philstudent1991

I know we all want to know what the competition is like, but no one (including me) really wants to post their undergrad institution on here because it compromises anonymity. If anyone is interested, I thought maybe people could pm me the school they went to and then I could just post the list without attaching names. That way we can know the schools represented and no one has to compromise their anonymity (and I promise I won't tell!). If anyone is interested, just pm me. This only is worthwhile if a few people do it!

Yes very good point, I've thought the same thing. I think that when we become the decision makers instead of the applicants, we ought to change this. I have no doubt that there are reasons why this is the case, but I also have no doubt that no reason, however valid, could justify the outrageous expenditures by applicants that spend hundreds to send their GRE scores when a simple self report system would work just as well. Of course, I blame capitalism (it happens because ETS can get away with it because we have no power). But if I am ever a professor at a PhD program, I will do everything in my power to get this fixed.

I take the transcripts to be pretty much just a corroboration of your listed GPA. I gave a brief description of all of my philosophy classes in my CV, and my letter writers also discussed what we did in their classes at least briefly. The transcript on its own tells the reviewer nothing about what went on in a given class.

A bit off topic, but I can't figure out if Arizona, UCLA and UCSD have language requirements and if so to what degree. Any applicants to these schools happen to know?

I feel like almost no one needed official transcripts, they were fine with unofficial until an offer is made. Was that your experience as well? Cuz Zizek's post made me think maybe I'm wrong....

Oh that's right. I forgot about that.

So did you end up applying to Arizona or is that the one you dropped?

I agree that with regard to studying foreign texts like Heidegger, knowing German is probably necessary for doctoral quality contributions. But for someone working in purely contemporary analytical issues, it seems like language requirements could just be a big distraction from their work. Learning a language isn't a small commitment.

So I'm wondering what you guys think about language requirements. At the Continental programs it appears that you have to learn one or even two languages (Emory for instance) from the core group of philosophical languages (German, Greek, Latin, French and maybe Italian). At some programs (Texas and Duke for instance, I think, I could be wrong) a language may be required but it can be any language, or may only be required if the dissertation is devoted to a considerable extent to a given foreign author. Some programs (UNC and I believe Wisconsin) don't have the requirement at all. Some of my professors have told me they believe the language requirement is on its way out. So, are there language requirements at the programs you are applying to, how do you feel about that, and do you think the language requirements are on the way out or here to stay in our field?

Guys. I totally understand your feelings because I feel them too. I think about getting shut out too....but they have to accept someone. In fact, they have to accept like 200 of us to fill all the spots on leiter, top ma and the other programs strong in specialties.

Except in one or two cases, I didn't list professors. This is because unless you really really know your stuff, it can seem like you just trolled the website and copy and pasted names. Also, if you have the misfortune of mentioning a professor that is retiring or on leave or not taking graduate students or whatever, that hurts your application. You can definitely demonstrate fit, which I unequivocally agree is paramount, without mentioning professors. However, in one or two cases I did because I was familiar with their work and know I would want to work with them.

I've noticed people have added the accepted/rejected sections to their profiles.....omg its almost time

That seems awfully short. Is that an MA asking?

Unfortunately, that's not so. Philosophy is not generally profitable, so in a capitalist economy there isn't much demand for it. It's not how many competent philosophers there are, but how many interested consumers there are that determines the value of philosophy (again, unfortunately).

Probably Berkeley for me...but I'd be thrilled to be accepted literally anywhere I've applied...everywhere I've applied I applied for a reason

What is your top choice/dream school, and why?

Wow, Loric really went the way of dfindley. too bad.

To the writing sample controversy: two thoughts 1. Other disciplines are not philosophy. Being admitted in philosophy without a writing sample is just preposterous. 2. The writing sample is the most important part of the application, HOWEVER, they aren't gonna read 200 writing samples, so your other credentials have to be good enough to merit a read. So in the first cut, your sample isn't too important. In the final stages tho, your sample is the most important.

me too. the obscene name calling was what crossed the line for me

Just to clarify, especially for those like Matt that are in MAs, I don't mean to say that to go to an MA is settling or that to be at an MA is an insult to one's ability. And of course, being in a top MA is the best way to get placed well. I'm just saying that as it is, philosophy promises minimal pay, horrendous job opportunities and very little recognition outside the profession. Does adding two more years and another move, likely across the country, to the typical career path of a philosopher really sound like a positive thing for the profession. Certainly those that go to MAs benefit, but this should not become a practical requirement.

Anyone want to discuss? Those that have the MA generally have a leg up applying to PhDs. They have shown a commitment to the field, shown they know what they are getting themselves into, and have more training and likely more writing ability than the general applicant from undergrad. My understanding is that something like 30% of offers from the top 30 or so go to students that already have the MA, and this may be substantially more than it seems, considering how few candidates have MAs compared to how many do not. So, is this the direction the field is headed? Eventually, will all serious applicants need to have the MA first? This seems like a terrible direction for the field to be going in. It disenfranchises poor applicants even more than they are already, and adds a year or two to the degree, since very few PhDs accept transfer credits (as I understand it). It seems like this would just alienate a lot of people and make the process of getting a degree yet even more difficult. However, perhaps this would discourage applicants that aren't as serious as they should be...I don't know. For me, as someone that is as serious as anyone about philosophy, this would discourage even me. After studying philosophy in high school and then four years in college (I now have a college degree in the subject for God's sake), it seems ludicrous that I wouldn't be qualified to study at a PhD program and would instead need to go to an MA to "get my feet wet". That seems demeaning and absurd...just me though. Thoughts?

You guys can bs with me if you want. Make no mistake; this is highly speculative. Here is the number of applicants to uc Berkeley undergraduate over the last six years, rounded to the nearest thousand, from farthest back to most recent: 48,000, 49000, 50,000, 53,000, 62,000, 68,000 (2013, so preliminary estimate). Notice the drastic increase in applicants over the last two years. This seems to me probably not random, and the most likely cause seems to me to be the economy. When the economy suffers, more people try to go to school, both as undergraduates and for graduate degrees. Though still weak, the economy has improved in recent years. I would expect, then, to likely not see such a drastic jump in applicants, but either a steady hold or a decrease in applications this year. Based on the seeming lack of activity on boards in our discipline, I am tempting to suspect the latter. Of course, there may be no correlation or an underwhelming correlation between undergraduate applicants and graduate applicants, between applicants in general and the economy, or between forum activity and total numbers of graduate applicants. These are all assumptions, which are open to be debate. There are other factors. Take the MA program at Georgia State. They received 59 MA philosophy apps in 2005, and 156 in 2012 (55 in 2006, an increase in every year subsequent). But is this due to the economy? Almost certainly not, or if so, marginally. The factor here, I suspect, is the growing reputation of their program. Unfortunately, admissions data is quite lacking at most programs (or, indeed, fortunately, because admissions data may be useless or even misleading). My conclusion is that correlations are tricky in this scenario....but there is, I think, reason to hope for at most the same amount of competition, or perhaps even less I'd be happy to discuss with anyone in this thread...cuz February is still over a month away Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!!

looks like my final count will be 13, 11 phd and 2 MA. I get the sense that that is pretty average. some people do fewer, and if that is all you can afford or all you feel you are a good fit with, then great. some do over 20, and if you can afford that then power to you. to the point of cutting out a program because of its city...I think that's a perfectly valid reason. you are gonna spend the next 5-7 years here if its a phd...you better like it!!! I struggled with this as well. Wisconsin Madison is a great fit for me in a lot of ways and seems like a great program (56 dollar app fee, finally someone trying to make the process easier on applicants!!!)...but I just know that I personally wouldn't be happy in such a cold environment. weather is actually a big factor in happiness. its cold where I am now, and I just cant imagine somewhere colder haha. so is 13 too few? I don't think so. I may be delusional, but I think there's just no way I get shut out. and if I do, that probably means I don't belong in philosophy.

If you get in, expect February. If not, expect maybe April, maybe never.

can it just be February already omg