Chances of Getting Into Free-standing MA

Graduate School
1

Hello all,

I applied to Columbia University’s sequential PhD program (as my primary choice) and then also submitted an application for the free-standing MA program (not my ideal choice because if I do get in, it’s no guarantee of moving on to PhD and I lose a year of funding). The school already rejected me from the sequential PhD program, but shortly after I got into NYU’s MA program. I’m happy I still get into the city, but should I wait to hear from Columbia’s MA program before I commit to NYU? Is there anyone here who got rejected from a similar sequential program but got accepted into the free-standing MA program of that same school able to talk about it?

Thanks!

2

Yes, I have a friend from grad school who was rejected from a PhD program but admitted into a free-standing MA from the same department. My sense is that it happens fairly often, and that students also continue from the MA to the PhD fairly often.

Her original intent was to do the MA and then continue into the PhD program in the same department. By the time she finished the MA, she had decided she didn’t want a PhD - at least not right away - so she graduated and took full-time employment elsewhere.

3

Thank you juillet :slight_smile: This gives me hope! I guess in the sequential phD programs, they want to make sure you will continue. It seems logical in the case of your friend, which seems to happen often enough.