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Posted
On 3/2/2016 at 2:02 PM, andrewrichmo said:

 

So I took what looks like Columbia's standard stipend from 2009 (judging by this: http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/03/financial-aid-offers-for-phd-students-is-there-a-normal-amount-these-days.html) and plugged it into an inflation adjustor—one of the posters said the stipend was adjusted for inflation—and it looks like that would make it ~$24,900 today. I'm still holding out until I get the official offer, but if it's anything north of $20,000 I'm going to be thrilled.

I looked into this because I'm on the Columbia wait list.  Stipends are handled by the GSAS, and according to their website: "The standard 9-month stipend for academic year 2015-2016 is $26,286"

Posted

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

Honestly, I think it's a terrible idea. There are zero guarantees here. People go to excellent MA's and get shut out, every year. Getting into a top 10 school is something everyone who goes to an MA hopes for. No need to spend the extra time and money when it's highly unlikely that you'll do better, and really not worth the risk. 

Trust me, this process is not rational or predictable. You can't just reapply and expect do better. 

Edited by philosophe
Posted
Just now, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

If I were you, I would definitely not do that. Columbia is a great school (it's top 10!), and it's fully funded. Most masters programs are not funded, and even if you go to one, there's no guarantee that you'll get into Princeton or NYU. Heck, there's no guarantee that you'd get into Columbia again (it seems impossible to predict admissions). If you really want to go to Princeton, you may be in a position to transfer there after a year at Columbia. If I were you, I'd try that. You may even really fall in love with Columbia! 

Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

Also, if it's any consolation, I and a few friends also regret not applying to Princeton this year. For some of us, it was a matter of the deadline coming so early and being in school, and for others, it was a matter of underestimating our chances at getting into top 10 schools. So a lot of us are right there with you. That said, there's still a very good chance that we each would have been rejected had we applied to Princeton, so maybe it was one less rejection to deal with. In any case, all of us have top 10 schools to go to, so we can't be too down. :) (Sorry if that didn't sound sympathetic at the end -- I deeply, deeply regret not applying to Princeton. For various reasons, I think I would've stood a chance. One of them is that I wrote my thesis on a large body of one Princeton profs' work. It would've been a great fit for me, but alas.) 

No one talks much about transferring, but some profs have done it. I know one who transferred from USC to Princeton and another who transferred from Rutgers to Harvard. It's definitely a live option, and it's certainly easier to do if you're already at a top school :)

Edited by PossibleWorlds
Posted
24 minutes ago, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

To add my personal experience - the only department that accepted me last year rejected me this year, despite my application being vastly improved. This has led me to think that departments actually do hold grudges. So, if you reject Columbia this year, you may not have the chance to attend it next year. I don't know how much you actually would like to go to Columbia in the first place, but it's something to keep in mind.

Posted
29 minutes ago, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

*is on the waitlist for Columbia* ...maaaybe it is a good idea that you decline their offer?:P

Posted
2 hours ago, andrewrichmo said:

Curious if anyone thinks it would be a terrible idea to decline Columbia's offer and do an MA — see if I can get into Princeton or NYU next time around...? It feels like a bad idea, but a really regret not applying to Princeton this year.

You could always just accept the Columbia offer and hang out at NYU, take seminars there, attend talks there, etc. My impression is that this is not uncommon. 

Posted
8 minutes ago, personagrata said:

UT Austin Philosophy PhD program or University of Chicago MAPH to re-apply to a top 10 Philosophy PhD program?? Does the latter give a significant advantage? :wacko:

In a similar position and wondering the same thing. I did a quick search and couldn't really tell if the MAPH at U-Chicago provided an advantage to people pursuing specifically a PhD in Philosophy.

Posted
On March 5, 2016 at 1:45 AM, ahpriori said:

In a similar position and wondering the same thing. I did a quick search and couldn't really tell if the MAPH at U-Chicago provided an advantage to people pursuing specifically a PhD in Philosophy.

It doesn't seem to me that the Chicago MAPH is a good option. The general opinion I hear is that it's a scam. Some people do defend it, though they seem to have personal reasons to do so. 

Posted
41 minutes ago, Let'sAskThePhilostopher said:

Wow, people really get off this forum on the weekends... It's like a ghost town in here...tx6hbg0.gif

For reals. I'm kinda lonely. Having solodarity withdrawals. 

Posted
2 minutes ago, dgswaim said:

For reals. I'm kinda lonely. Having solodarity withdrawals. 

Me too

Posted
On 3/5/2016 at 1:32 AM, personagrata said:

UT Austin Philosophy PhD program or University of Chicago MAPH to re-apply to a top 10 Philosophy PhD program?? Does the latter give a significant advantage? :wacko:

Definitely take UT. MAPH is an interdisciplinary program not geared towards philosophy, I doubt it will help you much. If UT is a live option for you, I know people with MAs in philosophy that would be happy to go there. You don't want to learn this the hard way by reapplying in two years and ending up worse off (not to mention having spent money on a non-phil MA). 

Posted
1 hour ago, personagrata said:

I did get some funding for the MAPH program, so I thought I'd consider it. I am very excited about my offer from UT for the JD/PhD program, and I feel that I have a tough decision to make this application season. 

I dunno. Seems like a no brainer, but that's just me. UT is a great phil program and a great law school. Onviously not my decision to make though.

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