If you get in next year, how old will you be when you start your PhD?

[Cute_T]

If I get in, I'll be starting my PhD at 38. I got my master's degree at 24 straight out of undergrad, so I'll have a unique perspective now that I'm returning after 14 years.

[anya11]

23 when i am entering masters this fall. Planning to continue with Phd, so i will be 25 when i start Phd.

[minnares]

38 when I start the PhD, with 3 teenagers in tow.

[Espoir]

If I get in, I will be 27 when I start, but if I let this application process keep stressing me out like this, by the time I turn 27 I will feel like I'm about 100.

I am 23 now..with a high probability of getting an admit (sounds arrogantly optimistic to state that!)...hope to be done by 26-27 years...am I hoping for a lot???

[Jade]

I'll be 31...I love my 30s. The baby and spouse issue will be officially closed, if I get into a PhD program, but that's no love lost.

[American in Beijing]

I took a year off, so I'll be 23 when I start and turning 24 towards the end of the first semester. I've been told that very few people in my field finish in fewer than 6 years (one program told me they'd never had anyone finish in fewer than 6), so I'll be at least 30 when I graduate *gulp*.

In response to everyone's questions about parenthood, I've been feeling very confused about that myself. East Asian history PhDs are notoriously long (one of my professors needed 12 years to complete his, though I highly doubt my case will be that extreme . . . I hope), and I'm worried that if I have a child during grad school it's not going to help that I have a baby in tow when I'm scrambling for a job with massive amounts of debt from undergrad all coming back the second I graduate. But then again, is having a kid while I'm vying for tenure the best idea either? Neither is having a kid after tenure, when I'm in my late 30s early 40s when I have health issues to consider.

Perhaps no time's the best time to have a kid when you're an impoverished academic. Unless, of course, you marry for money. I feel like a PhD in Chinese history might make me stand out in the competition to be Mr. Bazillionaire's doting trophy wife . . .

[The_Hanged_Man]

I'll be 36 when I start in the fall. No worries though. Since I finished undergrad I've been in both the Peace Corps and TFA, lived in five different countries, and earned an MPA along the way. It's all about the journey, and not the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk. (Sean Connery + Ithaca + Vangelis = Win ).

[pl0x]

I'm applying straight out from a 3 year BA, so I'll be 20 if I start in the fall (my birthday's in November, so I've always been a bit younger than everyone else in my year anyway). I'm trying to downplay my age as much as possible in my applications, though, because I think it will only hurt my chances to draw attention to it. I'm afraid being younger just makes one seem less mature and focused than the older applicants.

I'm the same... but my birthday's in December. I'm a little worried about that coming up during the visit weekends, especially at the events with alcohol.

[hamster]

I'll be 31...I love my 30s. The baby and spouse issue will be officially closed, if I get into a PhD program, but that's no love lost.

What do you mean the issue will be closed? just curious because my own situation may be similar.

[U4RiiA]

I'll be 30.

(Goodness that sounds old!)

[urbanchic]

22

[coyabean]

I'll be 31...I love my 30s. The baby and spouse issue will be officially closed, if I get into a PhD program, but that's no love lost.

As I said before, I'll be 33. And I think, like you, this issue of a spouse and baby may be closed. I had a young marriage and a young divorce so I'm good on that front -- I got a dress and a tiara though I swear I paid dearly for it! LOL The baby thing I'm still debating with myself about but at some point nature takes care of that concern. I don't know. I don't feel overly sad about my choice. I could be broken but I'm ok with this route.

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

If I get in this year... I'll start when I'm 38.

Since i'm not counting on getting in this year, I'll most likely be 39 when I start. Meaning I'm done (at the earliest) when I'm 44.

On the other hand, I have no doubts that I belong in academia (that's my mitigating factor).

[grammercie]

I'll be 38 when I start if accepted to any programs. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Kids are elementary school now, but I started my 3 year master's program with a 3 and 6 year old. Babies and children make grad school hard. Pregnancy for me was a very preoccupying event. On the other hand, having a family forces you to focus and organize your time. One of my professors had 4 children while he did a PhD. He said he got done faster because every day his spouse asked him, "So, what did you do today to get you closer to finishing this thing?"

And plenty of folks adopt or foster children when they've decided not to have biological children. Lots of options, really.

Good luck to you all Personally, I'm loving my 30's and plan to rock my 40's.

[kent shakespeare]

I'll be 30.

(Goodness that sounds old!)

Nooooooo

It doesn't.

[Nighthob]

38 when I start the PhD, with 3 teenagers in tow.

I'll also be 38 when I start.

Reading these posts, I'm happy for the younguns who are mature and ambitious enough to apply straight out of their undergrads, but I couldn't have done it. I was very immature when I graduated, and I think I'm coming to this process at exactly the right time for me. As an older student, I now have an enhanced educational background after earning an M.A. and taking additional graduate classes as a non-degree student, and I have a terrific career that's helped me define my research interests and taught me how to network and work with colleagues effectively.

[hamster]

I will be 36 (if i get in- cross fingers!). I am single and childless except for a lovely cat.

I am open to adoption at some point but I am also open to not having children/ a family as it has never been one of my priorities.

This may change with age but it hasn't yet. and I think my siblings are going to have quite a few kiddies so perhaps I should focus on

being an awesome, perhaps eccentric auntie.

I have been the oldest person at all my interviews so it makes me feel nice to see others my age on here. Thanks gradcafe!

[afritz87]

Hi all, this is my first post here.

I'll be starting my PhD at 23 if accepted this year. I've taken a year off since undergrad, and am itching to get back into academics, so I feel like it's a good decision. I'm just wondering if I should have thrown a Masters program or two into the application mix, just in case I don't get into any PhD programs.

We'll see!

[Alea Iacta Est]

Provided I start this fall, I'll be 23.

[Confused Goose]

I'm 23 till when I graduate later this year and will be 24 when I finally begin the program. I do feel a tad older since many of my high school friends have jobs, some are engaged/married! But, I will complete my master's!

[socnerd]

I'll be 22 when I start, I may be going into a Master's or PhD program depending on where I get in. I just want to get in somewhere because I can't imagine having to put my life on hold and delay everything for a year. I honestly don't know what I would do with myself, I don't want to be in my mid 20s and 30s just getting my act together, I want to be settled with a family by then. I've applied to 13 schools with 3 on backup to try to avoid this.

Edited February 22, 2010 by socnerd

[VUbrat08]

I'm going for my MFA, but if I'm lucky to get into my #1 school (fingers crossed!), then I'll be 24 when I start, 27 when I'm graduate.

[oldlady]

I'll be 43, in the midst of my second career. It may seem old to those of you in your 20s and 30s who have your whole lives planned out , but you really don't know where your path will lead you.

This is the perfect age for me to go back to school because I've already proven to myself what I can do professionally, I've already had a child, and I am in a financially stable place.

[jeffatkins]

I will be 29 when I start my MS. I graduated undergrad when I was 22 and took time off. Played in a band for a while, worked some crappy jobs, some corporate type jobs, had a kid, changed my career path, spent a lot of time in rivers and woods, got married, went back to school and there you go. Hopefully I will be 31 when I start a PhD. It was a lot of fun and I appreciate it much, much more than I did the first time around. Coming out of high school and going through undergrad always felt like I was jumping through hoops. So it's nice to be on track. My original goal was to be done with everything by the time I was 30, but stuff happens. I have a friend who started his PhD at 20. He's incredibly intelligent, but I wonder about some real world sense sometimes. He'll be OK though.

[psych21]

I'll be 28 when I start. I always knew I wanted to do a PhD, but at 22, straight from undergrad, I wouldn't have had a chance of getting in--and I knew it. Poor research experience despite my stellar GPA. So I took some time off and did other stuff: came back home (I'm an international student), got married, was a TA, got research experience, got a HS teaching certificate and spent the past 5 years teaching HS psych and philosophy. Love it. However, the PhD idea was always lingering: I intended to apply 3 years ago, but I landed a great job with a lovely paycheck, so I decided to save up and do a MS first. I don't regret every single second of it, I learned so much in the process, and I know I was a much more competitive applicant now. It was a tough choice to quit the well paying job that I love and start from scratch, but in the end, this was--and still is--the dream. Now it's become a reality.

The kid issue? Third, fourth year of grad school, I presume... (Ideally, two in a row...) The clock is ticking, and I want to be a mommy.