Goin' back to grad school after a long time off. Anyone else?

[chainlightning58]

tl;dr: Freaking out about a long shot PhD opportunity and, while I await for SOMETHING to happen (rejection letter included) I am wondering if there are any other folks in this forum who are thinking about going back to grad school after a longish period of workforce time. I'm curious to read your stories and I'll start. (The rest of this post is a long, rambling mess while I flush out what is on my mind.)

I was always kind of a [very slightly] above average student, but eventually graduated with a 3.65/University Honors in a science field within Earth Sciences/Geography (we'll keep it anonymous for now, since my field is pretty small and tight-knit ?). Even with those grades the undergraduate program advisor suggested that, if I got into an MS program, I should do a non-thesis option since he felt I wasn't capable of conducting scientific research. While I was admittedly somewhat of a bonehead (and the professor was probably objectively right at the time) I basically told him where to put his opinion, finished my honors capstone, took the GRE, and applied to a few random Masters programs just before the application deadline. I was accepted without funding to a school that I chose based on how close it was to family and, only after I started to attend classes did I realize that it was actually one of the top research programs in my science...that's how little I knew what I was getting myself into.

I walked into class the first day with a chip on my shoulder, as I had been awarded the "Intern of the Year" award for the summer internship I worked at and I felt invincible. I sat in the middle of the classroom and suddenly realized I wasn't in the top of my class anymore...every other student fought for a front row seat and no one was hungover. Needless to say, the first semester I struggled in classes and almost quit. What didn't help was that I was paying out of state tuition out of pocket. Just before the fall semester ended, I walked into the admin office and asked them if there were any funding opportunities. The admin told me that funding doesn't really work that way, but she would see what she could do. During my drive home after finals, not thinking I would be coming back to school in January, I received a phone call from the admin saying that a professor wanted to talk to me. I was placed within his research group and fully funded for a year to complete my MS thesis. I finished my thesis, was listed as an author on a few published papers, and improved my grades (although I graduated with only a 3.2 GPA based on my performance that first semester). Since my funding ran out a semester before I finished, I worked as a TA to waive my tuition and this was a great experience.

Even with the great luck I had to shakily finish a thesis option Masters degree at a top research school, I chose to forgo a PhD until I at least had some professional career experience within my field. I was offered a position on the other side of the country in the renewables industry, where I worked a cushy job as part of an operations team. I focused my expertise in this field working "in the trenches" in a very unique position. Eventually a new job was created at a different company and I was hired to bring my experience to work as an analyst. After almost 6 years in the renewables industry, the desire to further develop my research skills returned. 

A PhD position opened up in Sweden at Uppsala University and I applied, given that the project fit my experiences almost perfectly. Given the prestige of that university, my status as an international applicant with mediocre academic marks, and the fact that it appears they had already made an internal choice prior to the job posting (application was due April 15...position start date: May 1st...yeah.), I'm not likely to be on the short list for this one. However, this opportunity comes at a perfect time in my life. I'm unmarried and have no kids, I'm looking for a location change, and there's so much more I want to do in my science than what I'm doing now...working with an advisor to get through a PhD would help me immensely.

I labored for a month to massage my application package and was given 3 very nice letters of recommendation from my MS advisors (whom I happened to run into at a conference a few months prior) and the consultant who hired me at both of the aforementioned jobs. I read every paper the research group published that was related to the project and rewrote my statement of interest several times. I e-mailed the head of the program to ask a few questions and she acknowledged that my experiences fit the project very well. 

So I wait and I dream of a life in Uppsala, Sweden where I would take an enormous pay cut and live the life of a college student one more time. Maybe my luck will help me just this last time...who knows? Does anyone have a similar story?