évariste

So, I'm deferring my application to next year. Having transferred to my undergrad institution (having only been there since fall 2016) I think I'd really benefit from having the additional year of Prestigious College on my transcript--plus I'm currently studying abroad and taking courses in the philosophy masters program at the Sorbonne (which are looking like they might alter the course of my writing sample--the French continental perspective is expanding my horizons lol) so next year my letters will really be able to mention my doing graduate-level coursework. So I guess if anyone has any recommendations on things to do in the interim (diversity conferences, maybe? Universities offering pre-doctoral research internships?), that's where I'm setting my sights for now...

Wow, thanks so much for the speedy reply! Yes, I'm going to check in with the international centre at my undergrad institution and see if they can refer me to an immigration lawyer. Was just wondering if anyone here had done anything similar, as leaving the country one term at a time to go to school seems like a potentially common enough situation And, yup, already registered for selective service, but that is a helpful reminder; thanks!

Hey, sorry if this is a duplicate post--I tried searching some keywords and didn't find anything. For any US permanent residents (greencard holders) out there, does anyone have any experience with grad programs abroad while trying to maintain permanent residence in the US? I didn't realize I was eligible for citizenship (happened in March, apparently), and I'm about to study abroad--I'm in the senior year of my undergrad in the US. I know you need to maintain continuous residence in the US for 3 months before applying for naturalization, so if I want to get naturalized, my choices are to file for naturalization either 1) right now or 2) in April 2018 (3 months from January, when I'll be back in the US). Problem with #1 is that I might be in France when they request my biometrics or interview, and problem with #2 is the process might not be complete by September 2018, when I'll hopefully be going to grad school, possibly outside of the US. Now, I'm not concerned with naturalization so much as just keeping my greencard. If I do want to do an MA abroad it'll be maybe 2 years at maybe Simon Fraser [in Canada]? after which I'd love to return to a Ph.D program in the United States. This would mean I'd have like 4 months at the end of 2018 in Canada, after which I'd be able to return to the US for a month for the holidays (possibly working in the US), and then like 6 more months in Canada before the summer...does anyone know if leaving the US for the duration of each school term, and coming back only for inter-term holidays, would be considered an abandonment of my permanent residence in the US? Thank you for any and all thoughts! <3

Yikes, this is frightening. I just took the GRE this afternoon, and scored V170/Q165, which sounds okay for philosophy except I'm a logician. Would the 89th percentile cut it for PGR programs (dreaming really hard about e.g. MIT)? I probably didn't do spectacularly on AW--if I had to guess, I'd estimate a 4 or 4.5; I am really terrible at writing under time pressure. All input appreciated; I would have to schedule another test date, like, right now, because I'm going abroad September 13...

Ahh, this probably colours why everyone else thinks it's outrageous for 75% of a stipend to go toward housing, and why the majority here seem to think OP should find something cheaper off-campus. For perspective, I just checked my local Craigslist and 1br/1ba apartments go for $2500-3200 a month (DON'T LIVE IN MY AREA if you can help it, seriously). I take this to mean that in some markets it's expected that you'll spend a majority of your income on housing...and NYC is probably one of them. And in such markets, I've learnt that it's often better to bite the bullet and pay the going rate to the university, than to chase "deals" and get caught in an awful bidding war with flighty Craigslist landlords (prices don't get that high without exorbitant demand)... EDIT: whoa I lied there are multiple apartments here listed as high as $4700/month for a 1x1. This may actually be worse than NYC...

Long story short, I am sans housing from September 6-23. My summer research internship ends September 1 and I have just about nothing to do this summer after that point (well, there's certainly my applications--but nothing I can't do from anywhere). The original plan was to couchsurf, but given that I'll be starting off the school year abroad, there is literally no financial benefit to remaining in California in the interim (all of the costs of travel will be incurred regardless: I have to Airbnb either way, here or there; and I have to spend the airfare to get to/through the East Coast en route to Paris by September 23 anyway). Weird predicament, I know My question is, given the opportunity to do so at virtually no cost, does it make sense to visit some of the departments I'm planning to apply to? I've never been to Boston, but a whole bunch of schools I'm looking at are in that area. I know College Road TripsTM are a big part of the undergraduate application process for those fortunate enough to have the means, but do graduate applicants ever visit schools before being accepted? If so--should I try to arrange to chat with professors or current grads (most schools will probably already be in session), or would that be seen as weirdly presumptuous and premature? And would it be more important to visit the departments I'm not 100% sure I want to apply to (i.e. where a visit might inform whether I can see myself as a good fit), or the ones I'm most interested in (where I'm totally in love with the school already and absolutely plan to apply)? I'm in Philosophy, if it makes a difference

So, I'm still an undergrad and have never needed to take out any loans--but as a high school graduate, I managed to support myself while paying just over 70% of my income as rent (in a region that is quickly gaining notoriety for unaffordability), so here's my advice. University-provided housing might not be the worst option for you--it'll suck for 75% of your stipend to go toward rent, but that amount should also include utilities, Internet access, etc. If it's university-owned you may also be able to cut down significantly on the costs of transportation (eliminating the need for gas/car insurance/public transit fares). Then, in terms of anything else you need on top of transportation and shelter: Health insurance: Ask your department if there's any way they can cover your student health fees/student insurance--you might have more of a case with this than you think if your university mandates proof of insurance (most do). As an undergrad, I emailed the college financial aid office and was literally handed a couple thousand dollars (the cost of the college health insurance plan) immediately, no questions asked. Food: Buy dry foods (cheap), buy in bulk, from discount (e.g. Grocery Outlet) retailers, clip coupons (Safeway has a great smartphone app)--I know this sounds ridiculous (if not outright avocado toast-y), but I have been able to feed myself on $80/month by extreme thrift. If your university has lots of student organizations, keep an eye out for flyers advertising free food at events (someone at my school once made an app consolidating event posts containing strings like "lunch will be served" and discovered it was definitely possible to subsist on only free leftovers). If all else fails, look into food stamps. Seriously. Eligibility may vary by state, but in most cases certain noncitizens can receive benefits, depending on factors like how long you have been in the country etc. Cell phone: avoid contract plans (this will save you $30-70/month), stay in wi-fi range (easy on a university campus), decide if you absolutely need a phone number for emergencies--if so, opt for prepaid by-the-minute rates. Extras: peruse Craigslist for extra work beyond your 20 hours a week. Especially in affluent areas, tutoring is always in demand. If either your current university or your undergrad institution are brand names, consider freelancing as a private college counselor--I have two friends who have made $50+/hour as "admissions consultants" by letting high schoolers read their college application essays [essays that ~got them into x school~, OMG]; of course, you could also take a less fanatical approach and revise kids' application essays and such. Same goes for SAT/ACT tutoring if you have high scores on those. If you do this privately, you're likely to end up with cheques (à la teenage babysitter) that you can choose not to report as income. Obviously YMMV, but hopefully at least some of this is helpful.

Whoa, our interests are quite similar (find mine above). I said aesthetics rather than philosophy of language mainly because I am interested in what constitutes beauty independent of medium. So give "language" an extremely broad definition, and you and I are on the same page. Maybe me too, in a slightly different order? I'm logic, formal epistemology, philosophy of math/philosophy of logic. Dreaming of MIT, Harvard, CMU, CUNY, NYU, Brown, Columbia, Michigan, UConn Storrs... Also applying to MA programs; so far I'm looking at Tufts and SFU. What's missing (aside from programs with slightly more realistic admit rates)? Worst comes to worst, there's a rumour that my current school doesn't take undergrads as Ph.D students, but I would likely be accepted for a one-year coterminal MA there. Coterms are unfunded, though (and most attention/opportunities are given to the Ph.D students?)

It's more a question of bureaucracy, because trans rights have been everyone's pet soapbox in the last couple of years...which is all well and fine, except that all this political football actually impacts some day-to-day lives. E.g. political climates do put pressure on health insurance coverage (with a significant chunk of policy governed at the state level), so continued access to hormones is a thing. Also, the whole bathroom issue--I'd prefer not to worry about whether my using a toilet will be outlawed I am really not trying to sound like a snowflake! I'm not indignant or angry or anything--just pragmatic. While I care about cultural fit, it's really not a huge factor for me in terms of choosing schools; unfortunately I do have to prioritize my basic needs, however. Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I've only ever driven through PA, but, yes, more reasons to get excited for the Great Grad School Road Trip I grew up in Canada and live in California, so I'm pretty spoiled by liberalism... Semi-related (but very general) question: a few of you mention spouses; is grad school just a horrible option for those who want to eventually have families but who aren't already engaged/married? (Semi-related because LGBT presence/prominence is pretty affected by political climate, but if getting my Ph.D means resigning myself to permanent bachelorhood anyway (side effect of academic productivity?), then I guess the absence of an LGBT community isn't really going to matter...)

My original claim wasn't empirically verified, but now I'm curious! Looking through my department's website now, of 26 faculty (not counting emeriti/professors by courtesy/etc--just because that was already a lot of web pages to sift through): Graduates of ranked programs below top 15: 4 Graduates of unranked programs: 1 Okay, so 25/26 faculty are from ranked Ph.D programs, and 21/26 from top 15. Well, that was terrifying And that's probably enough information that my department is easily identifiable, lol! I feel kind of creepy having read all these CVs now... All silliness aside, though, this is really solid advice from everyone--I truly appreciate the perspective!

Then I don't think we will be competing at all, haha--I'm wary of living outside of blue states... (CMU really matches my interests, but...swing state? Thank god there's no scarcity of universities in New England...)

Ooh, hey, which one? My school is hosting a diversity-in-philosophy conference next Friday...

Hello! I'm currently finishing up the junior year of my undergrad, and am interested primarily in logic and formal epistemology. I'm probably an oddball applicant--I'm a fairly nontraditional student who went from taking one class per quarter in community college and double-majoring in math and computer science, to transferring to a TGR-ranked university, taking ten philosophy classes this year, majoring in philosophy (potentially also math), and doing research in logic this summer. But, a couple of questions: is a Ph.D too much of a long shot, given I'll only have had one year of philosophy (and only one year of "real" college) at the time of application? I'm only two classes short of finishing the major right now, but don't have much evidence of longitudinal philosophical interest. And--does diversity help (gay + transgender + person of color...)? I can definitely talk about how those identities have impacted my academic journey in my SOP, but I don't know how much of a difference it might make. (I'm pretty quiet about being trans, otherwise.) Anyway. Évariste is a lousy attempt at anonymity, not my real name--but it's nice to meet you anyway!

Hey there! I'm new to this site (will drop in on the 2018 applicants thread shortly) but generally quite anxious about graduate admissions. I was chatting with a philosophy professor about graduate school and he seemed to imply that if one wasn't admitted to a ranked (or even top 20ish?!) Ph.D program, given the slim pickings of the academic job market, it might be a wiser move to cut one's losses and leave academia right then and there. His reasoning was that there are more graduates from even top 10 programs than jobs available, which is...true? But even a cursory perusal of this forum reveals that most users here have safety schools. So I'm curious to hear about your take on this "go big or go home" mentality--are you worried about correlations between prestige and employability, or does it matter more to you that you're just getting to do philosophy in some way? FWIW, from the CVs I've perused, literally all of my professors are from top 15 philosophy programs--so it's entirely possible that my professors have never even had to consider attending an unranked school. The professor in question is one of the least arrogant people I know, but maybe it's hard to relate to us plebeians...?