Any Older (30+) applicants out there

[whatdidigetinto]

On ‎2018‎-‎01‎-‎28 at 10:09 AM, Allbert said:

Excellent topic, congrats !!

I believe I am the granpa here.. I am 40+ ( ouch!) and applying for Masters in Counselling ( Education) in Canada. I already have a MA , a PhD and even a postdoc but this is a carrer change moment for me. Does anyone think that us " oldies" have this going against us or for us?

I'm older too, and applying for my MSW.  One of my references said the life sciences would likely view this as an asset, as you have life experiences and maturity/experience is always an asset in these professions.  Here's hoping the applications committee sees it that way for us!

 

[AnthroScout]

I am 30 and am also a textbook non-traditional student. I did a few years in the Army, got blown up* so was retired, and then used my G.I. Bill to pay for my BS. I then somehow got an AA on my way to an MS, because that's the normal progression right ;-) ? 

While I am not as young as some of the people against whom I am competing**, I have already gotten all of the drinking and partying out of my system for a lifetime, have real-world experience in several fields, and at this point, am honestly feeling like the workload of a PhD program will be a break. This is not to say that it won't be intensive, challenging, and soak up my time, but I feel that it will take less weekly hours than working full-time and being a full-time student (plus ToddlerDad!).

The benefit of being a bit older before starting down the path to a PhD (for me) are more stable finances, a better support and job network, and an understanding that the degree is just another step on my way to whatever my life goals are. I have several younger friends in PhD programs who are having a hard time imagining life outside of school; I keep promising them it is real! The perspective both my age and experiences have given me will help my in the long run... even if I end up having to reapply next year!

* Don't get blown up, it hurts.

** Recognizing it is a competition was a lesson that took me a few years to figure out. It doesn't mean that it needs to be mean or ruthless; it is just simply a thing that is.

[Allbert]

1 hour ago, AnthroScout said:

I am 30 and am also a textbook non-traditional student. I did a few years in the Army, got blown up* so was retired, and then used my G.I. Bill to pay for my BS. I then somehow got an AA on my way to an MS, because that's the normal progression right ;-) ? 

While I am not as young as some of the people against whom I am competing**, I have already gotten all of the drinking and partying out of my system for a lifetime, have real-world experience in several fields, and at this point, am honestly feeling like the workload of a PhD program will be a break. This is not to say that it won't be intensive, challenging, and soak up my time, but I feel that it will take less weekly hours than working full-time and being a full-time student (plus ToddlerDad!).

The benefit of being a bit older before starting down the path to a PhD (for me) are more stable finances, a better support and job network, and an understanding that the degree is just another step on my way to whatever my life goals are. I have several younger friends in PhD programs who are having a hard time imagining life outside of school; I keep promising them it is real! The perspective both my age and experiences have given me will help my in the long run... even if I end up having to reapply next year!

* Don't get blown up, it hurts.

** Recognizing it is a competition was a lesson that took me a few years to figure out. It doesn't mean that it needs to be mean or ruthless; it is just simply a thing that is.

wow ! Brilliant and 'severe;y' inspiring ! ! Thank you !

[spamhaus]

Just chiming in again to say I got accepted to a PhD program this cycle. So it's definitely possible even if you are not a typical applicant (in fact the POI I interviewed with stated I wasn't the typical applicant...) Age is only one factor. Best of luck to everyone!

[petrichordant]

It's so nice to hear from other people with the same concerns.  I'm 33, finishing up my Masters, and will be starting a PhD in the fall.  I definitely started grad school later than I had originally anticipated, but I agree that the additional life experience has been helpful.  At the same time, transitioning to grad school after years of working has been something of a challenge.  

My main concern is that I'm currently single and would like to find a partner and have children before I'm 40.  Dating during my Masters has been challenging, as so much of my time, energy, and focus is on school.  The thought of dating, hopefully finding that "right" person, and having children all during a PhD is scary.  The thought of not finding that right person and not having children is even scarier.  I know navigating grad school while married with kids is hard, but I'm actually envious of those who at least have that part of their life settled.

[maengret]

I’ve been a “non-traditional” student for almost all my college career. I was able to find good AA and BA programs with huge age spans among the students and instructors. This is one of the reasons I want to visit before I make a decision, so I can see what the current cohorts are like and how well I connect with folks. It’s only happened once that I had an instructor who was thrown off by my age (I was easily 10 years older) and I didn’t have any choice but to figure out how to work around the awkwardness. 

[hmiller]

I love that I found this topic! I got married and started a family in my early 20s after chasing the wrong degree and work environment I decided to stay home and raise my kiddos until they were in school. I finally returned to finish my bachelors in a different field (the one I know I want to make a career out of) and knew that it would require that I obtain a PhD to gain the full autonomy I'm seeking in my research- so here I am... I never thought this process would be so emotionally taxing! I didn't/don't expect to get accepted this first attempt because of so many factors (returned to school and graduated within 3 semesters... first go at school I had a 3.0 but when I returned I carried 4.0 every semester, gre scores were acceptable but not "great", I was honest in my personal statements that I am a married, mother of 2...) I wish everyone luck and the only thing getting me through this without feeling down on myself for being "old" is that we are never to old to chase a new dream, or finish a dream we may have started before but never had the opportunity to finish. 

applied to 6 clinical psychology PhD programs, rejected by 1, not heard anything from remaining 5 :-(

[RunnerGrad]

I’m pretty much the definition of older student.  Earned my first bachelor’s degree traditionally, an engineering degree.  Loved studying engineering, hated working as an engineer (too much misogyny).  Ended up doing programming and web design for many years, but got tired of sitting at a computer all day.  Went back to university to earn a second bachelor’s degree in nutrition/dietetics.  In Canada, in order to become a registered dietitian you need to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited dietetics program.  So I did a second undergraduate degree.  After that, I completed my dietetic internship through a combined masters/internship program. Worked as a dietitian after completing my master’s and internship, and now I’ve applied for PhD programs.

I’m geographically limited due to my husband’s job (he’s an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces), so I did not apply to many programs. With my transcripts clearly showing the dates of my first degree, I’m hoping ageism won’t work against me, as I’m over 40. It didn’t for my second bachelor’s or my master’s, but I’m told the PhD is a different beast altogether.  I have excellent grades (4.0 in both undergrad and grad), strong letters of reference (which I haven’t seen, but they said they would be strong), but I have no idea how my letter of intent and experiences stack up with the other applicants. I have two co-authored papers (no first author) but plenty of research experience (both qualitative and quantitative).

Really hoping I get into a PhD program, otherwise I’ll be looking at a second master’s, which is crazy!  I want to maintain my registration as a registered dietitian, and to do so, I need to be working or studying in dietetics or a closely related field.  Since dietetic jobs are hard to come by, and again I’m geographically limited, if I don’t find one when my current contract ends this month, I’ll need to do something to keep my registration. A second master’s would be the easiest way to do so, even though I know that likely won’t help future PhD applications or future job applications!

[Sprint14]

I'm 30, will be 31 when I start and 33 at graduation. Not feeling self-conscious when sitting in a group of mid-twenty-somethings is going to be difficult. I have to keep reminding myself it's not as if everyone sees my driver's license before they talk to me so they might not be able to tell lol

However, I'm not married, don't care to get married, and hate children so it was not a difficult decision for me to move and pursue grad school.

[exvat]

I turn 33 in a month. Have an MS in Chemistry, had an 8-year career that I just left, and applied to MFA programs in poetry. Definitely an unusual candidate, from what I understand. Not so nervous about being in a class of 23-year-olds, but pretty nervous about my chances of being accepted anywhere.

On the bright side, if my concerns materialize and I don't get into a program, I do have some good transferable skills, so I can earn a decent paycheck.

[haspeer]

I'm 33 years old and this is my first cycle of applying to graduate schools.  I got my first bachelor's degree in theatre in 2006, wasn't able to use it much for work, then went back to school for psychology and am finishing my second bachelor's this May.  I've applied to two clinical psychology master's programs (would have done more but am not able to relocate very far due to personal commitments).  I have an interview for one next Friday and have heard nothing from the other so far.  If I get the rejection for the second one soon enough -- at this point I'm fairly certain it's a rejection -- I am hoping to be able to submit an application for the clinical mental health counseling masters at that same school, which has a later deadline.  I am trying to figure out how this will all work out if I do get accepted, as I will need to work as well in order to pay living expenses during school.