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My thesis was on Schopenhauer. All three of my committee members thought it was very strong. I only applied to programs with strengths in 19th Century and continental. I had limited success, less than I was anticipating. The other parts of my application were competitive, at least as far as I know. I can’t help but think that if I’d submitted a sample on a more canonical figure with whom the people reviewing my application were more familiar, even limited to 19th Century German Philosophy (Nietzsche, Hegel, etc), I’d have had better luck.

To continue with recent thread developments ... if anyone is planning to turn down Indiana, please PM.

Personally, because of the general crazy amounts of chance and randomness factored into getting into a PGR top ten, I don’t think any one factor should be taken too dispositively. I’m not sure banking on any specific MA as having a better pipeline to the top ten in general is the best way make the decision (of course, I could be wrong about that). Anyway, I’d suggest focusing on 1) placement in highly ranked schools in your subfield (one can infer that the specialists at the PhD level know and respect the MA profs who mentor the applicants they accept); 2) overall placement at PGR 50 schools (the larger the set, the less likely chance or randomness plays a role); 3) historical placement at specific schools you’re interested in (if every year for the last ten years, NIU places at least one person at NYU, and NYU is your top choice, that might be salient - but you’ll also probably want to look in what it was that distinguishes those NIU students accepted from those who weren’t).

If you don’t get NIU funding, GSU. If you do get NIU funding and ... - want to work on 19th Century German Philosophy, GSU - want to work on analytic epistemology/metaphysics, NIU - want to work in any other subfield (assuming no attachment to any particular profs or locale), it’s probably a toss up.

Anyone have any insight into the status of New Mexico’s waitlist?

I too have not yet heard from DePaul. Not sure if they do hidden WLs or not.

If it’s anything like two years ago (when I applied), you’ve got a good shot - GSU went through the entire waitlist that year. But maybe they’ve remediated the process since then. Either way, as with most places, it’s possible to get an earlier offer but if one comes it’s likely to be in the week leading up to 4/15.

Thanks for the update. Who’d you reach out to at BU? I tried sending a message via the admissions portal and the response was singularly unhelpful.

Given the circumstances, normal. But, that doesn’t mean you should rule out seeking help.

That’s good information to know. Please do pass on any news when you hear back!

Same for BU and McGill (but like someone else said, the latter I don’t think has released any rejections yet - don’t know about waitlists)

I find that an MA program’s reputation typically has less to do with the names of the faculty than with whether it produces students who go on to succeed in PhD programs. In other words, a great writing sample and letters from School X (with lesser known faculty) will outweigh a so-so sample and letters from School Y (with better known faculty) - and that’s largely baked into the MA rankings. Most advantages of MA programs seem to be indirect - and since indirect advantages can be hard to quantify, there’s no guarantee that they’d be greater for you at Tufts rather than SFU, so if it were me, I wouldn’t shell out the extra money. If we’re talking about, say, a $3,000 difference in the size of a stipend, that’s a different story. EDIT: Also, SFU should have information on the placement records of its graduates. If they don’t make it public, I don’t see the harm in asking for that information. If they are reluctant to supply it, that might be a red flag. Regardless, it’s not like they’re going to withdraw their acceptance if you ask for it.

Waitlisted at Indiana - “near the top” - got the email about an hour and a half ago. Definitely a top choice for me, so anyone who’s got an offer and isn’t going to accept, please kindly decline soon - thanks!

Saw a waitlist from Bostin U. Anyone know if they’ve sent acceptances yet?

The more important question, I think, is do you want to spend two years of your life studying figures and issues in analytic philosophy that you aren’t passionate about while your real passion in the field atrophies? As far as more pragmatic concerns go, both the writing sample and “fit” we all know are two major issues for PhD admissions, in addition to letters. So: 1. It’s more likely faculty at a PhD will know or at least know of your letter writers if they are in the same subfield. The philosophy world is small, but not that small. 2. One of the selling points of an MA is the depth and breadth of knowledge it gives you - but if you’ve only taken coursework and written a thesis on analytic figures/issues, that might be a moot point for contintental programs. Ancedotally, I’m at GSU now and a prof told me that at least one contact on ad com committees in years past for one of the really niche continental programs (think more SPEP than PGR) once conveyed the belief that our program is too “analytic” - even though we have multiple continental course offerings each semester and at least a solid third of us each year end up doing our thesis work on continental figures. So to the extent there’s a faculty member like that on the ad com, I can’t imagine what their take would be on a straight up analytic oriented program. Just some things to consider. Good luck!

One theory I’ve heard is that, depending on the letter writer, they could feel like if you apply to, say, eight programs, they’d be able to more closely tailor the letter for each program’s strengths and faculty vis a vis your interests and work. If you apply to two or three times that number though, they’re more likely to send out a less tailored letter, because they either don’t know or don’t have the time to get into those kinds of details. That being said, it seems like this is the minority position.

Accepted to LSU about a month ago; I had written them off because the acceptance offer explicitly said "without funding" - but they just came through with a pretty generous (for an MA) assistantship/funding package yesterday. I'm waitlisted at GSU and accepted at NIU (unfunded) and the New School (40% off). Also presumed declined/hidden waitlist at 3 PhDs. I'd love to go to GSU if I get off the waitlist, otherwise I'm leaning towards taking the LSU offer (assuming no movement on the PhDs).

That's encouraging, since I've heard nothing from 3 schools that have already reported.

Just one?

SLU rejection. Email to check portal.

Anyone sitting on an offer from GSU that they are going to decline (or have already)?

The thread is about HOPE. Hope isn't necessarily rational. Let people buy into the fallacy if it gives them some peace of mind.