oldlady

FWIW, I had a different experience. At 42, I looked closely at the six schools that were within a 90-minute commute. I eliminated the program that did not offer full funding, the commutes that would make my life miserable, and the programs that were geared towards young turks (a group I aged out of some time ago). I ended up applying to two schools within my area and got into the less competitive one. There are several older students in my cohort, and we all had similar application experiences. My first semester was killer. I probably worked harder in my MBA program because I had less experience then -- I work much smarter now. But we were assigned six classes in the first semester plus 15 RA hours per week, and it was ridiculous. Got through it, but retained little of certain courses. Such is the nature of the beast... However, I met a lot of really nice, non-competitive people, which is making the experience really pleasant. Socially, my age has been a non-issue.

Here's the thread -- http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-business/119628-family-life-during-phd.html

Well, I'm not looking for an argument. It appears that you know more than I about how older applicants should manage their LORs.

FYI, phdhope -- most programs require at least one academic LOR, so it's not a question of whether reconnecting with former profs is a good idea or not. For those of us who have been out of school for a while, it's the only option to meet the requirement (unless, of course, your job happens to be doing research for a PhD).

I, too, am 43 and am starting an OB program in the fall. I was teaching marketing at a community college and decided I wanted to do research, as well. It's not unheard of to start a program at our age, but it is uncommon. FWIW, in my experience, your app has to be competitive because your industry experience won't mean much, unless you've been at the C-level for a while (in which case you might be able to forgo the PhD altogether). Most schools want to see recent math classes, so you'll likely want to enroll in a class or two asap. You'll also need to reconnect with at least one prof from one of your masters' programs for LORs. And unless you got your MBA recently, you'll likely need to retake the GMAT. Finally, you'll want to carefully research programs -- some are more open to non-traditional students...

Talk to your professors -- they ought to have more knowledge than we about internships close to where you are. Learn as much as you can about your own economic and political systems and how business gets done in India. Read up on the great entrepreneurs in your country -- read their blogs (Rajesh Jain writes a great one -- Emergic: Rajesh Jain’s Blog —). In essence, network closer to home -- it may, at the least, get you out of your small town. Good luck!

Several schools have specific programs for doctorates from non-business programs. Go to the AACSB website and click on "Bridge Programs". Good luck!

While I don't know how much research in our field is grant-supported, I can say that grants can be a great way to get paid for doing research. Each grant has guidelines that specify what the money can and can't be used for. Some grants -- from the NEA, for example -- will not allow you to "pay yourself"; you have to use the money to pay for things like supplies and/or training. Other grants, particularly in our field, do allow you to pay yourself. When you apply for a grant, you usually need to include a budget, and conversations with the grantor may help you to determine how much to include for self-compensation, when the guidelines are not specific. Last year, I invested a bit of money in a one-day grant-writing course, and it was very informative. I then applied for a small curriculum development grant from Columbia's CIBER and got it. The grant allowed me to keep all of the money as compensation, so the course more than paid for itself!

Hmmm...it's hard for me to say. I think I often felt distracted, but the truth of the matter is that my grades were perfect my second year. Was this due to my experience of already finishing one year of school? Or was it because I had so much more on my plate (school, my relationship, finding a job, planning a wedding) that I really focused in a way that I hadn't the first year (when all I had was school)? Or did it have nothing to do with me at all -- was it because profs grade electives more easily than core classes? Probably a combination, huh? I think what also helped me is that I had made great friends at school during my first year, so I had a fun social life and a strong support system. Everyone needs this to get through grad school (especially the first year, which kicked my butt!) Keeping your distance from other students may be tempting (i.e. telling yourself that you're saving your social time for Skype time with your SO, or that you're there for school, not to make friends), but IMHO, it's the wrong move. The more you immerse yourself in the school experience, I think, the less the relationship will impact school.

I met my husband during my summer internship for my MBA and we did the long-distance thing during my second year of the program. We took turns visiting each other for long weekends, probably about once every three weeks. (He was in Atlanta and I was in NYC, so the trip was pretty easy and relatively inexpensive, at the time.) The time flew because we were both so busy, and then we got engaged in February. The engagement definitely took some pressure off of the relationship (particularly the instability of the long-distance), but it was soon replaced by wedding planning pressure! FWIW, I think that if you both know, going in to school, that you'll definitely be together when you get out, and if you both have/can develop strong support networks where you'll each be, then it will likely be okay. If either of you is feeling insecure about the relationship, or lacks support outside of the relationship, it will likely be torturous.

This is for the older applicants: The Talents of a Middle-Aged Brain - Well Blog - NYTimes.com. :)

I struggled with a similar conflict at the beginning of my journey. The majority of my experience was in marketing, and I was most interested in marketing management issues. Unfortunately, marketing management, as a field for research, is out of vogue at the moment. I attended the AMA Summer Educator's Conference last summer and also spoke to a handful of more experienced people -- it made me realize that the marketing department was not for me. I then started looking at OB, and after attending a conference in October that focused more specifically on my interests, it became clear to me that OB was the right way for me to go. I'm a big fan of attending academic conferences because I get to see a broad range of what people are currently doing in the field.

I think the real trick of it is how to travel on other people's money. Most schools pick up travel when you're presenting at a conference. Post-docs, fellowships, and grants may also be good for this.

I graciously tip my proverbial hat to all multitasking males and ambitious females -- I have no question as to the depth of your gender or gender identity! ;) And I pass no other judgment on the threads about "how fast," other than they strike me as typically male. (I haven't looked recently, but did many women weigh in on those discussions?) Likewise, while there are literally scores of threads on gradcafe started (mostly) by women about managing PhD study/academic career and family, I haven't noticed one here. Lambast me if you like, but I'm just sayin'... :whistle:

No question that it's a generalization, but I guess, as an old lady, I'm speaking from experience. And at the risk of sounding like a terribly obnoxious old lady (please forgive me -- I have terrific respect for you, chimerical), if you haven't thought about these things yet, you probably will at some point. (Believe it or not, I was once an ambitious young turk, as well.) Sooner or later, the quality and responsibilties of life give ambition a run for its money.

Interesting observation...

I hadn't yet posted here because my profile is pretty silly. But, I guess, in an effort to demonstrate that even silly people can get a PhD, here goes: Undergrad GPA: somewhere in the 3s: I went to Brown 20 years ago -- no GPA -- and I was on academic probation most of the time because I was having too much fun Grad GPA: MBA from Columbia 14 years ago -- no GPA, but Honors in half my classes GMAT/GRE: 700 (44Q, 41V, 5.0 AW) Age: 43 International/US: US Research Experience: No real academic research, but several business research projects Accepts/Waits/Rejects: CUNY (OB) //NYU (Management) Anything Else notable: last 2.5 years on tenure-track at top community college; awarded $24K fellowship to do research for the CC; awarded small CIBER grant; over 10 years experience in marketing management and consulting for both Fortune 100 companies and start-ups I knew that I wasn't going to move, so I had only a handful of alternatives in terms of applications. I narrowed it down to the two schools that seemed to be interested in older students. I knew my GMAT likely wasn't high enough for NYU, but I figured I had a shot at CUNY. From the get-go, CUNY was very forthcoming -- it quickly became clear that it was the right fit for me.

Without an actual reception, we'll all have to wear red carnations to find each other. The password is, "The eagle has URCHed." :ninja:

Not bad at all, but just obviously guys. As if stats about how fast I can obtain my PhD, tenure, or anything else are even on my radar screen! :eek: Men are about "how fast" and women are about "how much" (as in, how much else can I do while pursuing my PhD/tenure/etc. -- get married? raise a child? care for an aging parent?).

I'm thinking about attending the AOM conference. Anyone else?

LOL -- I often wonder the same thing! The blatant testosterone on many of the threads/posts here sometimes makes me smile and, other times, makes me quickly run away!

Snark Patrol BurgerKing, what is the point of going for your PhD if you lack imagination?

Wow, Haread, I didn't realize that we were in the same boat -- I'm 43 with a husband and child. However, I did not cast a wide net because my attending school was predicated on our staying put geographically. I live in the NY metro area and so there were five programs to which I could potentially apply. A former professor of mine at Columbia recommended that I stay away from any program whose cohorts were (almost) entirely made up of students fresh out of undergrad or with only a few years of work experience. (In fact, he strongly suggested that I not apply to Columbia!) I was surprised by his advice, but I'm glad that I listened. I'll be attending CUNY in the fall, and I think it's a great fit for me.

It seems that Columbia would like to eventually (but sooner rather than later) compete in the case study arena, as well.

Interesting thread, and well-articulated post, ais082. I think I tend to read more intuitively, at first. If the paper is drawing me in, I make notes about what's piquing my interest. This often leads to my own ideas about what I want to research next. If I find that the paper totally bores me, I try to articulate to myself what I find lacking. This also helps me to steer myself in the right direction. If I'm bored, I tend to switch into analytical mode pretty quickly, extracting what is necessary as efficiently as possible. I think, though, that I'll need to become more efficient with what interests me once classes begin -- the easiest way to get behind is to dive too deep in a survey course.