comm1980

I'm starting my PhD in Communication this fall. Good luck!

The IPORT system at GSU shows 32 applied, 20 accepted, 7 denied, and 5 still pending. Have you checked your status online?

You mean a BFA?

.

.

.

.

My experience has been that age differences in grad school are much less noticeable than they might have been in undergrad. 18 year olds will definitely think someone who is 30 in their macro econ class is ANCIENT...but there is such a range of ages in grad school that I think it makes any significant difference rather unnoticeable. Graduate programs attract all kinds of people: those just out of undergrad, those who've been working in industry for years, those who are retiring and finally fulfilling their dream to get a grad degree, etc. I wouldn't worry about an age difference. You're all there (basically) to work on similar topics, no matter what the reason. Enjoy the different perspectives from the different lives that have led each of you to grad school!

I worked full-time through both my MA and my MBA. I'm now back to working within the university system on the administration side and starting my PhD this fall. Luckily, they pay for it since I'm an employee which makes the part-time thing much easier to handle. I'm single with no kids, so it's quite easy for me to balance work/life. From what I've gathered, I think there are fewer people doing part-time in the PhD; for the master's level, almost everyone was working (especially the MBA).

Rollerball shmollerball. My pen is the best! The Pilot Razor Point. It's kinda retro in style, but it's the best for writing to me. Luckily I work full-time, so our admin takes supply purchase requests. I always get blue and red (I'm old school when grading papers!) and in the last order she surprised me with a box of black as well. I lose pens all the time, but these aren't "sexy" so I don't think anyone is stealing them! http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Razor-Porous-Barrel-12-Count/dp/B00006IFJO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333965350&sr=8-3

Good point. OP, have you been in grad school at all since you took the GRE? In my case, I have two master's degrees in between, so that might have helped them overlook the age of the GRE also...your best bet is to call the director of your program or the admissions director at the school just to see what they say.

I believe it's ETS that will not send your scores after 5 years. My GRE scores were 5+ years for my PhD, but they were on file from a previous MS application at the university, so they accepted those without me resending. But ETS wouldn't have sent them if I needed them. In short, start your application as early as possible, and have your scores sent ASAP as well. You should be fine. I even had one school tell me that as long as they saw my scores on my transcript, they didn't need official reporting from ETS.

B.S. in Political Science, M.A. in Professional Writing, M.B.A., and starting my Ph.D. in Communication this fall. Pretty varied but to me it all makes sense

Thanks eco_env, yes, I think it's probably going to work out. I am pretty sure there are other people currently in the program who are working full time as well. I guess my experience will be a little less traditional than other people who have an assistantship/stipend and are TAing. Luckily (hopefully) I won't have to TA since I'm already adjunct faculty at another state system school. Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I'm semi-nontraditional in how my education has progressed (I'm 31 now), and really, while I was in undergrad, graduate studies were not even on my radar. I guess the PhD has always just been kind of a mystery to me even though I've been in school for so long and have mostly worked in academe!

Thanks Frozenroses! I did an MA and an MBA while working fulltime (40 hours/week at least) - combined, I've already been in grad school for the last 5 consecutive years, with a one-year break between my MBA and starting the PhD this fall. It might be a little different because I am working in my career field and it is a part of academia, so it's super flexible with regards to my work schedule (and considering my vice president/boss wrote one of my LORs). I can see what you mean though about it seeming to take forever. I am trying to psychologically prepare myself for at least 6-7 years (almost definitely more) of coursework and dissertation. I'm hoping that having a main research focus/interest that is related to my current job will help blend the two together. Thanks for the feedback!