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It's often cited that the writing sample is the most important part of the application. But what kind of sample exactly are committees looking for? I've heard "near-publishable quality" sometimes as a standard, but is that really true? Very few undergraduates publish philosophy, and some graduate students don't either. So is that really the bar they're using to review papers, especially in a 10-20 page sample? Additionally, is there something specific that committees prefer to see? E.g., is the expectation that you demonstrate some kind of breadth of philosophical knowledge, e.g. awareness of various debates from major areas like epistemology, metaphysics... or can you simply write an original argument on an interest area and defend it well?

Oh, yeah, I don't see why courses from law school would ever get counted as overlapping with PhD credits. Joint degrees will definitely take longer.

Yes, the best options here are probably JD/PhD, or putting the PhD on hold to get the JD, then resuming later.

This seems pretty unlikely. The application file is mostly about the file and academic achievement. This is probably one of the lesser things to worry about -- along the lines of possible but unlikely. The most likely scenario I could imagine is if you claim some kind of work experience/honor, they Google you, and in route they decide to view your Twitter posts. But graduate admissions isn't like a background check. I doubt this is very likely and even if someone did happen to check out a Twitter handle, why would partisan statements have anything whatsoever to do with the academic criteria required to get in to grad programs?

Has anyone successfully transitioned/petitioned from a disciplinary PhD into "Interdisciplinary Studies?" How was the process, are there any pitfalls, and what were the benefits?

Is it possible to focus primarily on philosophy in an English Department? I.e. research continental and perhaps analytic philosophy in the service of literary and cultural theory?

How do Interdisciplinary/Individual studies PhDs (i.e. not affiliated with any specific department, aka "personalized" majors) look on the job market? Do they hurt job prospects, or does having work in two fields enhance them?

It seems like it's possible to get in to a philosophy PhD with a mathematics background, rather than philosophy. What about other mathematical/logic fields like computer science?

How plausible is it to be accepted to a legit Philosophy PhD coming from a different undergraduate field, but with lots of past philosophical content/exposure and substantial self-study and writing. Say, English but with an emphasis on continental, politics with an emphasis on political philosophy, math/computer science with extensive work in logic/probability, etc.?

Did anyone withdraw/defer rather than start virtually/move during COVID, or plans to? If not, do you think virtual/in-person will be as productive?

How are PhDs in "Interdisciplinary Studies" or "Individual Studies" (i.e. create-your-own PhD major/combination of two fields) viewed on the job market as compared to standard disciplinary PhDs? I've heard it's not as good, but is it significantly worse? Specifically for the humanities/social sciences, not hard STEM.