Although few students terminate their pursuit of a doctorate during the course-work phase of their program, many doctoral students drop out around the time that they successfully complete planned courses, a period known as "all but dissertation" (ABD). An examination of how professional educators who added a doctoral program to their lives experienced the increased commitment of graduate work is presented here. The report is drawn from a study that featured two assumptions: professional educators live extremely busy lives as they balance work, family, health, community, and church demands; doctoral programs demand an ever-increasing amount of time and energy from students. The study was based on a review of 25 students' records in the University of Kentucky's Department of Educational Administration, where less than half of the students who complete the comprehensive exam earn the Ed.D. Phenomenological strategies were used to gather information on the participants' perceptions of the students' experiences. Four themes emerged: structure, pressure, support, and authority. In all cases, there was a point in the students' lives where their narrative shifted away from expressions of satisfaction with school to dissatisfaction with the doctoral experience. The narrative shift occurred when participants entered the different world of the doctoral candidate. (Contains 50 references.) (RJM)