Is it worth it?

[Tumiaeve]

So, here's the situation. I got an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and English and, after working for a presidential campaign, decided to apply for a PhD in Political Science with a focus on Public Policy. It turned out to be a bad idea as I got rejected from 6 of the 7 programs I applied to (all T10s except for Georgetown which I assume to also end up being a rejection because of lack of hearing anything from them this late in the game). On the other hand, I applied to one PhD program in Philosophy (it was a second choice option included on my Political Science PhD application to the same school. Still under review) and one MA program at Columbia (to which I have been accepted). I already have two acceptance letters from last year with the option to defer in Philosophy from two U.K. Institutions- UCL and Oxford. I'm just not sure what I should do. Should I get the MA in Political Science from Columbia? I'm generally very debt averse, but I worry that the only way that I can move into a more political direction is if I get the MA degree. On the other hand, if I get accepted to the Philosophy PhD, I am more than certain that I would go because I'm beginning to take this cycle as an omen. Maybe I'm a Philosopher and should have just stuck with that in the first place? I don't know... is it worth going into debt if that means I probably may still be unable to get into a Political Science PhD program in the long run?

Edited March 15, 2017 by Jazahmia

[alrightok]

maybe apply again to schools outside the top 10?

[ugurcanevci]

I have a friend who finished Columbia's MA program last year. She's been applying to places for the last two cycle. Didn't get into somewhere unfortunately. I know her personally, she is ambitious and I believed that she had a great potential to be an exceptional political scientist, but she couldn't get into the programs that are not T10. Therefore, Columbia's MA might not be very cost efficient. 

Additionally, I assume that you are applying for theory sub-field due to your philosophy background. But, if it is comparative or american, it really helps to have some quantitative education and quantitative research agenda. 

[Tumiaeve]

58 minutes ago, ugurcanevci said:

I have a friend who finished Columbia's MA program last year. She's been applying to places for the last two cycle. Didn't get into somewhere unfortunately. I know her personally, she is ambitious and I believed that she had a great potential to be an exceptional political scientist, but she couldn't get into the programs that are not T10. Therefore, Columbia's MA might not be very cost efficient. 

Additionally, I assume that you are applying for theory sub-field due to your philosophy background. But, if it is comparative or american, it really helps to have some quantitative education and quantitative research agenda. 

Thanks for the info. I applied for Americans Politics and Comparative programs focusing on political participation of underrepresented groups in developing democracies. I had absolutely no quantitative background, so I've decided to attend Columbia. If nothing else, I may end up attending law school afterwards. I just feel like I found my calling after college.

[ugurcanevci]

35 minutes ago, Jazahmia said:

Thanks for the info. I applied for Americans Politics and Comparative programs focusing on political participation of underrepresented groups in developing democracies. I had absolutely no quantitative background, so I've decided to attend Columbia. If nothing else, I may end up attending law school afterwards. I just feel like I found my calling after college.

If you want to increase your chances in a comparative/American PhD , just try to take any quantitative class and research project you can find there. In your position, your undergrad career should be sufficient to prove your qualitative skills anyways. 

[Tumiaeve]

21 minutes ago, ugurcanevci said:

If you want to increase your chances in a comparative/American PhD , just try to take any quantitative class and research project you can find there. In your position, your undergrad career should be sufficient to prove your qualitative skills anyways. 

Thanks. Yea. A couple of my professors suggested the same which led to the decision to attend. I guess I'll be retrying again next year.