phd2010

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I will definitely use it. Hopefully everything works out...

That would be kind of tough, as my current school dominates the other school in my field.

I am currently in a Master's degree program at a school whose PhD program is highly ranked, but whose Master's program is only so-so. I managed to get glowing letters of recommendation from numerous professors at my current school, but still got rejected by the PhD program. Up until now, I have had contact with slightly lower ranked PhD programs and they all have expressed concern that I will simply turn them down to attend the school I am currently attending. One of the schools that expressed concern is flying me out soon and I have no idea what to say when they ask me about my current school. How can I say, "Yeah, the school from which I obtained all of my LORs, whose professors supposedly like me, rejected me," without making myself look less attractive? Given that I was rejected by my current school, this other school is one that I would definitely like to attend. Should I just skirt the question? Perhaps say that I haven't made my mind up yet? It seems like I can't win. If I tell them that I was rejected, they might think less of me given that the professors that wrote my LORs ended up going with another candidate. On the other hand, if I tell them that I haven't made up my mind yet, they might not extend an offer because they will assume that I will attend my current school if given the chance. What do you all think?

I am currently in a Master's degree program and applying to PhD programs. I'm applying to the school at which I am pursuing a Master's degree. One of the professors who wrote a letter of recommendation for me, and who also happens to be on the admissions committee, is asking me where I have offers/interviews. I tried giving a generic answer without mentioning other schools by name, but now she is asking for specifics. The problem is that my school hasn't made any sort of decisions regarding PhD admissions yet. If this were any other school's adcom asking where else I am considering attending, I would give the standard, "I applied to a select number of schools..yada yada yada..." without giving any actual information. However, she did help me out a lot and she does already know the schools that I have applied to, so I don't want to be rude or anything. What would you all do?