How much will the ancient past matter?

[asha]

I went to a good public university straight out of high school and fell flat on my face. I ended up dropping out with all incompletes or F's after one semester.

I then went on to live my life for 12 years, working at a few unimportant jobs. Eventually I decided to return to school because I hated mindless work and wanted to do something I love.

I went to community college for spring and summer, earning a 4.0, then co-enrolled between the community college and a public ivy. I earned my A.S. degree in 1.5 years with a 3.9 including 4 courses from the public ivy (A,A,A-,B+). I then transferred fully to the public ivy and currently have a 3.6 which doesn't include any of the grades (including classes that I took here during co-enrollment!) from my A.S. degree. I graduate with a BS in may 2010. I anticipate that I will end up with a 3.6 or a 3.7 from the public ivy, double majoring in Biology and Env. Science & Policy. I have done independent environmental research and worked in the biology lab (paid). I will have references from 3 very respected professors here. I took the GRE and got 650V 760Q.

I want to get a master's degree in envir. science and am applying to Duke, Yale, UVA, UCSB, and UO-Eugene.

My question is how much will my epic failure at age 18 affect my chances now at age 32? I think that I have to disclose the fact that I went for a semester, even though I have no credits from there, right? Do I discuss it in my SOP, to what extent? Will they count those incompletes or F's in my GPA?

[noojens]

I wouldn't worry about a hiccup in your transcript 12 years ago. Your performance at CC and the "public ivy" (what is a public ivy?) have shown your commitment and capabilities.

For what it's worth, it looks to me like you'll be a very strong candidate at those schools.

[LateAntique]

I've been told "Adcoms like cool stories." If this isn't a cool story, I don't know what is. Congrats on the success and all the best to you on applying.

[fuzzylogician]

I wouldn't worry about a hiccup in your transcript 12 years ago. Your performance at CC and the "public ivy" (what is a public ivy?) have shown your commitment and capabilities.

Glad to see I'm not the only one confused by the "public ivy".

Yes, you'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about a bad decision made 12 years ago.

[asha]

Oh sorry, it's a stupid term. I didn't want to say which school I am in for privacy reasons. It's a top-30 university, top 10 public university.

[UnlikelyGrad]

My sister did almost exactly what you did (though I think it was more like 9 or 10 years rather than 12). She got into a top-notch grad school and is now a professor at a top-10 public university. So there you go.

[asha]

Thanks for the reassurance. It is nice to hear while in the middle of the stress of trying to assemble all these applications. So should I talk about it in my SOP or just let my record speak for itself? My life has been kind of crazy, so my resume is going to look odd. I lived in England for several years, for example, because of a relationship. I don't know if I should be explaining these things in my SOP, or just focusing on my research and career interests.

[fuzzylogician]

So should I talk about it in my SOP or just let my record speak for itself? My life has been kind of crazy, so my resume is going to look odd. I lived in England for several years, for example, because of a relationship. I don't know if I should be explaining these things in my SOP, or just focusing on my research and career interests.

Focus on your research and career interests. Don't talk about all these unrelated past stories in your sop (I don't even know that I'd put them on a resume). The sop is a statement of PURPOSE, it's about what you want to study in grad school and why, and (to a lesser extent) what prepares you to do that. Unless having lived a few years in England is relevant to what you want to research in grad school, it has no place in your statement. Regarding the bad semester 12 years ago, opinions differ. I don't think I would mention it at all, but if you do - do it in no more than a sentence, and put a positive spin on it by comparing it to your current good grades and strong motivation.