drewball_s

Thanks for all the input, by the way!

Thanks! I've looked into Vanderbilt but don't think it's a great fit for me. I feel like Harvard's program is right up my alley.

Hello! I keep going back and forth about the strength of my application and some insight would really help me out now. Just need some encouragement. You know how it goes. -B.A. Philosophy (minor psychology) from a mid-level state university. GPA 3.73 -M.A. Philosophy from a higher-ranked state school. GPA 3.928 -Taught logic two years during grad school (and won two teaching awards) and then two years of ethics and logic back at my undergraduate institution. -GRE: I've taken it three times in the past 5 or 6 years. My highest scores are verbal 161, quant 155, writing 5.0, though I bombed the quant section the second time I took it. -Two of my letter writers went to Harvard, though not the Div school. And I'm a humanist. I'm hoping that will make me stick out compared to other applicants. -Also, my SOP is pretty solid. A concern of mine is that I don't have enough volunteer experiences or time spent in a religious setting. I'm hoping that everything else will make up for it. Harvard's Mdiv is one of the only (if not the only) program I've found that accepts humanists or unaffiliated students. At least, they seem to be particularly open to having such students involved in their program and that has a big appeal for me. I would appreciate any words of encouragement! Thanks you!

Hi, I've spent the last few years doing philosophy and I'll be applying to public policy programs in a couple months. I'm having a problem deciding which programs I have a shot at applying to. I have a good grasp of the various departments in philosophy and what my chances would be at a top 10 school vs. a top 25 school, say. But I'm not familiar with the public policy world. Here's my application in summary: B.A. Philosophy (minor psychology) from a small/medium sized public university (Magna Cum Laude) M.A. Philosophy from a decently-ranked terminal MA program (GPA: 4.9) ~4 years teaching experience logic and ethics (both during and after grad school) Two teaching awards GRE: V 161/Q 158/ W 5.0 One of the problems I see is the lack of internship experience or work in public policy. Also, it's worth noting that I started as an economics major but only took micro and macro economics (A's in both). I think the lack of economics, statistics, calculus may hurt my application. However, most programs I've looked at offer those courses during the summer semester prior to fall. In any case, I would appreciate any input you all have. Is my application competitive or should I aim for middle-ranked programs? Thanks!

Just took the GRE: 161 verbal/149 quant I took the GRE three years ago: 470 verbal/720 quant My verbal from the new test and quant from the old test add up to be a pretty good score. What have been your experiences with philosophy departments considering multiple scores for a PhD application? Thanks

So did either of you get accepted?

I'm looking for a backup plan if I don't get into a decent philosophy phd program. I enjoyed my MA and even if I don't go on to a Phd, I won't see the time or effort as a waste of any kind. I got a free ride too so that helps! My idea is that if I don't go to a phd program I'll get a two year degree in a professional program in order to get a job that I don't think is too terrible.

I recently received an MA in philosophy with a high GPA (3.9) and two years teaching experience. I'll be applying for PhD programs in philosophy by the end of the year. However, I'm worried that I should apply to some non-philosophy programs. It's notoriously difficult to get into good philosophy phd prorams and I've been told that professional programs generally like having students from different backgrounds. Is this true? I've been thinking about public policy, education policy, maybe environmental policy, or possibly economics. I have a few questions: 1. How difficult would a MA in, say, public policy be? Obviously it's not astrophysics, but it's not underwater basketweaving either. 2. How difficult do the math requirements tend to be? I have had a significant amount of logic (and some basic inductive logic) but haven't taken statisitcs or calculus. 3. What turns me off to some of these degrees is that for every class that sounds interesting there seems to be three awfully boring classes (like advanced statistical methods or accounting). How enjoyable are degrees like this? Coming from philosophy, I'm used to really engaging courses that span everything from philosophy of math to aesthetics. Any thoughts for back-up plans to philosophy phd programs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!