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ContractMonsterSlayer

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Everything posted by ContractMonsterSlayer

  1. M.A. + 2 Ph.D. So far, I am 1/1/3 (a/w/r), though I'd prefer to think of it as 0/*2/3 since I'm waitlisted (first in line) for funding and I ain't going without funding!! As for the remaining three programs, I've not heard a peep! I applied to Bowling Green State's Ph.D. (I love that program!), and although word is that 'acceptance' and 'waitlist' people were notified early March, I've not heard a damn thing! I've been eagerly awaiting my rejection letter ever since I heard that...but nothing! I applied to Florida State's M.A. well before the deadline for funding consideration...nothing. I also applied to Ole Miss's M.A. (a few days before the deadline), yet that one should be forthcoming not long after its recent deadline. All things considered, I wish BGSU would reject me already! I wish FSU would come crawling out of their swamp!! As for my waitlist programs, I wish they'd admit or knock me already! This season is a stressful one. To top it off, I was rejected by a program whose Director or Chair while stating that there were 'some very nice' things in my application (whichever...) basically commented that my writing sample was not only good but 'very' good. Like, what?! I mean, okay, then what else is there (besides the shortcomings I'm trying to atone for by writing such a good paper as well as the--relatively speaking--experienced CV it helped build!!!)?? Who here feels me?
  2. Do you happen to be sitting on funded offers from Western Michigan or Toledo as well?
  3. I also presented my sample paper at an international conference. Though a difference is that I wrote my paper while in my current state outside academia. I repetitiously read the particular paper to which I ended up responding, extracted its arguments, and then formulated my counterarguments, all while walking 3 miles from a job I held over the summer (I have a different job now) in what was mostly triple digit heat. I did this for three months. The paper is currently under review (past the initial editor) at a major journal.
  4. UPDATE ? I realize my general question is so overstated as to be vexing at this point, yet I think my case is interesting enough to mitigate that aspect to a somewhat minimal degree. I recently garnered an international conference invite. From what I was told some time ago, national and international conference presentations *are* a big deal or could help strengthen a grad school application even in spite of a less than stellar prior GPA. This was told to me by a senior faculty member. So...given the previous information and this update...how do my chances look? Best Regards to All.
  5. Holy hell! I was consistent in looking for updates to this post, yet I never saw anything indicating there were any. So, it's quite a surprise that these replies posted in June. Anyway, pardon my tardiness, though you guys probably lost interest at this point. I'll answer anyway. frenchlover, it was they who had each made clear violations of the student code of conduct and workplace harassment policies. This is why I had such an awful time of it all, for it was me who was put under scrutiny. As for what *I* did in response, I simply wrote a course presentation highlighting some of what was said during the course. By relating it to the course material as well as some external though related sources/concepts, I simply glossed over how some of the attitudes expressed were antithetical to a just community (the latter being the subject of the course). Besides justifying the way in which they were privileged (so as to be so critical over less than privileged others), that was all I did.
  6. To Hector, Thanks again for the feedback. I do appreciate it. To goalie4life, On your first point, I just have to say 'wow!', okay, so I'm not the only one with a bump in the road and less-than-traditional pathway. Good to know. Thank you for sharing. As for your second point, I'll reveal that I am a racial/ethnic minority male who experienced (I) a remark by a female fellow employee during an official meeting likening "most" men to a comedic narcissistic television character whom I had (moments before) likened to a real-life serial rapist/killer. To be honest, I was going to let this 'go'. But then, an incident occurred during a seminar in which a "comrade" of the fellow employee recalled an innocuous statement she was "subjected" to while working under someone of my particular racial/ethnic class, which the latter deemed "sexist" and the former in agreement reasoned that it was because of the offender's nation of origin. To be honest, I was numb at first. Then, after recalling the sheer arrogance of these two over a week or two of sleepless nights, I decided to confront the remarks by trying to initiate dialogue. Big mistake on my part. Intersectional, my ass ? *P.S. Just curious, Goalie, what sport did you tend the goal. I played as a goalie in both soccer and hockey. I don't know about you, but I just have a penchant for thrusting my body in front of fast-moving objects ?
  7. Yeah...you see, this is why I came here. Yesterday, I made a preliminary list of graduate programs, the vast majority being M.A. programs. Also, I came up with a strategy this morning to draft a 'candid' statement of purpose (SOP), which I'll put on Google Docs. The purpose is to write everything I wish I could express in an SOP and have my LOR writers help me amend the draft in a less candid fashion. Basically, the exercise is to help me express things in a more-or-less implicit way, so as to be candid with admissions committees yet also within reason. What do you guys think?
  8. Hi Hector, Thank you for taking the time to reply to stated concerns. I’ll answer what I understand to be the main concerns raised in your post. Firstly, yes, my LOR writers are aware of the ‘elephants in the room’. They’re aware that my graduate GPA is not poor but less than competitive. They’re also aware that a part of why I left was for a reason that was political in nature. The consensus is that between the political events, lack of compatibility with the program and thereby my having to self-direct research, the experience was doomed from the start. Yet, the consensus is also that I warrant a second chance, not simply because I want it, but because I have what it takes to develop into a contributor in the field. As for a lateral transfer into an MA program, I would be thrilled to complete that move! The only reason I might seem narrowly focused on the Ph.D. is that two of my letter writers have expressed the belief that I’m ready for the Ph.D. One of them even suggested that I’m ready to ‘move on’ from the M.A. based on her reading of the conference project I mentioned in the original post. However, I do have an application plan (subject to change per advice) equipped with a strategy to apply to graduate programs that house funded Ph.D. and M.A. tracks based on the hope that I can express a willingness to accept an M.A. slot if I’m not offered a (financial) probationary offer in the former. Also, there’s at least one stand-alone M.A. program in the “Middle-West” (as you call it, LOL) that appeals to me and so I doubt I could pass up the opportunity to apply there. As for as sounding “disheartening”, I cannot say it enough, I welcome the truth about where I potentially stand. I hope the words and actions expressed in my post pay testament to that. I mean the feels derived from sugarcoated analyses would only last until next April when all hope is gone if that were the case.
  9. Read it out loud. Read it as if you're giving a speech off it. This is especially helpful if you have someone who'll listen to you. Ultimately, you'll find yourself trying to convince your listener of the case stated in your paper. Also, given that you'll have to stop and explain some concepts, that may prove invaluable in terms of discovering new (better) ways of explaining, new ideas or nuanced ways of seeing ones you've established in your work. This practice has even led me to (altogether) new writing projects.
  10. I gave you the 'like' for publishing this question. The answers below certainly helped me. Thanks for your (indirect) assistance! ?
  11. This past spring I presented a paper arguing against a controversial movement from an even more controversial view. Before getting ahead of ourselves here, let me tell you my experience in 2/2 conferences I've been to. My experience dictates that organizers are more bent on preventing panel fights than they are in otherwise risking such things by opening up dialogue. I'm unsure how you feel about this, but allow to say that I am disappointed by this move. Perhaps, your experience will be different. Who knows, right? In spite of what was said above, you may have those you're opposing come to seek your presentation out (via the conference itinerary), as what had happened to me. Fortunately for me, I'm already a very cut-and-dry ('just the facts, ma'am') personality by nature, so I don't succumb to appeals to emotion during intellectual discourse even when I'm being bullied or even doxxed. Also, if anything I tend to become diplomatic thereby wanting above all else to find a middle-ground. Though, that middle-ground will be rooted in the facts and only the facts. Now, if your personality is even somewhat contrary to this (I've been called a robot), I would advise you to at least train your brain to react in this way. Analogously, I'm not a fighter, but I have trained myself to successfully avoid conflict and protect loved ones by simply playing what we'll call the 'alpha staredown game'. To be fair, I can fight if pressed, but I'd rather not, namely since I'm a more defense-oriented fighter (e.g., counter-attacking and grappling). Do you see a pattern emanating from the current analogy under discussion? All things considered, what I'm advising is that you take on a certain personality, one within your limits, by simply committing to the course of action you're there to serve. Be uncompromising in your commitment to the facts yet present diplomacy wherever it may exist as result of the facts.
  12. Not every society/association/forum will notify rejects though some do. Here're my stats from the past spring conference season if that would help ease your mind at all. 6 rejections/3 notifications
  13. Hi ? I am Contract Monster Slayer of Purgatory, yet you're all free to truncate my name however you wish, so long as I know you're referring to me. Anyway, this is my first day here on Grad Cafe in what I hope is my first and only year as an applicant. Then again, I've got quite the story, so I could be here a while. But hey, you tell me. Here it goes... STORY TIME (Read on if you want more detail/Skip if you don't) I am a former M.A. philosophy student/TA. I departed from my program without graduating for two reasons: (1) Incompatibility with the program in terms of research interests; I was essentially training myself to be a professional philosopher to the extent that I was self-directing my entire thesis. As for (2), I got caught up in some political B.S. that occurred within the department walls. Long (vague) story short, I got reprimanded for defending myself against some violations of both the student conduct code and workplace harassment policy. To paraphrase the Dept. Chair, "I brought attention to the people that said these things" during a seminar and work hours, mind you. Simply said, I didn't want any affiliation with this program anymore. In the end, I left the department with an exacerbated anxiety disorder, insomnia, and a meager 3.0 GPA. I had to leave. POST-DEPARTURE Unconvinced that my GPA defined my talent level, I immediately began a writing project intended for (non-graduate) academic conferences. Consequently, and please let me know if none of this means jack, I garnered acceptances to two regional conferences and one more invite (2+1= 3) via an unpublished blog post submitted to the public philosophy workshop at UNC-Chapel Hill intended for early career philosophers (if I remember correctly). Thus far, then, it would appear according to my CV that I've been active in some corner of academic philosophy since leaving my previous program. Though, it's worth mentioning that I'm not done yet, as I've expanded and submitted my project for review at an open access journal (fat chance at this point in my development, I know) and I plan on writing at least one more project for more conference presentations, though hopefully more as I have a few projects on my mind. ADDITIONAL (QUICK) DETAILS I have three LOR writers: Two from my most recent undergraduate institution and one from my previous graduate institution. WHAT I WANT TO KNOW Have I improved or in some way restored any chance of moving onto the Ph.D.?
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