I have heard both "MAs are much easier to get int than PhDs" and "MAs are only slightly easier to get into than PhDs." Does anyone have any knowledge as to just how much easier it is to get into a funded MA than PhD? Clearly the pool will generally be smaller for MAs, but does it make a notable difference?
The only data I could find was from Georgia State University, which accepted 41% of their applicants. This is clearly much much higher than the 5-10% admissions rates for top-20 PhD programs, but is that normal? Is GSU significantly larger than Simon Fraser or Texas Tech, or is it possible this is an outlier? If not, it would seem like applying to 5-6 MA programs would most likely yield success for a philosophy major at a decent school with good grades, solid letters, and a strong writing sample. Right? Especially considering many people applying to MAs do so because they didn't have great grades, weren't philosophy majors, come from a small department, etc.
