[2016 Acceptance Thread]

What about Arizona?

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

18 minutes ago, jorou said:

If I haven't heard from Arizona by now should I assume that's a no? 

I have the same question. 

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

50 minutes ago, violaina said:

Hey everyone!

I am new here, but I have been following the discussions on this forum since last month, when I finished all my application.

I just got a phone call from a professor at University of Arizona and he told me that I was admitted!!! I have been waiting for the phone call for the whole day, considering their records of calling the admitted candidates. Since the process of calling might take some time, I suppose that there is still a great chance that people will receive phone calls during the weekend or earlier next week with good news. 

Congratulations!!! Omygod, fingers crossed  

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

1 hour ago, philosophe said:

First accept!!!!! UCSB

Congratulations!

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

53 minutes ago, Siegfried42 said:

^ I agree! Just as I gave up hope on Duke and mentally checked "presumed rejected," somebody cruelly posted another acceptance! :S Now I have a sliver of hope again to keep me busy refreshing e-mail... 

Congrats on the Edinburgh acceptance, by the way! I'm not very familiar with the institution, but I know it's an absolutely gorgeous place to be! Now onto waiting for Feb 12th for Notre Dame...

I am waiting for UNC Chapel Hill and Arizona, then comes Notre Dame. I think. If it really goes this way. 

Edinburgh is amongst top5 on gourmet for epistemology. 

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

I thought the application process was a pain but this wait is even more torturous.

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

Just now, bravesball said:

Yeah. I just assumed they were referring to HPS because it was in response to him being waitlisted at a different HPS program. If they weren't, my bad.

Oh okay sorry, so it's going to be a different date for the simple PhD Program. My bad!

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

3 minutes ago, psm1580b said:

Presumed rejection, I should have made that clear. I figured since their invitations went out, if I was going to be offered--I would have been invited. After applying last year, I know many schools will only release acceptances/waitlists initially, and will wait months before notifying rejected applicants. 

Wait, are you sure someone has heard from them? I haven't seen it anywhere and it's not on here. They would have upgraded the blog if someone had heard from them. https://philosophyadmissions.wordpress.com/predictions/ 

[Grade this argument task please?]

On 11/16/2015 at 11:57 PM, Vince Kotchian GRE Prep said:

I'll just comment on your first essay, since the quality of both is about the same. I'd give it a 4.

You have relevant insights about alternate explanations for the author's conclusions, but they need to be more robust if you want to get a 5. Try elaborating and explaining more. Your body paragraphs need to be longer - not for the sake of length, but for the sake of making a more compelling case for the assertions you're making. You might also comment on how, if a particular claim in the argument is shown to be invalid, the rest of the argument is affected.

Check out the 5 and especially 6 responses in the ETS books (some are on its website, too).

Best, Vince

Thanks a lot, I got a 4.5 on my AWA. It was above 80% so I am happy.

[2016 Acceptance Thread]

1 hour ago, psm1580b said:

Waitlisted at Indiana HPS. I guess they don't admit unless they can fund or something. I was excited to see an email from my POI. Last year I was rejected from 15 schools, so this feels amazing.

Hi, your signature shows a red Notre Dame. When did you hear from them?

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

On 8/18/2015, 10:54:59, philosophe said:

Hi friends, 

I'm rearing up for take 2, after applying a few years ago and receiving a few funded acceptances from low ranking phd programs. I'm currently at a great (funded) MA program, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) reaching higher this year. I'm figuring out my writing sample, but everything else is ready to go.  I'm applying to all of the usual suspects for epistemology. 

Question -- when do you think is the appropriate time to ask for letters? I've heard everything from September to November. 

Also, I'm kind of annoyed no one posts their apps until September. Now's when we have plenty of time to take care of that busy work! Wish there were a common app because that would save us a bajillion hours.  

 

Hi! Just wondering where are you getting your MA from? 

Also, where are you planning to apply for your PhD in epistemology?

[Grade this argument task please?]

And this one too. 

 

From a letter to the editor of a city newspaper.

"One recent research study has indicated that many adolescents need more sleep than they are getting, and another study has shown that many high school students in our city are actually dissatisfied with their own academic performance. As a way of combating these problems, the high schools in our city should begin classes at 8:30 A.M. instead of 7:30 A.M., and end the school day an hour later. This arrangement will give students an extra hour of sleep in the morning, thereby making them more alert and more productive. Consequently, the students will perform better on tests and other assignments, and their academic skills will improve significantly."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

The author presents us with a flawed argument based on abstract premises and research studies that do not correlate. The claim that an increase in the number of hours of sleep will improve students’ concentration is not verified. And students who are not content with their grades are considered less productive which may not always be the case. Also, starting school late does not ensure that students will get an extra hour of sleep so the policy proposed is a weak one. 

 

One research discusses that young people need more sleep and another unrelated study suggests that many high school students are not content with their academic performance. Is there a correlation amongst these studies? I believe nothing exactly binds these two studies together except a flawed assumption. One study asserts that students need more sleep and the author jumps to conclude that the added hours of sleep will help students become 'more alert and productive’ when there is no given data that verifies this claim. An added information that addresses how sleep deprivations causes unsatisfactory nature in students could ameliorate the conclusion drawn from this argument. 

 

Moreover, the school policy to begin classes an hour later than the usual 7:30 AM may and may not have an affect on the students’ sleep cycles. They might start going to bed an hour later or perhaps even later than before. And since there is no way the school can monitor when students go to sleep, this policy might not be as effective as the author in this passage believes. The change in the school timings may affect students’ sleep patterns but in order to strengthen the argument we need to know for sure that the students will be getting an hour of sleep more than they did before. 

 

Lastly, notice that we are told that students have been sleeping less and so they are not satisfied with their results, what we should be looking for here is if their grades have deteriorated. If their grades have fallen because of the number of hours of sleep then perhaps this is a valid argument. Individuals maybe performing well and getting above average scores but if they want to achieve A+ in ever  course they will not be satisfied with what they get, this does not necessarily mean that they are not performing well in school. A study of the grades of students and the number of hours they sleep can be compared to see how well students perform if they sleep for more hours. 

 

These are the few assumptions that make for a weak argument in this case. In order to improve the conclusion we need to make sure that more hours of sleep actually help improve grades and to what to extent. 

[Grade this argument task please?]

Hi? Can anyone grade this argument task? 

 

A recent study shows that people living on the continent of North America suffer 9 times more chronic fatigue and 31 times more chronic depression than do people living on the continent of Asia. Interestingly, Asians, on average, eat 20 grams of soy per day, whereas North Americans eat virtually none. It turns out that soy contains phytochemicals called isoflavones, which have been found to possess disease-preventing properties. Thus, North Americans should consider eating soy on a regular basis as a way of preventing fatigue and depression.

 

_______________________________

 

The conclusion weakly follows from these premises because we are not told that soy directly helps prevent fatigue and depression, the quantitative data that we are given is in multiples and does not straigthforwardly show the number of cases of fatigue and depression in both the continents and the subject keeps changing from the people living in the continent to people who belong to the particular continent. 

 

Essentially, it is important to note that we are told that soy contains phytochemical called isoflavones which have disease-controlling abilities but the particular diseases that soy helps avoiding have not been mentioned in the premise. So soy could help our bodies in combating a number of diseases including fatigue and depression and it is also possible that isoflavones have no effect on fatigue and depression and only improves our immunity against other diseases that we are not concerned with here. The author has presumed, rather carelessly, that the constituents of soy help prevent fatigue and depression. This assumption can be avoided by confirming the effect of isoflavones in strengthening our immune system against depression and fatigue particularly. 

 

Moreover, the exact number of people suffering from chronic fatigue and depression in the continent of Asia have not been made available to us. This might cause us to assume that there are virtually no cases in Asia but since the author mentions that there have been 9 times more cases of fatigue and 31 times more cases of depression in North America it could mean that a considerable number of people in Asia may have these diseases but those on North American have more reported cases of these diseases. In order to overcome this ambiguity, a simple report on the number of people suffering from these diseases on both the continents would suffice to draw an accurate conclusion. 

 

Also, notice that the subject of the argument changes from ‘people living in North American and Asia’ to North American and Asians. We cannot assume that all the people living in North America are North Americans. Perhaps there is an appreciable number of Asians living in North America who take a large number of soy daily and consequently a number of North Americans could be living in Asia who do not consume soy daily. Even though these migrants will have little effect on the overall data that we are given the subject of the argument should either dress Asians or people living in Asia, and North Americans or people living in North America. This will help resolve the uncertainty in the data provided to us. 

 

These are a few assumptions that need to be addressed in order to construct a stronger conclusion from these premises. 

 

 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

Hi everyone!

I'm the new admin for the private Facebook group for women-identifying applicants. If you would like to join, please private message me and I will add you to the group. The aim is to create a supportive space for women-identifying applicants, and it includes useful information about the climate at different departments.

Just a little bit about me: I'm currently in my final year at Oxford studying Maths and Philosophy, and my main interests are in Philosophy of Mind and Early Modern Philosophy. I also enjoy formal work, and am keen to delve deeper into ethics and epistemology. 

Hi, I have messaged you but it hasn't been read so far or something is wrong maybe. Let me know if you have received it. Thanks 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

I can say a bit, though I'm no expert. 

Your personal statement is a good time to show that you're a good fit for the department. Your sample should prove that you can do high-quality philosophy, but your statement should prove you will be able to work with the faculty at Whatever University. Because of that, I would say you want to be fairly specific in your description of your interests (e.g. don't  just say "philosophy of language", because the subfield is pretty broad). If you aren't specific enough, then the department might think your interests aren't fleshed out and that you don't really know what you want to do. At the same time, don't be too specific (e.g. don't say "I am primarily interested in Donald Davidson's philosophy of language"). This is because, if you're too specific, a department might think you're too set on some particular topic and not open to change. 

One way to get around this is to say something like: "My main area of interest is philosophy of mind. More specifically, I am interested in the philosophy of perception, including non-visual kinds of perception. My writing sample is an example of this interest: I argue that considering non-visual kinds of perception provides further support for a non-conceptualist view."

(Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about philosophy of mind or perception.) 

I think that saying something like this would work well—it shows you know the subfield better than just saying "I like philosophy of mind", and it shows that you've thought about some specific topics (like non-visual perception) while situating it in the subfield more broadly (by drawing connections to the debate about non-conceptual content). But notice that it didn't get too specific, and that it stops short of endorsing a particular view—as a rule, don't explicitly endorse positions in your statement (save that for your sample).

Cool!

Hey, are you enrolled in a graduate program? I would like someone to review my personal statement, I was hoping if someone already enrolled in a PhD program could help me with my personal essay and see if its fine. 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

Hey everybody, 

 

I was wondering if a graduate student could share a few DOs and DONTs on the personal statement part of the application but relating to philosophy specifically. 

 

Also, has anyone here applied to the University of Edinburgh's philosophy program? I have an offer from Edinburgh's PhD program but in order to go there I really need their scholarship. I am not sure what the scholarship committee wants me to write for them. 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

For what it's worth, I didn't submit GRE scores to a very highly regarded program that didn't require them two years ago, and I was waitlisted there. I wasn't admitted in the end, but I don't think that had anything to do with the GRE. I was told that most of the people who received first-round offers accepted.

Which program is this? I would really like to apply to a program like this one. 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

I think everything jjb919 said is good advice. But I will add that while basically everyone requires GRE scores, there are definitely some places that do not care about them or at least weight them significantly lower than comparable institutions. 

Hi, could you tell me which universities do no consider GREs much?

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

1. Echoing what philstudent1991 said, since you are an international student it is more important to rock the TOEFL exam. Your GRE exams are low, but not horribly low, and there are extenuating circumstances since English is not your first language. Personally, I wouldn't bother taking them again; I would just have a letter writer mention your nervousness about taking tests to help explain. Focus your attention on doing really well on the TOEFL and polishing your writing sample as much as possible.

2. Being published doesn't matter (or at least it does not hurt not to be published). I had similar worries coming out of my MA program, but every professor I spoke to said not to worry over publications as an MA student. It used to be a few decades ago that no one was published coming out of their PhD and it was actively discouraged (the idea was to take all the time possible in graduate school letting your ideas marinate and not force a premature publication). Now it's common for PhD students to have 1-2 publications under their belt as they hit the job market, but you still see people getting jobs with no publications at all after finishing their PhD (granted, usually those are students from elite institutions). But even with things as they are now, it would be insane and completely unreasonable to expect an MA student to have published in order to get into a good PhD program.

3. I don't know of any strong PhD program that doesn't require GRE scores, but again, how seriously they take them is up to debate and I think prospective students have a tendency to over-inflate their importance. Again, don't worry so much about them and focus on the more important aspects of your application (writing sample, reference letters, major GPA...)

My TOEFL score is 114/120. I think that's good. What do you think? And thanks for the advice, its very encouraging and helpful.

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

I am MPhil Philosophy student in Lahore Pakistan. I have a really really low GRE score and I considering retaking GRE but the thing is that my score is low because I lost my nerves during the test. And I think it will happen again. I am just not good at taking tests. My score is 148Q and 152V. Of course it isn't good for a PhD program but I was wondering if being an international applicant could help my case.

 

I applied for a PhD in Philosophy last year and received an offer from the University of Edinburgh. It was a huge deal for me but obviously I wasn't able to get funding. I have a deferral from Edinburgh so I still have till fall of 2016 to find funding but it won't really happen because Pakistan is not very generous when it comes to humanities' scholarships. 

 

Also, I would like to tell you that there are almost only two universities in Pakistan that offer a PhD in philosophy and they have a really sad faculty that can only possibly help you with Muslim Philosophy. I, however, would like to work on epistemology. 

 

Now, my plan is to apply to US but I am not sure what they are looking for. See now, Edinburgh did not ask for my GRE and that helped me. So, what do you think I should do? I really want to go to University of Arizona, Notre Dame, Cornell or the sort that are really famous for epistemology. 

 

So, my questions are: 

1. Do I really really have to improve my GRE score? Will they not consider that I am from a different country or something? I can hope that my samples are strong. 

2. I haven't been published either. I would really like to know how you do that, I wish I had someone to guide me through it. 

3. Do you think there are any particular universities that don't care much about GRE?

 

[Fall 2016 Applicants: Introduce Yourselves]

Man, TGC seems really dead this year. That's a shame, I found it very helpful last year.

But, for anyone still around on here, here it goes: good luck with applications!

Hi, I have a few questions and I am sort of new here. Can you help me? I would like to know what a good gre score is for philosophy students?