Partially funded PhD vs. Masters + apply again

[ur.future.therapist]

Hello all, 

I recently started hearing back from schools regarding admission decisions for the Counseling Psychology PhD programs I applied to. I received an offer from a partially funded PhD program (funding info pending), and 2 reputable (still unfunded) masters programs after my application got deferred to their masters consideration. 

For the PhD program, I will be classified "out-of-state" for the full length of my graduate study, which will be ~$22K each year just in tuition. So, I am wondering if I should do a masters instead, strengthen my  research and clinical experiences, and apply again in a couple cycles to better funded programs? Has anyone been in this situation before? What did you do? And if anyone is in that situation now, what factors are you considering while making your decision? 

[rainydaychai]

Hey there, I was actually in an extremely similar situation last year. I came close to admission into a few fully funded Clinical PhD programs but ultimately only received an admission offer from a partially funded Clinical PhD program in the US. As I'm Canadian, the out-of-state tuition would have been just under $20k each year after the "partial funding" was applied. 

Personally, after some thought I released the offer as I did not want to go into debt for my graduate studies. Instead of applying to Masters programs (Canada doesn't have many - or any? - so it would have been a similar situation, paying out-of-state tuition for an American program), I secured a research coordinator position within my subfield of psych (forensic) and was actually able to make money while gaining experience the past year!  I tried again this application cycle and was offered admission to one of my top program picks - it's not funded, but as it's a Canadian university, tuition is much much cheaper and the TA/RA ships offered more than cover it. Many of the faculty I interviewed with this year cited my current position as one of the stronger aspects of my application.

As for factors I considered, the financial aspect was a huge one - it would have totaled roughly $100k USD of debt after I graduated the program I was accepted to last year and I wasn't willing to do that to myself or my partner. It was also one of my last picks, so if I had interviewed and loved it, it may have been a different story. I might have been much more willing to shell out $$ for a top pick program. Keeping in mind that this is my own experience and there may be many other aspects to your situation that I don't know about, have you considered research or lab coordinator jobs over a Masters? You can often earn the same amount of publications/conference presentations/other experiences, especially if you work for 2+ years (same duration as a Masters). The only situation that I have generally heard a Masters is better in is if you have scant research experience, as it may be harder to secure a coordinator position with very little past research experience.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or want to talk more!

[Modulus]

1 hour ago, rainydaychai said:

Hey there, I was actually in an extremely similar situation last year. I came close to admission into a few fully funded Clinical PhD programs but ultimately only received an admission offer from a partially funded Clinical PhD program in the US. As I'm Canadian, the out-of-state tuition would have been just under $20k each year after the "partial funding" was applied. 

Personally, after some thought I released the offer as I did not want to go into debt for my graduate studies. Instead of applying to Masters programs (Canada doesn't have many - or any? - so it would have been a similar situation, paying out-of-state tuition for an American program), I secured a research coordinator position within my subfield of psych (forensic) and was actually able to make money while gaining experience the past year!  I tried again this application cycle and was offered admission to one of my top program picks - it's not funded, but as it's a Canadian university, tuition is much much cheaper and the TA/RA ships offered more than cover it. Many of the faculty I interviewed with this year cited my current position as one of the stronger aspects of my application.

As for factors I considered, the financial aspect was a huge one - it would have totaled roughly $100k USD of debt after I graduated the program I was accepted to last year and I wasn't willing to do that to myself or my partner. It was also one of my last picks, so if I had interviewed and loved it, it may have been a different story. I might have been much more willing to shell out $$ for a top pick program. Keeping in mind that this is my own experience and there may be many other aspects to your situation that I don't know about, have you considered research or lab coordinator jobs over a Masters? You can often earn the same amount of publications/conference presentations/other experiences, especially if you work for 2+ years (same duration as a Masters). The only situation that I have generally heard a Masters is better in is if you have scant research experience, as it may be harder to secure a coordinator position with very little past research experience.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or want to talk more!

Although I'm not sure if the same holds for Counseling Programs, I second the recommendation to get a paid position in a lab.  I understand I am incredibly fortunate to have a very supportive PI, but my CV coming into this application cycle looks as good if not better than anyone I know coming out of a master's program.

[Yep]

I agree with everyone that replied. The biggest difference between my cycle last year and this was the RA position I got and was able to publish in a journal. I think that helped get me over the hump and I got offers from multiple fully funded counseling PhD programs in comparison to a shitty masters offer when I was rejected from the PHD last year.

[ur.future.therapist]

20 hours ago, rainydaychai said:

Hey there, I was actually in an extremely similar situation last year. I came close to admission into a few fully funded Clinical PhD programs but ultimately only received an admission offer from a partially funded Clinical PhD program in the US. As I'm Canadian, the out-of-state tuition would have been just under $20k each year after the "partial funding" was applied. 

Personally, after some thought I released the offer as I did not want to go into debt for my graduate studies. Instead of applying to Masters programs (Canada doesn't have many - or any? - so it would have been a similar situation, paying out-of-state tuition for an American program), I secured a research coordinator position within my subfield of psych (forensic) and was actually able to make money while gaining experience the past year!  I tried again this application cycle and was offered admission to one of my top program picks - it's not funded, but as it's a Canadian university, tuition is much much cheaper and the TA/RA ships offered more than cover it. Many of the faculty I interviewed with this year cited my current position as one of the stronger aspects of my application.

As for factors I considered, the financial aspect was a huge one - it would have totaled roughly $100k USD of debt after I graduated the program I was accepted to last year and I wasn't willing to do that to myself or my partner. It was also one of my last picks, so if I had interviewed and loved it, it may have been a different story. I might have been much more willing to shell out $$ for a top pick program. Keeping in mind that this is my own experience and there may be many other aspects to your situation that I don't know about, have you considered research or lab coordinator jobs over a Masters? You can often earn the same amount of publications/conference presentations/other experiences, especially if you work for 2+ years (same duration as a Masters). The only situation that I have generally heard a Masters is better in is if you have scant research experience, as it may be harder to secure a coordinator position with very little past research experience.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or want to talk more!

 

18 hours ago, Modulus said:

Although I'm not sure if the same holds for Counseling Programs, I second the recommendation to get a paid position in a lab.  I understand I am incredibly fortunate to have a very supportive PI, but my CV coming into this application cycle looks as good if not better than anyone I know coming out of a master's program.

 

17 hours ago, Itzik said:

I agree with everyone that replied. The biggest difference between my cycle last year and this was the RA position I got and was able to publish in a journal. I think that helped get me over the hump and I got offers from multiple fully funded counseling PhD programs in comparison to a shitty masters offer when I was rejected from the PHD last year.

Thank you all for your input! I have talked to a bunch of current grad students and professors as well, and it seems like getting a good RA position is the best idea, but I am currently on a student visa in the US and would only be able to have a job for one year under this visa. Not to mention, getting the work permit is a bit of a hassle as well. That's why I was counting on masters programs as the best alternative for my situation. But I see that the general consensus is that partially funded PhDs are not preferable, especially if it's not a top choice! 

[PsychPhdBound]

On 2/29/2020 at 7:51 AM, ur.future.therapist said:

 

 

Thank you all for your input! I have talked to a bunch of current grad students and professors as well, and it seems like getting a good RA position is the best idea, but I am currently on a student visa in the US and would only be able to have a job for one year under this visa. Not to mention, getting the work permit is a bit of a hassle as well. That's why I was counting on masters programs as the best alternative for my situation. But I see that the general consensus is that partially funded PhDs are not preferable, especially if it's not a top choice! 

Could you not get a paid RS position in Canada? There are a number of great schools with highly respected programs.