Dealing with Serious Rejection

Well, I've gotten three rejection letters from PhD programs. As it stands now I won't be going to PhD school in California. All three rejections were from UC schools. There are still three schools left, but at this rate I have no hope that any of them will accept me either. The only one I stand a chance at getting into is U of Oregon and I don't really want to go there. It's ok, I really don't view it as a completely negative thing. Instead I think it's a push in a different direction. Just another one of life's lessons that reminds you you have no real control over your future.

It's not that I could have done anything more to get in (other then have a MA). I did everything right, I was published, completed research, did an internship, graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.9 GPA), double majored, Honors Societies, etc., etc., etc. So, why didn't I get in? Well, my best guess is that going to California State hurt my chances. CSU may seem amazing to anyone outside the state of California, but here, where you have University of California schools to compete with, state isn't much of anything. Knowing that I did everything possible has certainly made me feel better about it.

I applied to the MA program at SJSU (my undergraduate school) and am mostly positive that I will get in there, but with the state budget cuts you never can tell these days. I'm also SERIOUSLY considering getting a MS instead of an MA by going into environmental science. I've always been interested in it and the way I see it is I have two options (well, I have more than that, but you get the point):

1. I get my MA (2 years), then apply to PhD schools where I most def will get in because of the MA. Then they make me re-take all of my theory and methods classes because they aren't up to par (oh the snobbery of PhD schools), which adds another year of study to my PhD program. Then, the PhD will take another 5 years or so to complete. Basically, I'm looking at another 8 years of college. What do I have when I'm done? A PhD in sociology and over $50,000 of debt. What will that get me? A job making 50,000 a year teaching college and writing. Now, yes, I love sociology, but I was making more than that as a store manager at Pier 1. I'm sure I would love my job, but by the time I graduated, got a job, and got tenure I would be ready to retire...uh...not much fun I don't think. The sociologist in me keeps reminding me that life isn't about the money, but when you're going 50K in debt to pay for your education you would expect a slightly higher return...ya know?

2. I get my MS in environmental science. It would take me about a year to make up for any undergraduate requirements I need to get into the MS program. Then, another 2 years to get the MS. After three years I would graduate with an MS. What will that get me? Roughly $12,000 in debt, but with the ability to make much more than 50,000 a year, have job security knowing that ES is going to be a very high demand field considering the current environmental issues, and I can get a job I love and possibly work outdoors and in nature most of the time. Not to mention, I could still opt for the academic life if I so wanted. Basically, the MS is a lot more flexible and requires a lot less schooling. It will be harder for me to complete because my undergraduate training was not focused on science (hard) at all. I don't know...the idea just hit me when going for a walk a couple of months ago. I feel sad that I may abandon my first love, but excited because I feel a passion about it that I used to (and continue to) feel about sociology.

In my opinion they are both equally tempting. What do you think?