hector549

No, I don't think so. The score report to my knowledge just contains the score information and date of the test for whichever test scores you chose to submit.

I know someone on these boards scored a 144Q and still got into some good PGR programs (a 144 is the 16th percentile, by the way). Yeah, a 148Q is still a bit low, but I don't think I'd sweat it too much since your verbal is high (and assuming your AWA is also good), as long as the rest of your application is strong. Also, I suspect committees would be more concerned if you were applying and trying to do something like logic with a low quant score.

Yes, the POI responded positively and was willing to work with me, even though my interests were more adjacent than overlapping.

This is good advice. I once asked a POI "would you supervise my work if I'm accepted," but only because the POI's work was merely related to my own interests, and not coextensive. If you're worried about an impending retirement or what the POI's disposition is like, you're usually better served by reaching out to a grad student.

Some good thoughts here. However, keep in mind that BC doesn't fund its MA students, so it's not a good option for an MA. You shouldn't ever go to an unfunded master's. There's no reason to do so, since there are plenty of funded options out there. Also, Brandeis offers funding sometimes, but only partial funding, and it's in a high COL part of the country, so keep that in mind. I'm not sure what you mean by UWM "losing influence." It's one of the top MA's, with good funding and placement that tops Western Michigan and GSU among others (though Western and GSU are great programs too!). here's a list of MA's the OP might want to consider (though they're primarily analytic which may or may not suit OP's interests): https://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/m-a-programs-in-philosophy/

Yes, both UWM and U of H fully fund you, although keep in mind that MA stipends are pretty low--lower than PhD stipends--and may not be sufficient to pay for everything you need.

Pretty much my feeling as well, haha.

Welcome back, fellow MA applicant! I remember you from the 2016 season.

You can try to transfer out of a PhD program. It's not unheard of. However, I don't think that it's very likely that you'll be able to get into a better program. From what I've heard, people who do this usually end up moving laterally, not up, and there's usually some reason other than trying to move up in the rankings (issues of fit or culture with the program, etc.). Continental-friendly programs like Chicago, etc., have a different methodological approach than most SPEP programs, so I'm not sure that having an SPEP continental background will help you, particularly if you're not planning on doing work in those areas. It seems to me you'd just be saying, "hey I have an SPEP continental background, but I don't want to work on continental stuff anymore." My two cents' worth of advice: if you want to do analytic work but have little background, then apply to some of the top MA's. You'll set yourself up better for doing PhD work.

Welcome back! What's your AOI?

It's hard to say exactly; the most important components are the strength of your writing sample, your letters, and your grades/GRE scores. Your grades are fine, and your letters sound like they're coming from philosophers who know your work. That's good. Things like volunteer activities or conferences don't matter. If you can take the GRE, you'll be able to apply more widely, which is usually a good idea. Are you interested in continental philosophy? Some of the PhD programs you mention are more continental (Oregon, Penn State), but the MA programs you're looking at are primarily analytic.

I get it. Wanting some stability and a future you can count on can be a really important thing. And I realize that I'm a couple of years behind you in terms of how close you are to finishing the degree, and so on. But if you think you can finish the degree in a reasonable amount of time, you're not too financially stressed, and you're still enjoying the work you do, then why not see it through? You could be in a job you don't much care for right now anyway, and have to leave after a couple of years to make a career change. Maybe it's better to think of a PhD program like a job with a five-ish year contract (that you can of course leave early), that pays poorly, but is (hopefully mostly) rewarding to you in terms of the fulfillment you get from the work itself. Again, I'm not in your particular situation right now. But I turned down a ranked PhD program last year and totally realize that I may end up at an unranked program this year (applying out of my MA). While this freaks me out on one level, part of me cares more about doing the kind of work I want to do than about ranking anyway. As you said, even the UMichigan grads are suffering. We're all in the same boat. If you're enjoying the work you're doing, feel like you're getting the kind of mentorship you want from faculty, and that you're getting a good philosophical education, these are more important than the rank of the program. We're all f*cked anyway with respect to employment. Not having enough funding, though, is a different story...

I made the decision to do this after doing other jobs for a number of years that were less than satisfying for me. I have a hard time really putting time and effort into a job that I don't really think is important. I did the jobs I had well, even when I didn't like them of course, but I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to compel myself to build a good career doing something I don't believe in. Many (or most) people don't have this aversion, I think. I reached a point where I realized I would just keep drifting through life, doing work I didn't really want to do, and not sticking with my work because it didn't mean anything to me, and that if I did so, I'd regret not doing what I wanted to do. I decided that I had nothing to lose by continuing to study philosophy, and that even if I didn't get a TT job after, at least I tried my best to do the thing that I thought was really actually important and meaningful for me to do, and that I believe in. So ultimately, I'll do everything I can to get a job, and if it doesn't work out, then I'll move on and program computers or I'll try to go work in government or--hell, I'll wait tables again or something--but at least I'll know that first I did the thing that I believe in, and tried my best to make it work.

What exactly are you getting at by "altruism?" Are you referring to effective altruism which is currently trendy among tech people, or altruism as a component of utilitarianism more generally? Or are you talking about altruism in a moral-psychology way? It seems like you might have quite a few options since you might be able to work with normative ethics people or moral psychology people, depending on how you want to approach things. Have you looked at the Gourmet Report sub-rankings for ethics? It would probably be a good place to start. Also you could take a look at the SEP article on altruism, and see where people are working who are cited in the article. You can also just go through every program in the rankings and see who's a good fit. I know it's laborious, but that's what I did when trying to find people to work with in my subfield. I took a lot of notes when I did this. I (like you) started doing this in the first year of my MA, and it was totally worth it.

It's not clear that the GRE has much or any predictive power for graduate school performance. And taking it is tedious and expensive. However, specific grad programs (like philosophy depts) are generally beholden to the demands of graduate schools more generally. GRE scores are used to compare students across disciplines for funding allocation, fellowship eligibility, etc. I agree, the GRE sucks. However, even if phil depts want to eliminate the GRE, they'll more than likely be compelled to continue to consider the scores by the graduate school, so I doubt things are going to change anytime soon.