Watashi

Are Masters programs in Europe, excluding Britain competitive? I hear they are much, much cheaper, but I dont know if that would be worth it at all if your end goal would be to get into a Phd program with the MA aiding that process. One I was looking at was the masters program for the University of Amsterdam

Sorry I havent responded in a few days. Health scare that turned out to be nothing haha. Oh yes that's not a problem. I wont go into a pity story but im used to poverty. Being paid to teach philosophy at a community college sounds like a dream. Thanks again for saying all this. What I was worried about was paying into these courses at UCLA and it being for nothing since it wouldnt aid me in getting into a decent MA program to then be able to teach philosophy at all, and then of course not being able to do research after a phd. I understand that its a long shot for anyone to do paid research, but Im not in this for the money. If this doesnt work out I would be happy teaching English in Japan, or several other jobs. I just keep reading on this forum, for good reason, that if you can do something else then do it, and I am conflicted between continuing my education now while I have the ball rolling and no dependents to worry about, or doing something else, because I most certainly can do something else. However, many coworkers have told me that they wished they had gone further in their education while they were still young, even if it cost them some of that time back then. Its difficult to see which advice to take. That's encouraging to hear, thanks. I suppose the main struggle will be getting into the right program. Im mainly interested in logic right now, so im thinking going for a MS in logic at some place like Carnegie. That would be the ideal, though unlikely. Oh really? Thats also good to hear. Maybe this isnt so hopeless after all haha. Thats good to hear that they think something of your writing sample, thanks for what you said and best of luck to you

1. I know, Im keeping that in mind and its the primary reason im asking this question. If its already tough enough for people who did well during their undergrad, should I just quit now? 2. That was the overall gpa, the major gpa is about the same at 2.76 gpa. I went to a community college for my first two years and transferred at around a 3.5 gpa, which didnt transfer over obviously. My last two years were spent mainly doing upper division philosophy courses, a grad seminar, and an independent study (which I failed because I couldnt get my paper to my professor. I have two F's, both in philosophy). My first two quarters I did well, but then the next two quarters are where I got my F's with a summer session between them where I didnt get an F. My last quarters I did better though not amazing. It was during that middle period where I had some problems financially and with my family, though it persisted until I graduated. 3. They have all been upper level. I havent taken lower level undergrad courses since community college. 4. I've been looking into this. A place like Carnegie Mellon doesnt seem to have a minimum gpa for the philosophy department or general admissions for graduate studies, it seems to be left solely with the department. However for phd programs I don't know if the undergraduate gpa is what is considered for the minimum if the candidate has a MA on top of the BA or BS. For example Berkeley general admissions for graduate studies states for their second minimum requirement that "a satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale", but they dont say if it needs to come from the most recent degree of undergrad. As far as the last bit you said, why should I apply to a range of MA programs? Shouldnt I only apply to higher end MA programs, seeing as I have rely on that to get into a phd program? Thank you for everything you've said. I appreciate all the input.

I didn't do well in my undergrad, and it wasn't an ivy, but I ultimately want to get a research position in philosophy like many on this forum. My question is, how realistic is it to come back from the position i'm in, or should I just quit now? I went to a university that is ranked around 20 over the years by PGR and graduated with a 2.795 gpa, some of that due to financial and familial circumstances. Since then I've taken 5 undergrad courses at UCLA as a non-traditional student, getting As and A-s that amount to a 3.85 gpa so far. I also switched from being interested in continental to analytic and my coursework from undergrad to UCLA shows that. As of now i'm planning to continue taking undergrad and graduate courses at UCLA to strengthen my application for an MA. I understand that to get a research position, realistically you should get a phd from a top 10 or 20 university. So considering my position, is it possible to get into a top MA program and do well enough there that I could stand a chance at getting into a top 10 or 20 phd program? Or is my undergrad record simply something that cant be overlooked?

I've heard rumors that Fraassen will not be returning to SFSU, and considering that, if I am interested in philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and logic, is CSULA now a better choice if the end goal is getting into the best Phd program for these specialties? SFSU is said to have a better placement record than CSULA, but I contacted their graduate coordinator and couldn't get any information besides what was already in the unhelpful aggregate listed on their website. There is also the option of taking courses at Berkeley if you are at SFSU, and courses at UCLA if you are at CSULA. Not sure how much of a difference this makes with phil. language and logic, but it looks like Berkeley has an edge over UCLA when it comes to philosophy of mathematics. Thoughts?