hardcrashxyz

good intentions

bad mojo

I am 40. Story similar to Golden Monkey above. Applied to 4 schools for doctorate programs. Accepted to one with funding (in process of finalizing). Rejected by one. Waiting to hear from two others. The schools I actually talked were positive about work experience/background. I was in software development and had a biochemistry (undergrad/grad) background. I have plenty of experience completing and managing projects. Bad undergrad grades. Excellent graduate school and supplementary education grades. Mediocre GRE (high 1200s), which was disappointing because practice tests predicted 1400s. Schools I talked to stated that GRE scores were excellent for older student away from school for a long period. Excellent References. So I think it may vary by school and department, but I didn't feel age was a major factor in my application process.

Considering an ipad 2 or rooted nook color. The ipad 2 seems better, but at half the price and with SD card slot, the nook looks attractive.

scientific notation

Just turned 40 and was accepted funded for a doctorate program. Response was positive about work experience for the programs that contacted me. I know in my SOP, I didn't make any mention of age. I just tried to show related experiences (which by volume might have been a giveaway) and convey my passion for science and academics. So I think age might be a concern, but not a absolute barrier to graduate study. And if you are passionate about academics, go for it, and let the chips fall where they may. Best of Luck!

I came close to getting a Ph.D. years ago, and would regret never finishing. Also, I love the academic environment and will enjoy my time spent in pursuit of a doctorate. The work I want to do would benefit from getting additional focused training.

I routinely use Windows 7, Windows XP, Ubuntu, and Mac OS X. A majority of the applications I rely on are Open Source and many are cross-platform. Most of my time recently has been with Mac OS X on a 15" Powerbook pro. I like the gui and appreciate that I can also go to the unix command line. Very few challenges with stability or configuration (easier to do when the company matches both OS and hardware). Downside is cost and getting lumped in with fanboys. Setup to dual boot Windows 7 with bootcamp, because I need windows 7 for my game fix and the software I may be working on in grad school is slow to release in Mac OS X. For servers I use Linux only. Although I will pretty much adopt whatever is in common use at my dept. in grad. school.

Desktops are really nice to work with particularly if you invest in a larger monitor with high resolution. But laptops and netbooks are portable. As a compromise, I use whatever laptop I currently have to run a normal mouse, keyboard, and monitor at home. It lacks the power of a high end desktop, but you have improved ergonomics and productivity. Currently using a Macbook Pro 15" with boot camped Windows 7. It is versatile, reliable, and reasonably powerful. But it does cost a premium for the hardware specs. I have it connected to a dell 30" monitor. Thinking of getting a larger harddrive for a larger Windows partition and speed (7200 rpm hybrid). I will have to see which OS is in use at graduate school. Also considering bumping RAM to 8 GB. Less of a need and more like a want though. I use Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. So although I really like the mac, I am not tied to all things apple. Almost any laptop can serve as the brains for a hybrid desktop with addition of monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And you don't need to buy it all at once. An option to consider at least.

I am in same situation with GBCB program. I think it is appropriate to send out more than one letter at a time to different professors. I would only send them out to professors that match your research interests fairly well. I sent out five emails within the first few days of being notified about passing stage one. I have heard back from three. Two have not replied.

40, originally went to grad school in my 20's, but had to leave for a variety of non-academic reasons. So far, have only had positive remarks about age related to maturity and experience. Have not had interviews yet. I pass for late 20's in person so interviews should be interesting.

I have applied to both those programs and have not had any feedback yet.