AquinasDuo

Gnothi_Seauton, on 02 Jan 2015 - 11:18 AM, said: I know I am a little late to the party, but I wanted to be sure and re-emphasize that this advice is very, very important to heed. Environmental factors - especially living conditions - can ruin your work, which might well turn out to ruin your career. I can attest to this first hand, and have seen others hit harder than I.

Also, I gleaned a fair bit about the UVA procedures and numbers while there, and I see a lot of chatter about it, so let me help a bit: They make 5 or 6 offers, and then wait-list a little over a dozen more or so. If one takes the top admit as #1 and the last on the waitlist as #20, then in an average year one would see offers going to as low as #15 or #16, with a 'good' year reaching #12 or #13. Only 3 of the original offer holders attended the visiting weekend, which (especially when paired with the 2 people on these forums that said they were declining the offer) seems to show that they will visit the wait-list at least a little. Moreover, of the 3 of us there, 1 had some high profile offers, but enough money to visit everywhere so he did. I expect he will decline based on things said. I also know of a few waitlist spots that have been given up. Of course, one cannot know where on the list those people were; however, it seems that at least halfway down the list will see an offer, if not lower. Though, perhaps I should be careful with my illustration. Their list is not strictly ranked. Given that professors can only mentor so many people, and given the department's focus on balance, I assume that they list is likely loosely ranked with some wiggle room based on areas of interest. I have an offer I am almost sure to take, visited and listened carefully, have a good friend on the waitlist, and was on the waitlist myself last year, so I have the system fairly well figured out. Similar can be said of Missouri, if anyone is curious about their method. Speaking of, we ought reach out to Ian to see if we can't build up a Department Methods and Procedures section on his blog too. It'd be neat to have a single resource with dates, practices, funding packages, etc.

Hello all! I just turned down my offer from SUNY - Albany. I hope the spot goes to someone who didn't otherwise get in anywhere. I know too well the feeling of a shutout and would wish that on no one.

I likely missed it, but where is it you are going then?

OU is a good choice for Philosophy of Religion, and a decent one for Epistemology. Those that went on after the MA placed well; Oxford and the like.

Edgecliffe is a splendid building with a nice garden, and the classroom overlooks the North Sea. Virginia is my lead contender right now. I am waitlisted for funding at St. Andrews, and I would need funding to be able to return. Same for Missouri (their process seems weirder and weirder the more I learn about it), and the fellowship there might sway me. Something draws me to SUNY, it is hard to put my finger on, but I am wiling to wager that passing on Virginia for SUNY would be unwise.

My US schools don't (except one that does, but only after 30 a semester which is unlikely to be reached), but it costs good money to get things sent from overseas. Anyway... I have done this five times to increasing success. It seems this year will be my final time, unless the PhD program I pick proves to be an ill fit in which case I may end up going around once more after the MA step (I don't plan on this, but I know it is done - sometimes even with department suggestion and full support). Here are some things I have learned: (1) By and large GRE and GPA are only to get you over a minimum bar, and to compete for college/university level funding. Generally, it seems that as long as you aren't cut based on your numbers then they won't matter much thereafter until/unless you are competing for a fellowship. (2) Writing Sample is KEY. The only real difference between last year and this is my writing sample and it gave me a material and quantifiable bump (only essentially concrete because of my multiple years of pattern setting) (3) Apply broadly. It is painfully expensive, especially when it doesn't work, but with so much of the process being based on chance and intangibles, it is the best bet. (4) Remember fit - it makes and breaks. Last year I got a nice email from FSU that my application was great, but there was no one for me to work with there so they had to pass. Often when those odd situations like someone who broadly failed getting into a top program, or someone widely successful getting rejected from a low program, it was fit that caused it. (4b) Make contact with the department early, especially someone with whom you would like to work. This will help with fit. I saved myself from repeating FSU with Edinburgh this year by emailing ahead and finding out that no one wanted to do what I am doing. (5) Make sure you do whatever you can to allow your letter writers to write a strong letter for you. Do well in their classes, and overall. Be part of the department. Go to talks and engage with the speaker. Keep in communication with them, and have them be part of your continuing work (thought don't annoy or use them!). These things and more ensure that the letter writer has data in hand that makes the strong - and more personal - letter. (6) Keep organised, and keep on your documents and recommenders. You are project manager of your application in a very real sense; do your job! (7) Be realistic in review of your qualifications, and cynical about the whole affair. It is sad, but things like your pedigree and the prominence/known-ness of your letter writers do matter. If you have great stats and a love for the discipline but have no name writers who don't know anyone at the school to which you are applying and you are coming out of a small or second tier school, then you ought be ready to fair poorly. (8) Do an MA. I wish I had. Specifically, an MA from one of the household name programs like Tufts, Brandeis, NIU, Georgia Tech, WUSTL, etc. It may also help to see if a program you like has a sort of feeder program. For instance, a lot of Western Michigan people end up at Missouri. (9) Don't get rusty! It is easy, especially when you are applying and are no longer in school, to focus on applications and lose some of your chops in Philosophy. I feel I have, in part because I teach Intro to Phil and so have been inundated with the basics for too long, and know it makes the idea of visits all the more stressful. Indeed, for those schools that make the wait list and acceptance divide based on the visit, it could hurt in a material way. (10) Don't think about any of the school to which you apply after you apply unless you get accepted. The most heartbreaking part is when a school you personally wanted to go to says no, and it's worse if you looked up the campus and area, and talked about it, and gotten all excited. A big part of surviving the season is avoiding the bummer-filled troughs as time goes by and results start coming out. (11) Finally, realise that some programs are really nice, and some are pretty rude, and try to focus on communicating with the nice ones. This is because they will, and it will be more pleasant, but also because that is a good sign that the people there are more the type you'd like to work with for the next 3-7 years. This is also a handy screen because it is automatically biased and subjective, and allows you to make valuations without working about PG Rank, or placement, or other things are honestly really hard to use as data for a quality, personally optimal, rational choice. I hope some of this helpful to someone. I'll go back and add/edit later.

Quick Report: St. Andrews and SUNY-Albany today

It is good news to see so many BU spots planned for decline. They are one of two schools who have yet to get back to me, and I would be chuffed by an offer even coming off a waitlist.

I wish Chicago would just let me come home one of these years...

Cornell, oh Cornell, we would have been great together. Bummer that one, it was the last "dream school" on the list. It also seems Syracuse is about done with its admissions and wait-list...

I have to disagree. I got a masters from St. Andrews, which is a pound for pound (;-P) better department than Warwick, and I found it of only a little use to the process. I think the UK/US divide is deeper than we think. Indeed, I was told by an Oxford DPhil that any but the top schools don't really know how to handle his degree and he finds himself hard pressed for work on this side of the pond (as the competition for those top-school spots is incredible on the leanest of days). In the end, one has to ask if the money you will spend on tuition and much higher living cost (given exchange rates) is worth an extended writing sample workshop with some few bonus points on an application (if any says some, or even to a detriment according to a few).

I, honestly, assumed you female based on your name.

This is good news!

I am very sorry if this has been addressed prior, I looked and didn't see it but could have missed something: Do we happen to know if Syracuse and/or Riverside will have a waitlist? I feel like the former does not use one and the latter will, but am not sure from where I got these ideas. Thanks!