Impact of the economic crisis?

[SBL]

Inspired by one of the U Texas rejections recently posted on the board.

I have heard either personally, or via third parties, a number of programs associate "record numbers" of applicants with the ongoing economic "crisis". Furthermore, this seems to be making it into the rejection commiserations offered to those unsuccessful applicants. I've yet to see any substantial evidence of this being a cause however.

So out of pure interest, I wanted to conduct an informal poll. Has any one here either a) lost their job recently because of the "crisis" and therefore decided to apply to graduate school or b ) had so much trouble finding jobs post college that they have opted for graduate school AND would not have been on the graduate school path anyway, or c) decided to apply to graduate school in an attempt to secure a "recession-proof" career further down the line through obtaining a tenured position?

It can be easy to assume that recession causes increased applications, but deciding to do a phd in political science is a major life-trajectory-altering decision, so I find it difficult to accept that a lost job etc causes many people to "fill the time" with a phd in the same way as those that lose their I-Banking or corporate jobs go to business or law school for a couple of years and then go back into the industry when the market picks up. Additionally, slaving away for three years at law school, while a long and arduous process, can be cushioned by the thought of the high-paying career to follow. To be poor through a 5-7 year phd and then go into a modestly-paid career of similar work for the rest of your life (if academia is your end goal) requires a certain type of mindset - one that values the idea of the work itself rather than any remuneration it brings. Is it really that easy to switch into this frame of mind just because the economy takes a dive?

Disclaimer: I don't claim that any responses will consitutute the "substantial evidence" I claim is lacking on this issue.

For those interested, none of the above 3 scenarios I outlined apply to me.

Edited February 11, 2010 by SBL

[natofone]

Some schools are definitely taking smaller cohorts because of state budget problems.

[curufinwe]

Though schools give the BS in their rejection e-mails that they had a significant increase in the number of the applicants this year and had to reject many qualified applicants. I'm really curious... who applies to a political science phd when he cant find a job?! go for a masters degree, right??

[Mearsheimer's Minion]

Though schools give the BS in their rejection e-mails that they had a significant increase in the number of the applicants this year and had to reject many qualified applicants. I'm really curious... who applies to a political science phd when he cant find a job?! go for a masters degree, right??

Right. So apply to the PhD programs, save $40k a year on tuition, make $20k a year on a stipend, and then leave after two years. After factoring for how much you would have to take out for loans and whatnot, you're $140,000 better off than you were had you gone for a masters. Oops.

[pea-jay]

In the Public Administration/public policy programs, the schools I've looked into have definitely been reporting more applicants over the past few years. But that is a professional program and most use the degree towards career advancement and compensation. If the increased application statement for poli sci and other similar programs is true it probably is due to more students applying straight from UG programs due to a lack of employment prospects.

BTW, I'm not convinced on my own personal job security in the intermediate time frame so leaving to grad school looks like a better decision than when I first started this process last fall.

[Troll]

I imagine it would impact MBA/MPA programs the most. –then secondly JD programs. I applied for grad school in political science not because I lost my job in the finance sector, but because when the bonuses got smaller the allure began to wear thin. Another thing that impacted my decision to apply was that my company offered to pay for two years of grad school if we left our contracts.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Troll

[curufinwe]

Right. So apply to the PhD programs, save $40k a year on tuition, make $20k a year on a stipend, and then leave after two years. After factoring for how much you would have to take out for loans and whatnot, you're $140,000 better off than you were had you gone for a masters. Oops.

LOL, true, forgot the funding issue. Besides, if you have taken enough courses and you want to leave the PhD in 2 years, they award you the master's degree, right?