jacbarcan
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Posts posted by jacbarcan
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Oh and btw---writing score doesn't mean anything at all. No one looks at it.
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I'm going to sound like a broken record to a lot of you: I am 100% positive that the GRE (mostly) means shit. Make sure you pass a certain threshold that is surprisingly low (like 60th percentile--probably combined score is more important) and you're fine. I know 2 people who not only got into 1 top ten program but like 8 top ten programs each and each scored in the 70th percentiles (one was 70's quant and 90's verbal other was 70's verbal and 90s quant). I know one person who got into 2 top ten programs with something like 49th percentile in quant (though had 90's in verbal).
My advice is always: Take the GRE seriously for the first time you take it. If you do just fine, FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS on your writing sample. That's what's important. Do not take the GRE again if you don't have to because it's a huge waste of time and money. Most important factors to getting in: luck, writing sample, fit and interests, where you went to school and whether or not it is know to have a good *undergraduate* philosophy program, recs, and grades (depending on the school you went to---some schools are known to hand out easy grades, some are known to hand out very few As. Know your school).
I would work at personal statements and personalize to each school but some people disagree with this.
Please don't waste your time on the GRE unless you desperately need to.
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Howdy fellow philosophers,
Some of you may remember me from last year - I ran the Philosophy Admissions blog in order to create predictions and keep track of information regarding the release of admissions information. I also acted as a resource to some of you who wished to seek my general advice about the application process and especially the dreaded waiting period.
Many people seemed to find the blog a helpful resource while trying to navigate the admissions process. But since I'm now in a PhD program, I will be prioritizing things other than blog maintenance and forum upkeep. It would be unfortunate, though, for that to mean that this year's applicants don't have access to the kinds of resources that such a blog provides.
What I am looking for is someone involved in the admissions process this year who would be willing to take over operating the blog - at least at the day-to-day level. The job primarily involves doing the amount of checking of results and releases that I was going to be doing anyway, but with the added benefit of helping out some fellow philosophers. So it wasn't much extra cost (though there was some work involved at points, such as with creating predictions for the various schools), and gave me a welcome outlet for my obsessiveness with respect to philosophy admissions. Last year, I began the process of including more schools not on the Leiter report. I was starting to extend into predictions for programs that focus on continental philosophy. I hope the new editor will continue with this trend. I also took a more active role in participating in the forums and responding to emails and messages. The new editor may decide to do this and may decide against it.
We also last year introduced Nat, a applicant that would call the various departments anonymously to receive direct information from them at points. We may continue with this or we may not. It will be up to you this year to decide.
If anyone is interested in having this kind of editorial role on the blog, please let me know by replying or messaging me with a short note.
<Note that above is nearly exactly the same as Sid post last year. I've added a few more points for the expansion of the job and of the predictions.>
Best of luck to everyone applying this year!
- isostheneia and Bryterlayter
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Still have time till we need someone to take this over. I got one message from someone who would potentially like to work on the blog jointly if there are any other interested people out there.
Of course if someone still wants to do it alone, that would work too.
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Jac is sad. But, Jac will be back. Near the end of the year, she'll post a repost!
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Howdy fellow philosophers,
Some of you may remember me from last year - I ran the Philosophy Admissions blog in order to create predictions and keep track of information regarding the release of admissions information. I also acted as a resource to some of you who wished to seek my general advice about the application process and especially the dreaded waiting period.
Many people seemed to find the blog a helpful resource while trying to navigate the admissions process. But since I'm now in a PhD program, I will be prioritizing things other than blog maintenance and forum upkeep. It would be unfortunate, though, for that to mean that this year's applicants don't have access to the kinds of resources that such a blog provides.
What I am looking for is someone involved in the admissions process this year who would be willing to take over operating the blog - at least at the day-to-day level. The job primarily involves doing the amount of checking of results and releases that I was going to be doing anyway, but with the added benefit of helping out some fellow philosophers. So it wasn't much extra cost (though there was some work involved at points, such as with creating predictions for the various schools), and gave me a welcome outlet for my obsessiveness with respect to philosophy admissions. Last year, I began the process of including more schools not on the Leiter report. I was starting to extend into predictions for programs that focus on continental philosophy. I hope the new editor will continue with this trend. I also took a more active role in participating in the forums and responding to emails and messages. The new editor may decide to do this and may decide against it.
We also last year introduced Nat, a applicant that would call the various departments anonymously to receive direct information from them at points. We may continue with this or we may not. It will be up to you this year to decide.
If anyone is interested in having this kind of editorial role on the blog, please let me know by replying or messaging me with a short note.
<Note that above is nearly exactly the same as Sid post last year. I've added a few more points for the expansion of the job and of the predictions.>
Best of luck to everyone applying this year!
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Hi all,
It was wonderful meeting some of you on the visits. You're such an incredibly impressive and kind group. And for others of you out there, I hope we will meet at some point in the future.
I thought I would send an early note asking any of you if you would like to continue the admissions blog. If you would, it would be great if you could send me a message telling me a bit about yourself and I'll let you know a little more about it. Of course, there wouldn't be much you would need to do now unless you came up with some sort of a project for it (e.g. writing advice posts or continuing my project of extending the predictions to more schools (esp. more continentally oriented ones)).
If I can't find anyone now, I post again in the fall and maybe even again in January.
I'm wishing you all the best with whatever comes at you next,
Jac
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Just to add to all this:
One person has a 165V/157Q/4.5W and 3.73 GPA and got into Yale, UCLA, Cornell, Michigan, and USC and is wait listed at Harvard and Pitt. There may be more...I'm forgetting.
One person has a 157V/165Q/5.0W and a 3.69GPA and got into NYU, Princeton, Rutgers, Michigan, Pitt, Cornell, UCLA, USC, Stanford, UCSB, and UNC.
One person had something like a 167V/152Q/4.5W with a GPA around 3.49 and got into Pitt, Cornell, and Arizona and was wait listed at UNC.
I should mention though that all three of these people went to a particular undergraduate program that is different with their grading system and I wouldn't read too much into the GPA. All are extremely high GPAs given that institution.
I think this is soooooo clearly evidence that the GRE does not matter much at all. A 152Q is 48th percentile. A 157V is 74th percentile. You might think these are absurdly low. The applicant clearly did wonderfully.
HOWEVER: as has been mentioned here and in Leiter's blog, GRE scores tends to go hand in hand with GPA and quality of writing sample. I would say that most people getting into these top programs just so happen to also have great GRE scores because they're excellent candidates overall. I would by no means think or ever tell anyone that that they got into a program because of their GRE score. Less strongly (though still very much inclined to say so), I believe that no decision is made purely off of the GRE (mainly thinking of low GRE score cases). Focus on the writing sample, come from an excellent undergraduate institution for philosophy, have great letters, vary your coursework in philosophy, and get a good major GPA. GRE comes last.
- isostheneia and o m g
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Got another message about declining a JHU acceptance and Brown and Cornell waitlists.
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I would guess later tonight like they did yesterday. Most likely, they're done, they haven't decided on the other non-ancients, or they're not calling till later. Remember that Stanford is on the west coast and most schools seem to come out around 5 or 6pm wherever they are.
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CUNY is a strange beast. I'll just say next week.
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23 hours ago, abisch said:
Hey Jac, do you think you could let it be known when the two UNC officially decline?
UNC offer officially declined.
Another person will be declining UT Austin and Stanford soon.
- abisch and philosophe
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14 hours ago, philstudent1991 said:
How's your season going Jac?
Pretty well
I'll definitely be revealing my identity to some of you soon.
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15 hours ago, philosophe said:
Just completed a few for you
15 hours ago, Cecinestpasunphilosophe said:When I try to view this, I can only see six results - it seems to cut off after USC, although I have to keep scrolling a while before I hit the bottom of the page. Is this a problem on my end, or have you only received six responses?
Yep only 6. Thanks though. I'll add the rest later today.
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Stanford, Princeton, and Michigan may all release next week. I would guess that most schools (if not all) will have released by the middle of next week.
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I would very much appreciate if some of you would fill out the funding survey.
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1 hour ago, abisch said:
Hey Jac, do you think you could let it be known when the two UNC officially decline?
One just declined. I'll let you know about the other if they let me know.
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I'm not sure about one of them, but the other is definitely not someone on here. She doesn't post on gradcafe.
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A few more:
One soon to be declined Duke
Another soon to be declined UNC
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Hey guys,
I have some information from me and a few other people either wanting to remain anonymous or not on TGC.
Two declined UCLA
One declined Cornell
One (probably) soon to be declined Cornell
One declined Brown wl
One declined UCSB
One soon to be declined UNC
One soon to be declined Pitt WL
One (probably) soon to be declined Pitt
I'm sure this'll all help somebody out. Let me know if you guys want me to confirm when one of the "soon"'s is officially declined.
- FILOS, Erratic_Akratic and philosophe
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UCLA does rolling admissions.
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Rutgers doesn't usually call their applicants only people that are coming off the wait list...
Continuing the Philosophy Admissions Blog
in Philosophy
Posted
That would be great, you're right. Maybe the next person will be able to add that information. I don't see why that wouldn't be incredibly easy to do.