Is it okay to mention that I’m married and a toddler mom in my personal essay? Does it improve my possibilities or it stands as a hindrance in the eyes of admission officers?
Also I have a career break of 4 years and entering 30s. Do I still have equal chances?
In my opinion…I would not do this. There is still quite a bit of discrimination against mothers in both academia and the larger professional world. They are often seen as “less committed” than women without children and even than men with children.
Others may have different views on this, but that is my opinion.
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How will sharing this information benefit your app and shed light on your ability to succeed in the course?
If they read it, they can’t unread it. It’s unfair, but it probably won’t help your chances.
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It will explain the 4 year gap in your employment history which is helpful; an explanation is expected regarding such a lengthy gap.
As to whether mentioning your situation will help or hurt your application, it should help as, again, an explanation of a four year employment gap will be expected.
To which MS in accounting program are you applying ? I ask because the overwhelming majority of such programs are not very competitive with respect to admissions.
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I think the same way too. It explains that I have invested my time in personal life.
But I’m afraid that it may turn the other way like other members opinion in replies here, that moms are considered “less committed”.
I’m applying for Umass Boston, Dartmouth and a couple of other state universities in Massachusetts - Bridgewater, Salem, Worcester
If you really want to discuss your child, can you say “family commitments” instead of saying you have a toddler? I am guessing on your app, you will indicate if you have any dependent children? So they will see that information and I personally think that’s enough.
Should get into Dartmouth, would your family move? Would you commute? I’m not sure how many commuters Dartmouth has, but probably a lot fewer than any of the other colleges you mention. Your geographical range is pretty spread out between those schools. I’m just curious if you plan to move depending on where you decide to attend.
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As an aside, I attempted to return to college when I had two very small kids. I couldn’t manage it and dropped the program. Before you invest a lot of money, be sure you’ve carefully thought out your childcare and household arrangements. It’s hard to have a toddler and be back in college.
Not saying you shouldn’t do it, by the way. I think if I had thought it through better, I would have waited until my kids were beyond toddler years at least. Physically and mentally, toddlers are quite demanding.
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I started a PhD program with a 2 month old (and ended with an 8 year old). And I agree it is HARD. Like really, really hard. I was very fortunate that the university I attended had an on-campus childcare center, which offered care on a sliding scale for children from 6 months of age through pre-school. They also offered student parent grants which gave me some extra money for expenses. There is no way I could have gotten through grad school as a parent without these resources.
So while I would say it IS possible to juggle grad school and childcare, you really do need to assess the resources and support you have in place. It is not easy.
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I get your point about having a dependant. In that case just “Family commitments” sounds better.
I basically choose state universities with more probability for me to getin. The other colleges near me either doesn’t have the program or they are fully online. I’m planning to opt for hybrid program. I would be commuting from home. I feel like one hour of commute is not bad and any thing more than that like Dartmouth would become first priority only if I do not get any other colleges.
Please correct me if I’m missing something.
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Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It is really great that you had the opportunity of on-campus childcare. I do not know that these kind of resources exist at colleges for students!
I have a 20m old right now. Hoping she will be at daycare and I will get help from my parents as well. I know it wouldn’t be easy but hope it would get finished with in 2 years.
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Definitely look into this at the colleges where you apply. See if they offer any support for student parents.
That’s great! We didn’t have any family nearby, so the university provided childcare was a real lifesaver.
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Sure, thankyou so much for your inputs.
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My best guess is that you will be accepted to all of these state schools for pursuit of a masters degree in accounting if your undergrad GPA in accounting is a B/3.0 or better. UMass-Amherst–the best MS-Accounting program on your list has an acceptance rate of 94%. You will not face discrimination in admissions for being a mother of a toddler.
P.S. In future posts/communications, be clear that “Dartmouth” is U Mass-Dartmouth and not Dartmouth College.
Your primary concern should focus on your undergraduate GPA in accounting courses.
Thanks. I have a 3 years Bachelors in commerce degree and Chartered Accounting certification at Intermediate level. All together I got 4 year US equivalent degree evaluated from WES with 3.24GPA. I’m not confident about Umass Amherst. Please suggest any other colleges that I should consider.
Here I have mentioned my credentials.
UMass-Amherst & UMass-lowell look great based on cost as well as ranking.
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