Neither Here Nor There
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Posts posted by Neither Here Nor There
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Hey I'm from the Religion page and I noticed that you were having some disagreements on the importance of the GRE. I had some experience with this in my application process that I thought you would find helpful.
I wanted to be a minister when I was an undergraduate. I went to seminary and decided I wanted to study religion professionally instead. So I have an MA from a seminary and I applied for five MAs in Departments of Religion or similar programs this season. Anyway, like I said I wasn't focused on academics, so my GPA wasn't fantastic (3.25). I emailed top programs in my field and said something like, 'My undergrad GPA isn't great, if I kick ass on the GRE can I make up for that.' Duke, for one, told me that the GRE is weighted higher than the undergraduate GPA. Emory told me not to worry about my undergraduate GPA at all if my GRE was strong. I scored 169/156/5.0 on my GRE and I got accepted to MAs at Duke, Wake Forest, and the University of Minnesota.
I'm not saying my GRE is what got me in. I have a 3.9 GPA in my seminary MA, four years in Greek, three in Hebrew, good LOR, and a strong writing sample. The moral of the story, the point I'm trying to get across, is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask your programs if you have questions. I scored poorly on Q. I expected to score 162 but I got nervous and choked. Since my V score was ridiculous I never retook the test. But I'm curious if raising my Q to 162-163 would seriously help my chances to get into a top PhD. Given my experience with emailing programs this season, I plan to just email some of my top choices and ask them.
If your writing sample was good, and you had a 3.9 GPA in seminary, and all those languages, that is a pretty strong applicant. There is also a difference between having a 3.25 GPA over all, and a 3.25 GPA in your undergrad major.
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Hegel and Heidegger? No way. They are the best philosophers.
As far as worsts, I might pick Descartes. "Worst" is not a good word, though. I just disagree with him.
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The Thai explains your username, then. Everyone I know who studied in Thailand is obsessed with mangosteen (I'm still not convinced it's a real fruit). Anyway, I second the advice above. Most--MOST--students don't come in fluent in French and/or German. You'll do that during your program. French and German can certainly help your chances, but your goose is far from cooked. I'd go ahead and apply.
Yup. It's real and super, super good.
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I would try reading widely in the traditions you're interested in (I'm sure you have already! but always room to read more), research programs that are a very strong fit for your interests, and work hard on a writing sample. As someone above has said, you don't need to come in fluent in the language of your choice. I don't understand why some seem to think you do. Only unusual students I know have done that. One thing you'll be doing while you're IN a program is learning a language.
By the way, having interests in Continental is far from a liability if one applies to programs that, you know, specialize in Continental philosophy.
No, I don't think my continental philosophy courses are a liability. I know that Emory says successful candidates show that they have taken French and German classes (I think I read that). I don't think a few semesters of languages make you fluent, though. Fluency is not my goal, but I think it's pretty weak to try to get into a PhD in continental philosophy without any appropriate languages. But the reason I asked is I knew you all may have a better feel.
All that said, I think the advice here about improving my writing sample and GRE is great advice.
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Hi, thanks everyone. I appreciate it. It's good to know that a PhD is not out of the option, and I'll definitely be working on the writing sample and languages.
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My list:
Do everything I won't be able to do as a PhD student.
Watch TV
Read non-philosophical books
Spend time with my current friends
Sleep 9 hours every night (at least)
Study music
Relax
Seems like I'll be to busy to read all those amazing books that have been mentioned.
THIS SO MUCH. When I finish term papers in grad school, I usually sleep 12 hour days for a week to make up for the lack of sleep.
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Probably these people who got accepted with low GREs got their undergrad degrees from top universities as well.
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I can't really speak about the situation of someone coming from a small religious school...I'm sure others can help...but I will say that working on languages shouldn't be a top priority. Almost no graduate schools require it, and it is something that most graduate programs offer/encourage so you can do it there.
As someone said above, German and French matter in continental philosophy whereas it's not as big of a deal in analytical philosophy. I'm going to add German in the fall, but it still seems not enough.
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I was depressed when I first started my MA (not because of the program; I came in depressed). Because I am in the humanities, the intellectual environment and in particular a couple works I read really made my depression lesson. But it was really hard for a while because depression makes me not want to do anything and especially not want to be around people.
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I want to get a PhD in philosophy, and my interests are in continental philosophy.
My application weakness:
MA in philosophy, but no BA in philosophy (BA is in an honors degree in English, and only a couple philosophy courses).
Both degrees are from smaller schools. The BA is from a baptist university in the states, and the MA is a private university in Canada with 4K students.
Languages: Fluent in Thai (I am not Thai, but I took Thai from a university in Thailand and in language schools) and made "A"s in four semesters of Koine Greek. But continental philosophy programs want German and French.I know PhD programs in philosophy are competitive. What should I do before applying to Phd programs? Should I go and get another MA from a state school (or not necessarily another degree, but pick up more courses that I have not taken) and then apply to PhDs? Or should I spend a year working on languages?
Is an unfunded MA from Marquette worth it?
in Philosophy
Posted · Edited by Mangosteen
MA program did not give me a stipend, but did wave my tuition. I did not have a BA in philosophy, so getting any funding was good (my writing sample and LOR helped). I have no regrets. It was my dream to study philosophy. I may or may not get into a PhD program given that the school is not well known. I am still glad I am doing the MA regardless. It was my dream to study philosophy and study it at the graduate level.
So I think it comes down to that. Do you love philosophy so much you want to study it at the graduate level, and do you have enough money? Alternatively, you could wait a year and reapply at schools. If you thought it would help, you could take one or two graduate courses just to get a better writing sample.