Contretramp

Just got a rejection email from John Collins. Disappointed but a bit relieved tbh.

Just declined UCSD. Interests in phil sci / epistemology

Surely there is no way that reports of our individual experiences can establish anything useful here? Got in with good GREs - unclear if causal factor or not. Got in with poor GREs - at most, evidence that in your case those schools didn't consider your scores a deal breaker. Didn't get in with good GREs - at most, evidence that that in your case those schools didn't consider GREs important enough to admit you. Didn't get in with poor GREs - unclear if causal factor or not.

Anybody get some good new in the wake of this?

Calling all Columbia offer holders and wait listers. (@Kel Varnsen, @SamStone, @doxazein918, ...) I thought it would be useful to have a thread to hang out, compare AOIs and chat ahead of the Open House on April 7-8. One particular thing I'm interested in (as a wait lister) is gauging where the offer holders' heads are at re their Columbia offers. Sharing this would be purely a supererogatory act for you offer holders, but would certainly help with our decision calculus. Since the Columbia event is so late, that would offer some valuable psychological comfort. To start things off: I'm into philosophy of science and epistemology, particularly social aspects of science. As such, my interest in Columbia is basically focused on Philip Kitcher as a potential adviser. I've heard he's great to work with, and he's a giant in my area. I have a great offer + funding from a department that is probably better holistically (given my interests), but without a star supervisor (or, to be honest, with a slightly less star supervisor who is not 100% in my area). So that's my (hypothetical) dilemma.

Would like to, but I live in London so it's going to cost me a fair amount. I have an offer from LSE with funding that I'm really happy with, but the possibility of working with a really stellar adviser at Columbia (Philip Kitcher) is giving me pause. Grrr...why does this have to be so complicated?

A few hours ago I got an email from Maia Bernstein at Columbia, regarding the open house. I was offered $300 in travel for the event. I also asked Akeel about the wait list ranking and decision deadlines. Was simlarly told it is AOI dependent and that they expect mid-April to be the point at which the final list is settled.

Not an acceptance, but I am on the wait list and will probably tell them that I don't plan to accept.

Not 100% sure how to tell, but it reads like a stock email with my name in the address.

Just got an email from UCSD saying I'm on the wait list. There are 12 on the list, apparently. In better news, I have an offer from LSE (pending funding committee in March)!

Just noticed a signature that had a UM Ann Arbor rejection... can't find the person now. Has Michigan contacted anyone?

Got an email on Friday with an LSE interview! Interview is on Monday. If I haven't heard from Arizona by now should I assume that's a no?

I can't access anything, in any browser. Have emailed the grad admissions address to ask if they're going to extend the deadline if the issues continue. Might be helpful if others experiencing issues do so too.

I can't get on to the NYU website or their Embark application page... Just NYU though - I did Columbia and UCSD this morning.

I mixed up my schools - it is Waterloo with the hard line approach: " For your writing sample, a philosophy paper of around 2500 words is desirable; longer and shorter papers are acceptable too, but please don't send anything longer than 5,000 words."

Fair point. I think I will at least have a go at shortening my paper and see what the results are like. Thankfully, Waterloo (the school with the hardest limit) has the latest deadline (1 Feb). Thanks bob311

The schools I'm applying for have a 15-20 pg writing sample requirement, except for a few with markedly shorter WS requirements. As I'm applying from outside of academia, I've spent 3 months writing a paper for these applications and it is 20 pages long. Toronto wants a WS "no longer than 15 pages", while Waterloo and Michigan ask for 5,000 word samples (~10 pages of my essay with current layout). Toronto and Michigan use language like "preferably no longer than". Michigan straight up says "don't send us anything longer." What are your thoughts on this? It is a significant task to halve my essay - I'll essentially need to rewrite it. What is the risk of sending a longer statement? I'm probably happier with them reading the first 5,000 words and stopping, than producing a potentially much worse short paper. But as this is 3/12 of my applications, perhaps the effort is worth it? I am worried as the WS feels like the centrepiece of the application, so I want it to be as good as possible. Anyone else in this situation?

I am convinced they changed the info on their website - I also had it down as a different date, then decided to check, saw the 15th and freaked out. So I re-checked every deadline. A couple of others had changed too.

Just hit "submit" on my Stanford application! The wait was stressing me out and I decided that nothing was going to change between now and Tuesday. Probably going to regret it in a moment Next up for me: Princeton and Arizona on the 15th.

What other kind of work are you interested in? One way of looking at this might be to ask whether those other options you want to pursue will reward you for the MA/1 year of PhD. Depending on what sort of thing you're interested in, there might be different trade offs involved in committing for the extra year. I've been working for a few years and am now trying to go back and do a PhD, so I'd be happy to give you some comments on that from my experience (and what I've heard from friends) in strategy, management consulting and finance.

LSE's PhD programme is 4 years, including 1 year of coursework. http://www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/the-phd-programme/

Hello! New user, and first post. I'm applying to philosophy PhDs for the first time this year. I've been out of academia for a while; finished my Master's in physics at Cambridge in 2012, and then worked for a consulting company for a few years. Have now decided physics was the wrong one of my undergrad majors to go with, and I should have been a philosopher all along... I'm interested in social epistemology and philosophy of science, so applying to the schools you can see below. I'd like to work on the status of science as a particular way of pursuing knowledge, and how lay people should interact with it -- including policy makers. My big concerns are all around having been out of the game for so long. Was a bit of a motivational challenge to get back in contact with my lecturers from 08-09 philosophy major, reintroduce myself, and get them to write letters for me. My current major challenge is my writing sample: it is my first piece of philosophical writing in years, so I'm worried about it. Content, style, tone - I feel like I am obsessing over every word. Obviously, I also don't have a professor around to review it. Bit of a bumber. Do have some grad friends working in nearby fields who have signed themselves up to read drafts, but it'll be a bit patchy. Cheers, J