rednegativity

To the earlier conversation: I decided to go with the unranked PhD. I applied to the school not as a backup, but because of the specific faculty. For a while I was persuaded against it for "practical" reasons, but in the end, sometimes the most practical considerations are not just statistical job placements and data analysis from Leiter et al. Sometimes the most practical thing is to ensure personal growth, because so long as education and genuine attempts toward wisdom are disregarded in favor of scholarly trends and financial considerations, we can't say that we're doing philosophy. Many thanks to the earlier posters who kept this in mind! It was comforting to hear, what with all the other "practical" (read: prestige) concerns owing to application stress weighing down on me. This whole process is crazier than I expected!

Thanks, everybody! Following all of your advice, I'm starting to lean more heavily toward the MA. Like most people on this forum, I am positive that I want a career in academic philosophy, and I would obviously prefer a tenured position in a top department. It's probably worth note that this PhD program is the *only* PhD I applied for, because I had no faith that my application from a SLAC with a modest (3.8) GPA would warrant hundreds of dollars in application fees. Needless to say, I'm starting to regret that decision. Yeah, it's SPEP. And in fact, at least two well-regarded book series are starting to come out of it. But since the SPEP areas I'm interested in are historical (which the analytic programs also cover), and I also have analytic tendencies in philosophy of mind and epistemology, I can find my interests in highly ranked programs. In fact I'd prefer a highly ranked program, I don't require SPEP at all. No, my scores just weren't very good. (164/158/5.5) My scores proved to be fine for MA programs and such, but they could be a red flag at certain PhD institutions, from what I understand. Right, I am worried about the risk of striking out in 2017 if I go the MA route, since many people allow that "luck" might be a very real factor in PhD applications. But then again, the risk of not finding employment in 2020 if I go the unranked PhD route seems much more dangerous. All in all, I'm leaning toward the MA. I think that's really too bad, since I know I'd seriously prefer my time in the PhD program, but I guess you gotta play if you wanna win. And as my current adviser put it: "There'll come a day when you'll miss being in grad school, so there's no point in rushing through the best years of your life." If I go the MA route, then I hope he's right!

Thanks everybody! But there's a new wrinkle in my plans! I was just unexpectedly offered full funding to a PhD program. The school is unranked, and their placement isn't great, but it's a great fit for my interests. I also had a lovely phone conversation with a faculty member there. I would love the city/ student community/ additional fellowship opportunities /etc. So... Unranked PhD where I would love the next 5 years of my life but maybe have trouble finding a job? Or top-5 MA program where I'd have to retake the GRE and spend an additional 2 years in school in the *hope* that I'd land a highly ranked offer in the future? Really not sure about this.

But isn't there a stronger difference between a philosopher and 'Someone who works in a philosophy department as a professor'...? In fact, I would say that "academic" and "philosopher" are two completely independent names, but it is best to write a writing sample on someone who deserves both names. Look at Plato's original account of a philosopher, which (1) is not at all equivalent with the popular or the academic conception of the term, and (2) has nothing to do with the reputation or pedigree that comes with a professorship. The pursuit of wisdom as such is sometimes absent even in academic departments, since unfortunately academic "philosophy" occasionally becomes stilled and dogmatic (a quick glance at any period in the history of philosophy will demonstrate this). And if Kant had published the Critique of Pure Reason without a professorship, we wouldn't say that he was not a philosopher. But then, it's extremely useful that he did have a professorship, because it means he was subject to criticism at the time which demanded him to clarify his positions and contribute to the literature. It's still always best to write on someone who is both "academic" (professional) and a "philosopher" properly understood for a writing sample. It's much more important to engage with a true philosopher, because the experience of writing will prove more worthwhile. And it's worth writing on someone "academic" not only to appeal to authority, but precisely because the academic philosophers have already been subject to peer-review and focus in a way that you won't find outside the tradition.

MA decision to be made! Wondering if you guys could help. I've received three funded MA offers, and I've narrowed it down to two: Georgia State vs Houston. Now while Georgia State is ranked higher by Leiter and has better placements overall, many of those placements are outside of my AOI (metaphysics/philosophy of mind), which means great placements like Stanford and Michigan don't really apply to me. Within my AOI, and accounting for the larger population at GSU, Houston and GSU actually place equally well in top-30 programs. Additionally, Houston has placed two people at Princeton in the last three years, and GSU hasn't placed anyone at Princeton in the last six or seven years. But GSU has placed at Yale, and Houston never has. Second consideration: Houston has much better funding. 12k/year at Houston vs 5k first year and 10k second year at GSU. Plus, the GSU TA requirements are insane (in the second year, teaching a whopping 5 sections of critical thinking), whereas Houston's is more relaxed (regular 10hr/week grading etc.) But..... GSU has a slightly better pedigree, which could make the difference in the end. What do you guys think? For metaphysics/philosophy of mind, where would you go? Especially if you wanted to secure top-10 or top-20 placements?

Just saw a rejection (but no acceptances) from Miami University Ohio's masters program. How unusual is that? I wouldn't be so anxious about it, except I haven't received word from a single school so far!

Hey Jared, strange question: what the hell font are you using? It looks amazing! The formatting in that pdf is very solid.