wandajune

I think attempting to "do philosophy" is probably bad advice. It's a cover letter. My statement was mainly an outline of my research interests and relevant background, with a short quip about how I got interested in philosophy. I also opened with a light joke, which admissions committees mentioned as a positive aspect of my application. (Not everyone can pull this off, however, so make sure you have others proofread your statement to ensure that you've achieved the right tone.) The best advice is to stay on topic, but if you can show a bit of your personality in the letter, that can help you.

I think this feeling of "Could I have done better?" is pretty inescapable in graduate admissions, excluding those who are lucky enough to get into their top choice. "Could I have done better if I had only used another writing sample? If I had only applied to more top programs? Etc." Attending the MA might give you the chance to do a bit better next time around (and it might not), but if you go with the PhD, my advice is to just be careful with that counterfactual thinking. Be happy and proud about where you end up.

I know two people who got PhDs at Missouri not too long ago, and both have TT jobs now. My impression is that the placement there is really quite good for a bottom-of-the-top-50 kind of program. Ideally one of those waitlists will materialize into an offer, but you should feel good about the Missouri option.

I'm also a current graduate student at UW-Madison. I'll just echo what Structural_Realist has said about the Walker budget having nothing to do with the departure. Incoming students shouldn't be worried that the budget is going to drive faculty away. I also really love the department and believe that Wisconsin is a great place to study philosophy (though it's not as strong in metaethics, now). I would be happy to chat in a PM with anyone who is considering the program.

I had nearly identical scores last year, and I was admitted into eight graduate programs, a few in the PGR Top-50 to Top-20 range. I would recommend working on other aspects of your application instead.

I declined an offer from them a while ago.

Thank you for the kind words! Indeed, I'm look forward to the beer selection and other wonderful aspects of living Madison.

I should be signing out soon as well. Glad to have had all of you as company for these past months. PM me if you're headed to Wisconsin, or if you just want to be facebook buds.

I haven't read every post in these threads, and I was simply curious because I happened to read a post or two about your T-5 acceptance, but none about the 2 body problem. Anyway, good luck to you and your fiancee.

Congrats, that's a great choice!

I recall some mention that you were accepted at a T-5 program. Do you need to wait for UCLA to make a decision?

I very nearly used a writing sample on such a topic, changing my mind a few months before applications were due. Perhaps I would have been shut out, too. Just goes to show, again, how totally unpredictable this game is--how could you have known how popular your writing sample topic would be? Thank you for the helpful blogging this season. After rooting for you all this time, I feel terribly disappointed for you. However, a hearty congratulations on the law school admissions! Those are some incredible schools, and I suspect you'll have the opportunity to continue studying philosophy, especially somewhere like Penn.

Congrats! Mizzou has a wonderful program. Best of luck to you.

How you might weigh placement records: (1) Pay attention to what kind of placements are listed (mostly tenure track? adjunct? post-doc?) and how that matches with your goals. (2) Look at the advisers for those who are getting good placements, and consider whether these are the people you might be working with.

Wisconsin only guarantees five in your financial offer, but to my knowledge, they frequently continue to fund students for 6-7 (maybe more) years who are making progress. I think this is common at many programs. Also, I sent you a PM with some of my impressions! And I do agree with what everyone here is saying--try to go with whatever you feel will make you happier in the long run.