yhkim

Just declined NYU's offer. They said they've had a bunch of acceptances, so not sure if this will lead them to have someone off the waitlist. But they still said they want me to give the answer sooner "for the sake of the students on our waiting list." Hope this becomes good news to someone!

Great but I'm not in the US yet haha My visits start next week and my visit to NYU is at the end of the month!

Thanks!!! I personally don't find NYU more attractive than Harvard or UCLA. I guess I should find out more about the faculty members and the atmosphere during the visit... In fact, my POIs in Harvard and NYU are mostly assistant professors, which is also complicating the decision... duh

In at NYU. Wow. My AOI are political and moral philosophy. So: Acceptance: UCLA, Harvard, NYU, UPenn Rejection: Berkeley, Michigan, Princeton Havent heard back: Arizona, Stanford, Rutgers I guess this is the end of my application cycle as I will not consider the programs that I haven't heard back from, even if I get waitlisted. I'm surprised by NYU acceptance as they seem to prefer people with JD or Oxford BPhils... But I'm just an in-progress MA student in Seoul. The lesson seems to be that fit does matter. My sample is on identity in relational/interpersonal egalitarianism and I hope to work on relational equality further in grad school.

To episode 413: Oh I simply assumed you were American based on your mentor being an American professor haha... To quinessloopypun: People will decline offers from schools like Princeton only after careful deliberation, so don't lose hope! I guess the thing about decreasing positions and language is at least half of the truth. My professors are all from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and NYU. But the present situation makes me wonder how that was possible... My advisor (from NYU) said that it has become much tougher after the financial crisis, which might explain part of the situation. In addition, with episode 413, I agree that what we see significantly affects our understanding of our own prospects. That is also a problem for female philosophers, regardless of race. Having said that, it almost feels like a miracle that I got into programs like Harvard and UCLA. I too didn't believe that I could make it until I got my offers... Like, I am a non-American Asian female who spent the whole life in Seoul and learned English as a second language! lol My friend who is doing phd in the US advised me not to have ambitions (because you'll be so stressed out), but I at least want to do it in a way that leaves open the path for future Asian and/or female students. At any rate, it's encouraging to meet you guys here, and really, best wishings for your admissions and philosophical careers!

Wow I didn't expect that! Like practical especially my AOI seem far less popular compared to core areas or metaethics... On a slightly different note, that's so nice of Gina Schouten! I've heard that she's such a nice person too. I'm weighing between Harvard and UCLA as I really love the political philosophers in both programs, but I'll try to make the decision in late March at the latest. Thanks for wishing me good luck and best of luck to you too!!!

Great to meet another third-world international applicant! haha If you are offered to visit, you must be really at the top of the WL, likely to be accepted. I know how it is hard for third-world students to get into top North American phd programs, especially philosophy programs. (I have grad students friends in other disciplines, and they seem to have less difficulty...) It might be because of language or the small number of phd positions in philosophy... but either case, congratulations that you and I made it to here! Best of luck with your remaining schools and visits!

Declined the offer from Penn. Just before that I got an email about the visiting days (22-24th) so hope that this helps someone waiting plan her or his visit!

Good to meet someone to share my feelings! All this unorganized process is difficult for students not living in urban areas in the US... though I know it's so lucky to have opportunities to visit at all. A flight from Seoul to the US takes around 11~16 hours, $600~900 for a one way ticket! Crazy. If you are currently employed, that must be crazier... I'll ask the programs as you recommended. Thanks and wish you good luck with the visits!!

Thanks for your advice! My AOI are political philosophy and normative ethics. I guess I'm rejected from Princeton. No surprise... They only have one faculty member in the philosophy dept. working in my AOI. Hope the admits in your AOI make quick decisions! I'll try. Best of luck to you!

Hi, do you guys have any rough idea when the visits for NYU (or Princeton) will be (under the assumption that one gets accepted)? I am a grad student in Seoul, South Korea, and visiting UCLA (7-9) and Harvard (19-21) on the official dates. I'm having trouble booking my flights to and from US, and also within US because of the programs that haven't yet made their decisions... Of course the possibility of rejection is faaaar greater, and I'm leaning to making reservations under the assumption that I am rejected by remaining programs. But should the occasion arise by any possibility I would have to cancel flight tickets, that will be so expensive... And the thoughts about costs are troubling, so high for a grad student...

Hi, I'm new to this thread, though I submitted some results. I am currently in at UCLA, UPenn, Harvard. My AOI is political (and moral) philosophy. I am still waiting for a few decisions more, but UCLA and Harvard are my top choices. I will try to make my decisions ASAP. Hope that means good news to those on the waitlist!

Hi, I am planning to apply for Philosophy PhD programs in the US and was wondering about the importance of GRE scores in admission. Oh and I'm not a native speaker in English. I didn't do my degrees in English-speaking countries. Just to let you know, if this turns out to be relevant... I just got my GRE score, which is V 170 Q 170 W 4.5. I'm happy to have these V and Q scores but ... I'm hoping to get into one of the top programs in philosophy, and from what I saw on this site, it seems like the absolute majority of the admitted students have writing scores of at least 5.0. (5.5 seems to be the average.) Some say that GRE works as sort of pass/fail and I'll be just ok if I pass the minimum. I've heard some schools take into consideration that the student is not a native speaker and that speed really matters in GRE writing. But I'm not sure about that. Maybe they could just take this a sign of weakness in language, won't they....? My GPA is almost perfect, but as everyone in the field knows, it's getting enormously competitive and almost everyone who applies to the top programs seems to have perfect GPA. So I thought a low analytic writing score could matter in the admission process. If it matters a lot, I think I should retake the exam. But if the effect is minimal, I would just take more time to revise my writing sample. If anyone knows about the importance of GRE in philosophy program admissions, please help me out. There are not many people here I can ask for advice, so I'll really, really, appreciate any tip or information you give me. Thanks...!! + Does it hurt to apply two or three times to the same program? Is there any disadvantage, formal or informal, for a person who got rejected last year and then applies again?