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

[sputnik]

I will be 31 when I start next year (assuming I get in somewhere).

[psychapplicant2011]

30!

five years off after high school

BA to MA

MA to PhD?

[Tex]

I'll be 26. Was 5 years in undergrad (yep, I was a super-senior). Took a gap year. Entered a Master's program at 24 (which I'm finishing up in the spring). Now I'm applying to PhD programs.

[NadaJ]

If I get in this Fall, I will be 30 turning 31 in October. And I am perfectly fine with this! Everyone's path is different.

[Count de Monet]

24 if I start a PhD program in the Fall

[mathgeek]

22, straight out of undergrad like a few here.

[LongGraduatedStudent]

22- straight out of undergrad

[wtncffts]

I will be 26, though my birthday's in December, so 27, really.

Speaking anecdotally, it seems as though American students finish undergrad in four years far more often than in Canada - most of the people I knew in undergrad took five, six, or more years to finish. In my MA cohort and the one the year after, I don't think there was anyone who was 21 or 22, though I didn't know everyone that well. I'm guessing this is partly because of the comparative tuition rates - it's a lot more feasible to take a whole bunch of unrelated courses just out of interest. That's what I did; by the time I graduated I had a whole lot more credits than I needed because I took courses in, off the top of my head, film studies, anthropology, physics, math, english, history, geology, criminology, philosophy, and of course, political science. I'm probably forgetting some. Similar experiences?

[balderdash]

22, but with a Masters under my belt.

Edited January 4, 2011 by balderdash

[NadaJ]

I will be 26, though my birthday's in December, so 27, really.

Speaking anecdotally, it seems as though American students finish undergrad in four years far more often than in Canada - most of the people I knew in undergrad took five, six, or more years to finish. In my MA cohort and the one the year after, I don't think there was anyone who was 21 or 22, though I didn't know everyone that well. I'm guessing this is partly because of the comparative tuition rates - it's a lot more feasible to take a whole bunch of unrelated courses just out of interest. That's what I did; by the time I graduated I had a whole lot more credits than I needed because I took courses in, off the top of my head, film studies, anthropology, physics, math, english, history, geology, criminology, philosophy, and of course, political science. I'm probably forgetting some. Similar experiences?

Hmm...I know several people that took longer than 4 years to finish, but then again, I know several others that finished in 3-4 years as well. But, I also wonder if this site just inherently attracts more of the 3-4 year UGs than those that take longer?

[MoJingly]

22, but with a Masters under my belt.

afskhglsn%$#*@!

(that's what I have to say about that.)

[nessapsych]

22- straight out of undergrad, which only takes three years in Germany (but school takes 13 years....so there goes the saved year)

[psycholinguist]

I will be 26, though my birthday's in December, so 27, really.

Speaking anecdotally, it seems as though American students finish undergrad in four years far more often than in Canada - most of the people I knew in undergrad took five, six, or more years to finish. In my MA cohort and the one the year after, I don't think there was anyone who was 21 or 22, though I didn't know everyone that well. I'm guessing this is partly because of the comparative tuition rates - it's a lot more feasible to take a whole bunch of unrelated courses just out of interest. That's what I did; by the time I graduated I had a whole lot more credits than I needed because I took courses in, off the top of my head, film studies, anthropology, physics, math, english, history, geology, criminology, philosophy, and of course, political science. I'm probably forgetting some. Similar experiences?

I grew up in Canada, did my undergrad degree in the U.S., and am now in grad-school back up here; I'd agree! I get the feeling that there's a lot of implicit pressure to graduate within the expected time in the States (especially when following similar expectations of high SAT marks and getting into good colleges). In fact, at my undergraduate college I think you need to request special permission to take more than eight semesters to graduate. At any rate, one of my American friends realised he'd need more than four years for his BSc and freaked out about it; meanwhile, I have a lot of Canadian friends who keep going, "Yeah, maybe I'll finish my BA this term, maybe next term; we'll see".

[MoJingly]

I grew up in Canada, did my undergrad degree in the U.S., and am now in grad-school back up here; I'd agree! I get the feeling that there's a lot of implicit pressure to graduate within the expected time in the States (especially when following similar expectations of high SAT marks and getting into good colleges). In fact, at my undergraduate college I think you need to request special permission to take more than eight semesters to graduate. At any rate, one of my American friends realised he'd need more than four years for his BSc and freaked out about it; meanwhile, I have a lot of Canadian friends who keep going, "Yeah, maybe I'll finish my BA this term, maybe next term; we'll see".

Do you think this stems from a cultural difference? I mean, IS there that much of a cultural difference between Canada and the US? Are Americans over-achieving and Canadians down-to-earth? Something like that?

[tls]

i'll be 33. i worked a few years after undergrad, returned to school for my masters, then i worked for a few years ... i see a pattern forming...

[psycholinguist]

Do you think this stems from a cultural difference? I mean, IS there that much of a cultural difference between Canada and the US? Are Americans over-achieving and Canadians down-to-earth? Something like that?

No, nothing nearly so fundamental. Canadians aren't any more laid-back about their ambitions. It's more that in the United States the whole game of college-admissions and -attendance has gotten totally carried away.

[OR_Dan]

I'll be 29. I graduated undergrad at 23, MSc at 26. I think it is actually a plus, I took time to find my ideal path, I got my MS in a more focused area than my BS, and now I am really 100% focused. Hope adcoms see that.

[cadisfly]

I'll be 30 when/if I get into a PhD program. I went to work in my field after receiving my MA at 23. At 27, I went back for another MA in a very specific focus within my field while working part-time,and now at 30 I feel that I am confident in my strengths and passions and ready to pursue a PhD.

[Matilda_Tone]

25.

I did an extra year of undergrad and am taking a year off between the MA and (hopefully) PhD

[Trin]

I'll be finally finishing my undergrad at 44 and then starting a masters -- I won't start the PhD until I'm 46!

[radagast]

Hopefully I will be 22 when I start (I took a year off after undergrad but also started kindergarten early). I think for some people it makes sense to take longer but I have spent this entire year just aching to get back to researching and writing. A PhD is the right path for me to take at this point in my life.

[phoenix245]

22

[kotov]

I'll have just turned 21.

[arkel]

I'll be 23. I'm taking a year off between undergrad and grad school, which was a really good thing...but now I truly miss being in school and can't wait to get back and run some studies!

[OR_Dan]

I just turned 29 this week. If I don't get in this year I think it will be a bit of a mental burden knowing I'm starting after 30. So I really hope I get in.

I don't know why, but 30 has always seemed (at least to me) like this threshold for many things, like my deadline to quit smoking, for starting a PhD, the minimum age for getting married, among other things. It used to seem fo far off, now here it's here, less than a year away and I'm scared. What if I don't get in, what if I can't quit smoking, what if.... ugh it's driving me nuts.