What are the results so far for the older applicants?

[wendychina]

I'm 44. So far the situation is:--

No news from American schools except one rejection in early March. I guess all the others will send me rejections in the coming couple of weeks.

But I do hear from schools in Europe. I got one interview but got rejected. I have received a conditional admission from a good program in UK.

I do believe age matters to some extent. Though my personal conditions could have weighed heavier, since I did really poorly in GMAT.

How are the other older applicants? What are the results of your applications?

Edited March 31, 2011 by wendychina

[emmm]

I applied to multiple programs at one school. Due to my husband's job, I couldn't apply to any other schools. I was rejected by all but one program, which accepted me off the waitlist. I am 42. I think age may have played a part in the process -- as I was certainly considered "non-traditional," but it's hard to separate age from the other aspects of my application that were different.I made sure that my GRE scores were excellent. My GPA was very competitive. I did my best to take advantage of the resources available to me before applying to strengthen my application. I was, however, aware of the deficiencies in the package I was presenting, and I was ready to reapply should it be necessary.

[SimilarlyDifferent]

I'll be 28 in two weeks. I'm not sure if that makes me "older" or not. I am married with family so I think I might fall into this category. I'm in for a Masters, assuming that goes well I'll be looking into PhDs next. It is rough to think that by the time I've finished with this process and am ready to start a career I'll be 33 or older.

[NadaJ]

I am 30 and I applied to one school. I am on the waiting list for the PhD, and accepted with nearly full tuition and an RAship for an MA (I am finishing an M.Ed in another field). The school is out of state and we (i.e., my husband) cannot leave unless I am accepted into the PhD program. I am looking for jobs in the field I want to go in, but where I live work is very limited w/o the degree, and I don't want to practice, I want to do research. I am trying to get excited about this plan B, but I'm disheartened.

[Golden Monkey]

I applied to 4 PhD programs at the age of 43 and have 2 rejections, 1 funded acceptance (which I accepted back, whoo!) and 1 program that is claiming my application is incomplete (they lost my transcript and don't answer emails as to how to fix this, but I already accepted somewhere else anyway, so I don't care.) The 2 rejections were both extreme long shots anyway, so it wasn't exactly a shock to not get in. With the volume of applicants they get, I doubt if they spent more than a few seconds on my application.

I think the age thing depends largely on the field. I'm in technology, which I worked in for 15+ years before starting my technology-related master's at 40. So my work experience was extremely relevant, which I think helped a lot. In contrast, I have absolutely dismal GRE scores (I'm not going to repeat them,) dismal undergrad grades, great master's grades, some great work samples, but no publications (which isn't such a big deal in my field.)

[hardcrashxyz]

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.

Edited March 31, 2011 by hardcrashxyz

[lexicana]

I am 35 and was rejected from 1 school and waitlisted at 3 other schools. I think that my age and the fact that I have always had a non-traditional path to education played a role in being waitlisted. I am hoping to get in off the waitlist because the thought of being 1 year older when reapplying frightens me. I am glad to see some older candidates being accepted. That gives me hope.

[Golden Monkey]

That's kind of interesting that hardcrash and I had similar experiences, both being in technology-related fields, with related work experience. When I was considering going back to school (at the master's level,) I asked the opinions of two guys who were in PhD programs (but in their mid-late 20s.) They weren't very optimistic on my chances, but then again, one was in English Literature, and the other was in History.

[JoeB]

I am 40 and was rejected from the University of British Columbia and have had absolutely no response from the University of Washington - although I am not hopeful considering that acceptances have been posted on the survey page since the 17th. I was applying to the 3-year MARCH program after a 20-year career in IT-related industries.

The only age-related advice that I received during the application process was some "Off the record" advice from UBC. The person basically said to position your statement of interest as a logical extension of the work that you are currently doing (application design to building design in my case). In no way indicate that this is a mid-life crisis or that you are looking for a career change. The admissions people do not look favorably upon that.

[Golden Monkey]

The only age-related advice that I received during the application process was some "Off the record" advice from UBC. The person basically said to position your statement of interest as a logical extension of the work that you are currently doing (application design to building design in my case). In no way indicate that this is a mid-life crisis or that you are looking for a career change. The admissions people do not look favorably upon that.

I must say that's some excellent advice. That's what I ended up saying in my SOPs, (because that's what I'm doing,) but I had never really heard it spelled out like that. Makes sense.

I did get my final rejection today. I am not sure this is a "legitimate" rejection, because this is the school that lost my transcript, then didn't tell me how to remedy this, and sent out emails months ago telling everyone how disorganized they were this year, so we should please be patient. But I'm okay with that, because I already accepted my one offer and am beyond ecstatic with that. In the end, I got 3 out of 4 rejections.

One thing I wish I had done was applied to more programs. In my very limited field, there were only 6-7 programs in the US that were suitable, though there are more worldwide. I now wish that I had applied to all 6 or 7 instead of just 4, and maybe applied to some of the ones in Canada, Britain, and Japan to boot, just to see what they said. I almost applied to 2 more US programs, but didn't apply to one because I figured that with the cost of living in that area, there was no way it could be economically feasible, even with funding. I didn't apply to the other because I thought the web site was too vague in what they did. In truth, just because a program doesn't actually mention its funding, doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist, and sometimes a good program can have a crappy website. I now kinda wish I had cast the net a bit wider.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Golden Monkey

[wendychina]

Golden Monkey, we are of the same age. I applied to 6 American schools, 2 of which I thought should be interested in my application, but eventually I think I was wrong. Till today, nothing has been heard from the 5 others. You are indeed lucky to have one offer out of four.

I started to apply to 2 British schools just to enhance my chances. This is a good move, I now realize. One British school has not answered to my application. The last one that I applied, on 15 Feb, gave me offer, till today with no funding. But the school told me that they have attached a letter of support to fund for my studies.

[jordanami]

I am 35 with 5 applications to doc programs, and so far 3 rejections. Two programs basically said they do not accept without a masters, period. I am halfway through a masters, so I will probably just reapply next year. For me, I worked for about 8 years in my field, had a small business for 4 years, then took the last 5 off to raise my son. I have received some favorable responses about my work experience, even though I thought it might be too old to count for much. My GRE scores are great, my UG GPA is mediocre, but so far I have a 4.0 in my MPH, so I think I will be fine. I do think that if I were them I would be looking to make sure that someone who is older is genuinely a good fit, not just hunting around for "something" new. I might want to see some recent work experience that is similar to the program of interest, etc. I think if my other two apps come back rejected, I will look for some volunteer or job opportunity that is a good precursor to higher level public health work. For me, although I am not in mid-life crisis mode, I am reentering the workforce after an absence, and I am shifting from what I was doing before- a diagonal kind of shift, not a big leap, but still.... I think I need to show the adcoms that I am serious and committed to this new path, and that it will be a solid fit for me long-term. The MPH will help, as will some kind of work/volunteer that is directly public health, not social services like I have done in the past. But so far, I have had some good commentary on my work experience- one rejection letter saying that if I were to apply again next year (when I have my MPH) my work experience would make me a sound candidate; another email, separate from the rejection email, saying that my work experience makes me a strong applicant. So, I guess they do appreciate it, even though to me it doesn't feel like I have accomplished as much as I would like to at this phase of my life, and I thought they would really frown on the years I have taken away from working, but it seems like people might be willing to overlook that somewhat.

[KreacherKeeper]

Golden Monkey, we are of the same age. I applied to 6 American schools, 2 of which I thought should be interested in my application, but eventually I think I was wrong. Till today, nothing has been heard from the 5 others. You are indeed lucky to have one offer out of four.

I started to apply to 2 British schools just to enhance my chances. This is a good move, I now realize. One British school has not answered to my application. The last one that I applied, on 15 Feb, gave me offer, till today with no funding. But the school told me that they have attached a letter of support to fund for my studies.

I am in the same boat. I applied initially to one school, fortunately panicked before February 1st deadline hits and applied more broadly (but with little hope)

1. Admitted one with half funding (too old to get that much debt)

2. Admitted one with tuition remission, but yet to get official letter.

3. Still waiting to hear on a 3rd.

I think age does matter. People in their early 20's (I am in my 30's), I thought would fare worse than I did with my work experience but I literally heard that they wanted people who were trainable (and I was trained). I think it also varies by program, cohort and general luck. My GRE's were not stellar (high 1200's), my GPA was great for me (3.9), and I had good recommendations. It was probably the best I could do given right now I am working, going to school, and commute over 20 hours a week.

I think the other part of this is that we have a healthy fear of debt. So we aren't thrilled by partial tuition. We simply require more financial aid then young persons who can rely in part on their parents.

[jordanami]

The debt is a real issue. I am okay with $40,000, but more than and I have to start thinking carefully about how much I will really gain from that education. I hear academia is a rough road, financially and otherwise. Personally, I think people in their early 20s are too green to be great doctoral candidates. I mean, how many people really know what they are and what they want to do/contribute to the world at that age. I think a lot of people just go on to higher education (not all, don't get mad at me younger grad cafe-ers) because that is what they think is expected of them, or they don't know what else to do, or they want the status of a doctorate. Part of the reason I have not done this sooner is that I didn't want to get into it for any of those reasons. I just want the doctorate because most of the jobs that I am interested in having require it. But, I received my 4th rejection letter just now, so I have pretty much resigned myself to finishing out the MPH program that I am halfway through with before going on to a DrPH. I am thinking I might try teaching at a community college and working on a DrPH online- probably works out pretty much the same as being a TA and student at the same time, but I might have a little bit more autonomy and flexibility if I go that route.

You know, honestly, in my 20s, I was hardly even fleshed out yet. Whether adcoms can see it or not, us generation x-ers have something unique to offer. Good luck everyone!

I am in the same boat. I applied initially to one school, fortunately panicked before February 1st deadline hits and applied more broadly (but with little hope)

1. Admitted one with half funding (too old to get that much debt)

2. Admitted one with tuition remission, but yet to get official letter.

3. Still waiting to hear on a 3rd.

I think age does matter. People in their early 20's (I am in my 30's), I thought would fare worse than I did with my work experience but I literally heard that they wanted people who were trainable (and I was trained). I think it also varies by program, cohort and general luck. My GRE's were not stellar (high 1200's), my GPA was great for me (3.9), and I had good recommendations. It was probably the best I could do given right now I am working, going to school, and commute over 20 hours a week.

I think the other part of this is that we have a healthy fear of debt. So we aren't thrilled by partial tuition. We simply require more financial aid then young persons who can rely in part on their parents.

[Golden Monkey]

One thing I mistakenly assumed was that adcomms would look at my work experience first, and my work samples, and then all the other stuff. In truth, I don't know if they looked at those things at all. For all I know, my CV might never have been viewed, and since I don't track traffic to my home page, I have no idea if they ever bothered to look at it. If they start with GRE scores, I know I immediately go into the reject pile, for instance. I don't think we can ever assume that adcomms will necessarily care about our strongest assets, or even if they ever look at them.

This is why I wish I had "cast the net a bit wider" and applied to a few more schools. Not only is there the issue of how interested we are in their programs, but there's also the issue of what their adcomms care about, and whether or not those two line up. There are probably adcomms that only want the "typical" PhD applicant with perfect GRE scores and GPAs and don't necessarily value work experience.

[Henry Hudson]

I'm 42. My only rejection for PhDs was from UMich, which is a pretty competitive choice for any age. 2/3 acceptances otherwise.

For my MA apps, at age 40, I was 3 for for, with UBC as my only rejection.

I haven't felt any age discrimination, personally.

[Golden Monkey]

Wondering if any of the older applicants had very different results from applying to master's programs than you did with PhDs? At the age of 38 (about to turn 39,) I applied to 3 master's programs and got 3 acceptances. Two were programs I was genuinely interested in, while the third was a "safety." Other than scholarships + loans, none of them were funded.

While applying to PhDs, I got 3 rejections out of 4 applications, despite the fact that my work during my master's degree was, well, honestly pretty good, plus the fact that I had LORs from some pretty well-known professors.

Makes me realize that when applying to unfunded masters programs, getting accepted isn't that big of a deal. When getting accepted to funded PhD programs, it's a pretty big deal.

[wendychina]

Yes, I agree with Golden Monkey. I got accepted to my current MBA program, of course not funded, without any problem with my age. I even got the grand prize from the program as the No. 1 out of more than 800 applicants. However, I do encounter quite a lot of hardships for the funded PhD programs. Till this moment, I hear nothing from any of the remaining 5 programs. I still expect some kind of funding from the school that accepts me to start from Masters of Research program.

Sad to think about this.

[aquellita]

I'm 33. Applied to 7 schools, got one acceptance, 5 rejections, and one pending but I already accepted to the one acceptance

I have an MS, have research experience from way back when in college, and work in corporate for biotech and I am going into biomedical research.

School brought me for interview and thought I have the right attitude for PhD, and really I just do not want to be doing what I am doing for the rest of my life and always wanted to just do research.

I am happy, my salary will be slashed a 2X once in grad school, but I do not care

What I noticed is that the school I got accepted to takes older people and with many different backgrounds and experiences, not just from a bio background. It's good!

[Zorah]

I applied to one doctorate program and got accepted. I'm 53.

[adstatus]

I'll be 44 later this month. I applied to 10 programs in marketing. So far, all I really know is that I've been flatly rejected by 5 programs and am wait listed at 2 others. Two of the remaining 3 programs were lower-tier safety schools, but I feel pretty good about getting in, but am not too sure about funding. The final school I have heard absolutely nothing from, and apparently neither has anyone else in any of the forums here or on urch.

Given the competitive nature of the business schools, I was told very directly by one of my referrers that my age will be an issue. I have very solid credentials, but the same student with 10-15 FEWER years of industry experience would always have an edge over me. Bummer.

All in all, I'll take any admit as long as there is sufficient funding that I can supplement with student loans (still have to support the family). Otherwise, its back to business and time to put the PhD dream to bed. It's in God's hands now...

[LizzieT]

I am 51 and applied to 11 programs. I got funded offers from 2 and an unfunded offer from 1. I accepted a research fellowship of $25000 for 4 years and complete tuition forgiveness. I only have to teach twice over the four years. I feel very blessed to be where I am. I am in my second semester. I think the age thing is a problem at some schools in some programs. However, some of the business programs require experience in the field so age is not such a problem. I think your GMAT score and research experience can get you past most problems with age. I had presented at three conferences and had two research articles under review in journals. I was told that the reason I was accepted and given the generous funding offer was because of my research background and GMAT score (730). Having a degree in mathematics helped and working as a GRA for the economics department when I was getting my Master's helped, too. I was told several times along the way that I was too old for this, that I would never get my money out of this degree, never be accepted, etc. None of that matters now. I could not be happier where I am and doing what I am doing. I plan on working until I am at least 70 if not longer. The life of a doctoral student/professor is challenging but rewarding. Traveling is great. I have been to London, Edinburgh, Chicago, and Phoenix and will be going to Tahoe this summer, with most of my travel paid for with scholarships and grants. I find presenting papers is the best. I am glad I never gave in and quit because someone else thought I was too old.