popsteady

Many moons ago when I was in law school, I interned with the Federal Public Defenders. I remember on one occasion, a former client of the office was brought back to court for violating the conditions of his supervised release. He appeared in federal district court wearing a tank top, apparently so he could brandish his brand new tattoo. The tattoo said, "FUCK THE FEDS." So I think in that environment, it may have had a negative impact. In academia, at least in the humanities, I don't think it's as big of a deal.

Yes, I totally agree. I just figured that was the reason for every rejection I received. Also, that I must be too interesting, too good-looking, and that my penmanship is too good (as I suspect the writers of my recommendation letters emphasized).

Have you considered different kinds of doctoral programs, like the kinds focusing on both law and policy? Something like Northwestern's PhD program on Law and Public Policy, or Wharton's in Ethics & Legal Studies?

You can always check the APA Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy. It has some stuff on Syracuse's MA and PhD programs.

I heard back yesterday (and from the admission page, it looks like a few others did too). I was told I'm on the waitlist for funding, which would be a full tuition remission and a stipend of $11,825. I wonder if they just tell everyone that they're waitlisted for funding at first, and don't make those funding decisions until they have a feel for how many students are seriously considering the offer. Is that possible -- do schools do things like that?

Thanks for everyone's contributions about this! It's really immensely helpful. (And I'm sure it's immensely helpful for all the other people in the same position.)

First off, congrats to everyone who has received good news so far. Second, I wanted to see if I could ask some advice from any current students or graduates of MA programs: specifically, what advice would you offer to someone who has just been accepted to some MA programs and is in the process of evaluating which one would be the best fit? In addition to things like funding, I figure there are considerations such as the professors' AOIs, the levels of student-teacher interaction, and the philosophical community at large, but I wanted to see what other questions people think are important to ask. Are there any questions you wished you would have asked, knowing what you know now? I just started a separate thread for this but whatever suggestions anyone has, wherever they are posted, would be much appreciated.

To all the MA students and graduates out there, I was hoping to ask some advice... For someone who has just been fortunate enough to be accepted into a few MA programs and is in the process of determining which one to attend, what advice would you offer to help evaluate the different programs? What questions would you recommend asking the graduate directors and current students? Beyond the logistical issues like funding and location, there are considerations like the professors' AOIs, the levels of student-teacher interaction, and the philosophical community at large (which are things that can be researched before applying, at least to some extent), but I wanted to see if anyone can offer any additional insight based on their experiences from within the programs. What other questions do you think are important to ask? Are there any questions you wished you would have asked, knowing what you know now?

I don't mean to change the subject(s), but I was just wondering: does anyone know* the percentage of PhD applicants/admissions who already have their MA? * Epistemology jokes notwithstanding.

I second that observation.