perpetuavix

Unless a school specifically says the analytical writing score is important, send the higher verbal and quant scores. Getting a 5.0 is a great score as it is, and most schools only want to see that you don't get an embarrassing AW score (>3.0), especially since they will be reading a writing sample and SOP that will give them a much clearer idea of your writing skills. One point in verbal or quant probably won't make a huge difference, but those scores definitely matter more than AW.

If you want a job teaching in the US, I would recommend getting certified in ESL in addition to your foreign language. There are jobs in ESL pretty much everywhere, and you might be able to find a position where you teach some ESL and some language classes. If you just want to teach somewhere and are a native English teacher, you could teach English abroad. Some countries/schools require TESOL certification, but there's also plenty of places that will hire pretty much anyone who is a native English speaker. But if you're trying to decide if you want to finish your program, why would you make a plan that requires so much effort? You're thinking about spending another year in school, possibly paying for it, just so you can be certified to do something you want to try out, while you decide if your heart is really in it for the PhD. You would spend two years away from your department and your PhD process, which might make it hard to go back if you decide that is what you want. Why not ask your advisor about your options within your current department? Why not just take a leave of absence and find a job that doesn't require extra schooling? Why not just spend another year in your program and see how you feel at the end?

What exactly are you getting your MA/PhD in, and what are you hoping to teach? Generally, you pay for a Masters in education unless it's a subject that's in demand. I got mine mostly paid for, because I was certified for math and special ed, but all the elementary school and English teachers I know paid for theirs. So unless you're in an in demand field, if you switched to the school of education, you'd probably be paying. I don't think the department you're thinking about leaving has any incentive to keep giving you tuition remission or a TAship through their department. Perhaps they're very generous, but I don't know of many schools that would fund a student who is no longer in their department over an incoming student. The worst you can do is ask, though. If you decide to stay in your current department, it might be a little awkward, but they likely wouldn't take away your funding. Have you looked at what the requirements are for the state you're hoping to teach in? The requirements vary a lot, and a content degree might be acceptable to get certified. You also might be able to find work in a private or possibly charter school; they have their own set of requirements, and a Masters with some kind of teaching experience (from your time working as a TA) would likely be enough. You can also look at community colleges, although you would probably only get hired as an adjunct.

Congratulations on your engagement! I just got married two months ago, and wedding planning was pretty enjoyable and not super stressful (I was very surprised by both of these things). Especially if you have someone to help you make decisions and pay, you'll be fine! For me, I wouldn't announce my impending marriage as my first introduction in my classes. But it's pretty easy when you start talking with anyone, advisors or classmates, to mention that you have a fiance (I hated saying that word.... but then people almost always ask you when you're getting married). For me, I'd rather just work it into a conversation naturally than lead with it. But whatever works for you! If anyone does give you hassle about how getting married makes you seem not as serious, you can show them this study that Eigen pointed to in another thread that I found super interesting: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cheri/workingpapers/upload/cheri_wp94.pdf

The old version was adaptive for every question. The new version is adaptive for each section; if you do really well on your first verbal or quant section, the next section of that type will be harder as a result.

Check with the places you're applying before you send those transcripts. I had a handful of credits from two other schools, but I ended up not needing to send those transcripts to every school, because my undergrad institution listed them on my transcript already. A few schools still wanted all of them, but some said it was acceptable since they were listed (you might need to send a scanned official transcript to verify if this would work for you).

I had a letter from an adjunct who was not in my field. If he's the person who can best speak to your abilities, that's fine. A good letter from a lecturer is easily worth more than an impersonal letter from a tenured professor.

There were about 3 people who got less than the 50th percentile on the math section who got into top 50 schools (although all were in the 21-50 range), out of 9 people who reported scores in that range. 6 out of 11 people who scored in the 50th-59th percentile got at least 1 acceptance or waitlist at a top 20, and 3 more in the top 50. All of these applicants had 80th+ percentile verbal scores, though.

It turns out GRE verbal likely matters more than the quant score anyway: http://perpetuavix.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/philosophy-admissions-survey-what-determines-success/ and your verbal score is the 95th percentile, which is an excellent score. I wouldn't retake it, unless you get a terrible (>3.0) writing score.

if you need school/office supplies, this website tracks weekly deals at several retailers: http://www.passionforsavings.com/back-to-school/ It's geared towards teachers and parents for children's school supplies (ie, they will always tell you when there's a sale on Crayola, which isn't so relevant to the grad school crowd). But it also has prices for paper, binder clips, highlighters, folders, files, index cards, pen, pencils, post its.....

Yeah, I think the biggest problems were the sample size and that the summary questions weren't there to start with. Most people answered most of the more demographic questions, but when it came to posting their results, it was way more hit or miss. But I think the questions themselves covered all our bases, and I don't know that someone 'qualified' could've added much to it, really. For increasing the exposure, it would've been helpful, but I don't know how it could've happened. I don't know how widely prospectives read any of the philosophy blogs, although some of them might've been willing to publicize the survey. I think it will be valuable to future admissions cycles, because people can find someone with a very similar profile to themselves and see how it turned out for them. Excel, and I used graphpad for the t-tests (which was almost certainly the wrong test choice, but oh well). The newer stuff about gender and minority status was done in Minitab.

I'm working on 1, and I just posted about the people who were especially successful (and touch on 2 and 3).

Thanks, Ian!!! I started looking through it, trying to see some patterns. I ended up making a blog to post about what I've seen so far: http://perpetuavix.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/philosophy-admissions-survey-traditions/ and I think there's a lot of other interesting stuff in here. I'm planning to do a couple more posts over the next few days.

At least in NYC, property management companies list their properties with a broker, who is the only person who can show/advertise that apartment and handles all of the application process. It's basically like getting a real estate agent for an apartment, except the renters end up paying the fee (we paid a month's rent for our broker, but we got an amazing deal and a washer/dryer so it was acceptable to me). But again, brokers usually do it more like a real estate agent: they can find properties for you to see that fit your needs, based on what's listed with them. It can include stuff that's not on Craigslist/padmapper, but that might not be so true in the Bay Area. We used a broker because I was in a sublet that was about to end and needed a place soon; she helped us find somewhere within my time frame, but I didn't have a promise that she definitely would (so that might still be a risk). I had a good experience with a broker, but I don't really know anything about the Bay Area market; brokers might be an NYC only kind of thing! But if you're submitting an application, the rental manager (or whoever is showing the apartment) should be able to tell you about the process they use once they have applications. It is unfortunately not illegal for them to take multiple applications and sort through them however they see fit. They can't discriminate against the source of the income, but they definitely can pick the richest applicant. It sucks, but being persistent might be the key here. Eventually, you'll have to find a reasonable property manager who just wants to rent the place without going through ten applications....

3 months of statements for your bank accounts (checking and savings, usually) is what places wanted in New York; people in Seattle thought it was weird I had that many. I think anything beyond that is pretty much excessive. Including your investment and especially retirement accounts is somewhat unusual. You can't access your retirement savings anytime soon, and most investments aren't easy to quickly liquidate. Maybe if you're trying to set yourself apart, investment account statements would be appropriate. But showing landlords you have money should in no way change their responsibilities. They are still liable for repairs, even if you could pay for it, so there should be no downside to providing information about your assets. Not sure where you are, but have you considered using a broker? At least in NYC, brokers cost money (which sucks) but generally follow more ethical guidelines, ie, they only take one application per apartment and don't take your application money unless they think you'll qualify. Location depending, but it could help. Good luck!

I have an IKEA mattress (which was cheap, and I wouldn't really recommend) and a fold-up bed frame (which is probably the best piece of furniture I ever bought). The frame is cheap and eliminates the need for a box spring, while still giving you space underneath the bed. It also folds up and fits in a box. I brought my shitty mattress with me even though I'm definitely going to replace it soon, but the bed frame will probably stay with me for a long time. My sister has used the same type of bed frame for probably close to 7 years (so they do last well). It sounds like the Target bed is a pretty good deal, but this works with a twin or a full mattress, if you ever decide you want to get a bigger bed. http://www.kmart.com/night-therapy-deluxe-platform-metal-bed-frame-foundation-twin/p-021V007484684000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

It seems like most people don't contact professors in philosophy departments; it does seem like the norm in other disciplines, though. I'm sure there are prospective philosophy students who have sent emails to POIs and successfully gotten into that school, but there was substantial debate about whether or not you should specify names of POIs in your SOP, which is a much milder thing to do. Personally, I didn't contact anyone before applying (although I did specify POIs in all my SOPs). The advice I got on the matter was this: Only email someone who you would want to talk to even if weren't applying to their graduate school. You can email a professor with a question about something of theirs that you read or a conference presentation, but if you're emailing them just because you want to go to their school, they will probably know that. They also may not have any involvement in the admission process (this varies a lot by school, but the committee is often just a few professors), and even if you do have a positive interaction with them, it might not count for anything come admissions time. Surefire's point about being able to ask something specific is really important, though. Maybe the person you want to work with is close to retiring and you want to find out if they're planning to accept students (although how you would ask that politely is beyond me). I think that asking a professor at a prospective program for advice on your SOP or about your fit would be ill-advised; the onus is on you to find the answer to those questions, or at least ask your own advisors. But if you have a specific question that you need answered (that cannot be found on the department's website), then it might be worth emailing a professor.

How personalized was the email? If it came from the graduate admissions office and is totally impersonal, you can safely ignore it. If it came from a member of the admissions committee and talks specifically about your application, you probably want to listen. Unless, of course, you're not interested in that program anymore.

The religion board is pretty active. Try there: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/41-religion/

This is probably the most comprehensive guide: http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2007/09/applying-to-philosophy-phd-programs.html It's from 2007, but it's been updated (that, or there's a more recent one on his blog elsewhere). it goes through all the parts of the application. There are definitely some example SOPs; I don't think there are example writing samples. Several people linked to their writing samples in their signatures on the philosophy forum. See here: and here: for some discussion of writing samples, generally, as well as some links. I'm not sure what 'context' you're looking for, though. No one is expecting you to have written a masterpiece, but it should show you have some understanding of the arguments other people are making about your topic and your view on it, whether you agree, disagree, propose something new, whatever. Your best work is likely whatever paper you've worked on the most; it should be something that has been revised from suggestions of a professor you trust and possibly other sources.

I spent all of yesterday viewing apartments after my husband made all the appointments two hours apart: it takes about 15 minutes to see an apartment. Leave yourself a little time to travel and park, but you can easily make an appointment every hour and still have time to kill. 45 minutes is probably the right amount of time between appointments. In terms of getting an apartment, show up prepared. I've gone to every viewing with a folder with all my documentation: my offer letter, bank statements (I'm using my savings for income verification), a past credit check, and tax forms. So far, I haven't needed this stuff because I haven't like anywhere enough to submit an application. But if the market moves fast, you need to be prepared to move. Get a very specific answer about if they take multiple applications, and how they prioritize them if they do. Some places only take one, which is great if it's you! But if you're competing with people, know your position. If you have excellent credit, say so! (Especially good if you have a credit report to back this up). If you have savings that you can put down another month's rent, say so! These are things that can make you stand out from other application. if you don't have either of those things, maybe you can ask your previous landlord for a glowing recommendation? That might help (but let's be real, not as much as money does). Apartment searching is a close second to the awful-ness of physically moving, so good luck!

My stuff is currently in storage with the movers until I give them the final address of where I'm moving to. I'm flying out tomorrow and hopefully will be able to find a place by the end of the week. I'm about 70% happy with my choice to use movers. Basically, it will always end up costing more than you think it will, and most movers seem to know this and exploit it. I made a packing list on their 'online inventory' system based on what I knew I had furniture-wise, and an estimate of the number of boxes I thought I would need. They gave me a quote based on the square footage of what I had. The inventory said I had 304 cubic feet, but they quoted me for 375 cf. I was annoyed, but I figured it would be fine, since I would just take more stuff than I originally planned. When they showed up, the movers said they could only take what was on the list I had supplied, and that it didn't matter how many cubic feet my stuff took up, because "that's not how we do things". The people that I got a quote from (who repeatedly said that the rate per cubic foot wouldn't change if I brought more stuff, both over the phone, in emails, and in writing) also said that it was the inventory list that mattered, not the cubic feet. It felt like such a bait and switch. In the end, the office made a deal with us to take everything for slightly more than the original price (about $300 more). We also added a few items that had been in the maybe pile, since the movers didn't actually seem to care what they took, once the office told them we had a deal. I think we ended up with more than 375 cubic feet worth of stuff (although maybe that's just because telling myself this helps me sleep at night). In the end, it's costing more than my moving stipend, but I'm getting a lot of stuff. It was cheaper than just the rental on a UHaul (before gas, taxes, and the week of my life it would take to drive). It's probably not as cheap as shipping stuff via Amtrak/Greyhound, but I was able to take all the furniture I really wanted. I did check Better Busines Bureau before picking a company. Most of the cheap places have multiple, multiple complaints against them; it seems like the expensive companies still have a few complaints, as well. I ended up picking a cheap company with relatively few complaints. If I had to do it again, I think I would maybe try packing some boxes before I made an estimate. I booked the move at least a month in advance (they were offering a discount for that), but if I had at least started boxing things up and knew how much stuff fit in a given size box, it probably would've been obviously that my box estimate was way off (I thought I would need 20....I had 51).

At least in philosophy, doing a Masters in Europe might not increase your competitiveness for a PhD, especially if you're not talking about a well known school. There are a number of partially and fully funded MAs for philosophy in North America that might be more worthwhile:

Most schools will make it clear what they expect of applicants. Some might require a major in chemistry, while some might specify certain classes/topics that you should've covered in your course of study. Even schools that list classes probably expect you to go beyond just the required classes; they likely have many students who did major in chemistry and took every chem class possible. If you find that you don't have all the required classes, or not substantially more classes, you could look into postbacs or taking classes as a nondegree student. You also likely need chemistry-specific research experience. The chemistry forum also probably has people with better ideas about your situation: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/31-chemistry/

If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, you should get in touch with the school's office of disability (the name probably isn't exactly that, but it's often something similar). There are legal protections for students who need accommodation to succeed. Just like students in K-12, you can receive additional time on tests, deadline extensions, provided tutoring, and extra study aids. I know it's much easier for students who come in with IEPs or 504 plans to get accommodations, but even if you were diagnosed with ADHD while in college, you're still entitled to these services, as long as you can properly document it. I don't know if you could make the case that you didn't succeed because of your disability and allow them to give you another chance, but if you do pursue another graduate degree, you're almost certainly better off working with the disability office to find the accommodations that work for you.