I want a PhD, should I apply for an MS?

Graduate School
1

I am a prospective PhD in computer science. However I beleive I am only a mediocre applicant and my advisor suggested I apply to both Masters and PhD programs, Middle and Upper Tier Masters programs, lower middle and upper tier PhD programs. Its really really hard to choose which programs to apply as what. Especially for schools I care about very very much and see myself as a good fit for or where there are special PhD programs that are a good fit for me but aren’t offered for masters students. There are luckily enough some schools that simply do not give me the choice and only offer one or the other.

My GPA is around a 3.7 and might drop, My GRE quantatative score is at the 88th percentile, I have no publications but some experience doing work at a research lab(not of any particularly outstanding quality) and some teaching experience, as such my letters of recommendation should be decent from two professors whose lab I work in.

I know its a lot more about fit and I know if I want a PhD I should probably apply for that where it makes sense to for financial purposes(though as a computer science student summer internships help a lot) and better guidance but I am really anxious about certain programs. I have also heard at other places that sometimes since PhD programs receive less applicants they are in a way less competitive but they also probably receive higher quality applicants. My own school says that its probably almost the same standards except fit matters more for PhD students due to the need for them to have professors who are willing to fund them.

Any advice on who to figure this out? I feel like I might end up timidly applying to masters, with a PhD research type statement of purpouse at all programs because Im afraid but Im not sure that it will even make that much of a difference and it would be a waste if it wasnt.

2

Well, my philosophy is that you let the programs reject you - don’t reject yourself. You don’t sound mediocre; you sound like an average doctoral applicant - which is a good thing. Not the most spectacular doctoral applicant ever, but most people aren’t! Your GRE quant score might be a little low, but otherwise it sounds like you have the profile of a good potential doctoral student - 3.7 GPA, research experience, a good handle on what you want to work on.

So I think you should apply to some high-quality PhD programs that you would like to attend and then 2-4 MS programs that are funded. Your profile is definitely good enough for MS programs, so you’ll probably get into some good ones and perhaps even some funded ones. Then the question is, do you get into a PhD program that’s a really good fit for you and will help you reach your career goals?

Select based on fit and less based on rankings. Don’t worry about tiers so much - you do want to go to a good program that will help you find employment after, but if you have a good advisor with a good placement record and people get jobs post-grad school, that’s the important part. If that’s assured, then you should selected based on fit.