<p>This topic isn't actually for me, but for an older cousin of mine who desperately wants to pursue grad school after years of being in the work force...but due to insecurities and fears he finds it hard to actually get it going. He's 28 this year and is afraid since he's a bit "older" he'll be less competitive as opposed to most grad students who are entering at 21, 22. </p>
<p>I was so sure that while age can play a factor, late 20's to early 30's is still relatively "young" and likely won't have THAT much of a negative effect on admissions as long as your application is strong (grades, gre's, whatever you've been doing besides school)? </p>
<p>Am I right? Can anyone else help to counter his fears/worries?
Don't get me wrong of course, I know people even in their 40's and 50's pursue grad school all the time, but I have heard that in many programs age does become an issue at a certain point.</p>
<p>Even if his fears are true, I feel like if he continues to wait..it'll just get worse anyway</p>
<p>28 is perfectly fine. Does he want to do a PhD? If so, he needs to have good research experience – even if he doesn’t, he can start doing some projects on the side and show interest. I personally know people who are older than that who got interviews from Stanford and Columbia.</p>
<p>I don’t think age makes any difference what so ever as long as his application is good. In other words if he has good grades, solid research experiences, publications if applicable, and good GRE scores, and good recs, age won’t keep him out!</p>
<p>I’ll be 31 by the time I’m in a position to apply for a PhD in Political Science and I’ve read on other forums that US admissions prefer students under 30. I was about to post the same question as the OP actually!</p>
<p>Age (in most cases) is meaningless. There of course is the story of the 17/19 year old that was rejected from a PhD program because of her age; however on the flip side I’ve met PhD candidates in their 50’s. </p>
<p>Age isn’t going to sink this fellows ship. By the time hes starting research he’ll be in his early 30’s, which is still quite young.</p>