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Prose

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Everything posted by Prose

  1. Prose

    UCLA

    dey out doe?
  2. I'd generally agree with this and re-emphasize (1) honesty with yourself and (2) the writing sample: Unless you're from a top undergrad, 4.0s won't matter. Unless you've published in respectable professional journals, publications won't matter. Languages won't count for much of anything unless you're working in a specific area of the history of philosophy where a certain language is crucial, and experiences like Fulbright also similarly really don't matter. The only things people really care about are your writing sample and whether or not you went to elite institutions. This latter point is especially important as the guy who got a 3.9 from Rutgers will almost always be looked upon more favorably than someone who had a 4.0 from an unknown school. The former's grades will carry more weight as they were from classes taught by famous philosophers, and he'll also have letters with similar prestige. Depending on the competition at the programs to which you're applying (yes they're all competitive; no they're not all as competitive as the others), you need to ask yourself, "Am I really, on the basis of my sample and pedigree, one of the top 3-4 epistemologists/ethicists/etc. applying this cycle?" It requires a lot of brutal honesty and shunning pointless compliments like how strong your application supposedly is - I've been through this myself. Don't believe me on pedigree? Take a look at the undergraduate BAs of the graduate students at top programs. That is all to re-emphasize, again, the writing sample. Your pedigree is set in stone by the time you complete your BA/MA, or near the time of completion - your writing sample is not. It's the only thing you have full control over, and, luckily the most important component of your application. It can trump both lackluster pedigree and even grades.
  3. HEREWITH I PRESENT MY WISDOM Sizzling Tier of the Making-or-Breaking-of-Application-Glory-or-Doom: Writing Sample / Letters of Recommendation (quality + fame) Hot Tier of Great Importance: GPA (in philosophy) / Higher Education Pedigree (in philosophy; can be very convincingly argued that this belongs to the Sizzling Tier) Lukewarm Tier of Afterthought: GRE / Statement of Purpose [both of these, if significantly awful, will wreck your chances; if very good, will not go very far towards securing anything on their own]
  4. I was falling apart earlier this term from anxiety about applications. Then, I kid you not, I started drinking more water (I was actually very dehydrated) and applied Stoic moral psychology. It quite literally cured me. The good news I've received so far happened after this, so they weren't a factor in my feeling better. My point is not that you need to drink water and apply Stoic thought to your mental noise if you're feeling down. The point is that these two things are the last things I thought would help me, so you should try out everything you can that might help you.
  5. "extremely high" on waitlist for admission at UVA?? edit: says offer highly likely, but will most likely decline
  6. oops! sorry, didn't mean to green that one - fixed it.
  7. This is really not that complicated. OP already sent in his app's anyways, and so have I. Not going to discuss this non-issue further.
  8. Why do I think it is unwise to tell programs designed to produce academic philosophers that you might not actually want to be an academic philosopher?
  9. yep, unwise, but as you said your apps are out, dont stress
  10. depends how it's done honestly, I'm at an extremely analytic department and most people don't really have that attitude, they just shun murky writing.
  11. sure if funded and you have nothing better to do no if not funded unless you're rich I'll let other posters inform about funded MAs, totally ignorant
  12. True, not strictly a prerequisite, but the writing sample is so important that spending copious amounts of time on it may as well be. An excellent sample can overcome a (relatively) poor GPA or GRE, or sometimes, even undergraduate pedigree. The single advice repeated over and over again by professional philosophers is to make one's sample as professional and rigorous and well-argued as possible. Don't take my word for it, or tmck3053's, just do a little bit of asking around and internet 'research' and you'll find this to be true. It's lucky for tmck3053 that they got into a good program without having put in so many hours into their sample, but it's completely irrelevant and misleading to try and suggest that it's an effective option. *Put as much work into your sample as you possibly can. This piece of advice should not be up for debate.*
  13. Right, a vast majority of people in the field are trained in analytic philosophy. Meaning the vast majority of training going on is in analytic philosophy. Meaning that the vast majority of opportunities available are in analytic philosophy, or being scouted for by analytic-identifying philosophers and departments. Point is, the analytic applicant's always going to have more options. I don't think anyone disputes this, unless you'd like to. You also can't argue without data of your own, as you started suggesting towards the end of your first post, that continental philosophy might actually have it better than analytic when it comes to job prospects - again, misleading and irresponsible.
  14. "For analytic philosophers, for whom there is no niche set of schools, they are competing with everyone everywhere, and like I said the bleakness is somewhat exacerbated by everyone being an "expert" in like the same four things." There's no niche because the vast majority of jobs available are analytic.
  15. https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2018/02/where-the-jobs-werent-in-2017-by-aos.html
  16. Pretty sure everyone who got a spot already got calls, sorry.
  17. Actually rather enjoy things outside of traditionally analytic content, and lots of people will tell you the distinction isn't so stark as it used to be, though it's still there - I understand your chosen track gets lots of criticism, some rightful ones included, but don't be so wounded that you read animosity (wrongly) into things. Stating that continental philosophy makes bad job prospects even more bleak isn't an attack, and you're doing applicants a disservice if you don't admit that outright. You might also try addressing people directly, rather than referring to them in third person, when you think they've said something you disagree with.
  18. People on this forum are exceedingly nice, so nice that they don't always tell you the whole truth, but I'm going to say what anyone with a clue about what academic philosophy is like should be obliged to say to hopeful applicants: Do not saunter into academic philosophy because you got turned down at whatever you wanted to do and are looking for some other degree. Do not do this, especially, if you're looking at continental (already horrible prospects get that much worse). Starting the process this way really won't do you any favor in either IR (which is better suited by analytic content anyways) or philosophy. Unless you don't really care, and you just want something to do that isn't working a job. Then go for it I guess, though I know nothing of Loyola.
  19. My second cycle, had my fair share of rejections - honestly, I really don't care about them. If I get rejected, I was rejected. Not much more to think about.
  20. (1) (Top 20 vs. Top 10 comparison) vs. (Outside-Top-60 vs. Top 20/Top 30 comparison) --- Difference here is massive. You could argue that at the top programs the quality of each program is so high and the opportunities so abundant that fine-grained distinctions in newly minted PhDs' abilities make a significant impact on job outcomes, but you haven't really said much about how different that calculus might look when you broaden the gap as widely as you have (Top 60+ vs. Top 20/30), besides the bit about Kriegel and two other good figures. (2) Related to (1), reputation might matter. Prestige bias is a thing. (3) You should take into account some programs that are lower ranked and yet have excellent placement rates. If you accept your premise that the best/better students go to the best/better schools, on average, then these 'outlier' programs probably shouldn't exist, or at least not to the degree that they do. Are people at THESE programs also just better students? Probably not.
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