Mr. X

was recently rejected from two Phd programs, and I now want to pursue my MA in Criminal Justice to strengthen my application. However, one of the things that keeps holding me back to make this decision is if I should stay within the same institution I graduated from my undergraduate career, and most likely will pursue for my PhD at the institution (the City University of New York). The type of research being done there is exactly what I want and something I really don't see anywhere else. Career wise and financially it also makes sense to stay in NYC. In other words, every arrow points to staying in CUNY. But I feel like I am not allowing myself to diversify my experience and live somewhere else besides NYC—although I have been lucky to study abroad multiple times. Nevertheless, the tuition for a MA is significantly less when comparing the CUNY program to that of UPENN or Rutgers University. Although all these programs are still ranked 10 ten in the nation. Great programs I would love to go to, but seems also pointless to go anywhere just to go in a 30-50k in debt. I was just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences towards their path to academia.

I was recently rejected from two Phd programs, and I now want to pursue my MA in Criminal Justice to strengthen my application. However, one of the things that keeps holding me back to make this decision is if I should stay within the same institution I graduated from during my undergraduate career and most likely want would pursue for my PhD at the City University of New York (CUNY). The type of research being done there is exactly what I want and did not see in other departments. Career wise it also makes sense to stay in NYC. But I feel like I am not allowing myself to diversify my experience and live somewhere else besides NYC—although I have been lucky to study abroad multiple times. Nevertheless, the tuition for a MA is significantly less when comparing the CUNY program to that of UPENN or Rutgers University. Great programs I would love to go to, but seems also pointless to go anywhere between 30-50k in debt. I was just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences in their path towards academia.

Thank you @juilletmercredi. Your feedback was extremely helpful!

Thanks everyone for your feedback! Much food for thought.

Hi All, Application season is upon us and I know the gears are on full speed right now. That being said, this is my second attempt in applying for doctoral program––never submitted an application since I was still unsure what I wanted to focus my studies on, and in retrospect, I am immensely happy that I did not––but I recall when looking into the steps of submitting the application, it asked if you wish to be considered to be a part of the MA program if rejected. Now, what does this exactly mean? I have asked Professors and they do not have a solid response to it. In other words, is it another way to possibility extract a year or two worth of tuition from students? If accepted into the MA program first, is it usually funded? I assume if placed into the MA track, maybe they see potential and place you there to see if your have what it takes to enter into the doctoral program? I am just weary of selecting yes in this part. I just wanted to hear the experiences of others. Thank you as always to this community.

HI All, My fields of interest are the following: urban sociology/ poverty, social stratification, crime and deviance, qualitative and quantitative methods, drug policy, racial inequality, criminal justice system; factors that contribute to the burgeoning of mass incarceration (i.e. reentry and recidivism, substance abuse, etc.) Not entirely sure if I am a strong candidate for these universities since I understand how brutally competitive it is, yet I have the confidence that I have all the necessary criteria and unique background. Anyways, as the saying goes, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." The programs I am applying include: University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Harvard University, CUNY Graduate Center and UC - Berkeley (I feel like this university is most conducive to my passion). Please do recommend any other university (department) that is pertinent to the sort of research I want to pursue!

Maybe also look into the work of Alyshia Galvez from Lehman College, CUNY!

HI All, My fields of interest are the following: urban sociology/ poverty, social stratification, crime and deviance, qualitative and quantitative methods, drug policy, racial inequality, criminal justice system; factors that contribute to the burgeoning of mass incarceration (i.e. reentry and recidivism, substance abuse, etc.) Not entirely sure if I am a strong candidate for these universities since I understand how brutally competitive it is, yet I have the confidence that I have all the necessary criteria and unique background. Anyways, as the saying goes, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.' The programs I am applying include: University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Harvard University, CUNY Graduate Center and UC - Berkeley (I feel like this university is most conducive to my passion). Please do recommend any other university (department) that is pertinent to the sort of research I want to pursue!

Your interest of research???

Yup! I actually forgot to put UC Berkeley, which is actually number one on my list. I was looking over their faculty research and UC Berkeley seems like the perfect department conducive to my passion! Wacquant is one of the main reasons why I want to go there, his work fascinates me. Harvard also has all my favorite sociologist too (i.e. W.J. Wilson, Matthew Desmond, etc.) I will definitely look into Minnesota! If anyone can recommend any others. What have you heard of Princeton? One of my favorite sociologist is there as well. Thank you once again for your recommendation, I greatly appreciate it.

HI All, My field of interest are the following: urban sociology/ poverty, social stratification, crime and deviance, qualitative and quantitative methods, drug policy, racial inequality, criminal justice system (factors that contribute to the burgeoning of mass incarceration). Not entirely sure if I am a strong candidate for these universities since I understand how brutally competitive it is, yet I have the confidence that I have all the necessary criteria and unique background. Anyways, as the saying goes, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.' The programs I am applying include: University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Harvard University and CUNY Graduate Center. Please do recommend any other university that is pertinent to the type of studies I want to pursue!

Hello All, I am a recent graduate in Political Science and Latin American Studies, and looking to pursue a Masters Degree. I am very interested in Public Policy issues and implementation as well as in Political Economy and Development. I would like to pursue a career in NGO's, government offices, and/or international institutions. From my perspective, pursuing a MPA seems like pursuing a another Political Science degree but much more rigorous. I point out the similarities since these discipline deal with broad issues and not necessarily specializing in a particular "field." That being said, it seems that a MA in economics provide both a specialization--making myself more marketable--and intellectually challenging. Yes, I have taken some economic courses and I am contentiously reading books on economics, questioning why I never majored in this discipline. Since I never majored in economics, I would have to take about 8-10 courses (which will take another 2 years part-time) to become a competitive candidate in the graduated programs I would love to go to. From the interest that I stated, I would like like to get any insight, advice or critique on my potential plan. Also, I would really appreciate any input or personal advice regarding a choice of program in light of my interests and career objectives. I'm looking at both discipline at the wrong way? Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to reading your insights!