Advice?! Last choice school or back out?

[Pheonix45]

Brief history.

 

Graduated from a really well known public university with a 3.9 in psychology. I took a year off to decide what I wanted to do and came to the conclusion that I was going to go to graduate school (had always planned on it) in industrial organizational psychology.

 

Reasons for doing this.

 

Seemed like the best option

Like the subject (but have limited experience with it)

The field is growin very fast.

For a psychology job it pays very well

 

 

However to bring you all up to speed.  I applied to 12 Phd programs (1. so I had the chance to go into academia if I wanted 2. starying salary is higher for practice) and I have only been accepted by one Phd program.

 

The Phd I was accepted to was my LAST choice of Phd program. I am now getting cold feet. I only applied to this school on a whim and it is the only one I got into. The program itself is not bad, but I am not a big fan of the adivsor (through my limited time with him) and it is not located in a city I would like to live in.

 

I was accepted to one masters and waitlisted at another. During my visits to the masters programs I felt much more at home and comfortable with them, however the masters program I was accepted to was also my lowest choice of masters.

 

 

 

I honestly have no idea what to think. Should I just back out and do something else? Is it normal to not feel excited whatsoever about these programs? Is it ok to commit to a school and then decide a few months down the road it is not for me.?

 

 

I honestly just need some advice or just even stories that might provide some clarity.

 

 

Thanks in advance for the help

 

I

[peachypie]

Getting a PhD is hard enough that it is a decision you want to feel 100% about.  I wouldn't recommend doing a PhD at a program you have no desire to attend.  A masters is fine if you felt excited to go but it doesn't sound like that is the case either.  Also I would assume you would want to still go on to a PhD after a masters and i just don't think that would be the best move either (why waste the time and money?).  If you are real with yourself and think that in the next 6 months or so you can better your application while gaining more experience and that you would have a good chance of getting into a school you actually wanted then i would consider waiting and applying again.  I would also think that contacting some of your dream programs and asking them how you can better improve your application to be more competitive would be a great step to find out why you didn't get the programs you desired.  I think your gpa is good so that would mean all other facets would in theory  be something relatively easy to fix (take the gre again, write a better SOP etc).  

best of luck.

[breezyy]

I'm in a similar boat and I thought I'd pass along what my undergrad advisor told me: She said not to look at it as Masters vs PhD, but rather as fit. For me personally, I'm feeling better about the MA programs I applied to more than the one PhD program I got into. I really only applied to that PhD program because it was a convenient option - close to home, I was able to meet everyone early, etc. However, now, I don't think I want to settle like that. It's a decent program, but if an MA gives you the bridge to get into programs you really want to attend, that may be a better alternative. Perhaps your thinking may change if that PhD offer is fully funded, though. A PhD is a big undertaking and a big commitment, so your happiness ought to be worth something in your consideration. But also keep in mind that no program will be completely perfect.

 

You can accept the PhD offer, and apply again this next season. The problem with that is that you may not have much else under your belt to better your application.

 

Unfortunately, it is ultimately your decision. Go with your gut, and you'll make the best decision as is humanly possible in the moment. You can't ask for more than that.

 

Hope this helps...

[Pheonix45]

Thanks for  the advice.

 

 

Is there any shame/reprecussions from accepting the PhD offer when unsure and then dropping out if it is not the right fit? I would not want to burn bridges with the faculty or students as my field is a small one. Do you think they would hold it against me?

[Pheonix45]

Getting a PhD is hard enough that it is a decision you want to feel 100% about.  I wouldn't recommend doing a PhD at a program you have no desire to attend.  A masters is fine if you felt excited to go but it doesn't sound like that is the case either.  Also I would assume you would want to still go on to a PhD after a masters and i just don't think that would be the best move either (why waste the time and money?).  If you are real with yourself and think that in the next 6 months or so you can better your application while gaining more experience and that you would have a good chance of getting into a school you actually wanted then i would consider waiting and applying again.  I would also think that contacting some of your dream programs and asking them how you can better improve your application to be more competitive would be a great step to find out why you didn't get the programs you desired.  I think your gpa is good so that would mean all other facets would in theory  be something relatively easy to fix (take the gre again, write a better SOP etc).  

best of luck.

 

If I went to an MA program I would not go on to get my PhD. In I/O Psychology you can do many things with a masters. I think If I went that route I would have to admit to myself that academia would be a road I would no longer have the option of traveling down.

[QASP]

 

Is there any shame/reprecussions from accepting the PhD offer when unsure and then dropping out if it is not the right fit? I would not want to burn bridges with the faculty or students as my field is a small one. Do you think they would hold it against me?

 

Yes, this will burn bridges, do not do this. Make a decision and commit to it, whether it is to go or not. Accepting an offer and later rescinding it is viewed very poorly.

 

I have heard that master's level I/O pays fairly well; that may be a good choice if you felt it was a better fit, especially if you are not completely committed to the field. If you feel certain this is something you want to do, and the PhD is funded, consider how much you want it. That's a lot of hard work for a field you sound uncertain about. If the PhD funding won't cover a significant portion of your expenses, I wouldn't go, especially if the fit is off.

[nugget]

Can you defer for a year? If so, maybe you could work on strengthening your profile in the upcoming months then apply to more schools next year and take your best offer.

 

Another possibility is to do the masters program that you seem to be ok with, work for a few years and get lots of solid experience, then try again for a PhD.

Edited April 1, 2014 by jenste

[TakeruK]

I agree with what the above said, but I would say that it's perfectly okay* to accept a PhD offer and then quit after a year if you decide that the PhD route is not for you. (*okay as in ethical, you're still a good person etc. etc.) There are consequences of doing this of course--firstly, there may be some conditions on your funding that you finish certain requirements. Also, you will have a really hard time getting back into academia if you do this. However, I am assuming you mean "if academia is not for you" when you say "if it's not for me", not just that particular school.

 

If you are sure you want to do a PhD but aren't sure if this particular school is the right one, then I think you should follow jenste's advice of asking if the offer will still be valid next year and then in the inbetween year, apply to more programs, strengthen your profile etc. I know that in my field, offers of admission might actually be valid for more than one year (although the funding guarantee only comes if you accept the offer in the first year--you might have to be "reconsidered" for funding if you want to take an offer in a later year).

[RomulusAugustulus]

I would also add that you shouldn't feel like you need to pick the PhD over the MA programs just because it's a PhD. The first time I applied I got into 1 PhD (also my last choice) at a decent school, but when I visited I did not think the fit was right. I got in last minute to an MA and turned down the doctoral program and never regretted it. Now I've been accepted to a much better PhD program with a better fit. So if the doctoral program didn't feel right, but the masters did then go for the MA. Then you will have the experience in the field which will help when applying to your top choices down the road. I think this is better than going for the PhD then dropping out (which will probably make it very difficult to get into a PhD later, unless you meant transferring rather than just dropping out which is more acceptable). 

[juilletmercredi]

I agree with TakeruK - there's nothing wrong with beginning a PhD program with the idea that you will try it to see if you like it, and then dropping out after a year.  But in addition to the warnings he gave, I also want to add another warning: it's emotionally more difficult to leave a PhD program than most people think it is.  First of all, you don't want to leave without a job lined up, so there's that.  But secondly, you get sucked in, in a psychological and emotional way.  You're fed messages that academia is better than the "real world" - some sort of higher calling, or vocation - and that only those who "can't cut it" or who weren't brilliant/intelligent/hard-working/motivated enough drop out.

 

This is all a sack of horse...feathers, of course.  There are many brilliant people who never pursue a PhD or who leave a program, having decided to contribute their talents to the world in other ways.  But there is that persistent feeling within the program, and it can make students who are contemplating leaving feel very distressed and torn.  This may result in leading being a lot harder and taking a lot longer than a student initially anticipates.

 

Personally, I would say that since you're already feeling negatively about the program - you don't really like the adviser and you don't want to live in the city - that you should just turn them down altogether.