How to work out what to do with too many "eggs"?
November 24, 2014 5:05 PM   Subscribe

I applied for a scholarship to do a Masters program starting next April, but I might also be offered an internship that starts then. If offered the scholarship, I'm 90% sure that I would be able to start the Masters in October instead, but I'm not certain. Can you help me decide what to do? Details within.

Both options would allow me to move where I want to move (different cities, but the same general area).

The internship would be paid and I definitely need the professional work experience. However, it's only six months long and while there's the possibility of being offered a job afterwards, it's not guaranteed. I have a small amount of savings that would allow me to job hunt for a couple of months afterwards, but no longer.

If offered the scholarship, I would definitely be spending two years where I want to live. However, I think that the chances of being offered the scholarship are quite a bit lower than being offered the internship. I'm quite certain that I would be allowed to accept the scholarship for April or October, but I'm anxious about clarifying that in case it hurts my chances while they're still deciding who receives it. I won't find out the outcome until about March.

I could ask to be considered for an internship in October instead, however if I am accepted into the Masters program, the internship wouldn't fit into my course progression. There might be the option of doing another internship at the later date.

I don't feel super confident about the scholarship application, so I don't really want to put the internship off until October while hoping for the scholarship. If I don't get the scholarship, I'll have to deal with that disappointment and also the delay in doing things.

The ideal situation would be to do the internship and then the Masters, but I'm scared that by trying to keep all my options open, I'm going to mess up both of them. At the moment I am strongly leaning towards saying yes to the internship and then worrying about the scholarship later - if I even get it! - but I am worried that if it turns out I couldn't delay the scholarship, I'll end up messing up potentially my only chance to be able to do a Masters. Is there a way that I can enquire about the flexibility of scholarship dates without them thinking I am flaky and taking myself out of the running?


(Sorry if I am asking too many questions. I'm really stressed out about this)
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (6 answers total)
 
Have you been offered the internship yet? If not (which is my reading of your post), there doesn't seem much point in asking questions about the scholarship until you know if you actually have a conflict on your hands.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 5:13 PM on November 24, 2014 [2 favorites]


Don't count them before they hatch.

In my experience, a two-year fully funded degree in the hand is worth 6 months of internship in...the hand.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:23 PM on November 24, 2014


Sounds like you don't have anything just yet. Keep applying for more things.
posted by oceanjesse at 5:34 PM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


Do you have an advisor who could help you work out these hurdles? Because it does seem like they are at odds with each other. Did you apply with the help of an advisor? Perhaps your institution could help you work out these things.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 6:26 PM on November 24, 2014


Mod note: From the OP:
Thanks everyone for the answers so far, please keep them coming. Just to clear up a couple of things:

I know that these options are still eggs at the moment, not chickens, but I do need to do some planning because, as mentioned in an answer above, the two options do conflict with each other.

The internship would be arranged through an acquaintance who has organised an internship for a close friend before. While it's not 100% guaranteed that I will get an internship, it is very likely. He already has a company in mind, my CV is all ready, but I do have to give him an answer about whether I want to go ahead with it, so that I can interview etc.

Should I just email the scholarship organisation and ask them whether the dates for starting the Masters are flexible? If so, what's the best way to word that, so that they don't think I am flaky and annoying and not worthy of the scholarship?

I think I would feel better about going ahead with the internship if I was more certain that the scholarship could be deferred one semester. However, like I said, I am scared to ask.

I do have one person that I could potentially ask for advice, but I think that the answer will be "ask the scholarship organisation". I also don't think I will be able to get an answer within the next few days.
posted by taz (staff) at 3:02 AM on November 25, 2014


I don't see how it would hurt for you to just ask if the starting date for the Masters program is flexible. I highly doubt that you would be eliminated from consideration for that, and if it turns out that you could start either semester, your hypothetical dilemma would be solved.
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 4:11 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


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