YoungFoucault

It seems as though tomorrow might begin the first initial major influx of acceptances so cheers to a night of anxiety ridden insomnia!

I wanted to make this topic thread to start a conversation about different strategies for and questions about letters of recommendation. My question about this is concerning whether a letter from a visiting European Philosopher (fairly well-known in her field) is weaker than/equal to/stronger than a letter from an American tenured faculty member when applying to American programs. I know that in almost all cases a letter from a TT professor is going to carry a lot more weight then a non-TT professor but might this be a circumstance in which the pros might outweigh the cons? Thoughts?

Your interests scream "The New School" (and Simon Critchley in particular.) You definitely should apply there.

I would definitely retake. While having a low quantitative score is not ideal, having a higher verbal score is very significant. Quick question: How are you studying for the quantitative portion?

Eh, don't think you necessarily have to apply to a MA program first. I did it because it is what felt right for me. Also, it is important that if you do decide to take the MA route that you seriously consider MA programs that are treated well within their programs. Often times the structure of departments with PhD programs is such that faculty cannot give much time to MA students in which case pursuing an MA is not efficient. I was fortunate enough to attend a program where MA students receive a lot of attention from faculty. As for the writing sample, the title of my sample is "Addressing the Divine: Rethinking God qua Love" and deals explicitly with Derrida's problem of ontotheology as it relates to Caputo and Marion's writings on divine experience within the love relation. This may change in the coming months though since my recent interests have been shifting more towards political philosophy!

Absolutely. Especially with U Chicago's close ties to Marion!

Undergraduate: I graduated from a medium-sized, relatively unknown state school with a Philosophy major and minors in Religious Studies and Literature. I graduated with a GPA of 3.98. MA: In an attempt to strengthen my PhD prospects and to validate my undergraduate work since i attended such an unknown university, I applied to strictly MA programs during my last application season. I currently attend a well-known, prestigious university working with well-known continental philosophers, and I have a GPA of 3.95. I've taken the GRE and scored well, but I will be retaking it to better my chances. I have published two articles in interdisciplinary journals and presented at 3 undergrad conferences (and will be hopefully presenting at a couple graduate conferences before I apply.) Interests: Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy (esp. Heidegger, Derrida, and Foucault), Social and Political Philosophy (esp. issues of anarchy, political theology, history of political philosophy, and feminist theory), and Phenomenology of Religion (esp. Heidegger, Derrida, Levinas, Marion, and Caputo.) I am also most interested in programs that take a pluralist approach to doing philosophy. Programs in which I am interested: Vanderbilt, Boston College, University of Chicago, The New School for Social Research, Fordham, SUNY Stony Brook, McGill, University of Oregon, Penn St.