3 ms·

Your chances of admission are probably significantly better than you think. I did my BS in computer science at a mid-lower-tier state school - it wasn't like I

Your chances of admission are probably significantly better than you think. I did my BS in computer science at a mid-lower-tier state school - it wasn't like I was all-world Stanford/MIT/CMU or anything. I did a bunch of GRE practice tests and have always been a very strong standardized test-taker so I had that going for me. I also had cultivated strong references at my undergrad institution. My references were professors I had multiple classes under and that I had actually spent time with during office hours. You may have those sources available to you but I would guess that a decent fallback might be former commanding officers? The school where I got my MS also had stories about active duty Air Force students coming in full-time for a PhD, mowing through the check-lists of to-do work, and finishing their PhD in the three years the AF gave them to do it. Your military background may be a strong point in your favor. Also, I vaguely remember that military retirees often had some tuition assistance programs. Grad schools LOVE students with external funding sources. Look into this. Lastly, it sounds like you have a good story to tell. Tell that story in your application letter!

CobaltFire 4y ago
I’ve been hesitant to lean on my story, as it were, as it seems too close to the plot of a Lifetime movie. I’ll have to get over that and leverage it I suppose. I have almost no contact with professors outside of class due to the nature of my degree taking a long time and it being online. I do have at least one CO who is a cheerleader for me and is the one who has told me to push higher. He is open to writing any and all letters I need. Most of the others I’ve lost contact with, and due to my situation my most recent ones hardly know me.
- clusterhacks 4y ago
  You aren't leaning on your story so much as you are demonstrating successful experience navigating a world that isn't laid out in a way that made it easy. Retiring from the military? I expect you know deeply how to navigate a bureaucratic system with sometimes frustratingly weird rules. (translation - can work through grad school institutional requirements without hand holding) Possibly at least partially funded by outside sources? (translation - wait, I don't have to pay the full cost of the student? Has healthcare already? FREE FREE FREE labor to advisor) Earned undergrad degree while working full time and caring for a special-needs child? (translation - nothing here is going to knock this person off course) Truthfully speaking, almost everyone has a good story to tell. People are generally interesting to me and I think to others - especially the type of other people you would probably prefer to work with. Maybe I am being overly optimistic about it but maybe remember that grad school is not a magical place where only super-geniuses tread the halls (internal opinions on that may differ </slight sarcasm>).
  - CobaltFire 4y ago
    You gave me my first honest laugh of the day, thanks! It's a chemo week, so those are in short supply. As for the actual content of your comment... I can see all of those. Never having walked those halls it's very much blind to me and statements like yours help demystify what I'm looking at. Every statement you made there is true: I have stable income, I have paid for health care, I have the GI Bill if needed, I know bureaucratic systems, I'm excellent at project management, and I don't give up or derail easily. Maybe I have a shot. I'll have to sit down and work out exactly what I want to pursue; I don't have long left in the season for applications.

CobaltFire 4y ago

I’ve been hesitant to lean on my story, as it were, as it seems too close to the plot of a Lifetime movie. I’ll have to get over that and leverage it I suppose. I have almost no contact with professors outside of class due to the nature of my degree taking a long time and it being online. I do have at least one CO who is a cheerleader for me and is the one who has told me to push higher. He is open to writing any and all letters I need. Most of the others I’ve lost contact with, and due to my situation my most recent ones hardly know me.

clusterhacks 4y ago
You aren't leaning on your story so much as you are demonstrating successful experience navigating a world that isn't laid out in a way that made it easy. Retiring from the military? I expect you know deeply how to navigate a bureaucratic system with sometimes frustratingly weird rules. (translation - can work through grad school institutional requirements without hand holding) Possibly at least partially funded by outside sources? (translation - wait, I don't have to pay the full cost of the student? Has healthcare already? FREE FREE FREE labor to advisor) Earned undergrad degree while working full time and caring for a special-needs child? (translation - nothing here is going to knock this person off course) Truthfully speaking, almost everyone has a good story to tell. People are generally interesting to me and I think to others - especially the type of other people you would probably prefer to work with. Maybe I am being overly optimistic about it but maybe remember that grad school is not a magical place where only super-geniuses tread the halls (internal opinions on that may differ </slight sarcasm>).
- CobaltFire 4y ago
  You gave me my first honest laugh of the day, thanks! It's a chemo week, so those are in short supply. As for the actual content of your comment... I can see all of those. Never having walked those halls it's very much blind to me and statements like yours help demystify what I'm looking at. Every statement you made there is true: I have stable income, I have paid for health care, I have the GI Bill if needed, I know bureaucratic systems, I'm excellent at project management, and I don't give up or derail easily. Maybe I have a shot. I'll have to sit down and work out exactly what I want to pursue; I don't have long left in the season for applications.