<p>I am in my sixties and want to get a Ph.D. I have applied to several universities but have had no luck. I received my masters earning a 4.0 GPA, so I don't believe my academics are the problem. Is the search for admission futile?</p>
<p>You might try the grad school forum, but gpa is only one small part of phD application, and not always the most important.</p>
<p>It’s impossible to tell with the information given, it could be a number of things.</p>
<p>-Yes, it could potentially be your age. Age discrimination is illegal, but that doesn’t mean that is not practiced (consciously, and unconsciously). In the reasoning of a professor - they want their PhD graduates to go on to long careers as prominent researchers and/or academics. If you are in your 60s, they may be thinking that 1) you may have difficulty getting hired if you are in your late 60s or early 70s when you graduate, near retirement age, and 2) that you don’t have very long to become a prominent researcher and reward them for their investment. (I am not saying that any of these things are true, just that they are possible.)</p>
<p>-It could be your personal statement and fit with the department. Perhaps you are not a good research fit with the departments to which you are applying, or perhaps your fit is not coming across adequately in your personal statement. Have a trusted professor look over your personal statement and see if this is the case.</p>
<p>-It could be your prior research experience. Do you have any? If not, that’s likely the reason. If you do, maybe you don’t have enough or it’s not the kind that they are looking for.</p>
<p>-It could be GRE scores.</p>
<p>-Did you only apply just this fall? In many competitive fields, applicants have to apply for 2 or even 3 cycles before getting accepted somewhere. Clinical psychology is one of those; English literature is another potential field. Many qualified applicants are shut out everywhere just because of the vagaries of the field. In that case, the only thing you can do is try again next year.</p>