More or less graduate applicants because of the bad economy?

CValente26 · 02-07-2009, 12:32 PM

I was just wondering if you guys think that there will be more or less graduate applicants because of the downward economy. Do you think that more people are applying to graduate school because the job market is horrible, or do you think that people aren't going to apply as much as usual because they can't afford it or do not want to accumulate more debt.

apumic · 02-07-2009, 12:58 PM

Most estimates tended to be higher applicant levels; however, I think it depends largely upon your field. In my field, it seems many schools are seeing somewhat higher numbers but nothing extremely high.

tenisghs · 02-07-2009, 01:31 PM

Some sources have also indicated the number of international applicants are down this year.

White_Rabbit · 02-07-2009, 01:37 PM

The chair of a humanities/social science department at my school said that application levels are up a little bit, but admissions will be very difficult because fellowships and funding are down. So less people then in past years will be taken.

Professor X · 02-07-2009, 01:53 PM

The situation White_Rabbit describes is precisely the same in many humanities departments at my university.

gthopeful · 02-07-2009, 01:57 PM

I know some departments here are simply admitting less people.

targetwalmart · 02-07-2009, 02:39 PM

For graduate programs which will admit a smaller class, will the funding for entering PhD students be affected as well? And I wonder if the economy will only affect the funding (incoming PhD student) at a public school?

gthopeful · 02-07-2009, 02:48 PM

Quote:

For graduate programs which will admit a smaller class, will the funding for entering PhD students be affected as well?

Well I think the point of lowering the incoming class is so that everyone that does get admitted can still be guaranteed funding from day 1.

Quote:

And I wonder if the economy will only affect the funding (incoming PhD student) at a public school?

No, a (decent) public school won't be at a disadvantage compared to a private. For example, GT derives comparatively little of its revenue from government funding (around 25%) and this proportion falls every year. Really this isn't much different than private universities having less allocated endowment spending money.

Aubstopper · 02-07-2009, 02:58 PM

well definitely more...

I've been talking to a lot of people and many people who were on the edge trying to decide or not whether to apply ended up applying because they weren't sure they could get a job right out of college. CNN had a segment on this this morning...they concluded that more people were applying despite the fact that they were accumulating more debt because they didn't want to get out into the workforce just yet in this economy and they felt that grad school would make them more competitive in the job market.

Also something interesting...I had emailed GWU about my application (which was labeled incomplete) and i had submitted waaaay earlier than most people. The admissions director from the Elliott school told me that the reason why everything is taking so long is that they have received 20% MORE applications than the previous year and that they have had to hire a bunch of new people to help organize it all...

20%. more. people.

that freaked me out.

IEOR · 02-07-2009, 03:40 PM

According to recent Crimson article, the number of PhD applicants increased somewhere between 5 to 20% compared with last year. Quoting from article:
"Ph.D. applications have increased by 16 percent at Northwestern, 7 percent at Michigan, 8 percent at Dartmouth, and 12 percent at Johns Hopkins. Overall applications for graduate study—most of which are for Ph.D.s—are up by 15 percent at Duke, 9 percent at Dartmouth, 5 percent at Stanford, 9 percent at Yale, and 9.5 percent at Princeton, according to deans at those universities. "
The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Ph.D. Admissions Tighter as Applications Rise, Fellowships Stagnate

tenisghs · 02-07-2009, 06:12 PM

Many people don't realize that if you keep POSTPONING repayment on your student loans to go to grad school, you will have to pay more (i.e., larger monthly payments) after you get out because of the accumulated interest over the years. Academia doesn't necessarily guarantee you a tenure-track job at the end of the tunnel.

I am paying my student loan debt now, and am extremely glad I decided to wait.

tenisghs · 02-07-2009, 07:27 PM

Everyone should read this article by Penelope Trunk. I'm not endorsing it, but it's worth a read: Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school | Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk

dietcokewithlime · 02-07-2009, 08:29 PM

There's got to be lots of college seniors and laid-off workers deciding to apply to graduate programs rather than to brave the job market. I would guess that the increase would be more pronounced in master's and professional programs than in PhD programs.

australian · 02-07-2009, 09:16 PM

Ah, crap. I was hoping applications would go down. I'm in a fairly stable financial situation and my country has fared reasonably well compared to most western countries (we might hit recession later this year or in 2010, but none of our banks have gone bust- in fact, they've "suffered" because they're now only posting millions of dollars in profit, rather than billions- and only a handful of big companies).

BrownParent · 02-07-2009, 09:23 PM

Yes, more applications. This is tough for those who have been preparing all along for PhD, but hopefully that will show in the applications. I do know someone going for his MBA and was accepted into a top 10 school, but he is still employed and the employer is paying for it. I do know one kid who wanted to go into finance but is trying for a Master's instead, to make himself more employable. He is a very good scholar, I don't think it is a bad plan for him.