Not Awarded Funding. Already Accepted Admissions Offer. What Do I Do?

[Ilspflouz]

Hi everyone,

 

So after being shut out from every PhD program I applied to this round, I decided to switch fields and apply to some MS programs in that field to get my foot in the door and up my chances of future phd admission (and job prospects). I was accepted to an MS program, and also told that I was in the running to receive funding "with high recommendation". Funding is a big deal to me because I already have some debt from undergrad (~8k) that I am struggling to pay off and I really didn't want to have to take out loans for grad school too. I had to accept my admissions offer by mid-April, but was told funding decisions would not be made until May. I naively thought the "with high recommendation" catchphrase meant I had a good shot at getting funding, so I went ahead and accepted the admissions offer. It's now June and since I hadn't heard anything, I contacted the school. I was informed I was not awarded any funding. They also apologized that I hadn't heard anything and said I must have been left off the email list of people to inform.

 

I'm kind of at a loss of what to do now. I really, really don't want to take out more loans. But I can't afford to pay for this degree otherwise. I am very interested in this program, and need to get this degree for there to be any chance of me pursuing my dream of becoming a researcher. I also need to get this degree to be successful in this new field (which really does seem like a much better fit for my interests). But is it really worth the $20-30K worth of debt that I will have to go into? I was offered a part time job by a prof in another department that I know well, so that could offset some living costs, but I would still have to pay tuition. Should I ask him if there's any way that can turn into an assistantship? Or is that rude? And how much should I read into not being offered funding and that they forgot to even inform me? I decided on this program because it seemed like it would afford me a lot of opportunities to set myself apart from other students, and because it seemed like the program was really interested in working with me. But I feel like if they were actually interested in me as a student, they would have either given me funding or not let me slip through the cracks.

 

Lastly, this latest rejection is just making me feel like maybe it is a sign I am just not a competitive candidate for academia. I really thought I had a good shot at getting into at least SOME PhD program (I applied to schools of varying difficulty). My advisers backed this up. But I ended up with 1 phone interview (then quick denial) and 9 straight denials. I gained admission at an MA program, but now I am not offered any funding. How did I think I had an application that was good enough to get me a doctoral program, when in reality it is not even good enough to get me funding from a master's program? I feel like there must be some huge disconnect in my qualifications that I am missing, and so far no one has been able to point out to me what it is. It is just getting really difficult to be positive here and figure out what the best option moving forward is.

 

Any insight is helpful. Thank you everyone. Sorry for the text wall.

Edited June 16, 2015 by AliasJane2342

[guttata]

I think you are on the right track with your assessments:

1) Don't take on debt for your graduate degree. Don't do it. Don't. Especially not when, in non-regimented programs, MA/MS degrees are increasingly taking longer than 2 years to actually complete.

 

2) Time for a self-evaluation. Considering the state of academia/funding/job competition, what are your future job prospects in the field? If you're struggling to get into school and fund yourself now, what is going to change (or what are you going to do to change yourself) when you are competing for increasingly small pots of research funds against the people that already beat you for slots and funding at lower levels?

 

There is nothing wrong with asking your professor, dept., or college if there are TAs available in other related depts (unlikely), other in-house fellowships, or the possibility of departing students opening up slots (even deferring to spring if there are fall graduations coming up). At the same time, since you are a minimal investment by the school at this point, there should be little resistance if you talk to someone about withdrawing your commitment in the light of not receiving funding.

[random_grad]

This would probably be best answered by someone in your field (including your LoR writers). For all it's worth, here is my advice:

 

Despite the fact that the standard advice people will give you will be "don't do a master's if it's not funded", I think the situation is more complicated than that. A master's from a strong program goes a long way and 20K in added debt to 8K does not seem like a lot (IF the new loan has reasonable repayment options). I took out a loan for my MA (the funding I got was not enough) and got into a top school in my field afterwards. I seriously doubt I would have gotten there without that master's.

 

Now, if the master's you're considering is from a not-so-top university or if you can't find a reasonable loan, i.e. if your loan would have you repaying major monthly amounts while doing your phd - that seems like a bad plan because if it is the former, your chance for phd acceptance won't change that much and if it is the latter your phd will be a nightmare and very hard to complete.

 

PS: considering how inconsiderate this school was about letting you know for funding results, if you have a prof making promises, get the contract in writing before it's too late for you to withdraw from program without tuition payment.

Edited June 16, 2015 by random_grad

[Ilspflouz]

Thanks so much for your replies. You both have made some very good points.

u/guttata-- If this degree takes more than 2 years, I certainly agree that it would be a waste of my time right now considering my goal is ultimately to pursue a PhD. I planned out my classes and I can finish them in 1 year @ 3 courses a semester. Then I would just have my thesis to complete. Is it common for a thesis to take over a year from start to finish? As far as what my degree would allow me to do-- it is two fold. It would allow me to become more marketable to employers by building on my research and stats skills (I work in social science research right now, and having only a bachelors is making it hard for me to get jobs/promotions that my experience should otherwise qualify me for. If I didn't get a Phd, I could double my salary with a masters). It also would allow me to further develop my research interests and get a better idea of if I am cut out for academia. I also thought completing a thesis, getting a better GPA (my undergrad was a 3.5), and getting more research experience and maybe a presentation or two (pub if I am lucky) would help my PhD admission chances. Am I overestimating the impact those experiences could have on my PhD apps? You are also right to point out that the academic job market is bleak. Apparently this new field has pretty good job prospects. Everyone I have talked to has said that there are more job slots for Criminology/criminal justice PhDs then there are people to fill them right now. I am not sure how much I should trust that, but it is a message I am consistently getting. That is one of the reasons I decided to switch from psych. I also switched because gaining admission to crim phd programs is apparently much more reasonable then the insanely competitive world of psych grad programs.

...I guess my question is -- does any of the above make up for the fact that this degree will be unfunded? Or is your advice basically the same?

u/random_grad-- I qualify for a small grant (~900 dollars a semester) and any loans I take would be unsubsidized Stafford loans. I believe there are some pretty reasonable repayment plans offered for those. The interest would accrue rapidly though and that freaks me out. Any chance you took Stafford loans also and have any insight. In terms of ranking -- good point, I should have mentioned that. This MS is at the #7 school in my field. They also have a history of accepting PhD students from their MS program. I have interests that seem to mesh well with faculty at the #3 and #5 schools in my field as well and was hoping the connection faculty in this MS program have with those faculty could possibly help my admissions potential at those schools if I make a good impression...Does this change anything about your advice either? Good point about getting everything in writing!

Thank you so much!

Edited June 16, 2015 by AliasJane2342

[rising_star]

Are you counting summer in your 3 courses a semester? If so, that strikes me as unrealistic. Few grad courses are offered in the summer at most institutions. A thesis doesn't have to take a year. How long it takes partially depends on the project, how much prep work for it you've done in your coursework, the research methods (qual vs quant; primary vs secondary), and your own speed as a writer. The data collection for my MA thesis took over 4 months, for example, but for others that might only be 2 months.

[random_grad]

@AliasJane2342

I m Canadian so I used a different loan (from the province).

Would your parents be able to give you an interest free loan?

The way you describe this program looks pretty good imo. That s exactly what an MA brings: connections, experience, more solid letters of recommendation... It also lets you test whether you really wanna do that and whether you are capable of doing it within the deadlines. Just because some people take longer to complete doesn t mean you will too. If you organize your time well you should be able to finish within the designated time. Besides, that s one of the skills that would make you competitive in comparison to others who took too long.

Consider asking if there are need based grants or 2nd year grants.

Edited June 16, 2015 by random_grad

[random_grad]

Or look at it this way: if you decline the offer, what are you going to do for a year?