yhkim

Just got the good news from Stanford! 

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.

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.

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!

I'm an international student from a third-world county too. I'm from China? And I agree with you about how few students from third-world countries study philosophy in North America. It is hard. And most international students from china tend to pursue more lucrative careers. It's also hard for you to believe that you could study philosophy in the phd level here. Although I did my undergrad in the states, I really didn't believe I could get into any phd program until I got the offer from Toronto. After all, you can hardly see any non-white/Asian philosophers in North American universities. 

Thank you so much. It's great to meet you, a fellow international philosophy-fighther, too!
I hope that I am at somewhere at the top of the list, though I haven't heard anything.
Ain't that the truth? Not only is philosophy such a language-dependent discipline, but also dwindling in job market and so on. The odds are stacked against us in the process. A few of my professors mentioned that it was much easier to get into the top programs back in their days as international applicants, since most of the process was to find an eager letter writer. So though sad, it is not incomprehensible that it's getting tougher and tougher for internationals to make it to the top programs in North America.
Congratulations to you, too--you seem to have made it to beautiful programs as well.

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!

NYU usually sends out offers late February/early March. So I guess their visiting days would also be later than other schools such as UCLA and Harvard. Several people have reported acceptances from Princeton. And yeah like the other person said, you should ask if the schools could split your travel costs. I was just waitlisted at UCLA. Hopefully you'll make your decision soon! May I ask your AOI? Good luck with the visits! 

I don't have any info about those programs, but I agree that making these plans is a ridiculous game. I live in the US, but in a rural area, and flights out of the local airport can be pricey. I'm trying to organize travel plans to visit a few campuses, but it's a mess because I booked flights to visit one school before I heard back from the other, and the dates overlap so I am trying to reschedule things which might be a mess. Plus the reimbursement limit is usually $500 (for domestic) and the absolute lowest cost ONE WAY to get to the second school I'm trying to get to is at least $560. Considering that I also have to find a way to take the extra time off of work, I don't know how feasible it'll be to visit.
I didn't realize this would be such a difficult aspect of the process!
I wish you the best of luck, though. I'm sure Harvard and UCLA have reimbursement budgets, and if they aren't offering enough to cover the full costs, you could try having a conversation with them about it to see if they'd be willing to provide some extra money, considering that the flights sound like they're currently very expensive. I've also heard of multiple programs splitting costs for international student travel to make it easier, so you could talk to them about that. So, for example, one school could pay for your ticket to the US, another could pay for your ticket home, and they'd split the cost of the domestic flight between the schools, or something like that. If, by some stroke of luck, you get another acceptance in the next few days for a program with a visit between those dates, that could be something you could discuss with them too.

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'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'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! 

My AOI are metaphysics and political philosophy. Most of my research as an undergrad have been in metaphysics. But in grad school I wanna do more poli philosophy specifically constitutional law, jurisprudence, human rights and citizenship.

In at Harvard.
Acceptances: Berkeley, Brown, UPenn, Harvard
Waitlist: Northwestern
Rejected: Yale, UCLA, Chicago, Michigan
 

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!