Zimmy64
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Posts posted by Zimmy64
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I've accepted Georgia State University's (M.A.) offer.
I've declined offers from Northern Illinois University (M.A.), Tulane University (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University (Ph.D.). I also took myself off the waitlist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (M.A.).
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53 minutes ago, Kantattheairport said:
Ah interesting, you'd prefer GSU over UNC Chapel Hill? Is it a matter of AOIs?
It's a matter of AOIs, faculty, and the chance to apply again in two years. My AOIs are political philosophy, philosophy of economics, classical liberalism, and business ethics (among others). There really isn't anyone at UNC I'm interested in while GSU has both Andrew Cohens who do work I'm very much interested in (Toleration and Business Ethics for J Cohen, reparations and public policy for I Cohen, and classical liberalism for both), Eric Wilson who works on Kant and Hume, and Tim O'Keefe (I'm not the biggest fan of Greek Philosophy but O'Keefe's work on Epicurus seems interesting). Furthermore, going to GSU gives me the chance to reapply in two years with better odds for Arizona, Brown, and Georgetown (with GSU having great placement rates for those programs). It also helps that I received the liberalism scholarship at GSU and the program was recommended by my undergraduate mentor (who is friends with both Andrew Cohens who I have been told are very interested in me).
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On 3/20/2018 at 9:53 AM, Rose-Colored Dasein said:
I'm also being told that placement out of 'top' programs isn't necessarily better than lower-ranked institutions. An alumnus of a fairly prominent west-coast school told me that the department takes pleasure in throwing Yale applications in the trash... They don't care about how famous you are. They care if you can teach.
Another thing to consider might be 'climate.' Since your marketability depends so much on your own effort, it seems worth asking where you think you'd thrive. For example, some departments have an atmosphere of competition, and other are more community-support oriented.
Just my $2.
My old undergraduate institution said something similar. The often end up throwing away applications from Yale, Princeton, Harvard, etc because those applicants often think the prestige of their graduate school will do all the work for them. The prestige helps but you also need to be able to teach (as you said).
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I'm waiting on Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Milwaukee (M.A. Program). I'm pretty sure I was rejected from Virginia, North Carolina, and Arizona (I'm not sure about Milwaukee it could go either way) but I'd like to get official notification.
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I was just accepted to (and declined) Tulane University. I'm waiting to hear from Arizona, Virginia, Milwaukee, and North Carolina but only Arizona can stop me from heading to Atlanta this fall.
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I was just accepted to and declined Tulane University.
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I wish the University of Arizona would hurry up. I'm pretty sure I'm rejected but I'd like to know for sure so I can tell Professor O'Keefe I can commit to GSU.
- dormouse, elviejo and Philodoxia
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20 minutes ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:
How important is ‘fit’ for an MA program? Almost every factor except fit is pulling me toward NIU, but my AOIs are right in GSU’s wheelhouse.
I'd say much less important but still relevant. NIU's placement record in general is better than GSU's but it also depends on what Ph.D. programs your looking to apply to two years from now. For example, I'm looking at Arizona, Georgetown, Brown, and Virginia. NIU's Arizona placement rate is slightly better than GSU's but GSU's placement rate for Georgetown, Brown, and Virginia are much better than NIU's.
Another factor is that although fit is much less important for M.A. programs going to a program where you have a better fit might led to developing deeper connections with professors which in turn might lead to better letters of recommendations for Ph.D. programs.
It would also depend on what the other factors pulling you towards NIU are. Better funding, for example, would trump better fit for me.
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I just declined an offer at Bowling Green State University.
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17 hours ago, Descartes blanche said:
I agree. I wouldn't even say that it has been "misused," so much as it has simply evolved like so many other concepts. Many American liberals, as affiliated with the Democratic party, can acknowledge that their values and policies differ from that of classical liberalism and its early proponents. Much of that shift can be characterized in the work of - like you said - Rawls and Kant (though I would also add Pettit as a major contemporary influence away from classical liberalism). All of them take some allegiance to liberalism in the broader sense, I just think it's a matter of how they choose to conceptualize and defend the notion of liberty, or freedom.
No doubt that "liberal" can refer to more than just classical liberal. As you mentioned I would definitely consider both Petit and Rawls "liberals" even though they are not "classical liberals." Interestingly their is a debate within classical liberal circles over whether Kant is a classical liberal. I used to think that he was not a classical liberal though I have heard arguments that he does belong right in the middle of the classical liberal canon and is often excluded because he wrote in German rather than English. Certainty there are a number of classical liberals and libertarians who have been influenced by Kant like Robert Nozick and Mark LeBar.
As you said it depends how one conceptualizes the often nebulous concept of "liberty." Its a topic I have dedicated a significant amount of time to and the diversity of views within liberalism can be very intellectually stimulating. Even though I don't often agree with Rawls or Petit they present interesting, plausible views that need to be wrestled with and considered.
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What are your AOIs? I'm interested in GSU's strength in Political, Social, and Legal Philosophy. I am also obviously interested in GSU's strength in (Classical) Liberalism.
On a side note I've repeatedly had to explain to my friends and parents that us Americans mangled the good word "liberal" and that in philosophy and (for the most part) still in Europe liberal means more or less Libertarian (It covers a wide swath from Classical Liberals who see a limited role for Government like Hume and Smith all the way to Anarcho-Capitalists.
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9 minutes ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:
Did you have funding at NIU?
No, which also makes it an easy decision (My funding at GSU is $15,000/year + tuition waiver). Professor Clapp did mention that those who don't get funding in the philosophy department often get it in other departments. Given my background in Political Science I was going to see if I could get one there but I was waiting to hear back from GSU since it would have made the point moot and it looks like that was the right decision.
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In at Georgia State University (off the waitlist) + I got their liberalism scholarship. My post on the previous page looks kinda silly now. Just goes to show you never lose hope. I'm absolutely thrilled.
Also this means I'll be declining Northern Illinois University for those on NIU's waitlist best of luck
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Declining Northern Illinois University and 99% sure I'm declining Bowling Green State University.
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In at Georgia State University (off the waitlist) plus I got their Liberalism Scholarship. The extra funding will help in Atlanta plus for my first year I will be a research assistant to the Andrews Cohen (both of which are good friends of my undergraduate mentor). Also in at Bowling Green State University. I feel bad for declining BGSU. Their email was very nice and they seemed very excited about me. Kevin Vallier would have been an awesome mentor and dissertation supervisor + Brandon Warmke's work on forgiveness seems incredibly interesting. Still it's not really that hard of a choice between the better funding, chance at a really good Ph.D. program in 2 years, personal connection with the Andrews Cohen, and better city with a better climate (I'm from Minnesota and I've had it with snow). I'm absolutely thrilled barring a absolute miraculous shock (i.e. in at Virginia or Arizona) it looks like I'm moving to Atlanta this August.
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In at NIU and Waitlisted at GSU. I thought I was a very strong candidate for GSU so this stings a bit (although Professor O'Keefe did mention that many of those on the waitlist do eventually end up getting admitted). I definitely prefer GSU to NIU also because I was not often offered an assistantship (Professor Clapp did not even mention that I was on the waitlist for funding). Given that I have a background in economics and political science I will see if I get a assistantship in those departments but bar that I cannot see myself attending NIU not without funding. If I don't get funding there and end up ultimate rejected from GSU I'm not sure what I'll do. I still haven't heard back from Arizona or Virginia but given my current batting average (got 1 acceptance followed by 5 rejections in a row. To add insult to injury that 1 acceptance turned out to not be funded yet and it was followed by a waitlist to a program I thought I was tailor made for) I'm not confident. Overall it's been a pretty disappointing application cycle.
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4 hours ago, GuanilosIsland said:
Waitlisted at Georgia State. That hurts. I thought I was a super strong candidate for their program.
In the exact same boat as you. Although I'm hopeful I'll get in eventually. What is your AOI and what faculty at GSU appeal to you? I'm interested in Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Economics, and Philosophy of Law so both Andrew Cohens and Andrew Altman do work I'm very much interested in.
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Most likely rejected at Duke but I don't know for sure since their process to view your decision letter is stupidly obtuse and complex.
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Seeing two acceptances from the University of Arizona has me sweating. Hopefully I hear something soon.
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17 minutes ago, dogman1212 said:
Same for me with NIU. No word on funding yet but my levels of anxiety are down now that I know I've been accepted somewhere.
Also, what have you guys been reading lately? I've been plowing through Rawls's Political Liberalism and Scanlon's What We Owe to Each Other this month. I'm very excited because Dworkin's Justice For Hedgehogs just came in the mail yesterday as well (I've been using Amazon Prime a lot for books)!
Rereading "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" and Andrew Jason Cohen's book "Toleration."
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Got my first acceptance from NIU (M.A. program). Anyone else hear back from programs yet?
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Got my first acceptance from NIU (M.A. program).
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36 minutes ago, Bookchin said:
Hey thanks and good luck to you, too! Is UMN on your app list? If so, have you heard anything? Along with Michigan and other top-ranked programs, UMN is actually one I prefer. I'm looking to do a JD/PhD Phil and the law school is top 20, but I am also interested in their intra-AOS work, e.g. they are hosting a Logic and Feminist Theory conference in a couple of months. How cool is this? I would totally LOVE to be a fellow in their Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC). I have reasons to attend UM outside of their excellent program. One of my best friends lives in Minneapolis and I really miss crazy weather - thunderstorms, blizzards, and the like. I grew up in rural northern Montana, then lived in Chicago, so... Los Angeles is so boring and miserably hot. Weird extra-academic rationale, but this is all to say I would love to go to UMN. Wherever we do our phd's, our lives will be much easier if we approve of "what it is to live in city x." Btw, Duluth is SO gorgeous! I went camping up there on the WI border and loved it!
I didn't apply to UMN. After 24 years of living in Minnesota I'm looking to get out of the state. I don't hate it or anything (the winter can be brutal but being a native you get used to it) but I want to see more of the country. Duluth is definitely beautiful. It was great living there for 4 years. I often miss the city especially Lake Superior. My top choice right now is Arizona because of it's excellence in classical liberalism and PPE studies. I also feel like the beauty of Tucson is equal but the opposite of Duluth in a way. The desert canyon-like beauty of Tucson would be a nice contrast to the forest-like lake beauty of Duluth.
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Yes, I would. Coming from philosophy the ivies aren't actually as strong as some other schools in the type of political philosophy I'm interested in. It was for this reason I didn't apply to Harvard and Yale (don't get me wrong I'm not saying I think I could have got in if I did apply). I briefly considered Columbia and Princeton but decided against applying there as well. The only ivy I did apply to was Brown and it's actually roughly tied for my third choice. I would choose the University of Arizona over Brown in a heartbeat. I would also probably choose UVA over it as well. It would be a tough choice but I might even take Georgetown over Brown as well.
Final Decisions / Accepting Offers Fall 2018!
in Philosophy
Posted
No, I did not.