mrpbn7

Such a twist - I moved to Madison last year from Columbia. If you like Madison, you'll find it easy to fit in in Columbia. You'll also find that the winter doesn't last six months! I can deal with the cold but the crappy weather seems to drag on and on here...

I prefer the near west side of Madison and I prefer the south side of Columbia, if that helps you get an idea of the vibe. Grad students are more dispersed in Columbia - but I'd say you should only live super close to campus if you don't have a car. I take the bus and bike in Madison but I drove everywhere in Columbia. As a grad student, you can easily get a parking spot in one of the garages on campus. 

There is no real Madison "near east" equivalence in Columbia. There's East Campus - but that's undergrad territory. Undergrads also love all the Brookside buildings - and other apartment complexes that offer shuttles to downtown and campus. 

I rented at Katy Place, Walnut Brook and DBC rentals while I was in Columbia. I liked them all. No matter what you choose, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck in CoMo.

And while the microbrews aren't quite up to par with what Wisconsin has to offer, do try the beers at Flat Branch. 

@Sconnie Will you have a car? 

Is the program at the University of Colorado at Boulder still around? I thought something weird was going on with their J-school. 

@VioleyAyame - ah, I did miss that. 

You have a good plan! I'm not sure how other programs work - but at my school, you would apply for the Master's track and write in your purpose statement that you have every intention of continuing on to get your PhD, when the time comes. There are three research-track MA students in my program right now and all three are continuing on to earn their PhDs - now with 25 credits completed and solid relationships built with faculty members. 

You point out a few key things, one of which is funding. One reason the MA track and PhD tracks are officially separated is because of available monies. Many of the members in my PhD cohort have four-year funding packages while the MA students have two-year packages (the ones continuing on will probably get a new package during this current admissions cycle - but that's not guaranteed). I have never heard of someone receiving six-years of guaranteed funding upon admission - and that's probably how long it will take you to accumulate the required number of credits (probably around 60).

You also pointed out that you will up against people who already have advanced degrees and probably a mix of professional/research experience. That certainly doesn't mean you're screwed - admissions processes are somewhat of a mystery - but you're talking about two great comm programs, so don't be surprised if they tell you to go earn your MA. 

I think you should continue to press forward if you know this is what you want to do. I will suggest that you talk to some students from the programs you are interested in to get a better idea of how things work in the department. The graduate advisor (or contact person for admission) should be able to put you in touch with someone. 

That's awesome that you have figured out your path so early. I don't think I really understood what research was by the end of my undergrad - and I certainly didn't appreciate it until well into my Masters program.

I won't claim to know everything about all comm programs (I'm assuming you're talking about comm) but from my experience at two universities, I don't know of anyone who was admitted straight from undergrad. 

What you'll normally see is people admitted into a sort of "research-track" Masters program. They take all the credits required for the M.A. and then write a thesis. Once they've defended the thesis, the graduate committee simply allows them to trek on in the doctoral program. Everything they did for their Masters counts toward the PhD - so if your Masters was 26 credit hours and you need 60 for the PhD, you will only do another 34 credit hours (along with prelims and a dissertation, of course)

I'm sure there are exceptions - and that people are admitted into doctoral programs straight out of undergrad. Still, it's far more likely that you would be classified as a Masters student until you have accumulated enough credits to be on even footing with the rest of the PhD cohort.

So when you are chatting with professors or advisors at potential schools, make sure to ask about the possibility of being admitted directly into the PhD program AND the possibility of being admitted as a Masters student with every intention to continue into the doctoral program. 

I'm 26 and am the youngest person in my doctoral program - so you are waaaaay ahead of the game already. My advice is to find a school that will fund you for your Masters continuing on to a PhD (it will give you extra time to learn and publish anyway!)