How old are you?

[RestorationJunkie]

The question of age has come up in a number of topics here on Waiting it Out and on the board in general. So I'm curious, how old are you? Do you think your age is helpful or harmful (or irrelevant) to your application?

[ZeeMore21]

I am 23 right now...but I will be a couple days from 24 when I start my PhD this fall. I have not taken a break from school but I am very confident I am doing what I am meant to do. Everyone is different.

[Zorah]

Now, I understand why I don't relate to much that is written on this forum. I'm too old. I'm 53.

[Katie Brady]

I just turned 29 last month. I think I'm smack-dab in the middle of the age range, so I don't think it really makes a difference for me.

[lotrsimp12345]

I am 22 don't want to work at a boring desk job where half the time all I do is code or do testing. Want to go into research which seems like it requires a masters but why not go for a phd since they pay for it... Wish I had applied to masters for some schools. instead of all phds. Would already have my decisions.

[jmacnomad]

I'm 50. Age matters. I've been told that I am being selfish and taking places away from younger students that have a longer potential career and potentially more opportunity to generate grant revenue for the department. I've been told that since I have a house and a husband and adult children I should let younger people have a chance at the same things. I've been told that my undergrad marks from the late 70's/early 80's can't be compared to current marks because marking standards have changed due to grade inflation (shouldn't that make my marks appear more favorable when you consider "inflation"?) I've been told to give up and go get a job. I have been asked if I think I am too old to have a dream of getting a PhD. I feel badly for ad com members when I get that question because apparently they no longer have any dreams.

Education is a process not simply an end goal. My mother got her BA at 57 and her MA at 60. She did this because she loved to learn and enjoyed being in an academic environment. Age and experience can enrich a department and I do not see it as a detriment. It only adds to the diversity of experience and prospective. Props to you for pursuing your goal despite adversity!

Edited March 2, 2011 by jmacnomad

[Lanaaa]

21...birthday next week! yee haw.

Seeing that many of you are older than me gives me hope that maybe if I fail at this round of apps my life won't be completely over!

[Serenity]

27, but turning 28 this month. I started late, so just no getting around to graduate school.

[michpc]

I'm 26, and following in the footsteps of my mom who got her first Master's in 1977 from Wisconsin and went back an graduated with her second at 52 at Keene State! I'm also following my little sister (22) who's in her second semester in Art History at Temple. It's a little weird to be taking advice from her on this stuff . I'm glad I waited, though; I was adamant that I wanted to be in Boston after college, but almost 5 years out I'm super excited (but also a little scared) to be moving somewhere new. The closest school I applied to is about a 4 hour drive from home. The farthest I applied to for undergrad was 5!

Good luck, Zorah, my mom is so happy she want back and loves her new career, even if she was one of the oldest people there.

[psycholinguist]

Seeing that many of you are older than me gives me hope that maybe if I fail at this round of apps my life won't be completely over!

Not in the slightest. My first round two years back was a disaster involving vague SOPs, web-forms incomprehensible to two of my letter-writers, nasty department politics, a total lack of funding for international students at the one Ph.D. program that accepted me, and more. For most of the year off I ended up working as a medical office-assistant. It wasn't at all awful; and a bit of extra money didn't hurt either. Then I got accepted off the waitlist to my top-choice of program the second time around. I'm just so happy here; who cares that it took a tiny bit longer than expected to get this whole grad-school thing underway? A single year off from school is nothing; in fact, it's often a good idea considering how many years you'll've been in the classroom by the time you reach the ABD stage.

[skeedy]

23

Age should be irrelevant, but if it did matter, I'd probably be in a good place.

This - both parts

[beanbagchairs]

26 years old. I spent some time working (well, still is) and got a master degree

[Roccoriel]

I'm 25, but I am also finishing a Master's this spring before starting a PhD in the fall, so I'm already a grad who is going back for more.

[mphutton]

I'm 39, have a Phi Beta Kappa undergrad degree, a Harvard Master's, a former music career, have been teaching high school English for seven years, got 98th percentile on the GRE Verbal. I only applied to three top English PhD programs, but I was rejected to all three, and I do believe it had something to do with being out of the game for so long.

[NiTi_Wizard]

23... Who the hell knew life would be harder after undergrad than actually in it?

[Neuronista]

27

I'm applying to my second grad degree now (PhD). I've already done a masters straight after undergrad and then worked for a while. I feel I'm going to be a bit older than everyone else but I don't really care since I'm still in my sweet 20's

[Mal83]

I'm 27 now, will turn 28 right when school starts. It took me a little while to finish undergrad due to an extreme case of the"I don't know what the hell I want to do" blues. But once I figured it out, I finished with a bang by diving straight into the Peace Corps which took 2 years and then not realizing how bad the job market is decided to work in my field for a while before grad school.....that hasn't worked out at all so here I am now soon to start grad school in the DC area. Woohoo!

And..for those of you who are "more experienced in life" I personally would love to be in class with you guys, learning from you and working with you on projects. I prefer diversity and the experience you bring to the classroom makes me feel like I'm learning more. And what an absurd thing to say...that you should give the younger applicants your chance at an advanced degree...first, if you're more qualified than me, then you've earned the spot. Second, yeah, that's ageism, no one agrees with that.

[cdinh007]

21, 22 in July. I do not know if my age is helpful or harmful, but I do hope it does not hinder my application.

[mphutton]

[And..for those of you who are "more experienced in life" I personally would love to be in class with you guys, learning from you and working with you on projects. I prefer diversity and the experience you bring to the classroom makes me feel like I'm learning more. And what an absurd thing to say...that you should give the younger applicants your chance at an advanced degree...first, if you're more qualified than me, then you've earned the spot. Second, yeah, that's ageism, no one agrees with that.

[Mal83]

Very nice of you to offer this bit of encouragement to us middle-agers. Indeed, we can learn from each other, from the perspective each stage in life can bring into the discussion. Your wisdom is really refreshing -- thank you!

You're welcome! I just couldn't imagine telling someone you're too old to get a degree. If you can be a Peace Corps volunteer at 78 years old than literally any of you here can and should earn an advanced degree if you so desire without even wondering if age is some kind of hindrance. Yes, the Peace Corps actually loves older volunteers because not only do they bring more experience and wisdom to the communities they serve, but in some cultures they are valued and respected even more than a 22 year old fresh out of school. The oldest ever volunteer was 86, and I served with a 78 year old man in Ukraine. He was beloved by the university he taught at and he made it through the whole 2 years and 3 months. Plenty of people don't make it through half that time. He had lots of trouble learning the language, which is understandable, but other than that he did an amazing job and everyone, including the Ukrainian PC staff, was inspired by him. He received a standing ovation at our End of Service ceremony.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Mal83

[NUcat72]

26 here, though I am pretty wise for my age. Probably due to my white hair (I was born with black and white hair making me very wise from birth my mother says )

[geekgrl1]

Interesting that the voting scale ending at 36...

I am about to turn 46; but since I am applying to business programs, I don't think it will hurt me at all. Most of the MBA programs I looked at require you to have work experience in a business environment before you can apply.

[MoJingly]

1203 weeks, 5 days old.

[worthless.knowledge]

I turned 19 a couple months ago and will be 20 when I graduate... A current graduate student told me I might not be taken seriously... I hope he's wrong about that! :/

[litjust]

28 - I feel ripe

[laviola]

I'll be 22 when/if I get in my program (knock on wood)