RBsister

I’m on mobile so I can’t see your signature—where again did you interview?
 
that list opens in a half hour. It’s not over til it’s over.

Your age alone won't make a difference.    I was told when I first looked into applying a few years ago, that, say, 7 years back my previous career experience and some course TAing I had done would probably have been taken to fulfill requirements.  However, it has gotten competitive so rapidly that this isn't necessarily the case any more.  So, I've spent my last two years getting other experiences and courses I needed while working fulltime and holding down the fort.  There were people at my last interview who were fresh out of college or still wrapping up their degrees, people who were applying for the second time (myself included), and people across a range of backgrounds and experiences. This honestly is like any highly competitive process, and it depends on who is in the pool with you, every single time.  Keep at it if its really what you want to do! 

Your age alone won't make a difference.    I was told when I first looked into applying a few years ago, that, say, 7 years back my previous career experience and some course TAing I had done would probably have been taken to fulfill requirements.  However, it has gotten competitive so rapidly that this isn't necessarily the case any more.  So, I've spent my last two years getting other experiences and courses I needed while working fulltime and holding down the fort.  There were people at my last interview who were fresh out of college or still wrapping up their degrees, people who were applying for the second time (myself included), and people across a range of backgrounds and experiences. This honestly is like any highly competitive process, and it depends on who is in the pool with you, every single time.  Keep at it if its really what you want to do! 

@AJM19 @raerae32 @adterry
And anyone waiting to hear from Hopkins
I wanted to let you know that I reached out a week or so back but have heard nothing.   I personally am assuming at this point that they are passing on me, so I'm focused on just discerning how I would rank the schools where I do have interviews. 

I wanted to revise that I did hear back from the JHU Director with a *very* nice note.  Sounds like they were slammed last week (and I'm sure the weather there didn't help!!).  Anyway, the official notices (of their declines on our applications) should come out "soon".
Best wishes to all still waiting on responses from JHU and elsewhere, but especially:
@Raerae32  @Adterry @AJM19

I wanted to revise that I did hear back from the JHU Director with a *very* nice note.  Sounds like they were slammed last week (and I'm sure the weather there didn't help!!).  Anyway, the official notices (of their declines on our applications) should come out "soon".
Best wishes to all still waiting on responses from JHU and elsewhere, but especially:
@Raerae32  @Adterry @AJM19

i don't think many people apply casually..applications are expensive as is the GRE so i'm assuming that almost everyone who applies at least looks at program websites and sees that most schools only accept around 8-12 students/year. I feel like most people posting on here are just looking for a community of people we can relate to, because at least in my case i don't have any close friends or colleagues who are also applying for this program and i'm sure this is quite common. 
So in my opinion, it's hard to gauge how qualified people are based on whether or not they're posting on this forum. At the end of the day, qualified or not, many of us are just trying to connect with others and help each other out  Good luck to your person who is applying! I also know many people accepted into programs who only got one interview so # of invites doesn't mean much at the end of the day, just how well you connect with the interviewers at those interviews.