# It's official -- 24 years later, I'm a grad student **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786 "2006-08-30T13:45:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/1 "2006-08-30T13:45:50Z")
Tuesday was my first day of classes as I launch my career in graduate school. I took an online class this summer in grammar, but this is the real plunge into real classrooms, real research papers, real presentations and real moments of “what the hell am I doing here!?!?” Any suggestions on how to survive three years of graduate school (I commute 90 miles each way twice a week) and hold down a full-time job AND keep a marriage intact would be deeply appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/2 "2006-08-30T16:39:26Z")
So am I! I just started an entirely online master’s degree program at CSU Fullerton. We only have to show up on campus twice, once for initial orientation and again, one year later for what they call the Midpoint Colloquium. We can add to that a third time, if we want to participate in the graduation ceremony. As for me, let’s just say I got my other master’s degree in 1984, so you do the math. ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/3 "2006-08-30T16:43:19Z")
Congrats and good luck! **Sunrazor** , I understant the “what the hell am I doing here!?!?” feeling. Expect it to come and go. Mouse\_Maven Part-time undergraduate for five years now and turning 30 in 6 months. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/4 "2006-08-30T17:01:26Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > As for me, let’s just say I got my other master’s degree in 1984, so you do the math. Sorry, can’t do the math. My degree is gonna’ be in English – we don’ do no math, we jus’ speek gude Englishe. I envy you – I wish even half of my coursework was online. But noooooooooooo! Of course, you’ll miss the fun of terrorizing kids young enough to be your sons and daughters. I’m really looking forward to that. Sending virtual pie to **Mouse Maven**. I graduated with my BA in journalism when I was 30. My wife finished her BS in business management when she was 46, and my father received his BA in English when he was 63. Hang in there, kiddo – there are few things more satisfying that looking at that diploma and saying, “Yep, I did it myself!” ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/5 "2006-08-30T17:12:38Z")
I’m a brand new PhD student in Biology, and sometimes I wake at night thinking, “What the hell have I done?” I’ve been through oral and written comprehensives once. I hated them then. Why the hell am I subjecting myself to more? Sigh. Congratulations, I guess. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/6 "2006-08-30T17:13:49Z")
I should have also pointed out that it has been 10 years since I got my Master’s. Blargh. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/7 "2006-08-30T17:33:09Z")
The grad school experience depends a lot on your field (hard science or not) and if you’re in a PhD or master’s program. The PhD experience in a hard science can be brutal and there will be moments of great angst along the way. I can’t speak about a non-scientific field. ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/8 "2006-08-30T21:30:34Z")
Congratulations! I have a question for you (and others) about getting into grad school after a long education hiatus. Who did you get letters of recommendations from? I think that aspect is a big part of what’s holding me back from even applying to graduate schools. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/9 "2006-08-30T22:13:10Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > Congratulations! > > I have a question for you (and others) about getting into grad school after a long education hiatus. Who did you get letters of recommendations from? I think that aspect is a big part of what’s holding me back from even applying to graduate schools. Good question! Mine was easy – some of my undergrad profs still live here and in Greeley (where the university is) and two of them agreed to write letters. For the third one, I asked a former boss (an editor) who had a master’s in journalism, and he agreed to write a recommendation. If you can find people who have the degree you’re going after, in the field you want to study, that’s great – they’re saying, “I know her, I did this and I know she can do this.” Even better is any professor you studied with as an undergrad. They’ve all been through that wringer, and if they recommend you, that’s the best reference you can get. Barring either of those, anyone who knows you and has been through a graduate program can write a letter for you. What the program directors want to know is whether you’re going to succeed and going to contribute something to the overall body of knowledge in your field. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/10 "2006-08-30T23:35:19Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > Congratulations! > > I have a question for you (and others) about getting into grad school after a long education hiatus. Who did you get letters of recommendations from? I think that aspect is a big part of what’s holding me back from even applying to graduate schools. For me, I hadn’t kept in touch with undergraduate professors…didn’t really know anyone in my new field, so I had recent work bosses write them - there were really no other options for me at that point. If you’ve got some in the field for which you’d be going to grad school, those would likely be better though. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-24-years-later-im-a-grad-student/370786/11 "2006-08-31T00:21:40Z")
Many congratulations, Sunrazor! I know where you’re coming from to an extent; I’m 25\* and starting my junior year at UCLA. My husband is 34 and in his second (of four) year of law school. We have the Commutes From Hell, too, so I doubly know your pain. 🙂 Again, congratulations! And enjoy your time in school. \*yeah, everyone goes on about how I’m still young and all that, but I’ve taken a strange path in life that puts me out of sorts with 20 year old kids. Kids that need to get off my lawn, _right now_.