Confused about next steps (cog neuro, education)

[Rhapsody0119]

Hi everyone -- I'm a longtime lurker and could really use some advice. I'm in somewhat of an odd predicament regarding grad school and unsure what I should do.

Here's my situation:

I've applied to four Cognitive Neuroscience Ph.D. programs (only one is potentially an option), as well as a master's program in Mind, Brain, and Education at Harvard's Ed School. Broadly speaking, I'm interested in SES disparities in education (opportunity-achievement gaps) and how suboptimal environments/experiences influence brain development/functioning. There aren’t a lot of programs/professors researching these areas, hence the limited number of applications this round.

One of the Ph.D. programs I interviewed with (School A) is facing unexpected funding restraints, and is trying to sort out things on their end in order to admit me (it’s a lot of red tape, something they were not aware of when I interviewed, and my POI couldn’t give me a specific date as to when things would be sorted out). I've been told by numerous people in the department that I'm an excellent candidate (which is somewhat comforting, I suppose) and that if I am indeed rejected, it is solely a matter of money. So, basically, I’m in limbo with School A.

I was also admitted to the 1yr master’s program at Harvard, which seems like an excellent program, but I have several reservations. I’d appreciate anyone’s insight as to whether these concerns seem ridiculous or out of place.

--It’s incredibly expensive and I would need to take out $30,000+ in loans for one year. Yikes!

--I’m not sure what people do after they complete this specific program or how favorably the degree is viewed in academia (e.g., when applying to Ph.D. programs); I may have a better idea after next weeks’ orientation.

--Stamping Harvard on my resume is not enough of a reason for me to consider going – I want to learn neuroimaging and question whether being a student at HGSE will afford me that opportunity.

So, essentially, given my situation, what would you do? If I can’t attend School A for Fall 2010, should I take out loans and attend Harvard for the year and reapply next cycle? I currently have a great job doing research at a non-profit and work with very supportive colleagues, but have no opportunity to work on brain-centered topics. Alternative to attending Harvard, do you think it advantageous to instead seek out a full-time neuroimaging position for the next year or two? My main push for the neuroimaging is 1. I think fMRI is a fascinating method that can be used to elucidate answers to complex problems in education 2. I really, really just want to learn it and make sure it's something I like (I think I will) and 3. I’d rather hit the ground running when I get to a doctoral program in cog neuro (which will be easier if I already have the methods training).


Thanks in advance for any advice and sorry for the long post!

Edited January 11, 2015 by TakeruK
Removed certain details as requested by user

[LadyL]

Screw the MA. Here's why:

1. In psychology MAs and research experience are often viewed equivalently. Case in point: both the research jobs I've held were "MA preferred, equivalent experience considered" and I landed both with a BA and 1 years experience in an imaging lab as an undergrad.

2. Harvard's grad programs are notoriously less competitive than their undergrad, at least from all the gossip I've heard in the field.

3. If you want to learn neuroimaging it is highly unlikely that will happen in a 1 year MA program. It took me about a year to develop the programming and statistical background necessary to analyze data. I've been at my job for almost 3 years, am on about a dozen posters and several papers, and I *still* have only about a 200 level grasp of fmri data analysis. I would say that unless you have a mentor willing to live and breathe analysis with you it will be hard/impossible to learn anything useful in a year.

4. Funding: what sort of access to fMRI data are you going to have in a 1 year MA program? Scanning is dependent on millions of dollars of grant money, and just *designing* a study can take a year. Getting handed an old data set to play with (the more likely scenario) can be fun, but teaches you nothing about study design and the practical aspects of running an imaging study.

5. On a related note, what do you plan to do in the field with an MA? You will not be able to apply for your own funding or conduct your own original research in imaging. The academic hierarchy is pretty rigid for research - Ph.D., post doc, apply for training grants, get prelim data with training grant money, apply for bigger grants, etc. Notice the prerequisite to all of this is "get a Ph.D."

So my advice is to try to get a position in an imaging lab so that you can go straight into a Ph.D. program (assuming funding doesn't work out, which it still could obviously) rather than wasting a lot of money and valuable time on the MA.

I think MAs are almost unethical to award in experimental psych because the grant funding structure basically doesn't recognize MA level people. It is the closest thing to a scam there is because it barely even makes you competitive for entry level jobs. Trust me, after two failed application rounds I had to face the reality that unless I got a Ph.D. I was never going to get anywhere in the field, and I wish there was more opportunity for us lowly non-ph.ds but it just doesn't work that way.