Marcus_Aurelius

I assume you're talking about this paragraph from Alex Guerrero: "The Director of Graduate Admissions makes an initial cut from the full pool (380) down to around 100 applications. That’s the first big cut. I’ve now been in that role for several years, and although my process isn’t perfectly precise, I typically make this cut by looking at (1) grades/transcript, then (2) personal statement, then (3) letters of recommendation—in that order. I rarely do more than glance at (4) writing samples at this stage." If your transcript has a lot of good Philosophy courses and an upward trajectory in your grades, and your statement and letters explain the issue earlier in undergrad, you shouldn't be disqualified at all. But some programs read everyone's sample, I think. In any case, good to apply for a mix of PhD and MA.

Yeah, you're totally fine. Major GPA matters more than overall GPA (especially at a prestigious school), and lots of people get lower grades as they're settling in. Writing sample and letters matter most. No need to worry about those until second half of third year. In the meantime, take a wide variety of courses. Get grounding in lots of different areas of philosophy. Take time to explore and enjoy! The other important thing is to try to take classes with tenured and tenure-track professors. Doesn't have to be every course, but you want to build relationships with folks. (Relationships with grad students can be helpful as well! They just can't write letters, but some might be willing to help with your application, though it depends on the person.) Go to office hours, get to know professors. Ask questions, because it really helps your own learning. And also be open to reevaluating whether you want to go to grad school. You might know now that you want to and stay the course (that was my situation), or you might realize you've lost the spark. It's cool either way. I want to disagree with the advice above to try to publish. This isn't something that's rewarded in PhD admissions. Undergrad journals are fine, but for real journals there's just no expectation that someone coming into grad school would be able to do anything that's actually publishable yet. Taking grad seminars is another of those things that looks like it should be helpful but actually is neutral. Ditto for conferences. I went to Rutgers undergrad, and the people who took grad seminars weren't any more likely to get into good programs. (I only took one grad seminar, in my last semester.) Certainly, grad seminars can be worthwhile if there aren't enough undergrad seminars in your topic(s) of interest; they're not bad either, they're just mostly neutral. Follow the advice of the professors you build relationships with. Every semester you can ask professors for their advice on what courses to take the next semester.

There are several of funded MAs! Search threads here for more info. Like most applicants, you'll be judged most on your writing sample and letters. Address the early poor grades in your statement of purpose, and perhaps have a letter writer mention it.

Did you apply to funded MA programs? There are several of them, and they're probably better both academically and funding-wise than post-baccs. Absolutely don't go into debt for a post-bacc, but if you find one affordable then it certainly can't hurt and might very well help.

It sounds like for you, as for most applicants, the writing sample will be most important. Focus on having a killer sample, and you should stand a decent shot.

It really depends on the university and their funding structure. One place I got in, a large public university which had a universal funding baseline for PhD students but didn't offer everyone the same funding, did negotiate. Another place had a small number of bonuses that they could offer. And some can't negotiate at all. If you really like a school but the funding seems problematic, I'd say definitely ask the DGS.

Terminal Philosophy MA programs sometimes accept people with untraditional backgrounds who are looking to transition into Philosophy. You can find more info about them by searching this forum.

And some topics, even within a subfield you know a lot about, might click more than others. The experience you describe sounds perfectly normal, and one of the things that grad school helps you get better at. Grad school in philosophy may or may not be the best decision for you for other reasons, but I don't think this one should discourage you!

Congratulations!! What a ride that sounds like. But very exciting, all the best for the program!

Unfortunately, a lot of movement doesn't happen until today/tomorrow (14th/15th), since some folks are still deciding, and others are holding out for a waitlist offer and therefore don't commit to another school. Makes the end quite chaotic...

As far as I'm aware (certainly correct me if I'm wrong), most humanities PhD programs accept more folks than they're hoping will enroll. And this system, although it can be stressful for admissions directors, seems far better than if there were fewer acceptances. The people who are currently waitlisted wouldn't be better off, at any rate.

@captleibniz I don't know ararslan's source, but they seem to share it with this reddit poster. Note, however, that Toronto tends to have large incoming cohorts (in the 10s). I don't know anything about whether they're doing so this year.

One is not generally expected to know modern languages already when applying to Classics PhD programs. It can help, but it's a pretty minor factor, much less important than Greek and Latin skills, writing sample, and letters of recommendation. I'd say definitely take more Latin/Greek over a certificate in German (and work more on application materials), since you already have a modern language. Certainly can't hurt to learn German--it just probably won't help that much for applications.

Generally, the worse an economic situation is, the more people apply to grad school. The economic situation has perhaps improved from last year, but still isn't great. I'm sure some people delayed applying for COVID reasons, but delaying only makes sense when one has a good idea of how to use the intervening time... It's worth noting that, just for comparison in this one case, Yale used to get applications in low 300s before pandemic, so last year was a *massive* increase, which has dropped off a little but is still much bigger than before.

(Yale has sent out all its interview requests, so, if you haven't received one, you can unfortunately presume rejection.)

Another interview tip I'd add, expanding on heseemstome's excellent advice, is that you should have a clear sense of what you're passionate about, and practice expressing your passion. If it's shifted a tad since your application, that's okay, but programs are looking for folks who look promising but who will also do interesting and creative work, and who really want to be in this program.

I'm sure others can provide good advice, but basic recommendations would be summer intensive (some other than CUNY are cheaper, and some are online these days), and funded MA. It's not worthwhile to take out loans to pursue a post-bacc or unfunded MA unless you're independently wealthy. My impression is that funded MA is better than post-bacc in both support and placement too. There are more funded MAs than there used to be. If you're able to do 2 terms' worth for one language over the summer via an intensive and then take it next year, and take the other language your remaining 3 terms (which'd get you to 4 of one and 3 of the other), you should hopefully be competitive for MAs with a good writing sample. Focus on building some solid relationships with professors who can write good letters, and ask their advice about how to proceed. (PhD programs in Classics tend to really require 3 years/6 terms of each language, I think, or at least it might be tough to be competitive with less.)

This reddit thread may interest you, immanuel

Yeah, Rome (fantastic username, btw), I know admissions coordinators in departments at peer institutions frequently chat with each other in order to get an idea of how likely admittees are to accept to offer so they can make waitlist decisions, or (at schools where this is a possibility) offer more funding/benefits as enticement.

Yeah, I also was quite uncertain about that when I was applying...and unfortunately I don't have any more info on it now. But just wanted to say good question and sending good vibes your way!

I'm no expert, but my impression is academic publishing is a really tough market these days, and having a PhD isn't the route it used to be... You're probably better served looking for internships, starting with this summer. But they're likely to be difficult to get and pay poorly, so ymmv... In any case, best of luck, and I love your handle!

No experience with NYU or Columbia, but will weigh in to support Glasperlenspieler's use of "funded" to mean "no tuition, plus a decent stipend." The type of shifting of goalposts John2 is engaged in seems dangerous, except for someone independently wealthy...

@classact Many universities' graduate school give funding information on their website. Trying a search like "[x university] graduate school funding/stipend" and go from there. Some schools offer the same stipend to almost everyone, and in others it vastly differs by department and even within departments. So it might be tough to figure out for a given university.

(Also, AChinLitNerd, You might have more luck in the Languages & Literature forum then in the Classics one, since this one is generally ancient Mediterranean. But the comments by somethingClassics seems sound, that the GRE is low-priority when not required, especially if you're in an area where it's difficult to take or you think you would need to put significant study into it which could be more hopefully devoted to writing sample and other materials.

I'll also chime in to both validate Expositor's experience (and thank them deeply for sharing), and say that their experience doesn't match mine. Mine is much closer to Carta's, esp. about things like departmental culture. But, basically, I think both of them are in different ways highlighting the utmost importance of two factors: economics, and mental health. On the economic point, I'd say it really depends. Expositor is dead-on, of course, that many people have financial trouble, even at top institutions. But many top institutions do pay reasonably well, relative to local cost of living, for someone with few other expenses. Since it's not worthwhile to accrue debt, it's a reasonable claim that one shouldn't go to a program with a poor stipend (by which I mean under ~30k) regardless of prestige. This is admittedly an elitist sort of claim, esp. for someone who's happy with their situation to say. But I think not worrying about money, and being able to pay undergrad loans and save to some extent, is a major factor in my satisfaction with my program. One of the main points I want to push back against is the framing a PhD as a waste of 6 years, or as necessarily a significant opportunity cost. It only is relative to some career or life goals, so it's important for one to be clear on what matters to one. I wrote a longer comment on this last year in the Philosophy forum, in which I was perhaps a bit too rosy, but not grossly so. It's worth adding that a good stipend is close to the median American income (though high-cost urban areas make things difficult). The second big point, mental health, can be difficult to predict and manage, but seems to be a huge determinant of PhD program satisfaction, and is strongly affected by many factors, including departmental culture, requirements, and money. I for sure don't recommend excluding those with mental health struggles from academia, and departments should be as understanding as possible, but even an accommodating department doesn't make struggles better, so weighing this sort of risk seems like a crucial part of deciding whether and how to apply. EDIT: I want to also respond to Expositor's exhortation to "Do something useful with your life." Academia is often quite problematic, but it can look rather subsersive compared to most private and many public sector jobs. So, if someone is devoting themselves to non-profit work, or volunteering, maybe that will help the world more than academia, but those jobs frequently pay about the same or even less than a good PhD stipend does, in my anecdotal experience from friends in the non-profit sector. Jobs that pay much better are usually not contributing to social good. (And, as an example, something like primary or secodnary teaching can pay more, but also generally requires more education and likely debt.)