Age as a factor in grad school admissions

cosmicfish
Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:36:22 +0000

Age will occasionally be an issue, like anything else - just like gender, race, and your position on the inherent inferiority of the New York Yankees. The valid question behind the age issue is “what have you traded or lost in order to get here so young?”

The answer may be “nothing” but do not be surprised to see that come up. The perception of unusually young graduates is colored by the image of the failed prodigy - the kid who races through college but then goes nowhere. Think of it like you are a home builder, and they just came along as a buyer - they do not really care how long it took to build, they care about the quality of the product, and if you tell them you built it in half the time, don’t be surprised if they order a few extra inspections…