Am I wasting my time?

[JenniferinFL]

I am an undergrad history student at UCF. I am about to start my Junior year, with a 3.88 GPA. Right now I test at B1 level in Italian, German and French. I could probably get my Spanish up there pretty quickly too. Most language studies I have done on my own, however, I took  French through the intermediate level ln in college.  I just love languages.  My main historical interest is in Eastern Europe during the Communist era, with a deep interest in the GDR.  

  The thing is, I'm old. I am retired from the military with a pension and I'm 45. I don't even know if I can get into a grad program at my age. I mean, I know it's done, but I believe it's rare. I am not concerned with making a lot of money one day. I have a good pension and medical care for life. I am more interested in research than teaching, but I would be willing to teach teach. I do know what sort of life and pay adjunct teaching would bring, but at my age and with an income, it's not as big of a deal. This would be about love, not money. 

I fear that I don't even have a shot at this, at my age and with a school like UCF.  

I am willing to relocate obviously and even Europe is an option.

Edited July 3, 2015 by JenniferinFL

[scirefaciat]

One of my good friends, also a veteran, just graduated with his PhD from my MA school. He was in his fifties, and very much the department dad, and I have no doubt that he will find a job. Another friend also just graduated from my MA school with her PhD, and her degree was from UCF. The things you are worried about are not the issue. You are never too old, and I think that you are in a unique position to be able to do whatever you like, because you don't have to worry about how to finance your life. You have good grades and great language skills - I think you should speak to trusted professors about what your options are, and get great letters of reference. You should develop a topic that you feel is viable, and write the hell out of an SOP.

[eeee1923]

From the info you've provided I think you'll make a competitive applicant that can uniquely contribute to any graduate program. Many programs actually seek non-traditional students such as yourself that are high achieving and can provide a different perspective to the research being done at the institute. You are not too old or anything like that - if you want to continue your educational pursuits you'll be fine. 

[JenniferinFL]

That's for the encouragement. I just took a 2 1/2 hour prctice GRE from the Princeton review. I don't know how accurate they are . I got a 161 verbal and a 138 math. I know that math is my achilles heel, but I have time to get that up. Well you may see me here a lot as I prepare, prepare ,prepare.  

[ashiepoo72]

You should take the practice tests on the ETS website, I got almost the same score on those as on the real GRE.

[xolo]

Hi JenniferinFL,

I have a somewhat similar profile as yourself. Anyway, I got into a well ranked school in a PhD program. Grad school is not as rigid as it used to be and many schools are looking for diversity. My recommendation to you, because I think it was what helped me, is that you have to develop an application strategy that unifies across your SOP, LORs, and WS to delivery a consistent and unique message. In other words, worry about your message and not about your self-perceived defects! (That aren't really there). For instance, your languages do not appear to connect well with Eastern Europe, so you need to develop a good logical argument why they do, and this could be your unique story! Try to lift the GRE to above 300!

[thedig13]

Honestly, I think you'd be superbly competitive. I myself was a student with a high GPA from a non-prestigious program. And, from what I've seen and heard, admissions committees are often on the lookout for applicants that can help diversify their student pool, whether that means by personal background, race, gender, or whatever else. Plenty of older applicants get into solid programs; thus, I don't view your age as a big disadvantage, and if you spin it the right way, it could even become an advantage. Moreover, you have the grades and language training to impress professors. Not having to worry about your income and financial stability takes a lot of the pressure off; many of the graduate students you'll be joining are going to spend time bouncing from location to location working low-paying, one-year contracts while barely feeding themselves.

 

Moving forward, I'd encourage you to start on a senior thesis (preferably something involving at least 20-35 hours in a research archive), to strengthen your GRE scores (that math section might be a hindrance), and to pick up another language (maybe Russian). It's also necessary for you to think about who you might want to work with at the graduate level--you seem to have a somewhat defined area of interest, which is good; it's time to figure out who the heavy hitters are in your field, as well as how you're going to pitch yourself and your interests to them and their colleagues.

 

Feel free to send me a message with any more questions or concerns.

Edited July 5, 2015 by thedig13

[dr. t]

Two general observations:

 

1) It's your time to waste. If you don't mind spending the cash on the tests, do it.

 

2) It may be more about love, but it's going to be a little about money. Margaret Vojtko was a horror story for a reason. Don't lose your perspective.

[JenniferinFL]

Thanks all. I know I can get the GRE score  up. I really took the practice one to get a feel for what the test looks like. I knew next to nothing about it. I did not review any questions or  give my all on the Math portion. I just wanted to look for strengths and weaknesses.  Now I'll study. I have a long time to prepare. I'm OK with the 87th percentile on the verbal. I'm sure I can get above the 90th with  a little bit of time. Math will take some work, but i'm willing to do it. Moneywise, I'm OK so far as the VA is taking care of it. Of course that will change at the Grad level.   

[Chiqui74]

Hi, Jennifer, and welcome to the board.I

 

I don't want to go into too much detail because I don't want to reveal myself (so to speak) but I want to share my experience with you.  I am a veteran, and I also went to college as an adult in one of Florida's less elite public universities.  I am not in my 40s, but I am in my 30s, have a family, kid, etc.  I had had it my head for years that I wanted to go to graduate school, so that's what I set out to do. I had doubts about my age, my status, etc. but I had a professor who was in her mid 50s and had only been out of grad school for two years. TWO YEARS!  I knew then that age shouldn't hold me back.  I don't know whether or not being on the older side gives you an advantage, but I certainly don't think it is a disadvantage.

 

I am now headed to a pretty fancy school where I've been showered with all sorts of funding (even more than many of my colleagues), for which I'm grateful.  When I went to the recruitment weekend I thought I'd be the oldest for sure.  I was wrong  I was not even the second oldest.  I was oldet than most, but not by very much.  To add to it, I was one of the few students who didn't go to ivy or other elite school.  I had mixed emotions about that, ranging from feeling inadequate to patting myself on the back for being there amongst the ivy educated with such a humble, for lack of a better word, alma mater of my own.  I'm over that now.  It's a blank slate and we are equals.

 

If grad school is what you really want, I say go for it.  Apply.  The worst that can happen is that you don't get in anywhere (it happens even to the young, ivy types!).

 

Good luck!

[Chiqui74]

Also, the math GRE doesn't matter.

[avflinsch]

Go for it!

You are never too old, I didn't even finish my BA until I was 52, and am starting to consider a second masters (after I finish this one) or possibly pursuing a phd.

[twentysix]

Also, the math GRE doesn't matter.

 

I did terrible on the math portion (worse than 50th percentile: 150) and I don't think it negatively impacted me, but then again I'm not going for a PhD yet. Age doesn't matter. Do what you love as long as you can make it work!

Edited July 8, 2015 by twentysix