Waiting a year

[coped]

Question. I have two decent, funded offers at well-regarded schools (not top 10s, but good flagships with solid placement records). One is fairly prestigious for the two fields in which my research interests intersect. That one also has some rising stars with whom I would get to work. The problem is, the stipends just aren't that great and I also have a job offer, which would allow me to pay off a decent chunk of my undergrad loans. Has anyone been successful turning down an offer one year and being re-admitted to the school in later years? Would turning down an offer put me at a disadvantage the next year?

[TransnationalHistory]

Question. I have two decent, funded offers at well-regarded schools (not top 10s, but good flagships with solid placement records). One is fairly prestigious for the two fields in which my research interests intersect. That one also has some rising stars with whom I would get to work. The problem is, the stipends just aren't that great and I also have a job offer, which would allow me to pay off a decent chunk of my undergrad loans. Has anyone been successful turning down an offer one year and being re-admitted to the school in later years? Would turning down an offer put me at a disadvantage the next year?

I'm guessing you can't defer? I'd explain your situation to the school and see what they say. Maybe they'd be willing to either up your stipend or let you defer. Worst they can say is no. Next year the applicant pool could be different, and the number of students they are able to take, and for which fields, could change. So their is no guarantee that if you apply next year they'd be able to take you, even if they don't hold a grudge for you turning them down.

[TMP]

No, you can't defer at many places unless you've won Fulbright or something. Transnational's right, you don't know what the future applicant pool looks like. You don't know about the faculty's future plans- someone might get a great offer elsewhere. Even the department's focus can change.

Your loans will be deferred while you're in a PhD program. I plan to continue paying off as much as of my MA loans as possible while in a PhD program, paying either in full if I can afford it or income-adjustment. I want to do largely because by the time I get out, I will have at least 2/3s-3/4s paid off and only God knows what's waiting for me at the end.

Look in your budget again for both schools, is it possible? You need to decide for yourself which is more important: Taking that job offer in order to pay off your loans faster, or going for your PhD. Is the PhD something you really want that you're willing to pay off your loans at a potentially slower rate?

[Gelpfrat the Bold]

I'm in a similar situation. I have two offers, but don't really want to take either because I feel like I need some time out before jumping into a PhD program, and also because these programs, while very good, aren't my ideal. I only applied to these two programs because they are in the city I currently live in, and I wanted to give myself the option of starting a PhD next year if that felt like the right thing to do come springtime. Well, it's springtime, and it still isn't really what I want, but I'm scared I might be throwing away a great opportunity. What if I don't get in next time I apply? What if the economic situation worsens further and applying for PhD programs only gets more competitive? I'm scared that 2 years down the line, I'll be facing across-the-board rejections and wondering why I passed up an offer from a perfectly good university. At the same time though, I feel that if I take this offer, I'll always wonder whether I could have gotten into a better program for me, and whether I passed up better future opportunities by taking the first decent thing to come my way.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to decline both offers. Signing up to do a PhD is a really big deal, you're agreeing to do this for 6+ years. Being poor isn't that big of a concern for me, but still, it would be nice to save up a little bit of money before I start a PhD, if only so that I have a little bit less to stress about. Mostly, I just don't see why this year has to be the year. It's not a race! I've realized that most of the people in these programs are a few if not several years older than I am, and that it's rare there to find someone who didn't take time out of academia before starting their PhD. Also, I have one friend who was accepted last year, didn't attend, and was accepted again this year and plans to attend this time. Sure, that's just one individual person at a random program, but it's at least one example. Anyways, I think that the departments will be understanding. They're aware that students have all kinds of financial concerns as well as things going on in their personal lives. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I would think that the department would appreciate me honestly saying "Thanks for the offer, but due to personal reasons I don't think that this would be the ideal time for me to start something as demanding as a PhD program." (Maybe I'd rephrase that, but you get the point). They don't want you coming into the program and then having a nervous breakdown; surely being able to step back and make that decision is the mark of a responsible person? Just a thought. I'm planning on writing personal emails to my recommenders as well as my potential supervisors just letting them know why I'm not taking the offer, just because I know all these people helped me out in the application process and I'm sure they appreciate being filled in on what's going on.

It's a tough call. But I think it's important to be excited about starting a PhD program. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd think that you should have similar kinds of feelings starting in a new program as when you first start dating someone. If you're not super excited about it and you have doubts now, how do you think you'll feel about it a few years down the line when the novelty has worn off? I'm hoping that taking some time out will make me more excited about PhD prospects, and will let me take care of what's stressing me out before digging deeper in to my academic career.

[Sovetskaya]

Question. I have two decent, funded offers at well-regarded schools (not top 10s, but good flagships with solid placement records). One is fairly prestigious for the two fields in which my research interests intersect. That one also has some rising stars with whom I would get to work. The problem is, the stipends just aren't that great and I also have a job offer, which would allow me to pay off a decent chunk of my undergrad loans. Has anyone been successful turning down an offer one year and being re-admitted to the school in later years? Would turning down an offer put me at a disadvantage the next year?

I was accepted to one decent school in DC for Fall of 2009. I wanted to apply to a few more schools for 2010, asked if I could "defer" and they said no.

I reapplied the next year and got into same DCs school unfunded MA.

They will likely not accept you. I had my lawyer brother draft the letter explaining why I was going to work and why I will be better prepared when I reapply to enter the PhD program. I had a good chat with my PA but I think they knew I wasn't jazzed on their program (otherwise I would have taken the offer). I gambled the next year and I did get better offers, but phew, it was a gamble. My recommendation: if the advisors are good, and the funding is good, take it. You can always transfer after your MA.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Sovetskaya