Advise/Help- Ivy League MA vs. Not ranked PhD for Academia (Psyc)

[SeanDDavies]

I am very frustrated because I Can't reach a decision. First time applying and I was accepted into a PhD program with not great funding but great adviser with great connections. The school is not very highly ranked. I believe 105 in US news. On the other hand, I was accepted into an Ivy League Master's program which I would have to take huge loans for (probably into the $100,000), even though I would still probably have to take out loans for PhD anyway. I want to be in academia after graduating, so I would have to go to a PhD after graduating with MA. I think the Ivy League MA would look great when applying for jobs in academia and would probably get me into an swanky PhD program after. Where would you go?? Please help before I bang my head against a wall. 

[.letmeinplz//]

$100,000 in debt is a lot when it isn't backed by a physical object (like getting a loan for a house where the house can be sold to pay off the debt [hopefully ]). What is your projected salary once you are finally in a career?

 

A MA will probably help your PhD prospects and since people here say ranking matters when getting jobs in academia, a better PhD program seems like the only way to reach your goal. Unless you are fine with teaching (professing?) at a similarly ranked school as your 105 admit. Try finding out where PhDs from your admit end up teaching at and see if those universities are good enough for you to end up in (that way you avoid a mountain of debt before even starting your PhD).

 

So I guess it depends on where you want to land. If you have to land in a higher ranked university, is 6-figure debt worth it?

Edited March 27, 2015 by <ian>

[Tairy]

What I've gathered from the graduate school application process and seeing other people's results is that in terms of PhD acceptances, where exactly you went to school means much less than the quality of your work and your interests. An MA from a prestigious school is, in of itself, not that influential to your application.

 

Therefore I think that if you aren't very happy with your PhD prospects now, you're better off trying to improve your application over the next year and not take on a tenth of a million in debt. Especially if you'd need to take on debt for the PhD offer you have now anyway. I would try again the next application cycle and aim for getting a funded PhD offer so that at least you don't need to indebt-en yourself for your further education.

[rising_star]

I would go back to the drawing board and try to improve your applications for next cycle. $100K in debt for a master's with no guaranteed job prospects or even a guaranteed admission to a PhD program is a HUMONGOUS gamble. I personally would never do it and would advise others not to.

[juilletmercredi]

Yeah, I agree with rising_star and ian. You definitely don't want to go into six-figure debt for an MA if your goal is academia, because you won't make enough to comfortably repay it. (The Ivy MA will not matter when applying for academic jobs - where you got your PhD from is what matters.) However, a low-ranked PhD program with poor funding isn't a good idea, either.

 

Personally, I would decline them both and work on improving your application for the next cycle. Next time you might also apply to some inexpensive MA programs, perhaps at public universities in your state; that way, even if you decide to take on an MA, you can take on minimal debt.

Edited March 29, 2015 by juilletmercredi

[SeanDDavies]

Man oh man. I have learned some things lately. I am getting the impression that big name schools, such as NYU, Columbia, others, have very high acceptance rates into their MA programs. It seems that they use these to pump money into their schools and PhD programs. These MA programs are not very individualized and just kind of leave you to fend for your own. They don't provide a good amount of research opportunities for their MA students. So, the MA seems like a bad idea at this point.

 

Now still working on working through the PhD offer.

[juilletmercredi]

^That's absolutely correct. These programs are often used as "cash cow" programs, used to fund other programs in the department/school and overhead. Now, that doesn't mean that the program isn't excellent, rigorous, or useful - Columbia's MBA program is also a cash cow program, in that it's expensive and they rarely provide any scholarships or aid aside from loans. But it's still a well-respected degree that will get you a good job upon graduation.

 

If the Ivy League program is the clinical psychology MA at Columbia, I wouldn't recommend that. I don't have direct experience with it, but I know a few people who went through it and they had mixed to negative reactions to the program. I do not get the sense that they give you individualized attention or that they mentor you with the research skills necessary to go to a good program; students get it there, if they want it, but you have to specifically seek it out - not guaranteed.