PinkandI

Thank you very much...

Thanks guys. I need a lot of help on this. Very nervous about my statement of purpose.

Something went wrong with my previous post; sorry I posted Dal PhDer’s comment without my reply. Strange! Well, I agree with Dal PhDer. Plus, it all comes down to what you are passionate about and whether you love research and independent study. Do you love working alone on academic problems? Do you love research? I would not advise anyone who is not crazy about research (academic) to go after a PhD just because it's fully funded (and most are). It doesn't matter whether you love working in the academia after that or not. We are talking about a minimum of four years of nonstop research, reading and publishing and working alone most of the time. You have to love doing research. It’s not good to start a PhD and later find out that you would rather do an MA. If you don’t like research, look for the money and some funding and go for an MA. However, if you can handle the research and all that, why not do the PhD. It doesn't mean you have to work in the academia or teach. Depending on your field, you can go into consultation or expert jobs in the public or private sectors. I for one don’t like teaching and the idea of publishing under pressure of tenure that characterizes the academic world. In fact the whole idea of academia is just nauseating to me, but I do want to do a PhD, just so I can be an authority on something in this big world. I know if I ever do it (Lord help me), I will end up a consultant somewhere and will not ever have to worry about having only one published article on my CV. For me I have to first finish a master's though (for other reasons)

Hey guys, thank you so much. I am so grateful, you have no idea. @Sigaba, thanks again but I have trouble understanding some of those abbreviations, like 'Pols' and 'SoP'. @ jeffster- You are absolutely right, there's no way I am glossing over it. It seems to me there's more advice you can render me about this though. Just a gut feeling.

Dear cafe goers, In 2010, I accepted a scholarship to a master’s program (which I later found out is not really what I wanted to study for my grad school). I was uninspired right from the beginning, but I somehow finished the first year. I hated the program. In my second year, things got out of hand. I had no motivation, never cared about the program, had got terrible grades and I was severely depressed. I was constantly thinking of what I wanted to study instead. The depression and stress of being in a foreign country away from home (I am from Kenya) caught up with me and I decided I never wanted to write the thesis, just so I don’t put my name on something I wasn't proud of. In other words, I dropped out. Two years wasted and many lessons learnt. Now I've got my shit together and I want to apply for what I love to study, come 2013 academic year. Problem though is, how do I explain the gap in my admissions and scholarships applications and CV without coming off as a quitter? Because the truth is, I am not one, it's not like I quitted on grad school. I just quitted on a program that I hated and did not want to pursue anymore. Solid responses will be highly appreciated.