Erratic_Akratic

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Just declined an offer from Toronto (PhD).

If the cost of living in the area of C is such that, to have in an affordable rent, you'd have to live a lengthy commute away from your university, I'd take that into consideration. But as I see it, the most important element of funding packages isn't so much the amount of the yearly stipend. A negative tie-breaker, for me, would be a package that fares poorly on these two questions: How many hours of teaching (and grading) are part of the stipend? What are the funding possibilities beyond year 5? Though I value teaching, I wouldn't want to teaching and grading at a rate of 10 hours/week, each semester. And I would want to make sure that the department has the means to help students finish up their dissertation by funding them beyond their fifth year, and not solely on the basis of teaching (which keeps you away from writing your dissertation). Good luck with your decisions!

Why in the world would anyone look me up on academia, 25 miles away from Ann Arbor, on the very day Michigan were phoning admitting students… That's one cruel coincidence!

Could anyone confirm my (unreasonably confident) hope that all the Princeton admits contacted so far work in Ancient philosophy?

Well done! I'll be rooting for you to get in come crunch time on April 15th! (somewhat self-interestedly)

I think you will survive! Each rejection hurts, but it's unreasonable to take any single rejection too much to heart. The application process is insanely competitive. We all know this. At any given place we're rejected, it's actually far more likely that the admission committee simply preferred some other applicant, than that they did not want us in the program simpliciter. The whole process is a competition, not a personal evaluation. Consequently, I don't think we should take any single rejection on the personal level. Any single acceptance, conversely, is an incredible academic encouragement! And if you've been admitted in a program where you think you'll be able to flourish as a philosopher, nothing can take that away from you.

Claiming a Harvard wait list as well. The letter isn't the most hopeful - but I'm not letting that keep my expectations down! Here's to hoping we both get in through the back door!

I'm currently finishing up an MA from in a francophone Canadian department, and preparing to move to an American PhD this upcoming fall. So although my own experience is somewhat limited, I may have some insight into your questions. My department is "reputed" in the history of philosophy, if it enjoys any reputation at all. But my core interests are in issues of contemporary analytic philosophy. So I'm quite certain the reputation of my department played no role in deciding where I have or will be admitted. As for you, on the other hand, being associated with Jean Nicod or the Berlin School of Mind and Brain would certainly boost your chances, as these are indeed well-reputed schools (especially if the areas of analytic philosophy you wish to work in during your PhD are informed by research in the empirical/mind sciences). Still, I don't think you should worry too much about reputation. What makes a successful applicant is not the quality of your previous education but rather the quality of your application. This may seem trivial, but to me it suggests you may be raising the wrong question (assuming that, your ultimate concern is to be admitted to an American PhD program). If what determines whether you are admitted to a PhD is the quality of your application, then an important factor in deciding between MA schools is whether these programs will give you the tools, and especially the guidance, to do well as an applicant. If it is not customary for MA students at Jean Nicod, for instance, to go on to a PhD in the states, that may be a problem. To be sure, whether a program prepares you well as a PhD applicant is not the only factor to be considered. You should definitely take into account the intrinsic qualities of the MA program, as well as the unique experience of studying abroad. But regarding the specific question 'whether that will help/hurt my chance", I would worry rather little about reputation, and quite a bit about the actual track record (or potential) of a program at preparing its master students for PhD applications.

Thanks!

Anyone claiming the Toronto admission? With all the action we've been having tonight I only just say it!

A notable difference is that the Brown admittance specified receiving a faculty-wide fellowship, which in itself would explain why no other admissions have been extended (or reported, for that matter). In the Princeton post, there were no grounds for allaying suspicion once the post remained a singleton (well, it didn't in fact, there were other posts, but you get the point).

Same here! Syracuse has a really great program in metaphysics and ethics. All the same I will probably take myself off the list shortly. Hope you get in!

The Brown admission did mention receiving some special fellowship, so there's a chance that is just a very early admission, and others will follow en masse later. (Trying to stay positive!)