crate

I just got a rejection from Germany - Research.

STM: I decided not to go that route, because I wasn't interested in taking a majority of my seminars in analytic philosophy. I am interested in feminist philosophy and poststructuralism, however, which might change things. I sought programs with a significant number of people working in continental more broadly speaking, as well as at least 2 people I could imagine working with on a dissertation. I want my philosophy education to provide a strong history of philosophy, as well as a focus in my AOI. For me, one seminar in analytic should be sufficient to reap some of the methodological benefits to be had from that kind of training. If, however, you want to study the analytic methodology and apply it to Critical Theory, then the Leiter list may be more useful.

Not in a position to have any news, but also want to note that this isn't really fair to Fordham. They are probably a top 25 school for those interested in Continental, which is likely what most of their applicants are looking for. They might not delve as deeply as you think into their waitlist.

I have done a good bit of cost of living research, and it seems that most variation from one location to another on all the calculators online is a result of the cost of housing. This becomes important if you are interested in a variety of neighborhoods or more non-traditional living situations, like shared houses, since their cost can vary greatly as compared to studio apartments or standard 1- or 2-bedroom apartments. I would suggest going on Craigslist and looking at actual rooms that are available to see what the spread is. For example, in DC you could pay $500 for a room or you could pay $1500, but the cost of living calculator assumes the high number.

Whether or not the emails are annoying, they do drive up and/or justify high application fees from the perspective of the institutions. That said, I can certainly understand your sentiments!

Yikes, C4L...our interests are similar enough that I imagine it's unlikely that any program would take both of us. Hopefully someday we will be reading each others' papers, even if it is from separate institutions. Good luck!

Welcome to 2013, thread! I am looking seriously at Stony Brook, and I'll be visiting in March. I'm looking at neighborhoods within a couple miles from the campus, with an eye toward commuting by bike....a radius roughly of Port Jefferson Station, Terryville, South Setauket, St. James. I would appreciate anything people can share about how these maybe less fancy neighborhoods do in terms of amenities and community. On the topic of community, is there any group house culture out there, with people who choose to live together for anything other than financial reasons? Thanks for helping me figure out what "alternative" living (relatively speaking) looks like on Long Island.

I had a similar approach that prioritized fit. I knew my interests were in philosophies that speak to how we live together and experience the world, particularly feminist and continental approaches. This meant prestige in the Leiter sense immediately went out the window as a priority. I started by combing through faculty lists and finding places with a good selection of people with interests common to my own. For places with several good fits, I drilled down and read papers by as many of the philosophers as possible, which gave me an idea of what kind of thinkers they are (alas, not necessarily what kinds of teachers). I also looked at course offerings. Finally, I called or met with profs or grad students at almost all the programs to learn more. I ended up with 7.