Lowell, this comes as absolutely no surprise. And I suspect there are a few others who post regularly who might have a scrap or two somewhere.

I was ABD (all but dissertation) for three years until I couldn't stand it any more and wrote the dang thing in 7 months. ABD is like living in purgatory. It's like having a huge term paper due with no due date to make you pull that all-nighter and finally get it done.

Eventually, I figured I was just tormenting myself by avoiding it.

Canie, I wouldn't know if it's any harder later in life. I had a newborn (who is now a geophysics major [!] at the U. of Oregon), a job, an apartment in Westwood to maintain... etc. etc. I was handed my degree a month before I turned 28, and two months before my son turned one.

Would you believe there are some from my doctoral class who STILL haven't written their dissertations? Talk about masochism.

Cathryn