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?

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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!

Perhaps positive vs. negative? Support and defend are both positive; criticize is negative.

I should add that I teach now, and when I say that I'm not interested in pursuing an academic career, I mean a full-time academic career. I enjoy teaching and fully intend to continue as an adjunct when possible.

I'm in higher ed fundraising/advancement/development. I plan to study the use of visual rhetoric and persuasive writing in philanthropic fundraising campaigns. And yes, most people in administration in higher education have a terminal degree.

@brancan, might the one PhD be an MA student who was going into the PhD? If you were a current MA student going directly into the PhD, they might just directly admit you, hence the 1 admit? I was wondering if that was the case in my program because there was 1 admit like a month before the other decisions came through. Just a thought...

Oh! That's possible. It hasn't really been clear, but that'd be great!

@Chasely, yeah it is a really high amount of coursework, especially considering you have to come into the program with an MA! This program requires 6 hours per semester of coursework, but I believe they do allow for 10 years (dear god I hope it doesn't take 10 years!), so I think they know their coursework requirements are astronomical. @robot_hamster, thanks - the classes are in the late afternoon and my work situation is very flexible, so I'm less worried about that side of things.

They know that I work for the System and that I plan to continue my employment while in the program.

Despite the rambling, there's only one question mark. I'm asking if anyone else has pursued their PhD on a part time basis while working a full time "regular" (aka, nonacademic) job. I'd like to hear others' responses about the challenges involved and perhaps how it changes the pursuit of the PhD.

As a full time employee of the University System of Georgia, I'm eligible for tuition assistance at any University System of Georgia institution. I've been accepted into a PhD program, but I'm going to maintain full time employment (in administration, not faculty). I'm wondering if anyone else has pursued their PhD while also working a full time "real" job? Some things to consider: I'm not required (or permitted, actually) to take an assistantship position, I already teach as an adjunct at the school where I work, and I was accepted with this all out in the open. The PhD is in Communication, and I have an MA in a related field and an MBA already. I'm just starting to wonder how many people have taken this route before, and what the challenges specific to this situation might be. I'm planning to take about 7 hours of course work (two classes and a proseminar) per semester. The program requires 47 hours (yikes!) of coursework before starting the dissertation. I know I'm looking at many years ahead of part time study, but that's not what concerns me. My challenge will be that I'm not looking for an academic career (although, I will stay in higher education administration), so I'm less concerned about publishing/research than others might be. I'd love feedback of any kind on my situation! Thanks.

Just wondering if anyone else was accepted to the Georgia State Ph.D. in Communication? It was the only program I applied to (I'm a University System of Georgia employee), so I'm glad I got in - maybe they accepted me because I won't be taking up an assistantship position or asking for funding! It looks like so far 23 out of 50 were accepted with only 14 rejected. I'm new to these boards, so I hope I posted this in the appropriate place. Good luck to all!