Age as a factor in grad school admissions

js911
Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:21:18 +0000

I don’t understand the need to graduate early unless you’re hurting financially. If you have the scholarships, why would you give up free funding and the opportunity to learn more? What I did was take fewer credits each semester and then do research / projects on my own. Once you graduate, you have a nice portfolio of work that demonstrates your motivation and ability to think independently, which is what graduate research is all about.

Talk with professors and try to help them on their projects, or come up with some stuff of your own. Getting passable grades in courses only shows you have enough motivation to absorb knowledge fed to your on a platter. Creating knowledge requires effort too, but genuine passion and creativity are more important. If you can spend your free time learning about a subject, it’s a good indication you’re headed in the right direction.