SMB123

Just declined Tufts. Good luck!

Just declined Brandeis last night. Good luck!

@Schwarzwald I'm probably going to decline, but not until I visit my other option (end of March). Sorry I can't any sooner, but I hope you get my spot if I do decline!

@Cat_Robutt Thank you! That's really helpful!

I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on the transportation situation in Tallahassee. A couple people on this thread have said that owning a car is a necessity, but that is simply not going to happen for me. I've gotten around fine on a bicycle/on foot in the past 2 places I've lived in (Burlington VT and Tucson AZ), so I'm pretty skeptical of people telling me I absolutely need a car. My question is: why do people seem to insist that I need a car in Tallahassee? Does anyone paying attention to this thread currently live there without a car? I'm visiting the campus later this month, but any additional information you folks have would be great. Thank you!

Nope, I didn't ask. From the complete lack of activity on here, though, it seems like they've just started to make calls. Best of luck to you!

I just got a phone call acceptance from Brandeis about 30 minutes ago.

Being "10 ranks higher" is not at all a good reason to choose program y over program x. Choose the program that will be the best fit for you and be able to give you the resources you need to be successful. If you think program y has a much stronger core faculty in your particular area of research, then that's a good reason to go there. If you think their courtship style is similar to how they would be towards you as a grad student (y: hands-off, unavailable, unhelpful, not a lot of funding for conferences.... x: readily available, very helpful, very engaged, lots of grad student funding...) then that is another important thing to consider. Regarding your actual question, I think that most programs will fall somewhere in the middle.

Seriously, what's up with that Rutgers rejection? I presumed I was rejected, but I did not receive an official rejection. Does this mean there's still a chance?

Does anyone have new news about Michigan?

Pedigree is not what's important. What's important is how well your undergraduate institution did at preparing you to be a competitive applicant. The way to have a competitive application is to have an unbelievable writing sample, so the best thing your undergraduate institution can do is help you prepare a top-notch piece of philosophical work.

You shouldn't worry too much about your personal statement in philosophy. Something that the admissions directors from MIT and Harvard were telling me: your personal statement will not help you, it can only hurt you. So here are some things *not* to do in a personal statement: 1. Do not sound too confident about what subfield/concentration you intend to study. It's great to put down your current interests, but don't limit yourself by saying you are only interested in one specific area and are only interested in perusing work in that area. 2. Do not rant about the one faculty member you cannot wait to work with in their department. Maybe that particular person is not taking any more graduate students at the time you're applying, because s/he already has too many. Maybe that person is planning on leaving the university in the next couple years. Maybe that person is terrible to work with. Who knows. The point is, you don't want to limit yourself to one specific faculty member. (It is okay, however, to list off a few faculty members who have similar interests as you.) 3. Don't sound pompous, or cocky, or like an asshole. Nobody will want to work with you.