[Advice for applying phd Philosophy 2021]

On 5/9/2020 at 3:21 AM, PolPhil said:

1. I wouldn't worry too much about your grades. 1) There's nothing you can do about them. 2) Your MA grades are fine. 3) Grades aren't huge factor in philosophy admissions (compared to other fields)

2. GRE is a negligible component of your application, so long as you're not way below the median. If you're near or over the 80th percentile in all categories, it probably won't count against you

3. If you write a great paper, you have a chance at a top program. In philosophy admissions, two things matter: letters of recommendation, and the writing sample. Forget about your grades, and don't fret over your GRE. Focus on the letters and the sample. Only get letters from profs who gave you straight As, and make sure that your writing sample is looked over by your advisor/letter writers.

Source: a number of philosophers in the department of philosophy at the University of Chicago; plus, many sources online

What about publications? 

[Opinion about K U Leuven and future study plans]

19 hours ago, hector549 said:

My friend works in analytic philosophy, so a somewhat different trajectory than you. In any case, I think that if you're doing continental, since KUL is better known in continental circles, I'm sure you'll do well. There is also not anything wrong with taking a gap year to work on application materials! I took several years off, and it's more common than not.

Yea, I think I will decide according to how this year will go. If I make a good thesis + good grades and connections with profs that could write strong recommendational letters , I stand a chance . I am concerned more about the professors,  as they might not be willing to write anything good after one year . The good thing is that I have already some ideas which could be of significant importance to the continental tradition. What I need is to get adjusted to the language ( non native speaker) and the nuances of the discipline itself, which of course is the biggest hurdle . 

[Opinion about K U Leuven and future study plans]

1 hour ago, hector549 said:

This is second-hand information, but I have a good friend who went through this shortened bachelor's program at KU Leuven and went on to good graduate programs. This person was, I think, less impressed with the master's program; it's large and many students aren't necessarily going on to the PhD. In any case, it seems like a decent way to get a BA in philosophy if you already have another degree in another field.

One drawback that I can see is that since the bachelor's program is only a year, you won't have as much time as you would in a conventional degree program to get letters and work on a writing sample, unless you take the following year off to work on applying to grad programs. Another potential issue is that I suspect US grad admissions committees have a harder time making sense of European undergrad programs, like at KUL, than they do US schools, but I don't know how much to concern yourself about this. I think that this could be more of an issue if you wanted to apply to US analytic programs, since to my knowledge, KUL is more well known as a continental school (though I know it's fairly pluralistic).

Hey, thanks for the reply! My primary focus is on continental philosophy , so I don't care about the analytic programs . Concerning the applications, I am a bit worried too, as I hooope I will get everything done before January of 2021. The good thing is that this shortened program offers a bachelor's thesis, so my writing sample could be related to this. In what area did your friend specialise to ?

[Opinion about K U Leuven and future study plans]

Hey all! I have applied for the abridged bachelor's degree ( one year)  of philosophy at K U Leuven . Is anyone of you familiar with the program or the institute in general ? I am interested in continuing my studies and applying to grad school , eventually. Do you think it is going to have a negative impact ,on my future applications, the fact that I won't possess a proper Bachelors ? For the next year I hope I will get into the masters( one year too)  and apply for phd then . The Abridged program is pretty heavy with 64 credits and a bachelor's thesis.  I have a bachelor's degree in Mathematics ( 8,24/10) .