I have been reading this with interest. As a 55+ graduate student in geography, I have found the program extremely accepting and supportive. I am attending Hunter College part of the City University of New York. This is my second masters degree the first being an MBA at NYU's Stern School of Business (where I was not a star student). The contrast between a large, wealthy private school and an city college with a limited budget is on the surface quite amazing. However the faculty at Hunter is terrific. I started searching for an advisor and subject for my thesis when I had completed almost all of my class work. I realized that I should have started the search much earlier in the program than I did. A number of faculty members were concerned that I had to few credits available to take classes in subjects that would be helpful to my thesis and where hesitant to take me on. In addition, my initial area of interest was well outside the department's expertise and I was not encouraged to pursue it. In retrospect, it was prudent since it would have been overwhelming to start a thesis on something I knew nothing about and not had any academic support. The most resistance I faced was due to my interest in GIS. (That I am sure is an another subject for conversation) There was never any indication that age was a problem.
Hunter (actually it was the choice of the individual faculty members) supported both working with a faculty member drawing out something from their research or finding a research subject on their own. My thesis subject was a combination of both. BTW, I did not find the young, 20/30 somethings intimidating at all. I took additional classes both undergrad and grad in subjects that supported my interests. I did not have to take the GRE's for admission to business school. So at 55+ I took them for the first time. My math skills were old and abysmal. I took studying for the GRE's as a way to improve my math skills not just a means to improve my scores and I am very proud of my success. As a student of science I found the new knowledge extremely helpful. Having been successful in my selection of a university, my GRE scores, my academic achievement (GPA score) and thrilled by my area of study I now face something to which I have grave concerns, finding a job. I believe that academia is much more forgiving of age then the private sector, government or NGO community will be. At an age when many are beginning to think about retirement, I am beginning a new career. Wish me luck. One more point. The best introduction to employment I have seen is through internships. The faculty at Hunter is proactive in helping their students locate internships throughout New York City and elsewhere. I hope that sharing my story is of some help. The key is do what it takes... and if takes time, well, if it's what you want it's worth it. Best, Joy Joy Cytryn Research Assistant/ MA candidate Department of Geography Hunter College New York City -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Katharine Miller Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 12:33 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advice for 36 year old trying to get into M.S. program As a non-traditional student who will be defending her PhD next week (!), I can tell you that it can be very difficult to overcome the resistance to older students in graduate school. Despite having a lot of practical experience and an extremely strong academic record, I met serious resistance from Profs with whom I interviewed. One of them even told me that Profs like to "make students in their own image" by which she meant to indicate that, since I was approx. her same age, I was too old to be molded. I think that for some, a student with lots of experience outside academia may be threatening. It can be very difficult to figure out which Profs and programs will take older students. I would start by finding someone who is working in an area that interests you and contacting one or more of his/her students to ask what the relative ages and experience levels of the grad students are. I would also talk to professionals in the field you are interested in - those who have adv. degrees and especially those with connections to a University (either teaching or research). They may be able to provide an introduction to an adviser. I was lucky enough to find an adviser who actually prefers students who have some experience outside of school (I am in an oceanography program), and I am sure there are many like that out there in lots of ecological fields - they can just be difficult to find. Good luck!
