Cottagecheeseman

If the dude is trolling = He's a genius. If the dude is serious = He has a major untreated mental illness.

I hope they do read this, if only so they can get a good laugh. Also I just sent you a Christmas card, enjoy!

This dfindley guy keeps getting better and better. It's fantastic. Best part of my day is seeing what he posts online.

http://i.imgur.com/Je3OP.gif

I want to go to grad school CAUSE philosophy. My interests are Islamic Philosophy, Plotinus, and Philosophy of Love. Please accept me into your program, because I'm really great. Also, I'll bring booze. ^use that, sure to work...

Zizek is a philosopher he just sucks. Sorry couldn't resit... (my name is a reference to another forum that I just used here, I don't really care about zizek) But I do want to second Ziggyphil - before I started undergrad I was interested in philosophy, mostly in history stuff but some continental, because thats what wikipedia had about philosophy and thats what was in the 'philosophy' section of the bookstore. It wasn't until at school that I took a few classes and found real analytic philosophy, and now I can't really read contemporary/semi-contemporary continental philosophy. I'm not interested in the questions, and I can't stand the fact that they can't write clearly and use simple language. I like the way analytic philosophers focus on clear problems, and are more interested in presenting arguments and using rational discourse. So now I'm 100% analytic, with no regrets.

Same. FML....

What Leiter said on the issue: A number of applicants have sent me the following e-mail from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder: "Due to a complex internal reorganization now in progress, the University of Colorado Boulder Philosophy Department will not be admitting any new graduate students for the 2014-15 year. We apologize for the inconvenience and we will refund the application fees for those who have already paid. Thanks so much for your interest in us. We expect to re-open enrollments for 2015-16." One of the students who received this e-mail wrote me: It is amazing and entirely unprofessional that they would decide not to accept applications so late in the application season. Many of us had already submitted GRE scores, which cost a fee, and had been working on the application and were excited to apply there. I can't believe they are doing this, and it is further complicating the arduous task of applying to graduate school, and now we have to scramble and either have one less school to apply to, or quickly add another school. It's not up on their website as of yet, so maybe you can post about this to help spread the word that they are not accepting applications this year. Colorado clearly needs to refund not only applications fees, but other fees that students incurred in applying there, such as GRE fees. I trust they will do the right thing, but would be glad to hear from students going forward.

GPA, GRE, Lack of Grad Work, Publications, Conferences. I worked a lot while an undergrad, and took less work that a lot of people and still barely had time to complete it. I never got to go to confrences or submit papers because if I missed work I couldn't pay rent. I was depressed/stressed by some personal stuff one semester and it was the only semester I got less than a 4.0. I have a W from my penultimate semester in a English class that I clashed with the teacher on and would've gotten a C in, because he literally hated my work and my opinions on the subject. I suck at math, and I never really took it in Highschool (I was 'religiously homeschool for my life until college) or college, so my math Gre score is pitifully low, though my Verbal and Writing are both strong. But my letters are good, I won an award for being the best student at a mid-range research university out of like 100 other phil majors. My writing sample is one of the best my faculty advisory for the independent study I originally wrote it in has seen from an undergrad. People know my letter writers, who aren't famous in their fields, but they are well-know (and active in analytic philosophy. So I have that going for me. Honestly, I'm already ready for not getting in anywhere knowing what I'm competing against.

wait when did that happen? I have a friend who is applying there and he never told me that? I don't see anything on the website on a cursory glance.

Like the Kant puns! - Best of luck! Stories like yours scare me - but we must move (and DRINK) on!

Let's just call it THE official thread, so we haveo ne...

Is your other (not hume) writing sample a LOT better? If so, send that. If they are semi-comparable in how good and polished they are, I say submit the hume/descartes one... Don't worry about blandness, Arizona is a mostly analytic department so they practically breathe blandness there! Also I'm applying to Arizona, so we'll compete there, but our interests are so different I don't think it'll matter.

2 out of 3 is pretty good! I wish I could read my letters... - So worried and stressed right now.

Wow. Just wow. Just wow. Wow... Dfindley. I really think you should see someone. You have some issues you need to work out. I don't say this to be mean, I say this because I'm genuinely worried about your mental health, and the safety of those around you.

I did two undergraduate (my program was only undergraduate, so no chance at any graduate work) independent studies, one on epistemology and one on metaethics. I think the best part about them was that my teachers who did them are writing my letters, and I did fairly well at those two independent studies. Otherwise they were just me sitting around reading stuff then banging my head on the table and going "why did I choose philosophy and not something empirical" and then writing a paper that actually wasn't that bad. Also if you're interested in modern philosophy of religion, I know that Plantinga is the big guy when it comes to the christian side, and his book God and Other Minds is a good place to start. On the atheistic side, J. L. Mackie's book "The miracle of theism" is fantastic. These are both heavily analytic, so I don't know how interested you would be, but they are good starting points for modern analytic philosophy of religion.

Okay, let's not feed Dfindley - who is either a troll or mentally ill - 1: I too yearn for for camaraderie in applying to Grad school. It's so competitive in philosophy but I don't feel the need to be competitive with other applicants. I hope everyone here gets in to their dream school with full funding and go on to become famous philosophers who write on cool topics. Drinks all around! (I'm not drunk at all, I'm at work, so this will be less enjoyable then when I would have seen it last night) - also is it just me but everywhere I find young philosophers online I also find alcoholics, maybe there is some necessary relationship between booze and philosophy? 2: I'm still working on writing sample! Yes I know I'm late, but it's done but I'm just doing major and minor edits to it! It's on virtue epistemology, specifically a critique of the virtue epistemology (knowledge as success from ability) that Greco puts forward in his book Achieving Knowledge. If anyone wants to look at it and give me feedback, that would be cool - I'll just do it over private message. 3. I'm interested mostly in Epistemology and Metaethics. Yup, I'm an analytic guy, but my days of hating on continental philosophy are over, except for jokes on the internet. I also want to pursue extra study in philosophy of science and experimental philosophy - something I haven't had the chance to study in undergrad work. 4. I already mentioned my writing sample, but my statement of purpose is bland. I start with a story about why I want to study philosophy in graduate school (my experience with David Lewis' book "On the plurality of worlds" - but then I just say what I'm interested in studying, mentioning research I did in independent studies with some professors, and then end with why I want to study at X school and some various stuff about my undergraduate study that I think will help me look more interesting. (Namely, President Philosophy Club, Outstanding Student Award for the philosophy department) 5. I want to go anywhere on my list (Yale, USC, Arizona, U-Mass Amherst, UVA, Rochester, VA Tech MA, one or two other MA programs) - but mostly I want to go to USC to work with Mark Schroeder and Hawthorne. 6. If I did a dissertation right now I would probably present some arguments against moral realism/objectivism (the idea that there are more properties) - argue that they don't exist. But who knows. I'm still very much unschooled in a lot of philosophy, and that's mostly why I want to go to Grad school! Again, best of luck everyone!

Dfindly, whyd you gotta throw those ad hominem attacks everywhere?

Ancientatcontinental, You're my Hero!

I think Leiter's remarks on this would be useful. Here's a link: http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/analytic.asp In essence he says that it's best to study continental philosophy at analytic programs that have people working in those traditions. I say apply to schools that do both, like he suggests, that way you allow yourself to experience both. I know Chicago is considered one of hte top programs for continental and analytic philosophy. So why pick when you can do both?

wow. Just wow.

woah this is super interesting

I'm not assuming you have a mental illness, although the way you have reacted towards criticism of your the way your graduate applications are going might lend support to such a thesis. I don't have time to read a work self-published on Amazon, and in an area I know nothing about. This is not a 'lets do philosophy' forum. This is a 'help me get into grad school' forum. Finally, what Maxhgns said is 1000% true. Rethink where you are applying too. Look at the New School, Vanderbilt, Chicago, Irvine, U of Tenn, and places of that nature as they actually do work in continental philosophy, where most of the places you listed are not interested in doing continental (ie: anything german after Kant, pretty much) philosophy. Get more letters of recommendation. Go back to school, get better letters, and then apply again. I hope this is helpful for you, if you actually want help getting into Philosophy phd school maybe you should listen to some of us here.

I guess I just choose to believe this is fake given that my view of humanity would have to be severely lowered if it turned out to be true. This thread IS delicious... and I'm a terrible person too...

Nobody give him a writing sample guys I'm 95% positive he will use it as his own...