mostlygoo

Hope you all are doing okay out there. Just applying to MA programs myself this year, no news yet. Stay positive.

This question isn't specific to philosophy but thought I'd post it here anyway. I'm only applying to masters programs this year, but thinking ahead to if/when I apply to doctoral programs, one thing I see pretty often (in the results board, and in different forums) is someone saying they'd reached out to relevant professors at a school before applying. I see the benefit, especially if you're going to mention a specific prof in your SOP, or if only one or two professors at a school could possibly serve as your advisor if you were accepted. Just wondering a few things. How important is it to open some kind of dialogue like this before you apply? And how do people usually get a dialogue like this started in the first place? I can see reaching out and just letting a prof know that I'm drawn to her work, am interested in program X and in these topics, and so on. Is it as basic as that, and letting things go (or not go) from there? Or do folks try to actually engage philosophically and talk about their own work? (I'd feel pretty presumptuous doing that in a first email, before knowing the prof wants to engage at all.) I'd appreciate any input, especially if you've done this in the past and were accepted into the program, or if you have any insight into how much importance adcoms place on that kind of outreach.

Not sure how much advice I can give, but I was in a similar spot, applying to Phil programs after many years out of school (in engineering) and without even a Phil undergrad. I ended up taking a few in-person grad classes (as a non-matriculated student) partly to see how much I liked the class environment after being so long away, and partly to try to secure at least one decent rec letter writer. That did happen, but I always knew I would likely need strong non-academic recommendations as well, especially for programs that asked for three letters. (This was last year btw, and I did get accepted into three middle-of-the-road MA programs.) Others may have more guidance on the relative importance of the letters themselves. But I'll add two more things. I'm good friends with a professor (in another field) who is on the review committee at his school, and his take on it is that the recommendation letters rarely make an impact one way or another. Obvious exceptions are if you have incredibly well-known and well-respected profs writing your letters. But for him they're more of a box to be checked. (Again, different department though.) The other thing I'll add is that if you're applying to a program that does tend to admit "non-traditional" students, and talks about diversity of experience on its website (or directly if you communicate with the DGA before applying), then having at least *some* non-traditional recommendations isn't going to be unexpected. They might even help if you're leaning into your experience outside academia and philosophy. So my advice would probably depend on your timing. If you want to apply this season, then I'd say your best bet is to try to secure really strong non-academic recommendations from people who can talk about things that actually do matter in graduate school -- critical thinking, collaborative/collegial attitude, insightfulness, creativity and so on. And give the applications a shot, maybe with a supplemental note to explain the lack of academic recs. If that doesn't work, you can see if there's a way to take in-person classes somewhere, *or* reach out to some of these online professors before registering for other classes, and ask about their personal policy. (Maybe there's still a way to get the recommendations you need by asking your recent profs in the right way, but I'd have no idea how to even attempt that.) Good luck to you!

Heard back at least. An acceptance would've been surprising! But the email was.... a lot? Unfortunately, I have to convey the news that we cannot offer you a place in this year’s incoming cohort of graduate students. Let me emphasize that this year we had a particularly strong field of applicants. As a result, we had to make many difficult decisions. But we did enjoy going through many of the applications that we didn't select, and we believe that there are many talented applicants that we are unable to admit for reasons of space. We wish you best of luck in your future pursuits, and we thank you for considering our department. I mean I'm glad they enjoyed going through many of the applications! And that they think at least some of those people are talented! That's encouraging at least, right? Anyway, onward. That wraps it up for me this cycle, best of luck to all you good people. Don't let the bastards grind you down and be kind, always.

Anyone else still waiting on Maryland? I saw a rejection posted awhile back on the results board but nothing else. Assuming a very likely rejection given how late it is, but curious if anyone else is waiting or has heard back. I did reach out to the dept coordinator yesterday morning but haven't gotten a response yet.

Just curious if anyone has any experience with GW's PSP MA program. I know it's not a highly ranked program in general, but I'm wondering if anyone has any insight on whether the interdisciplinary curriculum would give enough of a philosophical grounding to someone who's looking ahead toward doctoral study (and not in political philosophy) at some point? Asking because it's one of the few local MA programs here in the DC area, and I was accepted with a fair amount of funding. But it's billed as a "non-traditional" model because it leans so heavily on the social policy side, and so I wonder if (again, reputation aside) the program would limit my options down the road. I'm trying to get more info from the program as well, but thought I'd check in here to see if anyone might be familiar with it. (A little background here, too -- I'm an older grad applicant coming in without a philosophy undergrad degree, just a handful of grad-level classes I've taken; so I know getting an MA is likely necessary for me to have a realistic shot at *any* doctoral program. So a program with real philosophical breadth is important to me - which is one reason I'm reaching out here, to see if maybe the program offers more than what I can tell from the website.)

Congrats! Enjoy the weekend and celebrate...

Not yet! I'm going to bed early just in case.

Is it just me or is it taking extra long to hear back from most places? I say that and then I'll get five rejection emails tonight right before I go to bed. Not that I'm deterministic! I just know the universe's games.

What I've seen (and this may depend on the application) is that some materials can be replaced post-submission, and some can't. Core components like SOPs and writing samples appear to be in that first group, which makes sense if it's possible they're being actively read soon after submission. Unofficial test scores, transcripts, CVs/pub lists seem to be in the second group. I have a feeling that even if you were allowed by the app to update a writing sample post-submission (and definitely post-deadline), it wouldn't be read -- so the committee members wouldn't be angry because they wouldn't see it. (But idk honestly. Just how I imagine they'd set it up.)

Congratulations! That should make the waiting a lot easier I hope.

Maybe it's just a very quiet, contemplative group, and nobody is stressing. Most of my programs won't even notify for a couple more weeks, I think, based on past results. But I still like seeing the results as they come in for other programs. Keeps me grounded, plus I like thinking about the story behind each one. So much goes into this for so many people.

Saw an interview on the board for Duke today. Hoping that was yours, or that you hear something positive today!

AOC - Ethics and moral psychology. PhDs - Maryland, Villanova, Temple. MAs - American, GW, Mason. Plus I threw Notre Dame into the mix because… why not? So, four PhDs I guess. I’m quite a bit older so looking to stay close to the DC area, where I live, if I can. Hopkins was on my list but I couldn’t get my last recommendation in place before the deadline. What’s your AOC?

Didn't apply there, but looks like it's often the last week of Jan. when acceptances/interviews start showing up on the board. Good luck to you.