Pros and Cons of Earning a Masters Degree Before a PhD

Pros and Cons of Earning a Masters Degree Before a PhD As a potential applicant to graduate school you have a great many decisions to make. The initial decisions, such as what field to study, may come easily. However, many applicants struggle with choosing what degree to pursue, whether a master’s degree or PhD is right for them. Others know what degree they want. Those who choose a doctoral degree sometimes wonder if they should first complete a master’s degree. Do you need a master’s degree to apply to a doctoral program? Is a master’s degree an essential prerequisite for gaining admission to a doctoral program? Usually not. Does a master’s degree improve your odds of admission? Sometimes. Is it in your best interest to earn master’s before applying to PhD programs? It depends. Pros and Cons of Earning a Master's Before Applying to PhD Programs There are both advantages and disadvantages to earning a master’s before applying to PhD programs. Below are some of the pros and cons: Pro:  A master’s degree will introduce you to the process of graduate study. Without a doubt, graduate school is different from college. This is especially true at the doctoral level. A master’s program can introduce to you the process of graduate study and help you understand how it is different from undergraduate study.  A master’s program can help you make the transition to graduate school and prepare you for making the transition from college student to graduate scholar.   Pro:  A master’s program can help you see if you are ready for doctoral study. Are you ready for graduate school? Do you have the right study habits? Are you motivated? Can you manage your time? Enrolling in a master’s program can help you see if you have what it takes for success as a graduate student – and especially as a doctoral student. Pro: A master’s program can help you see if you are interested enough to undertake a PhD The typical college survey courses present a broad view of a discipline, with little depth. Small college seminars present a topic in more depth but it will not come close to what you will learn in graduate school. It is not until students are immersed in a field that they truly come to know the depth of their interest. Sometimes new grad students realize that the field is not for them. Others complete the master’s degree but realize that they have no interest in pursuing a doctorate. Pro: A masters may help you get into a doctoral program. If your undergraduate transcript leaves much to be desired, a master’s program may help you improve your academic record and show that you have the stuff that competent graduate students are made of. Earning a master’s degree shows that you are committed and interested in your field of study.  Returning students may seek a master’s degree to obtain contacts and recommendations from faculty. Pro: A master’s degree can help you change fields. Are you planning on studying a different field than your college major? It can be hard to convince a graduate admissions committee that you are interested and committed to a field in which that you have little formal experience. A master’s degree can not only introduce you to the field but can show the admissions committee that you interested, committed, and competent in your chosen field.   Pro: A master’s degree can offer a foot in the door to a particular graduate program. Suppose you hope to attend a specific graduate program. Taking a few graduate courses, nonmatriculated (or nondegree-seeking) can help you learn about the program and can help faculty learn about you. This is even more true for master’s students. In many graduate programs, master’s and doctoral students take some of the same classes. As a master’s student, you’ll have contact with graduate faculty – often those who teach in the doctoral program. Completing a thesis and volunteering to work on faculty research can help faculty get to know you as a competent and promising researcher. A master’s degree might offer you a foot in the door and a better chance of gaining admission to the department’s doctoral program. However, admission is not guaranteed. Before you choose this option, be sure that you can live with yourself if you don’t gain admission. Will you be happy with a terminal master? Con:  A master’s degree is time-consuming. Typically a full-time master’s program will require 2 years of study.  Many new doctoral students find that their master’s coursework doesn’t transfer. If you enroll in a master’s program recognize that it will likely not make a dent in your required doctoral coursework. Your  PhD  will likely take an additional 4 to 6 years after earning your master’s degree. Con:  A master’s degree is usually unfunded. Many students find this a big con: Master’s students usually do not receive much funding. Most master’s programs are paid for out-of-pocket. Are you prepared to potentially have tens of thousands of dollars of debt before you begin your PhD.?  If you choose not to seek a doctoral degree, what employment options accompany your master’s degree? While I’d argue that a master’s degree is always of value for your intellectual and personal growth, if the salary-return of your degree is important to you, do your homework and think carefully before enrolling in a master’s program prior to seeking your PhD. Whether you seek a master’s degree before applying to doctoral programs is a personal decision. Also recognize that many PhD programs award master’s degrees along the way, typically after the first year and completing exams and/or a thesis.

Overall SAT Structure - PrepScholar 2016 Students Encyclopedia

Overall SAT Structure - PrepScholar 2016 Students' Encyclopedia SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT has three sections, Critical Reading (formerly referred to as Verbal), Mathematics, and Writing. All of the questions within these sections are multiple choice, with the exception of a 25 minute essay in Writing and ten student-produced responses in Mathematics. Note: this article is a series in the PrepScholar2016 Students' Encyclopedia, a free students' and parents' SAT / ACT guide that provides encyclopedic knowledge. Read all the articles here! The Critical Reading section features two types of questions, passage-based questions and sentence completions, which test students' reading comprehension and understanding of vocabulary.Questions in the Mathematics section test students' data literacy and ability to interpret tables, charts, and graphs. Students must solve single step and multi-step problems by applying mathematical concepts from four main areas: number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, and data analysis, statistics, and probability. The Writing section is largely concerned with testing the rules of English grammar, mechanics, and usage. Multiple choice questions measurestudents' ability to recognize errors in sentences and paragraphs and to improve them by changing word choice or idea organization. In the essay, students must develop a point of view on a prompt, often philosophical or related to a social issue. Strong essays provide relevant and well-supported examples and demonstrate varied vocabulary and a logical flow of ideas. The SAT is administered in ten subsections, each of which is strictly timed at 25 minutes, 20 minutes, or 10 minutes. The 25 minute essay is always first, and a 10 minute multiple choice Writing section is always last. Sections 2 through 7 are 25-minute sections, and sections 8 and 9 are each 20 minutes long. The order of Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing sections differs among tests and, apart from the first and last sections, cannot be predicted. One of the 25 minute sections on the SAT is an experimental, or variable, section and is unscored. The experimental section is used to ensure accuracy in scoring and to evaluate material for future tests. It can be Critical Reading, Mathematics, or Writing, and students have no way of knowing in advance which section it will fall in. The total testing time of the SAT is 3 hours and 45 minutes. The actual test-taking experience takes about 4.5 hours, including instructions from the proctor and three 5 minute breaks. The highest possible composite score on the SAT is 2400. The raw scores students receive on each section, based on the number of questions they got correct, incorrect, or skipped, are converted to a scaled score between 200 and 800 through a process called equating, which takes into account the performance of all students who took the SAT on a given test date. The essay is graded by two readers, who give it a score from 1 to 6 and add their scores together. A score of 0 is possible if the essay section is left blank or the student's response is illegible or completely off topic. The essay contributes about 30% to the overall Writing score, while the multiple choice makes up the other 70%. SAT multiple choice questions range in difficulty level from easy to medium to hard. Most of the Mathematics and Writing multiple choice questions increase in difficulty level throughout a given section, along with the sentence completion questions in Critical Reading. The exception to this pattern ispassage-based questions in Critical Reading, which are ordered chronologically along with the passage(s) to which they refer. Since each section is strictly timed and students may not revisit a section one time has expired, time management and pacing areparticular challenges for students on the SAT. Efficiency is a key factor for achieving strong scores. Students generally benefit from taking timed official SAT practice tests before sitting for the SAT on their registered test date. Redesign Alert The new SAT, which will be first administered in March of 2016, returns to a pre-2005 1600 scoring system, with Critical Reading and Writing scored together out of a maximum possible score of 800. The essay will be placed at the end of the test and made optional. There will be no more penalty for wrong answers, and each multiple choice question will have 4 answer choices instead of the current 5. Along with changes in format and scoring, the new SAT also focuses on some different skills and content knowledge. Read more from the SAT Encyclopedia! Further Reading What's Actually Tested on the SAT Critical Reading Section? What's Actually Tested on the SAT Math Section? What's Actually Tested on the SAT Writing Section? Grammar and Questions