I am getting a PhD after some career years, and I am having such a hard time finding a cohort of similar peers. Almost everyone is 6+ years younger and not at the same lifestage (w.r.t money or life outlook). I look much younger than I am, so I still get to make friends and acquaintances. However, I disagree with one of the central points of this article that some sort of elitism prevents one from pursuing a PhD. Almost everyone, at least 90%, of the students I've encountered are young, on fellowships, and from poor or middle income backgrounds. My program is in a top 30 R1 institution, so maybe that's why it attracts more of this type of student because of the availability of research funding. I did my MSc at another R1, and similar situation there. I do kinda wish there were more people like me in my program, but I don't think any elitism is barring them from entry, it's more that their cost/benefit calculus is different from mine, and they would rather not pay any opportunity costs.