything, and just crash back in your hotel room every night. Archival work is not for the weak. That being said, my father is currently doing a multi-year natural sciences project in the Caribbean and my mom tags along for the two months a year he's down there. They spent Christmas there in fact. But he's a climatologist, so no dark archives for him. Lots of boats, airplanes, and hikes to the tops of mountains. They've also kind of adopted a school on the island, so my mother volunteers there. Sounds nice. My research is on free people of color and I have an Atlantic World component, so I may end up in the Caribbean anyway, whether or not I try to make it turn out that way. Maybe also New Orleans.

How about this: You appreciate their desire to finalize the class cohort promptly, but you do feel it necessary to wait until you have additional information before you commit. You assure them that they'll have their final decision by April 15, as specified in the [whatever that agreement is that the grad schools have about decision dates].

It's dependent on your diss topic. And it's one of the reasons I'm SERIOUSLY considering adding a Caribbean component to my research.

I'm working in Southern history. More specifically, enslaved and free people of color in the 19th C South. You?

Ok, let's see. GRE divided by 200.... Add that to GPA... Adjust for windspeed... And we get... 10.9. Wait, I'm not perfect? That can't be right....

I think that's fairly common. They might just be lagging behind in entering in the data. If it gets significantly past the deadline and still shows as incomplete, I'd email the Graduate School and ask. I did that one with school that didn't show my GRE scores as arrived, and they'd filed it by accident under my maiden name.

But even if someone else does get into all of your schools, they can only accept a spot at one, which leaves you wide open everywhere else.

The results data shows them usually handing down decisions from late February to mid-March; is that right? Think they're ahead of schedule this year?

A quick "don't worry about it" anecdote: I haven't studied Spanish since middle school, but I needed a language for my MA proficiency test. I read Spanish short stories with a dictionary every couple of day for 3 months and got a book called something like "Spanish for Translation." The test was a two-page excerpt from a Spanish text in my field. And we had two hours. Open book with my GIANT dictionary. Easy peasy. True, they didn't need "advanced" proficiency, so when I do it for my PhD, I think I'll need a year of reading and a summer immersion trip, and I'll be fine. You've had four years in country? You're fine.

My application (Stanley) is hanging out with my potential advisors and DGSs, throwing back a couple of beers and debating the diagnosis on the last episode of House. Oh, and convincing them to accept me.

This is really interesting. Can you clarify something for me? When you say that "every email exchange" was "printed out and highlighted for key elements," what kinds of emails would those have been? With your potential advisor? The graduate secretary?

For your reading pleasure, about how to put together an SOP: http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-do-we-want-students-to-say-in.html My favorite sentence: "I want to know that you'll write a decent dissertation in a timely fashion without chapping my ass." Close second: "Who gives a rat's rectum about how much you study?" And, finally: "Yeah, we went with the coconut guy."

I can see your point, and I would ask the graduate school about it. What you don't want to do is decide not to send it, and then have the department question your decision. I had to send 6 different transcripts to my schools, two of which were for a single class each. Sooo annoying, but required.

Wow, that's a terribly written question. I think this is what they mean: How do you see the role of social work today in resolving issues of social injustice, economic injustice, and discrimination, stemming from race, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc.? Which would correspond to an answer talking about the profession as a whole.

Cpaige: Yep. It's on your list.

I just got one that said, "Dream University Graduate School Application Status," which it turns out was just a reminder that the Web site had a status section. Uh, yes, I've been there at least once a day for weeks. Next time, that subject line should be, "Don't Wig Out! This Is Just a Logistical Email."

I just picked up a new hobby I thought I'd share: Selling stuff I don't need on Craigslist. So far, I've posted some computer equipment and some cell phone accessories. Next: Collectibles my kids received as gifts and never liked. Now I just need to make sure I don't BUY anything, and we'll come out ahead.

Rogue, I'm with ya. I read an article in Scientific American about it 20 years ago and immediately wrote a letter to Stephen King suggesting that he use it in one of his books. How awesome would that be?