Golden Monkey

Well, this is better than contributing to another anxiety-laden thread, isn't it? 4.0 from my master's programGreat LORs (one from an extremely well-known prof)15 years of relevant industry work experience3 years of academic work experienceA thesis I'm honestly proud ofThe fact that my undergrad degree was a lot more difficult than most people's in this field All of this has to counteract: The fact that I'm 43 (you don't get 18 years of work experience out of nowhere, after all)Dismal GRE scoresNo papers published, wasn't on any panels, etc.A 2.9 GPA in previously mentioned very difficult undergrad major

I thought of this subject while reading through the thread. Those of us who are starting/continuing grad school later in life than most have our own set of challenges, fears, advantages and disadvantages that we perhaps wouldn't have if we had done this earlier in life. I don't expect anyone to have answers to these questions, but I figured I'd throw them out there anyway. Is "real world" industry experience actually valued in academia? In my case, my master's degree wasn't a 180 change of direction from my career, so much as it was a very gentle 10 degree change of direction from my professional life. By the time I started on it at age 40 (finished at 43,) I had 16 years of relevant industry experience. My friend brought up the possibility that some professors might feel threatened by this, rather than enthused. So far, this has not been the case at all, but now that I'm applying to PhD programs, I'm starting to worry about that again. If one finishes a PhD in ones mid-late 40s (or even older,) what, exactly does one do as far as a career direction? At this point, I have zero teaching experience. Like anything else, everyone wants you to have teaching experience before they'll let you teach, but you can't get teaching experience because everyone requires you to have teaching experience first... I feel like I'm 22 again. Like I said, I don't expect anyone to have answers to these. It's an awkward age-- not young enough to be looking forward to your entire career, yet not old enough to be looking forward to retirement either.

44. Tried to go to grad school at 22, tried again in my late 20s. Finally went to a master's program at 40.

Well, I started looking for and applying to a few job openings in case grad school doesn't work out. Don't know if that counts as a hobby.

Many years ago, I got into UCSD and USC Biomedical Engineering programs with a dismal 2.9 GPA from undergrad. I got rejected from OSU and... somewhere else? Now I can't even remember because it was so long ago, and I didn't end up going to any of them. I went and got a job instead and spent the next 15 years working. I hope they'll consider that more important than my GPA from undergrad.

I ended up emailing the prof and asking if it's a conflict in any way. I also asked my dad what he thought, as he has a PhD in Physics. He seemed to think it was no big deal to apply to both and added "anyone who would hold this against you would be a jerk anyway." Well, that was Dad's opinion.

I don't think the position conflicts with the program, but it's in a different group. It actually doesn't say when it starts or how long it lasts, so I suppose I should ask them. If I had a choice, I'd rather pursue the PhD than the RA, but I just applied to the PhD program a couple of weeks ago. As it's a very, very competitive program, my odds of getting in are probably pretty low. I guess I really need to contact them and ask about the timeline for the RA position, as they didn't say anything about that. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Also, I'm guessing it's okay to ask the contact person about my situation of applying to the program at the same time and ask whether or not it seems like a good idea.

Wondering if anyone has been in this position before: I just finished my PhD applications and have no idea if I'll get into any of the four programs I've applied to. Today I got an email via the alumni list from my master's program about a research opening at one of the four programs I've applied to. It's in a different group, but it's the same program. I'm very interested (and pretty well suited, I think,) for the research opening. I'm hesitant to apply for it, though, because I'm also applying for admission into their PhD program. Is this a bad idea? I don't know if they'll look at both of my applications and think, "this guy can't make up his mind! We're not going to consider him for either one!"

road rash

"Geez, this guy's old... and his GRE scores suck too. Maybe he forgot his bifocals that day."

I thought this was kind of a rarity? My program had 1/2 tuition scholarships, and that was about as good as it got. When my mother got hers, though, it was a state school, and she was a resident, so it didn't end up costing much.

I would definitely hope that schools would consider a strong portfolio, papers, and work experience more important than a ridiculous standardized test. I have a dismal math score too (I also won't say what it is,) and I have a degree and years of work experience in engineering! I've never had to answer a series of 7th grade math problems in multiple choice format with a clock ticking once in my professional life, so I don't know what this test indicates, other than how good you are at taking standardized tests. Anyway, it's over, and that's all I really care about. Nothing to do but wait.

Does it have to be slideroom? Can you use another service? I use Vimeo (vimeo.com) and Behance (behance.net) You can even use them together by uploading your videos to vimeo, then embedding them in Behance, incorporating them with stills from the videos.

I started my MFA (well it's a pseudo MFA,) at 40 and finished it a few days before I turned 43. My mother started her MFA at the age of 50. I can't really tell you what the long-term impact of it was, as I only finished in May. As for my mother, she doesn't really have to work anyway, and the fact that she went to a state school minimized the financial end of it. But if you want to teach, I would think it's a smart move. I see a lot of "MFA or equivalent" requirements posted on job listings.

This is what I've been told too. I hope it's true. My first pick for a PhD program doesn't even require the GRE. I had to take it for the other three programs I applied to. As a horrible test-taker, I had mediocre scores on the Verbal and AW, and bombed the Quantitative, which is funny (not haha funny, but peculiar funny,) because I have an engineering degree and years of work experience as an engineer, but this doesn't mean I'm good at doing 7th grade arithmetic in the form of multiple choice problems in a timed environment. I think the rest of my application must look pretty good by comparison, as I have 15 years of work experience (I waited a really long time to go back to school,) letters of recommendation from some fairly well-known faculty, and a 4.0 from my master's program. I suppose that if any program considers my dismal GRE scores more important than the rest of my application, I didn't belong there in the first place. I'm just hoping they don't use automated bot algorithms to read Statements of Purpose too. Anyway, it's over and done with, and I'm happy about that part, and ETS is not getting another $160 out of me.

The "full funding" part would pretty much make my decision. You should apply to the others, though, and see what kind of funding they offer you.

Don't know if Keens will be formal enough for you, but they're about the most comfortable shoes I've ever had.

Me? I graduated with a masters from a "new media" program in May. My bachelor's was in mechanical engineering. I'm applying to new media PhD programs now and hoping for the best.

Anyone still on this thread? I guess I found it a bit late. Anyway, I started my master's at the age of 40 after 15 years of industry work, finished it at 43, and am now applying to PhD programs. It's been a strange journey, but I guess that's just how things worked out.