Goonasabi

Congrats!! What schools comprise those 5, and what is the status of each, if you don't mind me asking?

Yep, I'm one of the rejectees, as well. Oh well, Michigan is definitely a long shot!

Same here. How are all of us high on the wait list? I don't get that. Hah. But congrats!

I got a call around noon on Friday. The prospective student trip is March 15-17. I have no idea when they call, or if they called other people. So it could be any time this week. I hope you get a call!

Congrats!! I applied to OSU and Purdue...both of which sent out letters today. Maybe not a good sign. Ah well. But on the bright side, I got a call from Baylor to invite me to campus (it's a semi-acceptance, I think contingent upon a successful visit--they do it a bit differently there).

I wrote about Descartes's views on modality

I can't answer all of your questions, but I can take a shot at a couple. I'm sure the other people who hang around here will provide valuable insight. To start, it seems like you are set up very well for application season. You come from a great philosophy school and your GPA is good. I'll comment on some of your questions, and leave others to expand or tackle the ones I have missed. 1) The committee will take into account all philosophy classes you have taken, but will probably be more interested in your Berkeley classes. A 3.9 at Berkeley will be viewed favorably. They know the classes aren't cupcakes. Berkeley's reputation precedes them. 2) The writing sample question is tough. You don't want to be a perfectionist and never produce anything, but your writing sample is, after all, the most important part of your application. You want to spend the most time on it. So it really comes down to how confident you are about it. I produced my writing sample this semester, at the end of November (NOT RECOMMENDED!). I wish I had more time, but it is still a solid sample that will give me a good shot at PGR top-50 schools. Bottom line: take however much time you need, but make sure your writing sample is stellar. 5) If you produce a solid writing sample and do reasonably well on the GRE, I think you have a good shot. Your'e right, though, the job market for philosophy is just brutal. The better the school, the better shot you have at securing a position post-graduation. Many talented philosophers flounder in the job market. You should put a lot of weight on placement records. Also, I have a report on job placement records for philosophy. If you want that, email me. It's very useful. There are some surprises (some top schools not being great at placement, and some lesser known schools excelling). For example, Baylor University (which omits itself from considerations of PGR has a top-5 placement record--77 percent or something like that). But as far as getting into a good PhD program, I think you have a good shot. It wouldn't hurt, though, to mix in some top MA programs. 6) It's hard to tell for this question. I've heard stories like this one: Ernest Sosa wrote a Brown undergraduate a glowing recommendation (I think it was Ernest Sosa--but some Epistemology stud) saying that this student was the best they've had in decades. He was rejected from Northwestern. It's really hard to tell. I don't think they could hurt, only help. So I would feel good about that! Especially if your recommender is in your AOI. 9) They do matter and are considered. Put everything you can that you think can help. Hope that helps!

Ah very cool. Yeah, I'm Early Modern as well. Would be cool to go there.

OK, cool. My status is not updated yet on my application page. Were you the one who just posted the acceptance on grad cafe? How high was OSU for you? Congrats again!

Ah, very cool! Congrats. I applied to OSU as well. Is that a bad sign I didn't get an acceptance today?

They want to break our spirit. We must remain strong!

Congrats!

Thanks! Not really. There aren't a ton of schools in the southeast which are strong in early modern, except for maybe UNC - Chapel Hill, which is close enough, and is quite strong in EM. Most of my schools are in the northeast or midwest. I wish you the best of luck in your applications. It sounds like you have put yourself in a good position to get in somewhere very good.

Thanks! Academically it's not super strong in my main AOI (although it's a great school--top 50). But geographically, it's preferable. It's about 2.5 hrs from my hometown, and it helps because my wife and I have a 3 month old baby girl. Being close to family would be nice.

I would say it's loosely correlated. I looked back 4-5 years on all the schools I've applied on the acceptance/rejection board, and it's not always the case that an earlier deadline equals an earlier decision. Either way, FSU was definitely very quick!

Congrats!!

Thanks! Yea the chair sent me an email.

Congrats!

Ah yes I see it now. That program is actually in the department of religion. So I wouldn't be in that one.

Yep!

The regular, I think. Honestly, I didn't know there were two programs.

Thanks! It is an ambitious list, so I'm happy to get into any of them. The MA itself is just philosophy. But it being a degree from a seminary, you have a number of core requirements to satisfy in theology, etc. It's a seminary in the Protestant tradition, so save for electives, you won't get a broad treatment of religion in general.

Hello everyone, I've applied to 17 schools: 1. Michigan 2. UNC - Chapel Hill 3. Princeton University 4. Ohio State University 5. Pennsylvania 6. Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) 7. Yale 8. Harvard 9. Purdue 10. Baylor 11. Wisconsin 12. Florida State (FSU) 13. Rutgers 14. Virginia 15. Notre Dame 16. Florida 17. Iowa This process was TOUGH! My AOIs are Early Modern, Phil Mind, and Phil Religion. And my writing sample didn't come together until the beginning of December (it is on modality in Descartes). All of these schools save for just a few are strong in early modern. GRE: 170, 168, 5.5. I got word about acceptance to Florida State yesterday (funding info still to come). I much hope that we hear many success stories here!

I got word from Florida State yesterday that I've been accepted. I applied to 17 schools, so this definitely takes the pressure off!