Fall 2024 Applicants

[PhdtoDig]

Advice needed please!

I was waitlisted at a few very competitive joint MA/phd programs, but ultimately rejected. I received an offer of acceptance from UChicago for their CMES MA program. I received some tuition assistance but it’s still very pricey. I think I can manage it but it thrown for a loop. I’ve just been planning on a funded program and did not consider loans since I just felt so close to attaining a funded offer. I graduated two years ago and this is my second application cycle with one offer. 
Should I take it or try again next year? I am just very tired of the application process and only planning one year of my life expecting to go to school the following year. I think the MA will be the step to get into these PhD programs but at a hearty cost. 

[benti]

1 hour ago, PhdtoDig said:

Advice needed please!

I was waitlisted at a few very competitive joint MA/phd programs, but ultimately rejected. I received an offer of acceptance from UChicago for their CMES MA program. I received some tuition assistance but it’s still very pricey. I think I can manage it but it thrown for a loop. I’ve just been planning on a funded program and did not consider loans since I just felt so close to attaining a funded offer. I graduated two years ago and this is my second application cycle with one offer. 
Should I take it or try again next year? I am just very tired of the application process and only planning one year of my life expecting to go to school the following year. I think the MA will be the step to get into these PhD programs but at a hearty cost. 

Is this the same CMES MA program that offers possible full tuition during 2nd year? If that's the case, I would work really hard to keep a 3.5 gpa and bite the bullet for the first year BUT I can totally understand not wanting to pull out loans. 

[confusedmedievalist]

8 hours ago, PhdtoDig said:

Advice needed please!

I was waitlisted at a few very competitive joint MA/phd programs, but ultimately rejected. I received an offer of acceptance from UChicago for their CMES MA program. I received some tuition assistance but it’s still very pricey. I think I can manage it but it thrown for a loop. I’ve just been planning on a funded program and did not consider loans since I just felt so close to attaining a funded offer. I graduated two years ago and this is my second application cycle with one offer. 
Should I take it or try again next year? I am just very tired of the application process and only planning one year of my life expecting to go to school the following year. I think the MA will be the step to get into these PhD programs but at a hearty cost. 

I took out 10K worth of loans, worked 60hrs a week during the summers, 15 during the semester, and cannot be happier with where I've ended up. (I ended up deciding on Princeton, if anyone is curious). I am consistently happier than my friends who make 200k+ a year in a job they're just meh about. 

That said, there is a big difference between 10K and 50k worth of loans. Academics don't make enough to ever repay something that large, and we're not considered public servants even if we teach at community colleges or public universities, so no loan forgiveness there. So if it's so much debt that you'll tank your credit score and any chance of ever getting a car or even renting, never mind buying, someplace, it's probably not worth it. 

I get the not wanting to live year-to-year. Think about what you'd do this year to improve your application if you didn't do the MA. And think about if the MA is really going to help you. I'd say the vast majority of accepted students do have MAs, but I've also met as many people straight out of undergrad as people like me who needed a whole second MA to be competitive. What's most important is if the MA will actually help you become a more competitive candidate, or if there is something you can do independently which will push you over, since you're clearly so close already. Just a "more interesting" writing sample could do it, or 1 year of another language. And you don't need a degree for that. But degrees can also help clarify your own interests and are certainly helpful, so if it's financially feasible, it could be worth it. 

So these are the things I would consider. Hope it helps!

[canyoudigit]

Has anyone else contacted Cincinnati to get some sort of official news and heard nothing back?

[dwisn1111]

For people accepted to top programs (ivies, Berkeley, Michigan, unc, Stanford,etc), what was your GPA when you applied and did you have any publications, conference presentations, fieldwork?

[JMAurelius]

On 4/21/2024 at 10:41 PM, dwisn1111 said:

For people accepted to top programs (ivies, Berkeley, Michigan, unc, Stanford,etc), what was your GPA when you applied and did you have any publications, conference presentations, fieldwork?

I didn't have any publications or conference presentations.  Those might be more important for STEM fields, but much less so for Classics.  I'm not in archaeology or material culture, so not sure about fieldwork.

[lithourgos]

On 4/21/2024 at 10:41 PM, dwisn1111 said:

For people accepted to top programs (ivies, Berkeley, Michigan, unc, Stanford,etc), what was your GPA when you applied and did you have any publications, conference presentations, fieldwork?

I had a 4.0 from my Anthro MA, a 3.7 from my Classics MA, and a 3.9 from my BA. I had one publication, two conference presentations, and about 6 seasons of fieldwork. I know several folks who got in with me with far less/more than those numbers though. So much of acceptance is about intangibles like department/advisor fit and well...luck.