Accept Offer or Gain More Experience

[ApeFollower]

So I'm torn and figured wouldn't hurt to get some outside opinions. I was rejected to every anthropology PhD program I applied for. Across the board, the reason was because others who applied and were accepted had more field experience. I was, however, accepted into a master of science program in exactly the field I want. To add onto the situation, one of the faculty advisors at one of the PhD programs I was rejected to emailed me and asked me if I wanted to volunteer at her site to gain that experience so I can apply again next year as a stronger candidate, though, as we know, it wouldn't be guaranteed I get accepted then. Given that scenario, would you accept the MS program and wait until you achieve your masters before you apply to PhD programs again, or reject it to volunteer at a field site to become a stronger candidate next PhD application cycle?

[transmodalnut]

What's your end goal? In my case I applied to both masters and PhD programs, thinking that if I didn't get in a PhD, maybe having a masters would make me a stronger candidate. If I did this I would basically be doing a second masters cause the first one wouldn't count for the PhD degree. If your goal is to get a PhD and now you know what you need to get one, then I would take the year and just do as much as possible, like fieldwork, volunteer at museums, attend conferences, etc. Now if you think the masters would also better your chances then that also sounds good, just make sure to do fieldwork over the summer or volunteer work.

 

Also, I took a year after my BA so as to be sure that grad school was what I wanted. I took some classes (sign language, has to do with my topic) and entered essay competitions, and received an honorable mention, both things I could add to my cv. So time off is not always a waste. It gave me clarity and determination. I don't regret it.

Edited March 31, 2017 by transmodalnut
Forgot to mention I had taken a year.

[thelionking]

Is the faculty adviser willing and able to provide you with feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your application? If so and if you find out you are only lacking field experience and the rest of your application is very competitive, then I'd volunteer and try again next year.

If you find out other things need to be improved as well (such as your GPA, missing important courses in undergrad, etc...) then this could be an opportunity to get free skilled labour, and you don't want that. If you have other gaps in your application then I'd take the master's offer and use that as a stepping stone to a PhD.

 

Edited March 31, 2017 by thelionking

[ApeFollower]

12 hours ago, transmodalnut said:

What's your end goal? In my case I applied to both masters and PhD programs, thinking that if I didn't get in a PhD, maybe having a masters would make me a stronger candidate. If I did this I would basically be doing a second masters cause the first one wouldn't count for the PhD degree. If your goal is to get a PhD and now you know what you need to get one, then I would take the year and just do as much as possible, like fieldwork, volunteer at museums, attend conferences, etc. Now if you think the masters would also better your chances then that also sounds good, just make sure to do fieldwork over the summer or volunteer work.

 

Also, I took a year after my BA so as to be sure that grad school was what I wanted. I took some classes (sign language, has to do with my topic) and entered essay competitions, and received an honorable mention, both things I could add to my cv. So time off is not always a waste. It gave me clarity and determination. I don't regret it.

Thank you. My end goal is to ultimately get my PhD. The benefits of accepting the masters program is that it's within my field, and the degree itself is actually my exact subfield. I spoke with my potential faculty advisor and she said for my thesis/project I would be allowed to conduct my data collect/research in the field over the summer to get that experience. The benefit of doing the volunteer work, though, is that it was recommended by one of the faculty whom I listed as a potential advisor at one of my top choices that I got rejected for this year. She said I was one of the top choices, but they were only admitting two this year in the department and preference went to new faculty, everything else about my application was competitive enough.

 

[ApeFollower]

12 hours ago, thelionking said:

Is the faculty adviser willing and able to provide you with feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your application? If so and if you find out you are only lacking field experience and the rest of your application is very competitive, then I'd volunteer and try again next year.

If you find out other things need to be improved as well (such as your GPA, missing important courses in undergrad, etc...) then this could be an opportunity to get free skilled labour, and you don't want that. If you have other gaps in your application then I'd take the master's offer and use that as a stepping stone to a PhD.

 

Thank you for that insight. Yeah. The one faculty I had the most contact with was the one who told me about the decision and what the factors were that got me passed over. Ultimately, my application was competitive enough, but they were only accepting two in the department this year, and the preference went to new faculty hires. Plus, after looking at the results board, my GPA could be a little higher. Those two who were accepted have an average GPA of 3.8, while currently mine is a 3.6. 

[transmodalnut]

8 hours ago, ApeFollower said:

Thank you. My end goal is to ultimately get my PhD. The benefits of accepting the masters program is that it's within my field, and the degree itself is actually my exact subfield. I spoke with my potential faculty advisor and she said for my thesis/project I would be allowed to conduct my data collect/research in the field over the summer to get that experience. The benefit of doing the volunteer work, though, is that it was recommended by one of the faculty whom I listed as a potential advisor at one of my top choices that I got rejected for this year. She said I was one of the top choices, but they were only admitting two this year in the department and preference went to new faculty, everything else about my application was competitive enough.

 

To me there is no wrong answer, but ultimately I decided to go where I felt wanted. You could always apply to the PhD later, just make sure you figure out how you'll afford the masters and if you're willing to study for more years then previously thought. Or take the year, whatever makes sense for you.

[thelionking]

Is the master's offer funded or unfunded? 

[ApeFollower]

2 hours ago, thelionking said:

Is the master's offer funded or unfunded? 

It is not. And according to the email, I wouldn't be at to get a TA/RA position until after my first year. I'm not too concerned that it's unfunded, because I still have some GI Bill benefits left to cover the first year of the program. 

[dumbunny]

The email from the professor offering to let you volunteer sounds like a very positive sign. I'd be all over that - I don't know about your field, but my general impression is that it's not every day a faculty member goes out of her or his way to reach out to an applicant.

[thelionking]

If you volunteer for a year, this will make your application stronger for any program that you apply to (master's or PhD) so you could get more offers next year from other schools and who knows what could come of this volunteer opportunity one year from now. Considering that the master's isn't funded, I think I'd turn it down for the chance to get a fully funded offer next year. Do the GI benefits have an expiry date? 

[ApeFollower]

On 4/4/2017 at 10:24 AM, dumbunny said:

The email from the professor offering to let you volunteer sounds like a very positive sign. I'd be all over that - I don't know about your field, but my general impression is that it's not every day a faculty member goes out of her or his way to reach out to an applicant.

To be fair, I was the one that initiated contact by sending her an email telling her that though I was disappointed with the results, it isn't discouraging me and I hope to work with her in the future. That's when she offered it, but she hasn't responded back in about a week now. Even with a friendly reminder email about how my decision deadline is coming up and I need to know to make my decision.  

[ApeFollower]

On 4/4/2017 at 10:36 AM, thelionking said:

If you volunteer for a year, this will make your application stronger for any program that you apply to (master's or PhD) so you could get more offers next year from other schools and who knows what could come of this volunteer opportunity one year from now. Considering that the master's isn't funded, I think I'd turn it down for the chance to get a fully funded offer next year. Do the GI benefits have an expiry date? 

They do expire after 15 years of the date of discharge. 

[rising_star]

Hmmm... how long would you be volunteering with this particular faculty member? Are you able to afford volunteering? Could you combine the volunteering and the master's program in some way?

If your concern is your GPA, then the master's would make more sense. Or, if not a master's, then taking a graduate course or two on the side while continuing to work and gain experience.