So, this is my first post on this site. I have decided to join in on the discussion as the anxiety/horror of waiting for information about acceptance or rejection from various grad programs is stressful to put it politely.
This is my first time applying to M.A. and P.h.D. programs in philosophy. I'll post my stats, and a few thoughts, any feedback that any of you have regarding your thoughts on my information would be greatly appreciated.
I have two B.A.'s
B.A. Philosophy (Honors) TBA May, 2013 (coursework done, I'm just waiting to walk). GPA 3.9 Major GPA 3.88 (Tier 2 school)
B.A. Communication (Film Theory) May 2002 GPA 3.0 Major GPA 3.3 (Tier 1 school)
GRE Scores V: 163 Q: 153 WA: 5.0
Good writing sample & References (But I'm sure that's quite common).
I decided to do the second B.A. to negate my poor performance at my first institution, and to gain enough philosophical background to be competitive in applying to graduate programs.
Schools I'm applying to
P.h.D: U of Toronto, U of Miami, Stony Brook, Vanderbilt, U of Nebraska-Lincoln, Simon Fraser, WashU, UC Riverside
M.A.: Tufts, Georgia State, Cal State LA, Ohio University, Arizona State
Areas of Specialization: Philosophy of Perception, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Psychology, History of 19th & 20th Century Continental Philosophy, & British Empiricism.
I catered each application to the departments that I was applying to and picked out the areas (from the above topics) that fit. I also outlined a tentative research agenda for graduate studies that would justify why I might be worth investing thousands of the universities' dollars into. (That's not explicitly what I put but...I tried to make a case as to why I have a plan, and what that plan is).
I would love the opportunity to do scholarship, but what I am most interested in is teaching, potentially at a community college.
What I do not know, is realistically, how does my information seem? I know that many if not all of you may be unable to answer such a question, but guesses are appreciated as well.
What has begun to make me nervous is seeing that two people have posted acceptance into UC Riverside. I have logged into the system and my application is still 'under review' but that could mean many things. I spoke with someone in the department when I was sending materials (roughly a month ago) and he said the short list would have to be made around now, so people posting acceptance sounds right to me.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I wish everyone good luck, and I hope that we all get into great programs.
