sometimesiexist

Info about the city/ surrounding area? Also, I will be looking for an apartment come summer, and wanted to know if anyone else were in the same situation.

Also, it's important to mention that you should, while in undergrad, try to fill different types of distributions (even if you're analytic, I could be wrong about this because I'm continental) like logic, which you mention, but also classical and modern philosophy. From my impression, if you don't do them now, you're most likely going to have to go back and do them later. I agree with Tarski, almost everything is competitive. Most of the schools you listed accept between 2-4% of their applicant pool. You'll find those numbers don't get much better anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, it's a mixture of fit, writing ability, luck (the right person reading the right essay written the right way...etc.), and the ability to persevere.

Out of curiosity Jan 20 seems kind of early, can anyone verify it?

So, to spend my time waiting I've been focusing a lot on my (and my boyfriend's) container garden. We've got about 20 plants, herbs and veggies. Does anyone else garden, what are you growing? I've just planted some new greens, peas, and eggplants (my last one died after a root fungus). I've been thinking about growing some carrots, but I'm not sure how well that would go over in a container. My only attempt at root veggies so far being onions, which yielded little more than green onions, but were delicious none the less.

Dear all schools, Please acknowledge my existence, please...something anything. Honestly, I'm cute and funny and completely obsessed with you, just shoot me a wave or smile. P.s. Do you like me? Check yes or no.

What: Philosophy-Continental, specifically speech, language, and power dynamics, specifically as it relates to moral/ethical and political philosophy. Why: Who knows? For some reason I decided my life was best spent talking about the power dynamics and ethical relations of persons and others in public contexts. I guess since high school I've been interested in "individuals" and how they interact, what makes them individuals, and what disqualifies others. I have a specific interest in those marginalized from public speech communities, and why we should (morally) try to include them. I think this is kind of an expression of my feminism (and my own marginalization at times). I also go weak in the knees for phenomenology, I could read it all the time. Generally, I want to teach in philosophy, I think it's relevant and useful for a number of reasons and applications to the so-called 'real world'. I had a few teachers and professors who made it seem that way for me, and I want to be a part of that.

I did go to an undergrad with narrative evaluations, I also scored very well on the GRE despite my lack of 'grades'. My narrative evaluations have told me more about my academic work, potential, and weaknesses than any grade could have. I received pointed criticism and praise, as well as constructive advice in them. I don't know how this is something to mock. I understand how the GRE is something you can be cynical about, hate, or think is just plain useless. But if an adcomm wants it, they don't think it's useless. While not everyone can take a test particularly well, you can put forth more effort in other parts of the application to hopefully "outshine" your less than stellar GRE. Also, it's always good to keep in mind that it won't get you in, but it can keep you out.

I have one professor, with whom I have a great repertoire, we sometimes just sit and chat about things, I've house sat for him, done one on one classes with him, and he's elected me for a TA job in one of his classes. But still, every time I walk into his office he groans "are you still sure you want to do this?". He tells me about his poverty, his torn up love life, and general lack of free time, and he's on a tenure track in social sciences, not even in the humanities. After I say, yes I'm sure I want to do this, he gives me all the helpful advice I need, even if it's "Don't move to NY city...you'll starve...I promise, You will call me in a year and ask for money you'll be so desperate from starving." While it's a bit discouraging to watch him tell me how awful everything is, he means well, and doesn't want me to be delusional about where I'll get in (he constantly tells me it's a crap shoot, sometimes terrible candidates get in, and great ones don't) and how much money I'll make ("Do you like pasta? Get used to it.). It's good to have one person in my camp who's being realistic about what happens during the admissions process. It prepared me for how difficult a road I was hoping to travel, not just now, but for at least 15 years. To the OP, her discouragement sounds less like my prof's discouragement, in that he eventually is extremely helpful after the doom and gloom. Telling you to not apply is not at all helpful, she should instead be telling you to apply, but that it's difficult to get in and you shouldn't be discouraged if you don't. You may have to work super hard, and bust your ass just to apply, but the process is worth it. Maybe don't apply to ALL top 25 programs, apply to one or two. But certainly don't let her convince you to just give up, try to find someone else to talk to, like a career service at your school. A lot of times they will help you with your applications and scholarship/grant/fellowship writing, at least mine does.

In general, I think people who to go four year colleges come from more privileged backgrounds than those who do not. For one reason or another, they are able to go to college for four years (at least) of their life. I come from a low middle class family with four kids, and two parents who barely finished high school, and the three of us who are college age (or older) just elected to do what we thought was interesting and important, my brother studied math and physics, my sister elementary education, myself philosophy. My sister being the only one who got an actual vocational degree. All three of us worked between 20-35 hours a week while in college, all three of us have acquired at least 20 grand in debt, and all three of us are happy with ourselves, despite having to make it on our own the second we graduated high school. We all worked toward paying for all of our bills and college since 18, and all had jobs when we turned 16 in order to save money/ buy cars/ pay for incidental things like going to the movies. There are many who also did these things, and did even more, went into more debt, worked two jobs etc. Yet, while attending my liberal arts college, I didn't meet very many of them. Most could at least call and ask for grocery money if they needed it. Or had money directly deposited into their accounts once or twice a month by mom and dad. I never had those luxuries, and still was determined to study the classic "do you want fries with that?" discipline. On the flip side, I see very many well off students in the humanities, but also in the natural sciences, and economics (the closest my university gets to business). I also have noticed that I am probably the only one of my friends whose parents never went to college, let alone graduated. Those are the breaks, but I would assume that vocational schools, and two year colleges get a lot more lower socio-economic status people than even a four year science or business program would get, let alone a four year degree in something that is seen as an extraneous discipline like classics or philosophy.

@tarski: I tried that one, but then people just ask me why...over and over again. They also continue to have no idea what I do, and make "jokes" about the universe not existing (I never understand their jokes...I'm not even sure that they're actually jokes).

Me: I study philosophy. Waitress at my work: So can you tell me why people exist? Me: Not really... Waitress: What do you know then? Me: Not much, I guess. Me: I study philosophy. Person A: So you want to be the president? Me: No...not at all. Person A: Ohhh, so you want to be a lawyer? Me: No, I'm going to school for philosophy.. Person A: So you can argue really good and win cases as a lawyer, right? Me: You got it! (Big thumbs up) Me: I study philosophy. My parents (who only completed high school, and just barely at that): Right, but what does that mean? Me: Well, I read and theorize about different aspects of the human situation, and how they could logically work. My parents: So...like religion, why don't you go to church anymore? Me: *hangs up the phone* There are more...there are an infinite amount honestly. Unless someone has studied or does study philosophy, chances are they will have no clue what I do or why I do it. I'm to the point where it's laughable now, and I just do my best not to giggle when people ask me questions like "So, am I like a robot...or not?" and "So, when are you running for congress?"

I think everyone has room to grow as a person, none of us should be where we want to be or will be in 10 years. Otherwise, why continue on in those next ten years? I just don't understand why this should be ONE more thing that talks about how certain people aren't qualified for graduate school based on something relatively out of their control (like age). That would be like saying women are too childish for graduate school until they've started a family, or men not stable enough until their married so they have someone to care for them. It just seems stupidly offensive and unnecessarily judgmental to me. After being told by so so many people about how few women go to grad school in philosophy, and how many less are able to get full time jobs in the profession, I guess this just kind of tipped me over the "stop telling me what I can or can't and should or shouldn't do" edge. I apologize if my original post seemed a bit ridiculous, but my point probably could have been better made by simply talking about how we all have different life experiences and you can't put an age on it. I'm honestly just tired of hearing about how despite my good qualifications, I'm unqualified in ways that I cannot control.

I will be 22 and straight out of UG, I will also (fingers crossed) be working in ethical and moral theory in a philosophy department. I, honestly, see very little connection to this *deep human nature* that seems to be necessary, as the trend in ethical theory is to state that we're wrong to believe that humans have some special ingredient that makes them have a specific and special nature as opposed to the rest of the living things on this planet. Also, I don't see how being 22 means I don't have this magical life experience that I somehow need to be in the humanities. I've held full time jobs (during my first two years UG I worked around 36 hours a week, don't tell my advisor, she thinks I only was working 20 or so), and have been financially independent since 18, dealt with major issues when I was in high school, and have had long term relationships complete with home sharing. I'm not sure what counts as life experience here, but I feel like I've got a good bit of it.

I keep having to put my GPA as 0 and my earned credits as 0, because I go to a school without grades, and without a credit system. I have never failed a class, but my applications look like I've never even taken one. Sometimes I want to cry when I have to hit the 0 button. Also, I'm pretty sure that one of my LORs is just going to write an essay about how I should be working in cultural history instead of philosophy, one is going to write about how I should get an MA first, and one is going to write about what a disaster I look like all the time because I don't sleep enough. haha...I hope my enormous dark circles and eye bags make it into one of my letters. Here's to 1500$s to be told that I suck.

This is an interesting topic, and my boyfriend and I have something worked out...kind of. We are both graduating from our UG this year, he's entering the job market, and I'm applying to PhD programs. We're both putting our feelers out all across the country, and decided that we could be happy together for a while, but would eventually resent each other if we didn't pursue our own paths. We've decided this, but all the while with hopes that we won't be too far from one another, and if we are we'll just figure it out when the time comes. We are best friends, and hopefully don't get split up by all the turbulence. But, until we both know more, we aren't really making plans.

I keep having this one dream over and over, where I'm waiting tables, and I have like 20 of them, and they're all mad. But instead of talking to me about their food or whatever, they keep asking questions about my thesis and my application materials. Usually at least one person throws food at me, and another person boos. It's a terrible dream...I told my advisor about it and she giggled..yes...giggled. Then tried to make a straight face and told me to try relaxation techniques.... I think it's a little too late for deep breathing exercises.

GRE Books, Test, Scores: 380 Transcripts: 140 Applications themselves: 785 Envelopes, Ink, Postage: 300 1605$ And if you include the lost money from taking an hour cut at work so that I could do this whole stupid process, 5 hours a week, for 12 weeks, at around 14$ an hour (I'm a waitress, so it varies): 840$ (at least) GRAND TOTAL: $2445 I took out an extra $3000 in student loans because I'm on my own, working as a waitress, and taking full loads of classes and writing a thesis. Thinking about all this money makes me a little ill...I wanted a new computer because mine is eight years old...that isn't going to happen anytime soon though.

I have to do this on a daily basis almost. I just have to keep reminding myself that I won't be waiting tables in a diner forever and subsequently becoming an alcoholic , even if grad school isn't what happens next for me, and I do have to wait tables in a diner for a little longer and become an alcoholic for a little while. Also, permanent waitresshood is a really good motivation to make my applications as good as possible.

So guys, here's the long and the short of it. I'm pretty disheartened at this point. For a few reasons, my writing sample is not in good condition. I've written the sample (which is also the second chapter of my senior thesis) based off a paper I wrote last year. I just finished it last week. Needless to say, it's in pretty sorry shape. Even if I had all of my time to dedicate to making it as perfect as can be, it still wouldn't be perfect. Coming in at just under 30 pages, I need to edit out a lot, make it a lot more concise, and generally sharpen it. Here's my dilemma, my first application absolutely needs to be sent out next tuesday or wednesday (it has a december 8 deadline, so that's cutting it sooo close it hurts). Do I focus on editing what I've got, because I do want to use it for other schools, or do I just do the editing to the first paper, which is in much better shape, that this essay is based on? OR ( and this is a big OR, considering I've already sent transcripts, LORs, GREs, and paid the fee) do I just scrap this application altogether and work toward that glowing writing sample I know that I'm capable of for my next applications? Honestly, I'm just kind of down-trodden about this whole thing. Writing all this nonsense and trying to keep up in classes, and write my thesis, and hold down my job has pretty much knocked it all out of me. So, what do I do?

I go to an honors college, so to graduate everyone has to write an honors thesis. The smallest are the mathematics ones, around 40 pages, with the largest being in humanities disciplines and often exceeding 90 pages. It takes your entire senior year, and you have to give a satisfactory public oral defense of it. My applications, on top of my thesis, have been killing my course work, I realized yesterday that I have 2 20 page finals due fairly soon that I haven't worked on at all. It's killer.

I took mine on october 20th, and just got mine on saturday. It took almost 20 business days. This time of year a lot more people are taking the test, which means more grading and slower scores. Waiting for mine almost killed me, I'm sure they'll get here in a few days, try not to stress about it too much, and concentrate on having everything ready to send once those scores hit your hands.

I totally understand your problem, I go to a US institution that uses a pass/fail scale. It's hard to understand that it counts for anything when your professors say good things about your general course work and abilities. I'm just going to hope for the best, and try to do all I can in the meantime. Also, my school supplies a statement with every transcript to explain what exactly is up with all the S's on my transcript. I just have to keep telling myself that the grading system here has been an enormous benefit to me, because of the more personalized and narrative evaluation that I've received, and hopefully grad schools will see the benefit as well.

I'm pretty conflicted about it. Having done all of my undergrad at an institution that doesn't provide grades (pass/fail grading supplemented by narrative evaluations of course work) I don't have any other way in which I can be quantitatively measured against other students. There's no GPA for them to look at and say, oh she did well/poorly. Only my GRE to prove that I could have been competitive at a large grade-issuing institution. That said, taking the GRE was miserable, and I'm not convinced it really measures more than the ability to learn a lot of vocabulary, and how to take the test. Paying for it was even worse, and if I hadn't had my student loans, this entire process would have been inaccessible to me.