Admissions Offices Don't Know What to Do With Older Students

“I recently finished my master in Europe, I got my bachelor degree in East Asia. Back to the study in Asia, it’s always really competitive, I was never the best one, and the 2years of master study, same experience, and it was even harder because i needed to study with my second language, i can’t stop thinking that all the journey I made was just due to luckiness. I started to really doubt myself, I feel I know barely anything compared with my peers. I used to be sure I wanted to do a PhD after, b”

“I've been out of university since 2010... 16 years. My target is MSc in Data Science and/or Artificial Intelligence. I have a few universities in mind across Europe. My current resolve is to book a review center for IELTS (because a test is required for non-native English speakers) and have a bee line of books to read to enrich my vocabulary and as an excuse to catch up on my reading . My worry is in maths. I cannot believe the Asian in me will utter those words in this lifetime!! My ancesto”

“Hey! I am in the process of applying for some online universities after dropping out of college 7 years ago. I just received my transcript from my previous university, and my grades were shit lol. Wondering if transferring credits means i will also be transferring my grades? I am looking to get a degree in Communications submitted by /u/notsosuperrr [link] [comments]”

“So I am trying to apply to grad school and at a rough time in my life I opted to try to go to college after university to see if I could try to get a job in my field. Needless to say, my grades from my college and pre-apprenticeship courses are...not great. Like my last statistics course (college) was a D+ bad. (My last university one was a B.) I'm interested in studying in a field related to my university field - not bad, B+, but nothing to write home about beyond an undergraduate thesis an”

“i have a degree in history from UC Berkeley, but i transferred twice due to mental catastrophes (to give you a sense, i was hospitalized at one point for SI). i want to go to graduate school for archaeology. i have archaeological fieldwork experience, and i've held several research positions. i also had an academic job, and now i have a full-time job at a law firm. the problem is, my GPA is 3.34 because of all the mental shit i had going on. i feel really passionately but i don't know if”

“Almost 15 years ago I completed my undergrad, with a liberal arts degree. I’ve always loved learning and have wanted to go back to school for awhile now to take additional classes I didn’t have time for or that I’m now passionate about. I have an established career I love, a family with older kids and now a lot of free time on my hands outside of work. Recently I’ve created my own personal curriculums and read a lot. I’ve also been writing a book but am craving the inspiration of a classroom set”

“I can’t find much information about this online so wondering if anyone has insight on this. I’m 25, dropped out previously at 19. Fwiw have unweighted past high school/college GPA of 4.0, I dropped out due to financial reasons/choosing a school that was a poor fit for my intended field of study/acute health problems, I did not fail out. I will likely not submit SAT, my old score is like 7 years old and I don’t want to retake it when it’s optional. I’ve worked full time cooking professionally sin”

“Hey all, I applied to grad school and didn’t get into a PhD program, but did get into a master’s program for what I thought was my top school. However, back in April I toured the campus and department before committing and immediately realized it was not a good fit. I accepted the offer anyway because I had no other choice and no other prospects. At least I thought so. Then a job opened up at a museum I’d did an unpaid internship for, and many more opportunities arose as my time to start school”

“So I've had quite the harsh path for my studies, I had to change major three times (wasn't sure / was displeased) but I ended up finding what I wanted during a hiatus year but I had to take a whole break for 12 months so I could gather money and focus consistently on my studies but I feel like i'm super old, some people had it figured by 25 or 26 Sure I do have more experience but I don't know, I kinda feel bad about being "done" with studies at 32 only because I have o”

“Hello, I grew up in the US and I took a few gap years after my bachelors in the US, where I spent time working in academic research, and part of the time just being unemployed/bumming with parents and figuring out some mental health issues. Due to an onset of depression during the last couple of years of my university years, I didn't have the best transcript and in the end graduated with a 3.37 GPA while fighting for my life. As my life and mental state has stabilized sooo much due to many e”

“I am applying for Grad school. Unfortunately I did my bachelor's degree online because my family needed support and I couldn't afford to be on campus. So I've never really had an academic advisor or any sort of guidance on this. I'm also a first generation student. Any help is appreciated, thank you. This is for IR submitted by /u/North-Bison9912 [link] [comments]”

“so I'm 27yo and haven't been in school since probably 2021. I did some college but did very poorly and dropped out. I had a 3.96 in highschool weighted, 3.84 unweighted. My question is can I apply as a new student and pretend I didn't go to college the first time? particularly if I wanted to look into schools with low acceptance rates? submitted by /u/totthetree [link] [comments]”

“TLDR: If you are a humanities grad who graduated without a path, how did you reset? I wrote this post originally for my college's reddit page, so sorry if this background seems specific but I would really love this reddit's input! For background, I’m a May ’26 Columbia grad who majored in English and Business Management, and I’m wondering if any humanities graduates have been in a similar situation and could offer some perspective. For background, I started college pre-dental, thinking I”

“26m. Took 6 years for a 4 years bachelor's in Economics, got out with a 2.9 gpa. Had a very rough patch because I suffered ptsd at 18. Got into reputable masters program in Canada, didn't realize I was level 1 autistic and weird people out, flunked out, and then went back to my local university in Toronto this past fall/winter for statistics. I wanted to pursue a statistics masters after flunking out of my Economics masters. My family wasn't willing. I'm 26 and I've been sear”

“Hi guys, I'm 22yo Korean. First of all, I went to American HS and did one year of undergraduate in Top 50 Uni in America. Due to personal circumstances, I had to drop out from Uni. Currently, I restarted undergraduate in Europe as 22 yo. 3 years left for bachelor's degree. Current Uni is like barely.? a targeted Uni for Top firms. As Korean, I still have to serve military for 18months. I have to decide, Finish one more year of bechelor's then serve military for 18months first (leave”

“Is being 30 years old too old for attending grad school? submitted by /u/Potatoshelfs [link] [comments]”

“Hey everyone, looking for some grounded advice on navigating a tough career/life crossroads. My Background: Enrolled in an Integrated PhD program at the top institute in my country in south asia from 2016 to 2025. Dealt with an intensely toxic and abusive advisor for the entire duration. While on a mental health break resulting from the environment, my guide kicked me out without following standard institutional due process. After a long, exhausting administrative and legal battle, I managed to”

“About me: Lives in India, did a bachelor's in psychology (3 yrs), now doing a Master's (2yrs), both from REALLY affordable colleges, so ZERO DEBT. Didn't know what to do after school, picked psychology, liked it, but now I'm regretting it and wished I done stem, especially as I did Maths, Physics, Chemistry in High school. I really loved the clear directedness of math, and even at my worst, I managed to get top grades in it. I'll be graduating in 1 year, completing 5 years of”

“Good day everyone! I am deeply interested and currently pursuing applying to masters programs in Gerontology. However, I am switching careers (in a way). I have a law degree and almost 15 years in ECE (early childhood education). I am currently working as an administration of an ECE facility. I have never practiced law, but have very minimal experience in governmental education policy. I am not sure how to best position myself to be a highly competitive candidate. I do find great correlation bet”

“Is this common? The structure: 2 years of course work, 1 year of examinations, 2 years of dissertation. There are people who entered with me in 2015 now entering their 12th year of the program. I know someone who has been working on their dissertation -- a collection of personal essays -- since 2018! 2018!!! It's a PhD in English Literature. submitted by /u/judgemesane [link] [comments]”

“I've led a good life, but never finished a Bachelor's. I used to be a horrible student, not because I lacked intelligence, but because I was pretty irresponsible. I'm 47 now, medically retired from the Army over a decade ago, and quit my job of 10 years last January to finish a Bachelor's. I've gotten 3.0+ these last two semesters, and have two more semesters to go until I graduate. Currently, as a result of 112 credits transferred in prior to this last Spring, my overall GPA”

“I'm starting my master's program research journey and had a question about applying after being out of undergrad for about 8 years. I honestly didn't do amazing in undergrad. It took me about 8 years to graduate, I was working full time and had to leave school multiple times because of it, and even when I returned, I was still balancing full time work. I lost focus and my grades weren't stellar. Because of that, I'm not sure scholarships are even realistic to consider. I'”

“How to get into grad school I have a bachelors degree from a film school and only had a 2.45 gpa and my gpa in high school was pretty low as well. But I’m trying to go back to school, this time for marketing, I’m willing to take the gmat but I want to know realistically what steps I should be taking in order to qualify for a marketing or media/communications graduate program at PACE, NYU or PARSONS My work experience also only is in acting/filmmaking and/or retail I know this is a stretch for me”

“Hello! I'm a potential graduate student interested in getting her MA. It's been 10 years since I graduated with my BA; however, I feel like academia is calling me back to get my masters as well as a potential career shift. My biggest current obstacle is finding the correct MA for me. I thought about potential dream jobs and began working backwards to find the right program. Currently my thought process is the following: My dream jobs are either museum work as a curator or archivist, teac”

“Hello! I'm a potential graduate student interested in getting her MA. It's been 10 years since I graduated with my BA; however, I feel like academia is calling me back to get my masters as well as a potential career shift. My biggest current obstacle is finding the correct MA for me. I thought about potential dream jobs and began working backwards to find the right program. Currently my thought process is the following: My dream jobs are either museum work as a curator or archivist, teac”

“Hello! I'm a potential graduate student interested in getting her MA. It's been 10 years since I graduated with my BA; however, I feel like academia is calling me back to get my masters as well as a potential career shift. My biggest current obstacle is finding the correct MA for me. I thought about potential dream jobs and began working backwards to find the right program. Currently my thought process is the following: My dream jobs are either museum work as a curator or archivist, teac”

“For context, I'm in the arts/humanities. I have a 3-year Bachelors degree from over a decade ago (2.9 GPA - was going through some things in life) I recently went back to school and did an MFA (4.1GPA), but it was more studio/creation based than research. I want to do a PhD in cultural studies in a vein the intersects with the arts, however I have no formal research experience. Most programs require an MA, I reached out to one program to get some insight and they said they would accept an MF”

“Hi all! So I made a big mistake and went to wgu online for my bachelor's. Even though I really just wanted to be in university (since I was 14). But money and family and internet and bad judgement. Dumb. I have also been working, but freelance. So now applying to a master's program. I can't really prove anything. No one to write recs, a crummy pass/fail gpa, and a huge study/work gap. I have some freelance work and academic papers. I started putting it all togetger on a website to sh”

“Hi al! So I made a big mistake and went to wgu online for my bachelor's. Even though I really just wanted to be in university (since I was 14). But money and family and internet and bad judgement. Dumb. I have also been working, but freelance. So now applying to a master's program. I can't really prove anything. No one to write recs, a crummy pass/fail gpa, and a huge study/work gap. I have some freelance work and academic papers. I started putting it all togetger on a website to sho”

“I have a BA in English. 3.85 GPA, honor's program (I took three master's level classes as part of my honor's undergrad Two A's one B). The gist: I know some of this is program specific, and I'm reaching out to individual programs, but has anyone gotten into grad school after a significant educational and work history gap? Any tips? So many say they want professional references or reference letters from professors. I had three when I started applications 17 years ago, but ther”

“Hi everyone, I’m 32, from Malaysia, and I’m considering applying to university as an undergraduate mature applicant. My background is non-traditional. My main school qualification is the Malaysian Certificate of Education, which is the exam all Malaysians sit for in their final year of school and I do not have outstanding results. I did not take A Levels, IB, international A Levels, or a typical pre-university route. I did spend one year doing a vocational diploma in film, but I never had the tr”

“I have a bachelor's degree, but it's a general degree, and besides, I wasn't doing well during those years, so I graduated with a poor academic record and only a passing GPA. I hesitate a lot when trying to apply for a master's program because I feel ashamed to apply with this embarrassing record. I don't even want to ask for a recommendation. So I was wondering if a higher diploma could compensate for that. submitted by /u/Accurate_Reality_618 [link] [comme”

“Hello everyone, Hoping to pick everyone’s brain, and hopefully see if there is anyone in a similar situation. Background: I, 28F, am from the US, studied Kinesiology here in the US (3.69 GPA, took all my prerequisites, and graduated 2020). I initially wanted to go to med school, but mental health was poor so changed paths. Worked as a physical therapy tech for 2 years, and started a Masters in Physiotherapy course in the UK in 2022 (graduated with a 2:1 with Merit, lots of extracurriculars, grad”

“I have strict family traditions that prevented me from pursuing higher education right after high school. After long time of convincing they agreed to support me after explaining how pursuing culinary career is good for me.. However, due to this, I now have 6-7 year gap since high school with a completely empty CV ( I was not allowed to work or study during this time so mostly I just practiced cooking and experimenting recipes at home) Basque Culinary Center was an option, but the Spanish langua”

“Hey everyone, I’m hoping to get some honest feedback on my school list before I submit my application. I’ve spent the last several years rebuilding my academic record and would appreciate any advice from current medical students, residents, or anyone familiar with admissions. Applicant Overview 40-year-old nontraditional applicant Texas resident ORM Married with children U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 12 years Active Duty Afghanistan deployment 17 years Federal service (GS-12) Academics MCAT: 515 C”

“Hello, I know I have already graduated psychology with a low GPA (2.93) and I am from another country. I really wanted to pursue a Master's degree in Psychology at a good US university. A law degree (J.D.) would also be an option. I've been researching it, but I can't seem to figure out the system. I can get a good score on the GRE. I get a perfect score on the Quant section, but I need to study a bit more for the other section. As an international student, what can I do right now? H”

“I just want to vent for a moment. I applied to 4 grad programs (2 DRPH programs, 1 PhD, 1 masters). I was declined by 3. While one of the DrPH programs and the PhD touted themselves as being designed for older, working students such as myself, they're not. I was rejected by 1 program because I had a 3.44 GPA, not 3.5. 0.6?! I work full-time, own a home by myself (which means everything from cooking to mowing to maintenance to emergency repairs is on my shoulders alone), and graduated Cum Lau”

“I attempted to attend undergrad fresh out of high school and made some terrible life decisions due to my first taste of pure adult freedom. 12 years later, I just graduated with my bachelors from a different university. Am I eligible to return to that first university for a graduate program, or should I take my chances with other schools/programs? I know that most likely every school is different, but I am curious to see if anyone else has gone through something similar. There are only 2 schools”

“Heya, So I graduated ages ago (2008), Japanaese Literature, went well. Life happened, and for years I have been barely funcitonal. I am basically comingo back into the fold of society (I was on heavy meds and coming in and out of wards). But things did get slowly better. I would like to try and not being stuck forever in temporary roles serving tables, so I thought I may get some further education, where I live they offer bursaries for an MA if I hadn't done it before. I can't ask for BA”