[Should I even bother applying to Northwestern and University of Chicago with these scores?]

Did you end up applying?

[Hopkins AMS v. Brown Biostatistics (PhD)]

Yay!!! Congrats! I loved Brown. I hope you have a wonderful experience there!

[Hopkins AMS v. Brown Biostatistics (PhD)]

So where did you decide to go? :-)

[Reality Check: MAs]

On 4/24/2017 at 8:11 PM, striped said:

Well, the overarching gist of my initial post asked a couple of specific questions in the vein of "do funded MAs exist" (as I had not found any, and people I spoke to in person didn't provide a lot of info on MAs in general) and asking for opinions on who should be pursuing a PhD (after all, I feel pretty disheartened), as well as if anyone had thoughts about the cycle I discussed. The conversation sort of evolved into asking about specific programs, and I didn't make my interests clear. I am interested in aesthetics, media, technology, on-demand service culture, social media, and modernity. 

Thanks for all insights given, everyone! Personal experience is always the best teacher, and I appreciate you guys telling me about your PhD journeys. 

 

Hey Striped,

Not sure if this is helpful at this point, but I figured I'd shoot you a message anyway.

I'm a PhD student at UChicago. You had some questions about the MAPSS program, so here is what I've observed firsthand: MAPSS is kind of a crapshoot. It's a cash cow, I believe, in the sense that it's a very, very big program and students aren't offered a lot of guidance. A lot of the professors are at the top of their field, or are under a tremendous amount of pressure to move to the top of their field. They are busy with their own research, and they also have their PhD students whom they advise. This means that there is a lot of competition among MAPSS students to stand out. The program is INTENSE. I've heard many students complain about not being able to find a thesis advisor easily. That said, if you are willing and able to put in the work, MAPSS can be a fantastic opportunity. Basically, if you find a professor to work with, and the professor values your work, provides you with research opportunities and/or guidance, and is willing to write you a letter of recommendation at the end of the year when you're applying to PhD programs, you have yourself the golden ticket. You are also required to write a thesis, which provides you with a solid writing sample for your PhD apps. And you'll learn a lot and glean a lot of insight into what a PhD program will be like. But you've got to want it. The program is rough. A lot of people in the SS PhD programs had MA degrees coming into the programs, but not all. As far as I can tell, those who didn't have an MA had significant research experience.