BigBoyBabeuf

Keeping the focus on my goals rather than blame-shifting is a great point and something I would keep in the forefront of my mind when writing my app. My institution does grant terminal masters as well so I could potentially have cover there. There is the possibility that my status as a PhD student might be disclosed elsewhere, but I can't think of a way to inquire about that without tipping my hand prematurely. I may need to address it no matter the case.

Cool, thanks for the link.

Thank you for your response. Points #4 and #5 are playing heavily into my thought process and I won't be doing this unless I'm confident that it's worth the risk. First semesters are often rough and so I won't be firming up my position one way or the other until summer comes. It may all come to nought and I end up happy with my lot by the time spring ends, which would be my ultimate preference. I'm trying to assess exactly what I would be throwing myself into if I feel compelled to jump back in for another cycle. And if I ultimately decide to reapply, I want to maintain as many of my relationships here as I can, both as a matter of professional prudence and because I genuinely like most of them.

Hi everyone, Looking for any insight you might have, particularly if you're aware of anyone who has been in a similar position. I'm a first year PhD student without a prior MA, but I'm having some serious doubts about my department after spending a semester here. While I'm aware that every department will have its flaws and disappointments, there are problems affecting graduate students here with respect to coursework and institutional support that I feel could potentially be harming my development as a philosopher and my ability to start professionalizing effectively. And I feel as though some of the promises made to incoming students were done under misleading pretenses, making me uneasy with this program overall. To that end, I'm kicking around the prospect of mastering out at the end of the next school year and trying to enter another program. I never intended to use my school as a stepping stone, but I can't deny that my time in graduate school will have done wonders for the biggest flaws in my application last cycle. I haven't made up my mind and I won't one way or the other until this coming summer, but I don't want to get caught flat-footed if I decide to go through with it. My questions are: 1. Were I to commit to this course of action, would I have status as a transfer student? Or would I be considered the same as any other applicant entering with a terminal masters? 2. I understand I will be burning some bridges in this process, but I'd like to know what kind of professional arson I'm undertaking. Would attempting such a course of action make my current position untenable? Or if the cycle were to go poorly, could I expect to return to school the next year and continue my progress? 3. Is it necessary to be up front about what I'm doing to prospective schools? Or would it be better to indicate that I will have earned a masters by the end of the cycle and keep mum about how that masters was earned? And if anyone has gone through such a process before or knows someone who has, please tell me about your experience in as much or as little detail as you feel comfortable with. Thanks!