Full Ride School or More Reputable School?

[casechaser5]

I was wondering if I may seek your advice on pursuing a Masters in Marketing (1 year program) with the ultimate goal of pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing (Consumer Behavior track). Long story short, I have been offered a research assistantship at a top 50 in business school (full tuition waiver + small stipend) and another admissions offer from a Top 15 business school (50% off of tuition merit based scholarship.

 

I also went to a top 5 school during my undergrad, fyi. 

 

My question is, based on cost of attendance and reputation alone, would it be worth the $30,000 premium to attend the more reputable school?

 

Would attending either school for Masters Program really impact the probability of getting into PhD programs that I plan to apply this fall/winter?

 

Do PhD programs generally weigh my undergrad school/performance more heavily than a Masters?

 

Thank you!

[rising_star]

What you do during the master's is going to be more important than where you go, especially since they're both reputable schools. That said, if you're deadset on applying this fall, then nothing you could do during your master's is going to help you with admission to PhD programs. What are you expecting or hoping to gain out of doing the master's in marketing if it's only a one year program?

[casechaser5]

Thanks for the reply. I do believe the experiences gained from the Masters program will help me be a more competitive applicant. Especially with an RA position, it'll help me gain more exposure to research environment. I am confident that the skills/knowledge gained will add on to my undergrad degree. Isn't that true?

[fuzzylogician]

I think the point is that if you are planning to apply during your Masters, that means that by the time you apply, you will have been in the program for less than a semester. That's not nothing, but there isn't a whole lot that you will be able to show for it. Your letters will be from people who will only know you a few months, you won't have any grades yet, you'll have very limited research experience, and probably no research outcomes to speak of (applying to conferences takes time, producing manuscripts takes time, even doing any meaningful research probably will take longer than those few months you'll have before applying). It's hard to see how being in such a one-year program will be a game-changer. Really all it adds is that this program accepted you (which won't count for all that much), but it won't say much on your research abilities or compatibility with PhD programs. Any experience you gain will come too late to count for the upcoming application season starting this fall. The program will have more of an impact if you apply after you graduate. 

[hippyscientist]

I'd like to weigh in on this. I am currently finishing up a 1-year masters before starting my PhD this fall. I can conclusively say that without the masters I wouldn't have got into my top choice. HOWEVER, it was not because I did my masters. The contacts I made were invaluable - one "superstar" in the field, and another who is a PhD graduate from my new PhD school (same program). I made a huge effort to network with these two individuals in the two months prior to submitting applications, and only one agreed to be a LOR. These contacts were especially helpful as I applied as an international student.

It was very challenging applying with a partial masters, with no grades or transcripts. All of the schools I applied to were confused by the situation, and many schools wouldn't even accept an application from me. All the points fuzzylogician points out above are very valid, and I experienced all of these. I was eventually admitted based on my undergraduate degree, but funded as if I was admitted with a masters (as I technically will be). My undergraduate degree was okay but not outstanding (~3.3 GPA), due to a variety of personal things going on, and I felt I needed the masters to prove to myself I was capable of graduate level work. I will be entering my PhD with a clear research goal, with my own research in the process of being published as first author, and a lot more confident in my ability to be successful. It's your choice as to whether you wait to apply after you graduate - it's certainly not without challenges, and you need to find POIs who are willing to work around those issues, and LORs who are willing to work with you having not known you too long. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by hippyscientist