Recommending Master's applicant for PhD or vice versa

[urbanchic]

How often does the admin committee change applications and recommend someone for Master's who applied for PhD applicant or a PhD for someone who applied for Master's? Would you see it as a good thing?

Also, after one gets accepted, how likely is it that the applicant will be allowed to change the degree they originally applied for (especially if they have received outside funding for it)?

For example, if someone got accepted to a Master's program, but received an outside scholarship that will only fully cover a PhD program, and the school offers both a Master's and Phd in the subject, do you think the school will allow the student to enroll as a PhD student instead of a Master's?

Thanks.

[fuzzylogician]

This question is much too specific for you to get helpful comments here. At most you'll get "it happened to me last year" or "my program does/does not allow this." I assume you're asking because you're in that situation; just explain it to someone in the program - the DGS, the dept. head, your advisor - after you've been accepted, and I am sure that they will be able to give you much better answers that we can. My guess is that if you'll say to a program that usually accepts some of its own Masters students for a PhD that you have this outside funding but you can only use it for a PhD, they will be accommodating. Can't promise anything, though, obviously - only the program can.