philoguy
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Posts posted by philoguy
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Is it appropriate to follow up on applications and inquire into the specifics of why you were rejected?
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5 minutes ago, lyellgeo said:
That was Stony Brook, correct? Though I doubt they meant anything mean by it.
Yup, stony brook. Appreciate all the responses and insight, just seemed odd to me (and him).
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Hi all, asking for a friend who recently received a letter of rejection that ended by stating "we [school rejecting him] hope you apply again next year." I've seen my fair share of rejection letters, but I've never seen one like this. I was wondering if anyone had any insight into this and whether it might be worth it for him to follow up with the school.
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1 hour ago, Goonasabi said:
I'm in that boat. I imagine that there's still many of us who haven't heard anything final back? I dunno. So hard to tell. But we can always cling to the hope of a late wait list!
Clinging right now, haven't heard anything. I did take a look at my application and there was a notification telling me that they didn't have my test scores, which is weird because they explicitly stated they don't want gres(?).
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Anyone have any educated guesses as to when we might hear from the following schools (or if someone has heard back and I simply missed the post/announcement): Georgetown, Arizona, UCSD, CU Boulder.
Any info would be much appreciated, as I've received one explicit rejection and a few implicit ones (by means of acceptance and waitlists going out and not being in either group) and am stressing out quite a bit.
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5 minutes ago, iunoionnis said:
Should be able to access from this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1575546452486383/
Thanks so much!
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Hey, what is the name of this Facebook group/are more people posting there? Just trying to figure out where I am while slowly losing hope. Wustl, umd, and Wisconsin were all schools I thought would be nice fits and it's looking like all acceptances have been sent out for each. I've only heard back from one school which was a rejection from ubc, so just looking for a glimmer of hope at this point.
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17 hours ago, iunoionnis said:
Are you talking about the top fifteen philosophy programs, or the top fifteen in your area of specialty? For example, if you were applying to the top 15 Hegel programs (i.e. all of them), you would have a pretty decent shot of getting into one of them. But if you are talking about the top fifteen programs in the nation (or in a really big field), I would say it's probably better to steer clear of these.
I hate to discourage you, but the reality is that you will be competing against hundreds and hundreds of applicants at these top schools. Many of these will be ivy-league undergraduates with a 4.0, near-perfect GRE scores, fluent German or Ancient Greek, famous letter writers, and a significant amount of graduate coursework because their undergraduate department offered linked courses.Some of them may have even published a paper, others have presented at conferences.
So when you're going up against students with a B.A. who already have graduate level coursework, it's going to make you stand out less.
So what can you do? I would focus on narrowing your focus towards the reputation of particular professors rather than programs.
As for your particular worries:
1) I would worry about your undergrad GPA the least. The purpose of the M.A. is to show improvement. You've got it.2) My GREs - It's not bad, but could be higher. While it might cause you problems when applying to schools with thousands of applicants, it's perfectly fine for getting into somewhere in general.
3) No publications - I mean, if you have stuff submitted and under review, that's at least something. But try as hard as you can to get at least one published in something respectable. Also, conferences are much easier to get into, so just apply to every one where you can say something. If your school has a colloquium as well, it's a good way to get some papers listed on your CV.
Besides this, having an original, groundbreaking, and/or innovative writing sample is the most important thing. Keep trying to get it published as well.15 hours ago, Glasperlenspieler said:I largely disagree with this advice, or if not disagree, then I would at least emphasize things a little bit differently. The odds of *anyone* getting into a top 15 program are low. I don't think that means you shouldn't apply. I wouldn't worry much about your GPA. If you can keep your MA GPA up that should more or less mitigate concerns about undergrad GPA. Your GREs are fine. Nothing spectacular but not bad. I wouldn't bother retaking it if I were you. I don't think publications really matter. Hardly anyone has a publication applying for PhD programs. If you can get something published in a top journal, that's great and you'll probably be successful in applications, but that's not the norm. Don't try to publish just to publish. At this point in your career, you're probably better off not publishing than publishing in a mid-tier or worse journal. In terms of MA prestige, it certainly doesn't hurt coming from a top program, but you can't do anything about that at this point and people do get into to top programs from unknown programs.
All this is to say that your stats shouldn't keep you out. You're odds of getting into a top 15 program are low, but that goes for everyone else too. What it will come down to is your writing sample and how strong of a fit you are for the program. If someone on the admissions committee takes a particular liking to your writing sample, you're in. You don't have a lot of control over this and a lot of it is luck. All you can do it produce the best sample you can that showcases your skills and interests, asks intriguing questions that are likely to catch someone's eye, and apply to programs that are the best fit for you. Good luck!
Thanks all, sincerely appreciate the advice.
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Hi all, my department advisor recently had a discussion with my M.A. cohort about the upcoming Ph.D. application season. It was, overall, a pretty scary talk so I figured I'd come on here and float some questions about my prospects given my stats.
My M.A. program is a first-year program at a large university that has had an interdisciplinary program for a while, so it does have a track record of PhD admission success, the body of applicants are not large and the vast majority of them went on to study political philosophy/applied ethics. I attended my school for a few reasons: convenient location (I was working in the same city at the time of my acceptance), faculty that are somewhat if not very prominent in my AOI (mind, CogSci, moral psychology, animal cognition/ethics, phil of biology), and I felt at home based on my visit and correspondence with various professors. Attending my current university did not come without its drawbacks: I turned down some better-known M.A. programs (Claremont Grad, SFSU, Carleton University) and accepted an offer at my current school before I got off the waitlist at some really top notch programs (UWM, Georgia St.). However, I've really enjoyed my time here and have developed great relationships with those aforementioned faculty.
With that said: Entering year 2 of the program, I have a 3.9 GPA. This is a big improvement on my 3.3 overall and 3.6 major GPA at my undergrad institution (a top liberal arts school). My GRE scores are 160, 164, and 5.5 (85th, 87th, and 98th percentile). My recommendation letters are probably going to be very good, 2 of the 3 coming from professors who are somewhat to very well known in their fields. I'm working on polishing the living hell out of my writing sample. My current goal is to get into a top 10-20 program based on my interests.
Things that I'm worried about: 1) undergrad GPA (see above); 2) My GREs - they seem strong to me, but I feel as if I have any shortcoming in such a competitive pool it could prove fatal; 3) No publications: I have submitted some papers to conferences and journals but no word yet; 4) My M.A. program, as stated, is in its infancy but I'm hoping this will be mitigated by the recommendation letters coming from well-known faculty
Anyways, thoughts about how realistic acceptance to a top 15 (maybe top 10?) school is given my current academic standing would be much appreciated. Do I have a shot? Do I need to get something published/speak at a conference? Retake my GREs?
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8 hours ago, Schwarzwald said:
Anymore info on Brandeis? I expect a rejection, but I'm also not necessarily trying to wait till the middle of March for it.
I second this. I've only seen once accepting posted on the boards
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Any idea when Brandeis might release?
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1 hour ago, dgswaim said:
Awesome! Wasn't John Hick there back in the 80s and 90s?
Yes he was! I'm not all that familiar with his work but I do know that he was there around that time.
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1 hour ago, SamStone said:
Regarding UW-M, from what I know, there are university-wide fellowships that current MA students are candidates for. If any of them receive a fellowship it brings more funding to the program. The dept takes that funding into account re: the number of students they can accept/fund...so I think they wait until after that is released. Supposedly, the university-wide fellowships are announced in the middle of March—so the decisions probably will be just after that. And, just for reference, when I was admitted I received my acceptance on March 18. But to be clear, this is also speculation...I'm not informed about the admission process details, so there may be (and probably are) other factors at play in the timing of the department releasing acceptance decisions.
Really helpful, thanks so much!
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Hey just wondering if anybody knows when sfsu or wisconsin-milwaukee might release
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14 minutes ago, Poetic Justice said:
Finally heard back from GSU - turns out that my acceptance email was re-directed to my spam folder
(thanks Gmail ...). However, GSU sent a helpful second email out today telling people to check their spam folders.
Turns out that I got accepted with a (generous) scholarship ! I am very grateful about that.
Congrats, was pullling for you!
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5 hours ago, Poetic Justice said:
Got accepted into the MA program at Tufts.
But no word from Georgia State even though they appear to have sent out all three types of responses (acceptance, rejection and waitlist) already ... Hope my application didn't get lost in the process.
Hey, Congrats! Tufts is my first choice and I haven't heard anything...you heard on March 1?
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Waitlisted at Georgia State
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14 minutes ago, ABrown said:
@philoguy I believe Georgia State plans to make their decisions for the first round of admissions and funding offers around March 3, or at least that is what they said in an email that was sent to me at the beginning of February.
Got the same email but saw that a few got phone calls from gsu today. Holding out hope but not looking great.
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1 minute ago, Siegfried42 said:
I called them back after missing a call around 12:15 today. They said I should also have received an email but I've still not gotten that message, so don't lose hope if you haven't heard yet!
Ok, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the update, really appreciate it.
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3 minutes ago, Siegfried42 said:
Ah, of course, thanks! Well that's frustrating.
Siegfried, when did you hear back from Georgia State?
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34 minutes ago, dgswaim said:
I emailed ASU HPS to ask about my status, and they said they've sent a recommendation to the school of life sciences that I be admitted with support, and that the approval of their recommendation is "largely pro forma"... so it looks like I have an admit from ASU HPS!
Congrats!
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19 minutes ago, pecado said:
Did they offer you a scholarship? Can you explain the details of your scholarship?
The email was basically a quick update just letting me know I had been accepted and inquiring whether or not I'd be interested in visiting. It went on to say that more details and an official notification will be sent to me in the following week, so I'm sure any scholarship or funding will be offered then.
2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread
in Philosophy
Posted
I got that as well, pretty laughable.