<p>I attended Rutgers University in 2007-2008 for my freshman year (Bachelors) but I got sick and had to leave school afterwards. I'm 21 now and pursuing my degree online through Northeastern University, which is working out really well for me. In high school I was really involved with student council, choir, cheerleading, and other clubs. I enjoy being involved and giving back, and I miss this aspect of undergrad right now. I'm going to get my BA, get some work experience, and then go for my Masters in something Public Health (or MHA or MBA, etc). </p>
<p>I did a quick search online on getting involved in grad school, and I found one response
"I had way more fun in grad school than undergrad. As an undergrad, I didn't really get active in any organizations until my senior year. That spilled over into grad school, where I found myself mentoring undergrads, serving on the graduate student council, volunteering with camps for incoming non-traditional students, and more. Between actually enjoying class (meaningful discussions instead of droning lectures) and making all sorts of new friends, I was 10x the social butterfly in grad school."</p>
<p>Could I still have that at 27 years old? Is that too old (sorry if this a silly question)?</p>
<p>Of course you can find a vibrant social scene at graduate school (even though you’re in the throes of decrepitude at the age of 27). </p>
<p>Get involved. No one cares about a five year age difference (it’s actually much more limiting socially to be younger than everyone else; one of my friends is only 19 and in grad school… think of how awful it must be to see everyone head out to the bar and have to stay at home).</p>
<p>You will be completely fine. After a certain age, there really isn’t a noticeable difference amongst the students. In my program, the age range is probably 22-late 20s and I couldn’t really tell you how old anyone is. It’s much more apparent between an 18 year old vs. 21, but after undergrad I don’t think anyone notices or really cares. Don’t worry!</p>
<p>Heck no. I’m 27 and will be starting a master’s program at Indiana U. this fall. Lots of people take time off to work in between undergrad and grad, or come back to pursue a different direction later in their career.</p>
<p>I’m 26 and half way through a master’s and applying to PhD soon. I think it really depends on the program. At my masters program, the average age is at least 25. As others have said, we don’t care about age or even really ask.</p>
<p>Oh man, now I really feel old. I’m 31, and I’m starting my PhD this summer. The really scary thing is that I know someone who is going to apply for PhD programs for the fall of 2012… he was my student when I was a high school teacher.</p>
<p>This is important: Your age doesn’t matter at all. The lack of realism in your expectations does. Perhaps the reason you only found one response when you went looking for people’s experience getting involved in extracurricular activities as graduate students is because that response was very, very atypical.</p>
<p>Things vary a lot depending on the program and the degree sought, but for the most part graduate students do NOT get heavily involved in clubs, student government, volunteering, etc., simply because graduate school involves a lot of intense, focused work, and doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for that sort of thing. There are some exceptions – law students often volunteer at legal clinics for the poor, for example, because it’s directly related to what they are studying and gives them valuable experience (in addition to being a good thing in moral terms). Some degrees don’t involve the same amount of work. But overwhelmingly, graduate students are focused on their studies and on their particular program, not on what’s going on in the university and the surrounding community. </p>
<p>(At my kids’ university, they often have terrible trouble recruiting graduate students for any student-government type committees or positions. There is supposed to be an elected grad student rep on the student government; generally, the only people willing to do that are recent grads of the same college who were involved in student government before.)</p>
<p>You can have a great social life as a graduate student – everyone is older and more confident, and social life doesn’t revolve around getting plastered. But, again, it depends a lot on how much work your program entails. If you have a couple thousand pages of reading to do every week, plus TA duties, plus papers, you are going to be limiting the amount of socializing you do!</p>
<p>You can get involved…grad school and life in general is what you make it. You can have a rich experience if that is what you want to have. Go for it!</p>
<p>First let me say that I am in a school of public health and at 27 you’ll actually probably be towards the middle of the pack, not necessarily the oldest. Public health students tend to work for a few years before getting their MPH, so most of the students will be around 25-26 years old. I had many classmates that were in their late 20s and early 30s, so don’t worry about that.</p>
<p>With that said, though, doing all that stuff in graduate school is actually not the best idea even for a spry 22-year-old - and I wouldn’t expect it to overflow. Grad school is much more focused on the academic experience. Don’t get me wrong; I had some fun my first two years especially (I’m a PhD student myself), but you won’t have time to do all of that stuff. It’s not like undergrad. A good grad student would probably do one of those things - maybe serve on the GSAC, OR volunteer with those summer camps, but not necessarily both.</p>
<p>Like everyone else seems to be saying – 27? Nah, not really. I’m a guy, I will be 28 when I enter grad school. Of course, men mature more slowly than women – even more so in today’s delayed adulthood/instant gratification world. Still, I’m in top physical shape and plan to stay that way. I dare any of the young early 20-something whipper snappers to keep up with me. I was way too young when I graduated at 23 to go to Grad School. I was immature, brash, and foolhardy. I’ve had the real world kick me in the crotch a few times, so I’m much more tempered and mellow now. Look at it this way, you have probably will have a lifetime of experience that many freshly minted grads won’t as they are still cloistered. It can help you gauge pragmatic goals. :)</p>
<p>Another anecdote: in Business, the average age of incoming Ph.D.'s is something around 25-26 for a 5 year program, and the majority of students (at least from what I’ve seen) tend to be much older than in other disciplines.</p>