PhilApplicant

Waitlisted at UIC and Cincinnati. Both programs inform me that it is likely that they will be able to offer me admission. I'm cautiously excited. 1a/2w/4r/2p

I hope you're right. The apparent lack of uniformity in acceptance practices across (and within) departments mystifies me. I'm pretty sure, for example, that I didn't get into San Diego (given recent acceptances/waitlists). But the very possibility that maybe they've "staggared" acceptances (as some departments seem to do) leaves me with a dreadful sense of hope.

Congrats on your successes so far! I've noticed just one acceptance from Cincinnati so far. Do you suspect that they will be sending out more acceptances?

So far I'm in at Florida State. I was rejected at WashU (PNP) and Johns Hopkins. Six more to go...

As bar_scene_gambler said in her/his post, do take a look at various threads on this forum related to details about preparing an application. Unfortunately, there are too many contingencies at play in graduate philosophy admissions to ever guarantee an applicant's acceptance. I will, however, make the argument that having interests in areas of a department's strength matters a whole lot to the committee reviewing your application and that the content of your writing sample and statement of purpose will demonstrate this the best. (And this doesn't mean that your views must accord with those faculty in the departments you're applying to!) For one thing, demonstrating compatibility with a department is likely to place you at an advantage over an otherwise equally qualified applicant who doesn't display such compatibility, or does so to a lesser extent. This is especially true for those departments - such as GSU - that strongly advertise their principle areas of research. Your writing sample of course must speak to your philosophical ability, yes, but in some cases it's not sufficient. If you're interested in the philosophy of X and department Y specializes in X, then why not show Y that you're a good (or promising) philosopher of X? Important parts of your file (e.g. your WS, letters, and SOP) should make it obvious to a committee that you have good reasons for applying to their program - that you're really into what they're doing. Best of luck!

I'm sticking mainly with literature on the history and foundations of cognitive science, just to get a more thorough introduction to a field I hope to specialize in. Some of the "classics" include Fodor's Modularity of Mind, Dretske's Explaining Behavior, Dennett's Brainstorms, and Pylyshyn's Computation and Cognition: Toward a Foundation for Cognitive Science. I've also been looking at various papers within this domain, as well as getting a bit more acquainted with cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology more generally. Also, Hemingway before bed, most nights.

True. But I was thinking something along the lines of the worst philosopher being the one who has argued for the greatest number of false positions. But then I remember that a lot of my favorite philosophers are those whose views I so often don't even agree with (e.g., Jerry Fodor, David Lewis, etc.). So maybe (probably) there's a fact of the matter about who has argued for the greatest number of false positions, though it doesn't reliably track the quality of the philosopher?

I don't know, but I'm sure that there's a fact of the matter to this question.

Jerry Fodor.

Hi, I'll be attending GSU as well. Congratulations on your acceptance!

I would like to claim an acceptance at Georgia State and a wait list at UW-Madison.

I hope you're right!

I would second Philhopeful's recommendation of applying to CEU next year. If you are not admitted to their PhD program, it is not unlikely that they will consider you for admission to their MA program (which, I am told, is usually funded).

To those rejected at UW-Madison via Postal Service: Does your online application status match the final decision?

In talking with an advisor about this, I learned that the "system actually has surprisingly little memory, year-to-year [with respect to past years' GRE scores]." This information comes from a graduate director at a top-ranked university--but I wouldn't take this to warrant any generalizations about other departments.