bar_scene_gambler

I second tomjonesy's advice. I had the opportunity to speak with Mendieta at a conference that I presented at, and if you're interested in Latin-American philosophy, he's definitely the guy to study with.

STM, Thank you so much for responding. The news that it's skimming is both good and bad. It means that, on the one hand, I'm not terribly concerned about someone being bothered by an imperfect connection between Kantian and Taoist ethics, but on the other hand, it also means that I'm uncertain as to what they're looking for in a candidate. I thought that they'd read through all of the writing samples, since they're supposed to be one of the major components of the application (a silly notion, now that I really think about it), but the fact that they don't means that I have no clue what the difference between a good writing sample and a bad one is aside from "is the writing clear and do they eventually get to the point?" And what exactly is it that makes someone a promising candidate? And yeah, I've looked at Riverside. I'm just not sure I want to work with Maudemarie Clark or not. I haven't had the opportunity to look at her stuff, and since Leiter recommends her, I'm a little hesitant.

I'm having difficulty choosing a paper that I'd like to use as my writing sample, and I was wondering if you guys/girls could help. The first paper is a paper that I wrote in an upper-level course on Kant's Ethics. It attempts to find similarities between the Groundwork and the Metaphysics of Morals and Laozi's Tao Te Ching. I actually won an award for this paper at a conference, and out of everything I've written in the last few years, this is probably my best work, but it is also a bold comparison, which makes me nervous. I'm also concerned that I won't be taken seriously because it incorporates Chinese philosophy and because many of the schools that I'm applying to don't have faculty who work with Chinese philosophy. I'm worried that the faculty member who reads my paper won't know enough about Laozi in order to make an informed decision. The second paper is one that I wrote for an upper-level epistemology course. It basically examines the question of whether or not experience is private. I use Norman Malcolm's, The Privacy of Experience, and Stanley Cavell's response, Must We Mean What We Say?, to examine the question of whether or not pain is a private experience, and the problems that I found with their interpretations. This paper is probably my best in terms of understanding the material that I was working with. The first comment I received on it was that it seemed like I was perfectly able to understand and explain both Malcolm's and Cavell's arguments. The problem is that my arguments against their interpretations are much weaker. So my problem really boils down to choosing between a paper that is bolder and better shows my ability to do philosophy and a paper that is less bold but more technically sound. If anyone could give me their opinions on the matter and either challenge or confirm my concerns, I would be immensely grateful.

I'm hoping to get a few fee waivers. I'm going to cut some schools from the list before I apply, but ideally I'd like to apply to somewhere between 14 and 16. My dad works at the university I attend, and one of his employee benefits is that my tuition is waived, so I can't send any financial aid statements out, because I don't technically get financial aid. So my hope is that I can send some tax forms as demonstration of financial need for the fee waiver, because I make almost nothing and I have to pay for application fees myself.

Well fall 2014 is the semester after I graduate. I'm sending out applications in the spring, but my first semester in grad school (assuming I get accepted somewhere) will be fall 2014.

I tried to start the thread as a way for fall 2014 applicants to see each other's academic profiles and get school recommendations and application advice, but there aren't many fall 2014 applicants here yet. I think it's probably a bit early. The forum has been a ghost town for weeks.

tomjonesy517: I recognize that in some places that particular areas of study will be considered laughable, but at the same time, I honestly don't buy into the analytic/continental distinction, much like I don't believe that the word "existentialism" means anything. Obviously philosophers care about different topics and are going to approach philosophical problems in different ways, but I want that in a program. I don't want to shy away from difference. And I definitely don't want my beliefs to be coddled by an environment where everybody agrees in the same general interpretations. I want to be challenged, because I do philosophy best when my opinions are challenged harshly. philstudent: Yeah, I'm looking at PhD's right now. My list is in the other thread. I can repost it here if you'd like. My interests are broad though, so my list is really mixed right now. Have you read anything by Higgins? I just finished her book, "Nietzsche's Zarathustra" for my thesis research and I think it's brilliantly done. Also, I've had the opportunity to speak with her via email, and she's incredibly nice and helpful and really knows her stuff. She said she isn't planning on retiring anytime soon, which is good, but also warned me that she's one of two continental-leaning professors there, so she's sort of an island unto herself.

AH! A fellow lover of Nietzsche! I'm doing my thesis on identity in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Anyway, tomjonesy517 and I have been talking on the other thread, and I think that I've come to the conclusion that you should apply to a mix of PGR ranked programs (just because they have better graduate placement and more resources and such) and heavily continental schools. I like the idea of keeping my options open. tomjonesy517 suggested Fordham and Stony Brook to me, and I think those are definitely good options, but I'm also applying to traditionally analytic programs with some good Nietzsche scholars sprinkled in. Kathleen Higgins is wonderful, and she's at UT Austin, a highly ranked program on the PGR. Also, U College London has a few Nietzsche and Sartre people.

Yeah, I'm only applying to these MA programs because they seem to be better about funding than the others and because I need a backup. I'm really interested in a continental education in Nietzsche and French Existentialism, but my interests are also broad and changing, so I don't want to lock myself into anything. I was kind of hoping for an environment that had an equal mix of both schools of thought, but I'm willing to go anywhere so long as I'm able to receive a proper education in my current areas of interest. My only reason for being hesitant about Stony Brook and Fordham is because some of the other programs that I'm applying to have better placement records, and the ones that don't (like U Hawaii) are only there because of my interests in niche areas of philosophy. All in all though, I don't want to lock myself into a program where there are only, or a majority of, continental philosophers. That's the problem that I have with analytic environments as well. I think it leads to intellectual stagnation and a general ignorance of the other tradition, something that I don't want to have happen to me.

Continental is an awfully broad term (not really sure what it means actually). Anything more specific (e.g. Derrida/Heidegger/Sartre)?

It's a mix, because I'm interested in a bunch of stuff. I'll just post a list of schools that I made that I'm looking at potentially applying to. If you can comment on what choices are good and bad and maybe give me any more recommendations that would be awesome. Also, how does my profile looks? What needs improving? PhD's: U Chicago U College London U Hawaii UT Austin (really want to work with Higgins) Duke Stanford UC Irvine U Toronto (hesitant because I've heard negative things about the faculty involvement) Penn State Emory Kingston College Vanderbilt* Loyola* *=free application, so I figured, why not? MA's: Brandeis Oxford (BPhil) Northern Illinois Georgia State (One of my professors is good friends with Jessica Berry)

I think your writing sample and SOP are far more important than your GRE scores. That being said, what I would do is look at the results posted here by those who were accepted to the programs you're looking to get into. Sometimes they'll say what their GRE scores were. EDIT: Figured I'd just give you the results. Emory: Looks like, based on the few accepted applications who submitted their GRE scores, the avg is around 5 Stony Brook: Avg looks to be a 5 Miami (Ohio): Ranges from 4-5 U Oregon: Looks like a lot of 5's here too I'd work on your writing and try to shoot for a 5 or above based on the scores of those being accepted.

philoSophia12, I have a couple questions. What were your presentations, if not conferences? What are you TA'ing for? And do you have any idea where you're applying yet?

Well my situation is a little interesting. I'm interested in both Existential (to use an awful umbrella term) philosophy and Chinese philosophy, and so I'm dividing up my applications between the two areas of interest. I think for the schools that I'm applying to for their Chinese philosophy concentration, I'll be submitting a comparative work I did on Kant's Ethics and the Tao Te Ching, but for the continental programs, it's a bit of a toss up. It's probably going to be either a paper on Cavell on Knowing and Acknowledging or my senior thesis, which is on "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". I'm a little concerned about submitting my thesis though, because of its length more than anything else. What are your works on?

Just out of curiosity, what are you thinking about submitting for your writing sample? I have three different papers and I can't decide which to submit.

Might be a good idea. I don't know what's going on with the philosophy forum. Many of the other humanities forums are in full swing preparing for Fall 2014 and this place is just dead.

This forum is kind of a ghost town right now. I'm not sure what kind of response you're going to get. Have you tried looking for samples elsewhere? I know there's sample SOP's out there. Writing samples might be a bit more difficult, but I get the feeling that there isn't really a generic writing sample, it's just supposed to be your best work that you've done so far (whatever that means). I'd be interested in knowing if you get any replies though.

Hi folks, I saw isostheneia's post for profile feedback and application advice, and figured that we should just have a thread dedicated to it. I figured it would give us all a chance to see what other applicants are doing and give us a place to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our respective profiles and get advice for those of us who are fumbling around in the dark, so to speak. I guess I'll kick things off. I'll be using isostheneia's format, because it seems to be fairly comprehensive. Undergrad school: Top 40 US News, Unranked PGR - no strong trend towards analytic or continental GPA: 3.83, 3.88 in philosophy GRE: Haven't taken it officially. ETS practice test (no study): Verbal-155 Quantitative-148 Writing Sample: Trying to decide between a comparative paper (Kant and Laozi: Ethics), Acknowledgment and Cavell, or my senior thesis on Nietzsche's Zarathustra 2 Undergraduate Conference Presentations: One on ethics in Medieval Indian Religion and another on comparative ethics in Kant and Laozi. Also won an award for best comparative philosophy paper. 1 publication: Conference proceedings. Probably not even worth mentioning Co-founder and President of a chapter of Phi Sigma Tau at my school Co-taught a class in Eastern Philosophy with one of my professors Letters of Rec: Not much to say. There's a well-known name or two in my department, but not in areas I'd like to work in. I expect I'll receive stunning recommendations. Coursework (+ for any graduate level courses): Eastern Philosophy Intro to Philosophy Ethics Ancient Philosophy Symbolic Logic Philosophy of Death (Existential themes in film and literature as they relate to death) Modern Philosophy Kant's Ethics + Theory of Knowledge (An epistemology class focusing on OLP) Wittgenstein Independent Study: Hume + Independent Study: Being and Time + Independent Study: The Republic + Independent Study: Al-Ghazali + Areas of Interest: Chinese Philosophy, Nietzsche, Sartre, and perhaps Post-Structuralism I have a basic list of places I might like to go, but I'd like to hear what places the community thinks would be a good fit for me. Also looking for a discussion of strengths/weaknesses in my application. I'd love to see what the rest of you are like. Thanks everyone.

Hey, isostheneia, would you mind if I also jumped in on this? This thread seems like a great idea, considering I'm fairly in the dark (but not totally). EDIT: Actually, I wonder if someone should post a separate thread for this sort of thing which all Fall 2014 applicants could participate in. Thoughts?

Thank you so much for responding. I thought no one would reply. Since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about programs outside the US (where I'm from), I was wondering if you might be able to suggest other strong continental programs. The PGR is unreliable and my faculty aren't really familiar with programs outside of the US. And what exactly do you mean by "scholarship from my country"? The only one I can really think of would be the Fulbright.

I'm applying for schools in Fall 2014, and I was wondering if anyone here is attending or knows anything about the program. My interests are primarily in Existentialism (more specifically, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus) and Chinese Philosophy, and one of my professors pointed me in the direction of Kingston because one of the department's alumni is currently studying there. What's the program's reputation like, faculty quality, graduate environment, etc? Also, for the life of me, I can't find any financial aid info for international graduate students. Any information I can get about the program would be great.

你好! This isn't related to your question, but I was wondering if you could tell me about the quality of philosophy programs in China. I'm thinking about working with Eastern Philosophy (Mostly Zhuangzi and Laozi, though I have an interest in Liezi as well) and I'm wondering whether it might be valuable to apply to the City University of Hong Kong or Peking University. What's your take on Chinese philosophy programs, in terms of their strength in Eastern Philosophy?

Really? I had no idea. Thanks so much sebgrebe.

Interesting. I know many schools offer fee waivers, but that's a bit tricky for me, because my father works at the school I go to, so I don't pay tuition, but I don't technically receive financial aid either. So the CIC's FreeApp is worth it then?

I was wondering if you guys/girls know of any graduate programs that don't have an application fee. I know Vanderbilt doesn't charge an application fee as long as you apply online. Any other places?