Jump to content

ineedwine

Members
  • Posts

    44
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About ineedwine

  • Birthday 09/19/1990

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    United States
  • Interests
    Aesthetics, Critical Theory and The Frankfurt School, Marx and Marxism, Cultural Studies, Literary Theory, Philosophy of Film, 19th and 20th century, German philosophy, and Existentialism
  • Application Season
    2015 Fall
  • Program
    Philosophy/Theory and Criticism

Recent Profile Visitors

1,181 profile views

ineedwine's Achievements

Caffeinated

Caffeinated (3/10)

29

Reputation

  1. Hey, thank you for this post! I am considering applying to Emerson's publishing and writing MA and I really want to find out my chances of acceptance. There really should be a category for this field.
  2. Boston College has one, it's a Jesuit school but I'm not sure how that plays into the Philosophy and Theology program.
  3. What I more meant was events, not necessarily auditing courses. Either way, BC itself seems like an exciting place to be. NIU is not fully funded, it is a possible one-year tuition waiver. I'll be taking on debt at either school. BC also has on campus opportunities, positions in departments and so on. I will be applying for a position in Women and Gender studies that is 20 hours a week and provides a 15k a year stipend for two years. If I landed something like that, it would seriously reduce the amount of debt I'll need to take out. It is also not as if I will be supporting myself completely. I will be moving with my boyfriend, who will have a full time job and help support us financially. I just can't feel okay missing out on a lot of exciting opportunity to study things I really wanted to anyway (Russian language as the language requirement, for instance, philosophy of film as well.) Sure, I could study independently, but I thought being surrounded by like-minded individuals was part of the magic of getting a graduate degree. I have so far met two other future MA students at BC, and both of them have pretty similar interests to my own. When I look at the course list, I get excited. When I look at NIU's 4-hour comprehensive exam on a topic I probably won't find very interesting, I feel a little dread. I think, would I thrive there? What's more valuable? Doing what makes you happy and would probably make you a better and more interesting philosopher, or doing what's financially responsible?
  4. Thanks for the input everyone. I actually emailed Geoff Pynn at NIU and he replied himself that considering what he knows about my interests (critical theory, continental phil) BC would be a better fit for me. I had also asked him whether any of their students had gone on to Oregon (my dream school) and he said in his memory of the last five years none of them had. That doesn't mean I couldn't, but maybe a more pluralistic and continental background would make a difference. Dumbnamechange, the advice about making sure the financial break would be a certain thing is great. I got the same from one of my letter writers, who told me to essentially balance the two schools and keep them both open until I know for sure. I also think location is important. What is exciting to me about BC is it's very close to a lot of other schools, including Harvard, which could mean opportunities to see lectures or attend conferences. Not to mention the abundance of libraries and the arts. NIU is close enough to Chicago, but still farther away than I would like. The only other thing, besides a cheaper price, that I know NIU would excel in that BC may not is close relationships with the professors, prompt response to emails, and knowing the students on a more personal level. All of which could be beneficial come letter-writer candidate time...but is that one thing enough of a reason? If I had to make a pros and cons list, the pros list for BC would be quite a bit longer than the pros list for NIU. Tough decisions are tough!
  5. I've accepted an offer at Boston College for the MA program, but I just received an email from NIU asking if I'm still interested and telling me they are highly confident I could get a one-year tuition waiver. I know NIU is highly regarded, but looking at their department I don't think my interests would be represented and I'd have to do a 4 hour examination on a specialization I probably won't care much about. BC has a lot of classes and in things that interest me (continental phil., phenomenology, philosophy of film, etc.) I know the goal for an MA is to become more well-rounded, but I also want to start exploring what I'd really like to specialize in in the future. BC also has a Russian language dept. and that seriously interests me, but the program/location is far more expensive and is not funded. I think I've already made up my mind, but I thought I'd ask for your opinions. Thoughts?
  6. I expected to be shut out, but hoped to get at least one acceptance. I got two acceptances. Worked out!
  7. I feel pretty good about BC, although I have yet to speak to a professor there. It certainly looks like an excellent program with a lot of opportunities. It is disturbing about Buffalo. However, it is a large department and it could very well be just his experience there. Still, any sort of indication that women could be treated poorly is a red flag. I want to be clear that I don't wish to discourage anyone from choosing to attend! These are just things that worry me, personally. They may or may not be true. I do not have personal experience there.
  8. I might have to speak to some grad students there. It does look like a decent place to be, but one of my letter writers got his PhD at Buffalo and he is strongly steering me away from it. Mainly because it's hostile to women, and there are a few people there hostile to non-analytic thought (and are, apparently, assholes). I want to work primarily in non-analytic thought, and I'm a woman...so I'm a little worried about the possible lack of a supportive environment. BC, however, seems not to have either of those issues. I've spoken to the female grad students there and they have not had a negative experience, other than being the only female in the room almost always. I'll definitely be seriously considering both once I have more information.
  9. I got my official rejection from Western today and then my acceptance to SUNY Buffalo. Buffalo was my "safety school," so I will likely be going to BC instead. Hopefully I can figure out how to afford it! Ryerson is a butthole and told me when I asked my status that my application was not even under review because I hadn't uploaded anything to "English language requirement." I had assumed that didn't apply to me, and no one ever notified me that my application was incomplete. Terrible form, I no longer wish to go there. It's Boston or Buffalo for me. Thoughts?
  10. I am also considering going to BC. I emailed the chair as well, but never got a response. However I emailed a PhD student and she got back to me right away, directed me to the best MA student to speak to, and also forwarded my female-environment concerns to all of the female students for their input. The students at least were extremely helpful and super inviting. I didn't try any other professors, I am assuming the chair is busy for whatever reason. I PM-d you with that MA student's email, Euromaniac, if you are interested.
  11. I emailed NIU and was told that I was not rejected (though I was not told I'm on a wait-list, either), and that after April 15th they sometimes have unfunded (or poorly funded) spots open and make a few more offers. I asked to be kept in the active applicant pool, but I'm not sure I'd accept if they offered. I know they are highly regarded, but their program seems very contemporary analytical and my areas of interest are not well represented, or in most cases not at all represented. I would probably have a much better time at BC where there are professors and students working in areas I am much more interested in.
  12. Is it typical for MA programs to send out decisions later? I see people talking about how all decisions are out, but I'm sitting here waiting on three or four schools. I want to start making plans to attend BC, but if I get a funded offer from Milwaukee or Ryerson I'd have to reconsider. I emailed Western and they informed me that they only have one funded international position and had already sent out that acceptance, but if a lot of domestic applicants decline, they might be able to offer a partially funded spot. That was my second choice so I would definitely have to consider that as well. This process is really dragging out quite a bit. Argh.
  13. My parents had never gone to college or really knew much about it, so they didn't push me in any directions at all. I think they assumed that aside from Harvard all colleges were about equal. An 18 year-old from a small town with no college graduates in her immediate family isn't really set up to make informed choices!
  14. I'll risk being an annoyance and just add that I did come from a small state school. Some 6,000 in the student body if I remember correctly, and we admit literally everyone. In fact, I went there because I had extremely poor high school grades and did terrible on the math portion of the ACT. I just looked up our acceptance rate, and it is 63% (or 89% from another source). My philosophy department was about 5 or 6 professors, one of whom mainly taught humanities and religion classes. The dept. chair is relatively well-known and has published several books and is pretty active in conferences and so on, though I did not get a letter from him. We are not listed in your link. I consider myself pretty lucky I got in anywhere at all.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use