cockroach

Hey everyone, I am an international student and apply for just four Ph.D. programs in the U.S. However, two of the school is requiring a credential evaluation, which costs 320$! I don't understand; while they require an official transcript once a student is admitted, however, for a credential evaluation, I need to send it to complete my application. 320$ is, please, so expensive. Because of the pandemic, the admissions, which are already competitive, will be harsher than ever, and I don't know what I should do in that case. So my question is; Is there any international student who did not send a credential evaluation before admission? Will my application automatically be rejected? Thanks.

Thank you so much! I will retake the exam and see if I can do better. If I can't I will just submit my score. I have prepared with Notefull's videos, however... :)) All the best!

Hi, I recently took the TOEFL exam got so low speaking score. R:26 L:24 S:19 W:24 T:93. For Purdue (they want 100 for TOEFL), I cannot apply because a professor told me that it would be an exact negative effect on my file. For the other Ph.D. programs' that I will apply to, the minimum language requirement is 90 for TOEFL. However, I am not sure about how it would affect my chance. It is so interesting because I studied only for speaking for a week. I still have time to retake the exam; however, I do not think that I could improve this score in 2-3 days. So, what would be your opinion/recommendation on this issue? Should I try my chance (hopelessly), or is it OK to be above the minimum score? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the thread. I have a question, hope someone helps. I've never liked to analyze, compare, criticise what a philosopher says. I have a problem, I want to say something and in some point I may need to analyze, compare, criticise what a philosopher says. Or, lots of time I quotes a philosopher, I do it when her/his idea supports my argument. However, I feel like I manipulate the philosopher and make him to serve my project which is not cool in a professional/academical manner. I do not know how and when to use a quotation properly. Hope someone helps. For example, X and Y is an argument and A is a philosopher. This is what I generally do: -I support argument X, and from argument X, I reach the argument Y as philosopher B says. However, while I share same idea with philosopher A, I may not have same pattern for reaching the argument Y (he may not reach it from the argument X for example), and also I may improve the argument Y and reach different conclusions. Is there any problem about it? Because I may read something and the philosopher's a sentence raises an awareness about something, that may have lots of difference with the idea of the philosopher (especially the way she used to reach the argument or the context she conceives the argument). The question may be asked like that: should I use a quotation if I share the idea holistically or do I have to use the argument throughout the paragraph? I mean, if I start a paragraph, should I indicate the philosopher that raises my consciousness about this idea at the beginning of the parapraph? Or, each time should I indicate my difference with the philosopher that I share same idea? -If the article consists of two main arguments, P and Q (while these arguments are related with each other tightly like (P) the sun is yellow and (Q) the sun is hot)), am I allowed to use philosopher (these philosopher may stand at the opposite pole of idea like R is Hegel and S is Deleuze) R for the argument P and philosopher S for the argument Q? I would be so happy if aynone would suggest a guideline for academic writing.

Thank you so much for your answers! You can't imagine how relaxed I am. I started to study on my writing sample this very day after reading your answer. All the best!

Hi, I am going to apply for philosophy PhD programs in the USA, and I am so nervous about my undergrad GPA. I know lots of people asked a similar question; however, I could not find anyone who has a similar story. I am a philosophy student in one of the best university in a third-world country. However, being one of the best university in my country does not make it known in the USA. I had terrible problems with my life (causing by political situations) which makes me fall in a rush depression while I was not able to give any name about what I was experiencing. After I understood what the problem about myself is, I started to study so hard while also I was struggling with my economic issues. My undergraduate GPA is 3.12, and the highest GPA of the department in my graduate year is 3.6. It means, in my university, it is not easy to have a high GPA. Then, I started an MA in the same university, and my GPA is 3.8; by the way, the only semester which I did not work, my GPA was 4.0. During these 6 months, I will just focus on my PhD applications. I will give lots of money, at least 1000 dollar, which was not easy to earn. So, I need some advice, some comment about my situation to make my mind clear to not hesitate and feel relax during these 6 months. I will apply DePaul, PennState, Emory, Stony Brook, Villanova, Duquesne, Ohio State, Purdue, Oregon, Kentucky, South Florida, Loyola, Vanderbilt. I have lots of non-academic philosophy experience—reading groups, gatherings, non-academic summer schools, translations etc. Everyone has a talent, and I think mine is abstract and conceptual thinking, I am good at philosophy although I am not a Nietzsche of course. However, I am good at writing, as my professors say. With my advisor, we are studying on my article to publish it. I submit another article and wait for an answer. Probably, I will have 2 publications until the end of the year. I think my SOP, WS and LOR will not be below perfect. First, is it possible to be accepted with this low GPA? I know that I am not below the minimum threshold, 3.0, however, lots of university says that the accepted students’ average GPA is around 3.7. Could my 3.8 grad GPA (though it is also not high but it is the highest one in my department) or possible good GRE score cover this weakness? Second, is there anything you would suggest me to do? What can I do to increase my chance? Third, I am not applying to top programs, am I right? Still, it still is so competitive. People say no, low GPA is not a big problem however I could not see anyone who has accepted with low gpa coming from third-world country. Is there anyone who has similar background but successful story? If you would that my chances are so low, I would be so relaxed and find any other way to continue my academic life. TL;DR: Is it possible to be accepted with 3.12 undergrad and 3.8 grad GPA to the philosophy PhD programs in the USA with a well-studied application file? p.s.: I ask these questions after reading everything I can find. Thanks in advance.