wandajune

That's very unfortunate to hear. CU Boulder used to be on my list of schools to apply to, and I took it off for various reasons. Now I'm very glad I did! Also, philstudent1991's point. Ugh.

Call and complain, that's ridiculous!

Pedigree. I go to small liberal arts school that virtually nobody has heard of.

How is everyone thanking their letter writers? Email, thank you card, saying it in person, etc?

I'm applying to 12, because it's what I can reasonably afford. If you can reasonably afford 25, I'm not sure that there's anything wrong with that. Maybe check in with your letter writers and ask for their advice, especially if you're concerned that they'll be bothered by the number.

I'm applying to some top 25, a few ranked 50-25, and a couple MA programs. I would probably go to a lower ranked PhD program over an MA if I get a better funded offer.

There are two others from Splintered Mind as well. Here is the full blog post: http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2012/05/applying-to-phd-programs-in-philosophy.html

The GRE score is probably one of the least important parts of the application. As is, your score is pretty solid. I wouldn't bother retaking it, especially if it means risking that your score will be sent late.

Your GPA is great and those GRE scores are fine, so at the very least none of that will disqualify you. If your writing sample is well written and the right person happens to like it, I would say you definitely stand a chance. Though I'd say applying to grad school is risky for anyone given the competition, even for the best students. If you get rejected this year, take it with a grain of salt, you'll probably be in good company.

I tried to focus on all sections, and alternated between studying verbal and quantitative each day. Though I think I ended up spending more time on verbal just because I don't care for math that much. Flash cards were big because it was something I could do while I was at work (customer service desk job), so realistically I would do that for more than an hour a day. Other than that I just did as many practice questions/passages as I could. The important thing is understanding the kinds of questions asked, and the kinds of answers the GRE wants. I really focused on understanding the practice questions I got wrong and wouldn't move on until I felt like I fully understood why the correct answer was correct.

The Official ETS book and Kaplan are both good. The online portion of Kaplan has a lot of practice tests. Take as many practice tests as you can and memorize vocab. Really focus on vocab. Don't slack on the analytic writing section, practice that and have someone give you feedback on your practice essays. I studied for 3 months over the summer for 1-2 hours a day doing all of the above and got a score in the 99th percentile for Verbal. I also kept a stack of vocab flash cards (also by Kaplan) with me most of the time and flipped through them when I had nothing else to do.

Thanks, good luck to you!

My undergraduate professors all have a strong analytic bent, so I haven't had much exposure to continental philosophy. I'm trying to apply to well-rounded programs, avoiding any that are solely known for being continental.

You should call the graduate admissions office so you can ask someone who knows how the system works.

When sending my GRE scores, I specified the department code for each institution. Later I realized some departments say "send your scores to the institution code, not the department code." Do I need to send the scores again, or do both the institution and department receive the scores? Any idea?

Just ask the letter writer if they are okay with it. I doubt they will "hate" you, and if they're professional there's no way they would write "don't admit her" just out of annoyance. I'm applying to 12 programs and my letter writers don't mind at all, in fact they had all recommended that I apply to as many programs as I can afford. (I'm sure the appropriate amount depends on your discipline, for mine 10+ applications isn't uncommon.) Just do whatever you can to make it easier--email your recommender a list of all the programs you're applying to and the due dates. Send gentle reminders when a due date is coming close, and make sure the instructions for uploading are clear. Most professors will use basically the same letter for all programs, so it honestly wont be a whole lot of extra work. If your recommender seems to think the number of applications is inappropriate, then consider narrowing your list and cutting out schools that aren't as good of a fit for you.

ETS Powerprep has 2 practice tests and they are free.

My greatest resource has been advice from my professors. They know me well, and as such have really good advice specifically about which strengths of mine to include and how to incorporate them into the SoP. I would recommend sending a draft to your professors, especially the ones writing your LoRs.

The ETS Official GRE Guide is referring to the 2 tests in the back of the book and the 2 PowerPrep tests (which you don't need to purchase the official guide in order to take, so it's a bit misleading). There are no additional practice tests from ETS.

Those GRE scores alone probably wont disqualify you, especially since the rest of your application is strong. If you're very concerned though, perhaps take one of the big names off the list and add in a safety school or two.

Depends on when the applications are due. If your apps need to be completed by early-mid December, I would say its a bad idea to wait that long. If the apps are due in early January, you're probably okay.

I would imagine that the quantitative score is probably one of the least important parts of the application. As long as there's no minimum requirement, I'm sure that programs will be able to look past it. BUT getting into a top tier school is difficult even with ideal scores, so make sure you're applying at some lower tier schools as well.

It is a bit unrealistic to expect a score boost of 10 points, let alone in 5 days. Make sure you understand good test taking strategies and review the questions you've gotten wrong in practice tests. There's not much more you can do at this point but relax and do your best.

Thanks for the responses! I had read the Splintered Mind article and found it to be helpful, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to seek out some alternate perspectives.

I wouldn't bother stressing about the point difference at this point. You're going to do as well as you're going to do. Just relax. Don't psych yourself out right before test day.