Mechanical Engineering PhD or Masters

<p>I am currently a senior ME student getting ready to graduate in the fall and am currently getting ready to apply for graduate school. I haven't really decided yet if I wanted to go for my PhD straight away or my Masters, but I've heard that when applying for a graduate school, it's always a good idea to just apply for the PhD since the PhD students get looked at first for assistantships/fellowships. After getting your masters there, you can just leave. Is this true?</p>