Prob

No don’t worry about it—‘tis the season to be gruff! I think that most of the UK students on the MPhil don’t apply for US PhDs. I got a high pass. I was advised to apply to (and I’m paraphrasing here) ‘a few of the lower ranked ones just in case’ by a professor I (continue to) trust and admire deeply. I’ve had two offers, one from an unranked program and one from a 40-50 program. I’ve been waitlisted for a 30-40 program. I’ve been rejected from five 1-40 programs, and still waiting to hear back from two (although I’m not holding my breath). But in my case, all else might not be equal. I got a pretty low quant score on the GRE (156). But, as far as I can tell, it’s really hard to know what effect this had on my application. The MPhil intake also expanded the year I started (2016) because of the introduction of means tested master’s loans for UK nationals by the government. So it might be that lots more people who wouldn’t have taken up their offers before (because they didn’t get funding) now take them up with the loan (like I did), but aren’t the stellar top candidates for PhDs (hence the High Pass and not the distinction). But I just want to warn future MPhils: if you want to get into a top 20 US program, you’re almost definitely going to have to get a distinction. It’s different for Cambridge undergrads. I know two people who were undergrads at Cambridge while I was there who are now in top 20 programs. Although they got firsts (4.0 GPA), were well supported by staff who were trying to get them into top programs and were *insanely* intelligent people. Sorry for the long digression rant! It’s just insanely more competitive than I realised and than I think is generally acknowledged. But maybe I just didn’t do my research properly.

So I think a high pass may very well be below the grade cut-off for some top 20 schools. The conversion is particularly hard for the MPhil because it’s marked differently to other UK master’s degrees, but I think it’s roughly a 3.7. And yes, I was indulging in a little hyperbole. Of course it’s not going to be sufficient on its own. But I think there was a sense among the grad community when I was there that a high pass would, other things being equal, get you into the mix for top 20 US schools. But, admittedly anecdotal, data seems to suggest otherwise. No one I know who got a high pass has been admitted to a top 20 US program. And I think generally, there is a lack of understanding amongst the non-US students of just how competitive those programs are. I know several people who were admitted from the MPhil to either Oxford or Cambridge with funding for the DPhil/PhD, but admitted to no top 20 US programs. So I just wanted to warn future MPhilers that top US programs are far more competitive than I think is generally acknowledged in the grad community there. And a high pass is no guarantee, all else being equal, that you’ll be in the mix for the top 20 programs.

A word of warning to any future PhD applicants from the Cambridge MPhil: a high pass on the MPhil is not sufficient for getting admitted to any of the top 20 US programs to which you apply. Neither is a distinction. Source: Personal experience (and in the case of the distinction, experience of others on the course) more sour and raw than raspberries in March

I can claim posting about being on the waiting list at Syracuse. I think the seeming randomness may at least in part be due to idiosyncratic features of applicants. For example, I’m an international student living in the UK, and in the e-mail I received they invited me to visit the campus. They may have wanted to let me know as early as possible as it will take longer for me to make travel plans than someone from or who lives in the US (e.g if I needed to update my passport). But I’m sure that’s one of many factors (and perhaps only in play in a small number of cases). As for all the radio silence from most of the programs I’ve applied to while people are posting acceptances...well, I don’t think we should write them off quite yet. It ain’t over until it’s over. And I reckon most people who are going to the very top programs also applied to (and got accepted by) the mid-ranking programs that I know many are waiting to hear back from (including me!) So you could easily slide from a hidden waitlist to an official one.

I got the same e-mail from UCSB (I'm going to the open event). My application has now been updated as a provisional offer (provisional on sending them official transcripts). See you there if you'e going?

Thanks!

Just an update: I've been accepted to UCSB (which is just about a PGR top 50) but rejected from Wisc. (which doesn't even require the GRE). Still waiting to hear back from the rest.

Thanks very much for letting me know. The thing that concerns me is that a few of the programs that I'm applying for say their average quant score for their PhD students is in the 80th+ percentile. But this information is of limited use for the reason that it doesn't give the range of quant scores. Would you say that if it's fair to think that if they talk about their average GRE scores on their admissions website, then they are more likely than average to care about such scores? Does area of interest intersect with this issue as well? I mainly like metaphysics and metaethics, and want to make the fact that I want to learn about model theory an important part of my letter of intent. Will mediocre quant scores be viewed more poorly in light of my interests?

Hello, I’m an applicant from the UK who’s applying to Philosophy PhD programs in the US starting September 2020. I recently took the GRE and got a verbal score of 166 (97th percentile) and a quant score of 156 (60th percentile). There seems to be so much conflicting information about how important GRE scores are and, as an international applicant, it can all be very confusing. Do you think that my mediocre quant score will be a hindrance to getting into any (or certain top) PhD programs in the states? Other relevant background info to do with my application: I have a BA and an MPhil in Philosophy. I got my BA from a Russell Group University (top 25 or so in the UK) and my MPhil from an ancient University (top 2 in the UK). I have what I think is equivalent to a 4.0 GPA for my BA and a 3.8 GPA for my MPhil (although the conversion for the MPhil is quite difficult and a rough approximation). I’m expecting very promising letters of recommendation. Any clarificatory information and/or advice would be appreciated!

Hello, I’m an applicant from the UK who’s applying to Philosophy PhD programs in the US starting September 2020. I recently took the GRE and got a verbal score of 166 (97th percentile) and a quant score of 156 (60th percentile). There seems to be so much conflicting information about how important GRE scores are and, as an international applicant, it can all be very confusing. Do you think that my mediocre quant score will be a hindrance to getting into any (or certain top) PhD programs in the states? Other relevant background info to do with my application: I have a BA and an MPhil in Philosophy. I got my BA from a Russell Group University (top 25 or so in the UK) and my MPhil from an ancient University (top 2 in the UK). I have what I think is equivalent to a 4.0 GPA for my BA and a 3.8 GPA for my MPhil (although the conversion for the MPhil is quite difficult and a rough approximation). I’m expecting very promising letters of recommendation. Any clarificatory information and/or advice would be appreciated!