Indo-Australian Akshay Venkatesh distinguished himself very early. In 1993, aged 11, he won a bronze medal at the International Physics Olympiad in Virginia. Venkatesh decided to focus on mathematics shortly after winning bronze and went on to win two more Olympic medals in the subject. He left high school aged just 13 and went to the University of Western Australia, graduating with an honors degree in mathematics in 1997, becoming the youngest student to do so.
Even then, Venkatesh did not stop there and a doctorate from Princeton University added to his academic achievement. At 20 years old and for young scientists a doctorate, the young scientist already had a choice of place in the academic world. Since earning his doctorate in 2002, he has gone from a postdoctoral position at MIT to a Clay Research Fellow and, most recently, a professorship at Stanford University.
Admissions
If you are under 35, I don’t think the admissions committee will be old enough. They are mainly about your raw intellectual ability and your ability to produce excellent research.
Of course, an admissions committee will review your career and consider what it says about you, whether it enhances or detracts from your research potential, and what the career change says about you target. So a lot depends on your specific history and experience.
What about other domains? How often do you start your PhD in your 30s or 40s compared to your 20s?
Again, it is quite common to see people starting a PhD late in life. Although the percentage of young people is much higher in many areas, you will still see some in their 30s and 40s.
One thing you will realize with a PhD is that there are a wide variety of reasons why people choose to pursue a PhD or a research career. Doing a PhD is a very personal affair as you need to be motivated to stay in your career.
How do you know which is the best PhD program? Check out R3ciprocity’s PhD Program Ranking to help you make your decision.
Balamurali Ambati
Date of birth: July 29, 1977 Doctorate Age: 17 Specialty: Ophthalmology Nationality: Indian and American
Photo source: acceleratet.uoregonbedu. )
Student Loan Debt Considerations
If you are 61 and have loans, it will take time to pay them off. Debt is worth thinking about before you do a PhD. If you can get accepted into a doctoral program that pays your tuition or even gives you a scholarship, you may be able to graduate with much less student loan debt. This support may allow you to consider a doctorate later in life.
To be able to do a doctorate, you must have a bachelor’s degree. From there, some can go directly into a doctoral program. If you graduated at the traditional age of 22, you will receive your doctorate around the age of 25 at least.