In our September "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

UPenn, Rice, Columbia, and UChicago have all suspended admissions for incoming PhD students, and at this point it seems inevitable that several more will follow suit, and the ones that do accept new students will more often than not be reducing admissions.

I am a current undergrad who is applying to both PhD and funded MA programs, but I am concerned that even some MA programs might lose their funding/accept fewer students. I think many of us applicants need to start thinking of "backup backup" plans in case we don't get into any MA programs, or for those MA students who may be shut out this cycle.

Presuming we plan on applying again in the future to PhD programs, what would people recommend we do if we don't get into an MA? Spend a year auditing courses and doing more independent research? Try and get a job that is somewhat relevant to our AOI and get some life experience? Get a (funded) MA in another subject relevant to our AOI?

Psychologically, having this "backup backup" could potentially be a comfort to those who are experiencing high levels of anxiety right now (I know it will help me at least), so any advice is greatly appreciated!

These are really good questions. I have some first- and second-hand experience with similar situations. After my BA, I took a year off to work in the mental health field and study for the GRE. While it was good life experience and probably improved my GRE scores, I don't think it did much to help me get into a good grad program. Instead, I think I probably would have been better off doing what my spouse did. My spouse, who received her PhD in another field (I-O Psychology), had relatively little background in the field, but when we moved to Tampa, it turned out that a nearby university, the University of South Florida, had a top-5 PhD program in the area. So, what she did for a couple of years was work in a restaurant and take graduate courses there as a non-degree-seeking student while studying for the GRE. This proved invaluable. She not only vastly improved her background and training; she also got to know some top scholars in the field, got recommendation letters from them, and developed a strong reputation in the program itself. While this took a couple of years, it turned out to be a wonderful self-investment: she ended up getting into a variety of highly ranked programs, ultimately enrolling in and completing their program. I don't know for sure whether the same sort of thing works in philosophy, but I suspect it does. Indeed, I have a friend who is currently doing something similar, and it seems to be working well for them so far. Obviously, side-jobs (such as working in a restaurant like my spouse did) are difficult to get right now--but it seems to me that if you can get one or otherwise have the resources to do something like the above, it's probably a good strategy.

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours, particularly those of you with some experience in these matters?