Helplessly confused in application limbo

[tango01]

As a newbie applying to grad schools I'm not really sure what this means...I was rejected from the phd program of complit that i had applied for but they accepted me into an MAPH program with no funding. From what i can gather, the program seems like some kind of a limbo for people who they don't think are ready for grad school but have strong applications. 

 

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this just the university trying to ease the blow of rejection? if anyone knows of this program i'd love to hear if it is considered a waste of time/money or actually beneficial...

 

[ghijklmn]

Is this Chicago you're speaking of? They're pretty well known for offering "consolation MA's." I personally have no experience with the MAPH program, but I've heard mixed things. Basically, going anywhere for an unfunded MA when you want to continue on for the PhD is usually not a smart choice. Chicago is a great school and I'm sure you could learn a lot, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Were you accepted with funding to any PhD programs?

[tango01]

It is indeed Chicago. I only applied to 4 other schools and have yet to hear back from any of them...I've noticed on the results search that only one of my schools (nyu) has accepted students, while the other schools have been steadily rejecting. I'm fairly convinced that if chicago rejected me the others will too. The only thing that is making me think that the MAPH might not be such a bad idea (even though the price tag is ridiculous) is that I'm a senior, have not been published, I don't really have any exemplary work experience, and I bombed my GRE's. In short, my only pros are that I am multilingual (which is a given for complit anyway). I'd only really go if it meant I would have better chances reapplying to chicago next year, but even that is apparently not a given.