The Masters Trap

[wow]

I have no sympathy. Just knowing the demographics of these types of schools, most of these students are not from vulnerable populations. They're applying to PhD programs at Ivy Plus schools; these schools didn't go out and find them. I'm sure they are aware of funded PhD programs, and they probably applied to a funded program at University of Chicago.

It might be different in the internet age, but I went to a prestigious undergrad school and had no idea that you could get a full ride on a Masters or PhD. I thought you had to pay tuition just like an undergrad. Which is why, even though my advisor strongly encouraged me to go to grad school, I didn't even apply. I knew I couldn't afford to pay two to six more years of tuition and I had nobody who would pay for it other than me. Looking back, I realize all these advisors assumed that I knew that the kinds of programs they were recommending me to look into would have been paid. But I didn't come from a family where people got Masters and PhDs, so I had no idea. In my case, going to a hoity-toity school could have afforded me a lot of opportunities. The problem was that the faculty there assumed that I knew what all those opportunities were, and therefore I missed out on a lot of them.

So I can see why some undergrads would pay for masters, because they just don't know. Although now with information being so much more accessible, I would hope it's less of a problem than it was 30 years ago.