Got offered a Masters, but applied for Phd

[micromajor2011]

So I applied for a Ph.D and due to my GRE score not being the best of the best, on top of the school cutting admits down due to finances I was offered a position in the Masters Program. I'm seriously considering taking the offer, but I was curious to know what other people might do in this situation. I am sure I got rejected from the other schools I applied to, because I have heard nothing. The other option is to sit out a year and "try" to find a job in this horrible economy and have to start paying on my loans from undergrad. I'm not totally opposed to this, but with no job, there is no way I can pay back loans. This is why Im leaning toward the safer option, getting the masters from a great school , that will boost my application for the PhD in 2 years. My only other concern is funding for the masters. Just wondering what other people would do in this situation? Take the masters or wait a year, retake GRE and apply for Fall 2012?

Edited March 22, 2011 by micromajor2011

[OkayforNow]

I would go for the Masters.

[PhD or Bust]

I feel you...I'm 2 years out from undergrad...I've been unemployed for the past 9 months or so and have basically not paid back a dime of my student loans...I'm hinging on my grad school apps to pull me out of this...Unfortunately I've been rejected from all of them so far, though I am still waiting to hear from two...If I get a "consolation" MA offer, I will probably take it, as long as it's not too expensive. If I don't, it looks like I will be left with waiting tables, which will barely supplement living expenses, much less the $350 a month student loan payments.

I'm really crazy worried to say the least...

[micromajor2011]

I feel you...I'm 2 years out from undergrad...I've been unemployed for the past 9 months or so and have basically not paid back a dime of my student loans...I'm hinging on my grad school apps to pull me out of this...Unfortunately I've been rejected from all of them so far, though I am still waiting to hear from two...If I get a "consolation" MA offer, I will probably take it, as long as it's not too expensive. If I don't, it looks like I will be left with waiting tables, which will barely supplement living expenses, much less the $350 a month student loan payments.

I'm really crazy worried to say the least...

Yea this is looking like the wise chose, even if I rake up a little debt, maybe better than sitting out and adding interest to loans/ needing to spend money on reapplying, which also cost a fortune! Good luck with your apps.

[SimilarlyDifferent]

This happened to me and I fully intend to go for the MA. I think that it will work to make you a stronger candidate should you choose to reapply to PhD programs later on. In the course of your MA you are going to increase your field of knowledge, learn to write better, and meet new faculty with which you can build relationships and network (and perhaps increase lab/research experience depending on your field).

[hopetoI/O]

Im in the same boat im kind of glad actually now. I always had my eye set on this certain MA program but was kind of convinced to apply to PhD. I will see how the next two years go and then decide if I really want to go further or not.

[farnsworth]

I had a similar situation and went with the masters. It has helped out my applications to Ph.D. programs, but this always varies from person to person. Hope things work out well for you.

[NoMoreABD]

It all comes down to how passionate you are about your high education (sorry for being romantic).

If what you want is a life in the academia, then the way I see it is that you had just been offered an opportunity to get in. I would jump at it.

You can never be a 100% sure in your decisions, especially with this kind of thing, but if you seriously suspect you're going to look back and think you waisted 2 years of your life, then you probably shouldn't go for it.

[neuropsychosocial]

If I were me (which it was three years ago, except that I was deciding between a master's or an extra year of undergrad followed by application to Ph.D.), I looked at the job prospects for my then-current education, the admissions statistics for bachelor's versus master's in my field, and the job prospects for master's-only. For me, it was a no-brainer: a master's was the entry-level degree to work in my field. I was lucky enough to have a 20-hour a week job that paid for my tuition; if I had needed to take out $50,000 in loans, it wouldn't have been worth it. As I applied for Ph.D. programs this year, I found that having graduate-level research experience was invaluable; lots of undergrads say that they like research, but don't really understand what graduate school is like. I was able to claim that I knew what I was getting into and still wanted to do it.

If you never get into a Ph.D. program, will having the master's degree be worthwhile? In Immunology, I would guess that it would increase your job prospects/pay grade significantly, but I try to avoid the biomed end of campus as much as possible so I don't really know...

[Diego M]

This exact same thing happened to me. I asked a professor I had been in contact with for some time and he offered me funding so he saved my ass anyway. However, even without the funding I would have gone and tried to transfer into the school's PhD track after "proving myself" with the masters and doing great.

[micromajor2011]

thanks everyone, all your comments where really helpful. Just hope i get a bit of funding, and it wil be fine.

[robot_hamster]

Just a little something to throw out there that may or may not apply to your situation. I have heard of some programs (particularly in biology) where a Masters will not help very much with a PhD. There are some programs that do not take all of the credits from your Masters and apply them to the PhD program. In the end, it ends up being more years and more work than simply going for the straight through PhD. Like I said though, I don't know if this will apply to you. It is something to look out for though.

Edited March 26, 2011 by robot_hamster

[wendychina]

When I started to read this post, I was almost dreaming if it were written by myself, because this is exactly what happens on me. But I have decided to go with Masters program even if I cannot obtain the funding. Of course, meanwhile I contact the professors to apply for any kind of funding so that I can be released of some burden. The professor in charge has agreed to try for me.

I figured that the professor appreciated what I have done so far but also identified some major drawback that may hinder my future studies. I do feel the professor very friendly.

[GutLogic]

I think that coming from the perspective of almost any other field, going for the Master's would be a great choice, but since you say you are in Immunology/Biomedical I just want to throw in some caution. I did my undergrad in & currently work in a biomedical field, and I would feel out very, very carefully how the PhD programs you hope to get in to would view an MS. Unfortunately, the practice by a lot of universities of giving MS degrees to people who didn't cut it in their PhD program has led to the MS in this field being devalued, and depending on the attitude/culture of the programs you are looking at it could actually hurt your chances of admission. I think the best-case scenario would be if the university offering you an MS sees it as a test-run or bridge into their PhD program. I would definitely find out about that, because having it may not actually improve your chances at other PhD programs- they might assume you didn't make it through the PhD program at the school where you got the MS, and wonder why you would expect your success at their program to be any different. I know it sucks and makes no logical sense because an MS would definitely add education & great experience to your application. However, that just seems to be the sad reality right now. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news- I really hope it works out for you.