[2018-2019 Application Thread]

54 minutes ago, Lachouffe said:

I found out about this website a couple of weeks ago. Just wanted to send good vibes to y'all!

I just got into Brown (theory)! It seems 4 of us got an offer. Northwestern rejected me earlier this week and there's only been radio silence from UVA, so stoked about Brown.

Did all 4 who got offers receive emails today, or were you just one of them that they knew would be taking those 4 slots and other may be announced next week? 

[2018-2019 Application Thread]

Cool how Berkeley decided to release acceptances AND rejections on the same day this year. Needless to say: rejected. 

[Prospective Political Theory Graduate Student]

Hi all. I am applying to graduate school programs in political theory and in political philosophy for the fall term of 2019. I wanted to know if anyone has any insights on my stats in relation to the schools I'm applying to. 

Undergrad Institution: University of California, Davis 
Cumulative GPA: 3.91 
Major (Philosophy) GPA: 3.96 
Research: An academic term's worth of research under my belt, in addition to an additional academic term of research that I will be conducting in the winter of this year. Additionally, enrolled in a graduate student as an undergraduate. 
GRE Verbal: 162 (91st percentile) 
GRE Quantitative: 156 (61st percentile -- I know, math is just not my strong suit at all.) 
GRE Analytical Writing: 5.0 (92nd percentile) 
Internships: 1 summer at a real estate planning law firm and 1 academic term for a journalistic publication writing articles for the local court watch column
Conferences: Attended 1 conference with the Institute for Humane Studies and 1 conference with the Young Americans for Liberty 
Clubs: Member of both Minorities and Philosophy on campus and the Young Americans for Liberty
Recommendations: 1 recommendation from my research sponsor, 1 recommendation from my favorite philosophy teacher, and 1 recommendation from my former high school philosophy teacher who is now an adjunct professor at American University
Writing Sample: I am workshopping it currently, but I believe it will be a really strong work comparatively. 

The schools I'm applying to are: Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, University of Arizona, Vanderbilt, NYU, UCSD, UCD, UC Berkeley, Duke, Notre Dame, and Cornell. 

I know my GRE scores are comparatively low but I studied my whole summer to get those scores and I don't have the money to take it again before this application season is over, especially with the money I will be dishing out for the applications themselves. And I furthermore know that the job market for political theory/political science PhDs in academia is small and altogether not good. But I cannot think of anything in my life I would rather do. It's the only thing I think about, and being among my peers in undergrad is so isolating because nobody else is passionate about the things I'm passionate about. I just want either assurance or a reality check so I can have reasonable expectations going into this application season. Any and all input would be much appreciated.