How old is too old for PhD?

[teardrop]

I keep hearing that anything beyond 25-26 is too old and schools may not accept you even if you are good? Is there age cutoff?

[JKRIS]

I think that would be discriminatory. But I reckon if you have not been actively involved in reseach OR if you have not been taking classes recently than you are probably considered a more risky candidate. And this factor might be correlated with age.

[reactor]

it just gets harder to justify being out of school and coming back.

I had a colleague who was ~40 and was doing PhD in Finance, he already had a PhD in Physics and some publications (in physics).

[sting54911]

I think it completely depends on you and your motivations for graduate study. Personally, I think that if someone has been out of bachelors for about 2 years and then is coming back because they missed the intellectual challange in industry, and/or realized that academia is their calling, then it makes them a stronger candidate. Personally, I am 29 and I will be starting the Phd in the fall. I know people who were as old as 38 and starting a phd after a number of years of work. It's harder to get back into full time academics the more you are out of it, but also, you are more serious about your education, I think as you get older.

[jackson23]

Agree

[vagabond_shoes]

I am 27 and will be starting the PhD next fall. I believe perhaps more than 30 is not so usual. I also think there is an age difference between americans and internationals. Americans usually go directly from BA to graduate school and are in average probably younger than internationals who (like me) go for an MA before. Plus in the US a Bachelor's degree takes 4 years or so. In other countries (like mine) it takes 6.

[vagabond_shoes]

Like the following one

[vagabond_shoes]

Sorry computer messed up

[VeganHead]

I am 31, and will be 32 by the time I enter PhD later this fall semester. I have been in industry for almost 7 years. As an immigrant, I graduated from my undergrad institution at 25 which I considered late compared to my contemporaries, so I settled in a professional life with steady income and all that jazz. The last 3 yeas, when I went back to school for a terminal MS degree (paid for by my company) I found the passion I once felt but passed up too quickly. I emerged myself in research, which was not required for my MS at all, and absolutely loved it.

 

I don't believe there is an age limit in getting accepted to PhD, nor I believe age translates to the ability (or inability for that matter) of an individual to do well in PhD. It's the passion, determination and the willingness to take risks and to weigh the trade-offs (including a huge paycut after 5 years of education provided I will be lucky enough to land an academic job after that) that return students need to do well in grad school.

 

All the best.

[Ivo]

I am almost 27...guess it's not too late for me to start my PhD even though i do have worries about the future....I mean I'll be out at the age of 33 or something with no family etc. On the other hand, if you feel motivated enough you might do your PhD at whatever age. I don't think they would impose limits on age.

[ssendam]

Will be 31 in the fall, was in an unrelated industry for several years. I only got into one school, so it might have hurt my chances.

[gausspk]

I am 28 years old with five years of work. I have worked not only after my bachelor's degree but after my master's degree as well.

 

One chair of adcoms told me that most admission officers worried about my ability to catch up with the rigor of acedemics and also doubt my commitment to research career. This is why they put me on the waiting list. Sigh.

 

Now, I have to try my best to change his viewpoints.

 

 

 

 

I am 27 and will be starting the PhD next fall. I believe perhaps more than 30 is not so usual. I also think there is an age difference between americans and internationals. Americans usually go directly from BA to graduate school and are in average probably younger than internationals who (like me) go for an MA before. Plus in the US a Bachelor's degree takes 4 years or so. In other countries (like mine) it takes 6.

 

I am 28 years old with five years of work. I have worked not only after my bachelor's degree but after my master's degree as well.

 

One chair of adcoms told me that most admission officers worried about my ability to catch up with the rigor of acedemics and also doubt my commitment to research career. This is why they put me on the waiting list. Sigh.

 

Now, I have to try my best to change his viewpoints.

[Thande]

I don't think age really matters. It is only important that you effectively convey your motivation for study, committment to research and academic excellence. I am 33 and have been out of school for 5 years! That did not stop me from geting 3 very good admits. Sometimes you can actually use age to your advantage :)

 

 

I got married when I was pursuing my masters degree and that was really difficult - concentration levels were at my lowest. It is really difficult to be a grad student when you are at the age where you feel you should be finding a life partner etc. :) By the time I was through with my MA I thought I would never look at another book again. Now that I am settled and have been married, worked and saved for quite a while, I feel very settled and eager for academics - I even feel a lot wiser...I found a grey strand of hair on my head the other day:D

[econfin7]

Really? Is 25-26 too old?

I'm 26 and finished my undergrad 2 yrs back. Have 2 yrs working experience and planning to do Masters this year, and possibly PhD after that...will be 27 then.

 

Hmm if I really do a PhD and complete it, will be around 32? With no family and likely to be in huge debt. Is it really worth it? :hmm:

 

 

I keep hearing that anything beyond 25-26 is too old and schools may not accept you even if you are good? Is there age cutoff?

[psylocybha]

I'll be 28 when I enter. Since undergrad I have travelled, worked in another country, done an MA and worked for a think tank, so I think that time helped my application. In any case, I wouldn't have be sure about doing a PhD -especially with the competitive job market - if I was younger.

[aesthetic_ascetic]

I'll turn 26 in November, a couple of months into my PhD...

 

I have zero work experience... got my BE in 2003, went straight into the MS, took a year longer than normal, and graduated this January... I've started working for the time being, until I leave for the PhD... I don't know if my age hurt my chances... with one admit out of four and still to hear from eight, maybe it did...

[klop]

Really? Is 25-26 too old?

I'm 26 and finished my undergrad 2 yrs back. Have 2 yrs working experience and planning to do Masters this year, and possibly PhD after that...will be 27 then.

 

Hmm if I really do a PhD and complete it, will be around 32? With no family and likely to be in huge debt. Is it really worth it? :hmm:

 

That's exactly my worry too, specially considering that you're living in an affluent country, then the opportunity cost is very high. I wouldn't worry about it if I was 25 or younger though.

[pookchen]

Whatever, with skin creams, SPF 30 and a macrobiotic diet, 30 can be the new 20!

 

(I Am also an old fart (27), starting PHD in the Fall, but have an MSc and worked for two years before going back for my masters. I also got (more or less) hitched along the way, which, in my humble opinion, makes me more stable! Instead of searching the bars for my future mate, I'll be studying studying studying! (Not!)

[Ivo]

Really? Is 25-26 too old?

I'm 26 and finished my undergrad 2 yrs back. Have 2 yrs working experience and planning to do Masters this year, and possibly PhD after that...will be 27 then.

 

Hmm if I really do a PhD and complete it, will be around 32? With no family and likely to be in huge debt. Is it really worth it? :hmm:

 

we're exactly on the same boat. I wonder how many people like us are out there? As for me the debt isn't too worrisome for I hope to cover my study expenses from fellowships, grants etc. (thus far the school's going to pay for me). The big worry is the family issue ...uh..that's something worrisome indeed.

[europeean]

Hi Ivo and Econfin7,

 

hmm, don't be too pessimistic. I am pretty sure that you will leave your labratory or problem set once in a forthnight in order to see the daylight - and then you will most probably meet the woman for your happy family ;)

 

Maybe you will have to leave more often if you want to find a girl who can pay off your debt, too. :D

 

Anyway, I really think it is worth it, because it will be a great experience. Oh, I am 25 now - so sth. like 29/30 when I have my PhD... and luckily no debt...

[senmaster]

I just read this whole thread...very good one indeed...

 

I just turned 25 with couple of years work experience now..and am planning for grad study..If i were to do masters then phd ill be something like 32 myself..

 

Im not sure about this but I think I did read a post on TM saying that the average age for entry into US PhD was 27!! I found this hard to believe but yet again it may be internationals like me that push up the average..

[Holden_Caulfield]

Hi!

Check this document out

http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/issues/sed-2003.pdf

it has answer to your question from the accurate view of statisitcs :^)

[senmaster]

thanks holden...page 108 of the document says that:

 

median age doctorate : 33.3

median age econ doctorate: 31.7..

 

this is good news (i think) for those of us who are worried starting phd when 26, 27, 28...

[asquare]

Based on my own observations, average age seems to vary by dicipline and across schools. I'm in my late 20s, and at the upper tail of the distribution of my first year class at U of Michigan. The average age for American students in my program seems to be about 24-25, with two years of work experience post-BA.

 

I share the common concerns about starting a family, either while in graduate school or in the chaotic, tenure-chasing years post-graduation. But I don't think there's really any "perfect" age. I don't think that the first few years of a tenure-track job are any easier or more stable than graduate school, so even those who begin their PhDs immediately after undergrad and finish in their late 20s are faced with beginning families during a professionally demanding and unstable period of their lives. Even on a very fast track and in the best of circumstances, one would be unlikely to receive tenure before 35.

 

This isn't meant to be depressing, but rather to say that starting a PhD in one's late 20s is really not much more difficult than starting a few years earlier, in terms of family issues. And IMO, older students have the advantage of perspective and focus. We may have been out of the classroom for longer and our technical skills may not be as sharp initially, but we have a very good sense of what we want out of graduate school and the experience and self dicipline to pursue those goals :) Now, had I known I wanted a PhD in economics when I was 22, then of course I would have gone to school immediately -- and have been done by now. darn it! But as that wasn't the case, I'm treating the experiences I've had since I finished my undergraduate degree as advantages.

 

One thing to keep in mind as an older student is that you have to create social opportunities for yourself. The student lifestyle can be frustrating. There's only so much beer pong you can play after age 25 or so ;) I find that treating school as my "job" makes my life more managable, and gives me a sense of control I'd otherwise lack. Instead of sleeping late and working until all hours of the night, I try to get up and go to school in the morning, and work all day long at the library, in classes, or in group meetings. I do my best to leave "work" at school, rather than take it home in the evenings. That means long hours in the econ building, but a lifestyle that is closer to what I had while working than while an undergraduate. It's been a choice that has worked for me.

[senmaster]

oh just to clarify...the median ages I gave above were for PhD completion..