Is 25 too old to go into Bio-Chemistry?

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:03 am

Is 25 too old to go back to college to major in Bio-Chemistry and proceed with a PhD? I wonder if all these years out of school give a person a disadvantage. I took AP Calc, Chem, Physics & Biology in High School and received 5s, but that was 8 years ago, as well as Statistics in College which was a joke of a class. Honest Opinions Only!!!!! none of the you can do whatever you put your mind to comments. I don't think that this is a decision a dh can understand.

ora_43

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:13 am

IMO age is a non-issue. The question is how badly you want it, and whether you and your family can make the sacrifices you'll have to make.

I think you'll probably have to review some material, but if you managed to learn something at age 17-18 there's no reason you can't understand it at 25, too. Mental acuity doesn't diminish with age that quickly LOL

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You probably know this, but college-level science courses tend to start where AP courses left off. So if you took AP chemistry and got a 5, only some of the material in your first chemistry course in college will be familiar (probably. depending on the school, I guess).

dancingqueen

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:25 am

I don't think it's that you're too old but that are you prepared to not be done with your education until you are in your early 30s? Do you have any college courses besides your aps? Is there a statute of limitations on ap courses? It's a Shame because With 5s you could have placed out of all those courses in most colleges.

If you liked calc and physics would you consider biomedical engineering or other engineering? It's a bit of a shorter road.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:34 am

dancingqueen wrote:

I have a BS in another field. Yes, I am prepared to not be finished with my education until my early 30s. I liked calc and physics, but I am not an engineer. I am more the research type. That is why I am struggling with this concept.

mille

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:42 am

I STARTED my bachelors around that age... I won't be done until well into my 30's (I'm also going for a science related PhD). If it works for you and your family, go for it.

Just understand that PhDs are extremely competitive, so if you don't have much experience, you may basically be required to do a master's before applying to the PhD level in order to have enough relevant research experience to be competitive at the PhD level. Especially if your bachelor's is completely unrelated. You may also have to take pre-reqs. If your only experience with science is in high school, you may have to take a LOT of biology and chemistry courses in order to even be considered. I think you need a realistic view on getting into a PhD program and what it means.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:53 am

mille wrote:

Excuse me? Realistic? I guess you must have seriously misunderstood what I suggested. I suggest getting ANOTHER BS in bio-chemistry, the proceed straight to a PhD program. That means literally redo undergrad because even if I had majored in science before (which I didn't), I would need to refresh everything. I am an extremely over the top realistic person, and what I am suggesting is intellectually doable, but the question is if 25 is just too old to compete with 18 yr olds in the field.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 9:54 am

mille wrote:

How is it working out for you?

nylon

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 10:09 am

If you already have a BS degree, it should be possible to complete a 2nd BS in less than 4 years as some of your courses will count (general education requirements) although since science requires courses to be taken sequentially you wouldn't save as much time. It's doable. 25 is not 40. Smile

But be sure you know what you're in for as a science grad student and be thinking towards your eventual career... you don't want to be stuck as a postdoc for years and years like some people I know.

mille

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 10:27 am

amother wrote:

Whoa...settle down there. I think you just kind of flipped out for no reason, because your original post wasn't very clear to me. I do know people who got a BS/BA in another subject, then took some pre-reqs and were able to get into grad programs for something unrelated to their major. It's not so crazy, just a lot of work. I was not even implying that you are NOT realistic, just that you have a long road ahead of you so keep your head on straight -- it's good advice for anyone starting college at an "older" age... I am sincerely trying to be helpful to you here, but this attitude is not making me want to really help you any more. Rolling Eyes

Since you are so realistic, you know that you aren't competing with 18 year olds. You can finish a bachelors in two and a half years if you take full summer sessions (fall, spring, summer; fall, spring, summer; fall, spring -- 8 semesters with 15+ credits each = 120 credits to graduate). This is assuming you literally have to take 120 credits again, but as someone else said, some of your current credits may count and it will be even less time, if you want it to be. This means that you could be 27-ish when applying to a PhD. An 18 year old will generally take 4-5 years to complete their bachelors, so you will be 27ish competing with 22-23 year olds. Do you really think that 4-5 years is a significant enough age difference that you literally won't be competitive? I don't.

Most people in my program started their PhD in their late 20's. Some in their 30's. No one in my program is in their early 20's (as in, 22 fresh out of college). PhD programs care about the strength of your resume, not your exact age.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 10:32 am

mille wrote:

I'm sorry you took it as attack. I didn't mean that at all. It was gentler, but the internet doesn't always show that. When I took the SATs out of High School I scored almost a perfect 2400. I feel like if I would retake them today, I wouldn't score that as easily, at least not without a lot more studying beforehand. Did you feel that when you entered undergrad you were at a disadvantage compared to that of your peers? I think that once I would graduate undergrad and proceed to the PhD program that the age would not have much significance.

mille

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 10:42 am

amother wrote:

Disadvantage? Definitely not. I scored very high on my SATs too (in the 1500s back when it was out of 1600). I actually felt that I had an advantage over my peers because I was an established adult. I lived on my own, had a job, and I had great work/study ethic, unlike most freshmen. I also just pick up concepts very easily, so I never found the majority of undergrad to be difficult (but I didn't major in bio or chem, I think maybe o-chem would have changed my tune Tongue Out

). I coasted for a lot of it. Graduated with nearly a 4.0. I was rarely the oldest in any of my classes, too. There are many adults who are going for degrees at older ages now! I usually made friends with them, because they were generally more reliable than the 18 year olds.

I do really recommend when you find professors you like and classes you like, asking them if they have a lab you can volunteer in. Sometimes you get credit for doing it, sometimes not. But research experience is super duper valued in terms of PhD applications. Not to mention letters of recommendation! You really need to be a go-getter in this sense and take advantage of any opportunities you can. If the university you are going to also has a PhD program in bio-chem that you might be applying to, all the better -- make friends with the professors/advisors who work with the graduate students. Make friends with graduate students too, if possible.

I also have no idea what grad school entrance test you'd need, if any... maybe GREs with the biology subject test? But I would look into it NOW, and prepare to take it before you graduate. That way if you don't do as well as you think you need to, you will have time to study again and re take it. Especially if it's a subject GRE, they are apparently really difficult.

eschaya

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 12:22 pm

Why should age have anything to do with it? Compete against 18 year olds? PhD programs don't want partying freshmen with no life experience. As long as you have qualified prerequisites and top math/science skills, they should be thrilled to have you.
The only difficulty I can think of is on your part. Can your family afford to have you in school and not bringing in a good salary for the next many years? If the answer is yes, then go for it!
I'm currently in middle of a second masters and I'm >30. And I'm at the top of my class, and was the top ranked applicant in my program. Doesn't seem like dementia has set it, even at my ripe old age.

mille

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:06 pm

eschaya wrote:

It's by no means great, but most PhD programs, especially in the sciences, offer stipends. Most from my experience seem to be in the mid 30,000 range. I also know many colleagues who teach undergraduate classes during their PhD and make additional money as an adjunct professor. And on top of that, PhD programs have tuition waivers, so she won't be going into debt at that level!