hector549

No rejections yet, but when they start, here's a place for 'em.

@TakeruK is that something you could do?

@Nichi Nice! Congrats!

On one hand, the application process is simple and rather straightforward, on the other hand, mysterious and complex. The highly competitive nature also adds a great deal of uncertainty. I think philosophers are particularly good at finding new nuances to different aspects of the same questions. There is a lot here already, but as long as the process is in any way less than absolutely clear, I think there will be motivation for people to keep discussing it.

I'm still longing for free time! Just another week or two until my last apps are due.. I'm working on my WS up until the bitter end. But when I do have free time again I'll probably play lots of guitar and read some of my New Yorkers that have been piling up. Also binge watch Black Mirror

Excellent advice. Even more important when you've bounced around a bit like I have and have three undergrad transcripts! Quite expensive if you have to order one for each app.

I agree, it's nice to know that there are others as neurotically obsessed with this as I am. Solidarity against the unknown! When I was thinking about graduate programs, finding this site and reading posts in this group reminded me that maybe I wasn't as crazy as I thought for doing this.

@maxhgns you raise some good points, but isn't part of the utility people get from a forum like this some sense of shared experience, not just information about applying to graduate school? I wonder where applicants are finding that? This is one of the reasons I signed up instead of just lurking, in any case. @Turretin you could be right about the facebook group having some effect, but honestly, I don't see a lot of activity happening there either.

I wasn't applying last year, but I have looked at a lot of old threads, and it seems that this year there is significantly less activity on this forum compared to the past. Any ideas about why this might be the case? Is it perhaps a quieter application season in general?

@Sam Anscombe thank you for taking this on!

@goldenstardust11 thanks for the encouragement! You're right that this phase is nearly done, and all the work will pay off. @matchamatcha I'm with you. I will say that one good thing about doing this while working is that I've had something that I really care about to put my time and energy into, unlike my stupid job.

Mostly just venting here: anyone else feeling burned out with the application process? I've been working for the past three months using every free second I have for GRE study/sample revision/etc, while also working full time. My thought is that balancing all this is good practice for a graduate program. Nonetheless, I've been feeling kind of tired and ready to wrap up my last apps. How are others feeling about this whole process right now?

I'm in a bit of a quandary: I didn't realize an institution I previously attended would completely shut down their transcript request system for the holiday break. I have an application that is due Jan 1, but the transcript request system from my old institution won't be up again until Jan 3. I have submitted all other required materials, including the transcript for the institution from which I actually graduated, paid the application fee, and so on. In the system, the application is "incomplete" without my old transcript. I can either: 1. submit a PDF of "grade reports" that shows my classes/grades/GPA for all the semesters that would be on the transcript, even though the institution to which I am applying specifically forbids submitting grade reports, send in my official transcript on Jan 3, and hope that this is acceptable. 2. wait until Jan 3, attach my official transcript to the application, and hope that the fact that it's several days past the deadline and my application is still incomplete will not immediately disqualify me. I tried emailing several relevant people at the institution to which I am applying, but with no response. Any ideas about what I should do?? This school is my first choice!

If your philosophy grades are good and your overall GPA is solid, but your scores in math are slightly lower, I'd venture to say you should still be okay. The only other concern might be how you perform on the GRE quantitative section. Are you planning to apply to US programs? If you are, but you haven't yet taken the GRE, you could try taking an ETS practice test and seeing how the math portion goes for you. While the verbal part is far more important for philosophy programs, having a reasonably decent quantitative score is still a good thing, as is having a good overall score.

You have some good points, and I do think that the concerns of someone such as myself will be quite different from someone in their 30's, 40's, 50's, or 60's. For example, one of the things I've thought of is whether I'll connect as well with people in my cohort if they're 5-7 years younger than me. This may or may not have as much relevance for an older person. Certainly, it is field-specific to some degree. This is the philosophy forum, and the job market for philosophy PhD's (or MA's) isn't exactly hot. For someone younger, this may not be such an issue if they're finishing their degree in their late 20s. There's more time for reinvention if need be. Then again, maybe not finding exactly the right job is easier for an older person to do if she or he has already developed other skills. For example, I have some programming skills, I've worked as a fine dining waiter, a youth mentor, etc. Having a fallback skill or three is always a good thing. And I'm pursuing the degree because I think it has intrinsic value, not only because of the vocation. Age may have some influence in that sense for me as well. A lot of people on this forum are concerned with admissions and other related questions right now (myself included), I've been thinking of what it might feel like if I don't get accepted to the programs to which I'm applying this year. Waiting a year and strengthening my application can be done if necessary, but I feel as if I'm more aware of the clock when I think about that possibility than perhaps I would've been in the past. I meant to ask this question to folks applying to MA programs and doctoral programs. I'm applying to both, and this is a consideration as well--pursuing a MA first will likely extend the time to completion of a doctorate (my goal). Then again, maybe there's no need to be overly concerned about some of these things since, @avflinsch , you and others are pursuing a doctorate at a much later age than me. I do think that's admirable! I suspect it's at least somewhat common. This is anecdotal, but I know a few older people who are working on their doctorates right now. One, a good friend, is ABD and he's 36. The other two are both in philosophy PhD programs in their 40s and 60s respectively.

I'm a slightly older student, nearly 30 (just turned 29), who finished up my undergraduate degree about two and a half years ago. I'm applying for the first time, and I'm curious about others who might be applying in their late 20's, early 30's, or later. If you are an older student, what are your concerns about applying now? Do you think programs look upon applying a bit later with a slight skepticism? Or, perhaps, they view it as a potential advantage (an older student may have a more established work ethic, etc). Obviously, there are other investments involved, like opportunity cost, and so on, that change with age. I've found a few blogs that have explored this a bit. I have my own thoughts, but I'm interested to hear what others on this forum in this circumstance might be thinking about.

I'm going in with a high verbal score (169) and OK quantitative (156) but I got a 4 on the AW?! Hoping that that won't matter too much

@Turretin, this is helpful advice. Thanks for your input. I found the following post by Eric Schwitzgebel from UC Riverside on writing samples that I found useful. Perhaps others working on revising their sample will also find it so: http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2007/10/applying-to-philosophy-phd-programs.html

Hi everyone, This is my first time applying. It's been a couple of years since I finished my undergrad. Age 30 is rapidly approaching, and I'm very ready to get going on this next step before I'm too damn old. I'm applying to a range of mid-ranked PGR doctoral programs, and PGR MA programs (~10). Areas of interest are broadly: ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind. Currently working on my sample, juggling my full time job, and stressing. At least the GRE is done..

Thanks for the responses. @Dialectica you raise a good point. I need to sharpen up my philosophy skills again, might as well start now.

@desolesiii thanks for your reply. I do think that developing my original ideas will make for a stronger paper. I suppose my real concern is being able to do so in a significant way with the short time I have remaining. Because I feel rusty, I think I'm just concerned I'll add some half-baked ideas, but not have enough time to make them substantive. In any case, I'm inclined to do my best attempt, since it would potentially make for a stronger application. To reply to your first point, I also wouldn't have thought submitting two short papers would be a great idea, but since my professor suggested it as an option, I was inclined to give it some credence.

Hi all, I've been looking around these forums for some time, but haven't posted until now. I'm currently working on my application material for the 2017 application season. Right now, I'm focusing on my writing sample. I'm trying to rework a paper to use as a sample that I wrote several years ago for a class. This paper is short, around 9 pages, and mostly expository. All the papers I have previously written for philosophy classes are similarly short, meaning 8-10 pages, and primarily expository in nature, meaning the part of the paper in which I'm advancing my own arguments is fairly small. Several of my former professors are advising me on my application process. One of them thinks the short and expository nature of my paper may be an issue for doctoral programs, although perhaps less so for MA programs. The other professor doesn't seem to think this is as much of an issue. I went to a large state school for my undergraduate degree that's in the PGR top 10, and graduated several years ago. I could've written a thesis and thus had a longer sample to work with, but chose not to do so. This is something I now regret. In any case, I'm trying to do the best with what I have. My options seem to be: 1. expand the paper I have a bit more, and expand my original ideas to comprise more of the paper 2. submit two similarly short and expository papers 3. attempt to write and edit a new sample in 5-6 weeks that is more focused on developing my own ideas It's worth mentioning that I'm planning to apply primarily to well regarded master's programs (ones mentioned by PGR), but also to a few doctoral programs. Does anyone else have any thoughts or input? Did anyone have luck submitting a short, expository paper or two? Am I unnecessarily concerned about this? Right now, I'm inclined to either expand the paper I have, or attempt to write a new (perhaps related) sample. I do, however, feel I'm a bit rusty at writing about philosophy since it's been several years since I've finished my undergrad, and I'm fairly busy as I work full time. Any thoughts are much appreciated.