somethingwitty

I'm happy to hear that--especially if you've written letters for past students who've had success in getting into graduate programs. I definitely see that as being a trend, but some of the best instructors I've had have been contingent faculty, so it's obviously not a reflection of their quality as a teacher/scholar (indeed, some of the worst of my instructors were tenured!). Luckily, my two letter writers who are contingent faculty know some of the faculty at the programs I'm applying to, so their names will not be entirely unknown. I have seen the spreadsheet! It's honestly been such a great resource; I feel like it should be pinned on the forum, with proper credit and many thanks given to Lindsay Whittaker (along with Fredrick Choo's updates about GRE requirements https://frederick-choo.weebly.com/gre-philosophy-2021-admission.html). And I'm definitely stoked to hear that most of the programs you've contacted will be accepting a cohort, though I imagine it will be smaller than previous years. I still have a chance! Thank you for your response!

Oh wow--I've been in touch with some of the graduate students in the philosophy program there, but they haven't mentioned anything (though they may not be as attuned to the workings/decisions of the department). But I know the comp lit program suspended admissions, so I guess I wouldn't be surprised.

Fair assessment. I wasn't going to apply to strictly analytic programs, and, for the most part, I don't have a lot of interest in top-50 Leiter PhD programs either (exceptions: Georgetown and CUNY, which I consider to be my reach schools). I've just asked another tenured professor for a letter, and she knows and seems to be fond of my work--the term paper I wrote in her seminar is the essay that won the award for best undergraduate essay. Haven't heard a response back yet, but I'm hoping she'll agree. I'm definitely not opposed to completing an MA (esp. if it's funded), as it'll help me narrow down my interests and give me a taste of what graduate school is all about. And if I can get into a good MA program, my chances of placing into a good PhD program will hopefully be higher. Thank you for your input!

Good to know. Reading through some of the threads on this forum, it seems like it might be easier to make that jump than the jump from analytic to continental? And I do have secondary interests in the philosophy of language, too, and I generally consider myself a pluralist, so I'm not opposed to applying to analytic-ish departments either. That said, I one of my primary interests is psychoanalysis ? (but this fact will certainly not be included on all of my SOPs hehe).

Hi @eleatics! I, too, am remaining cautiously optimistic (albeit being patient is not my strong suit), and I figured that, at the very least, programs would have to admit fewer students this cycle. I've definitely added more funded MA programs to my list, but, unfortunately, it seems like there are less continental MA programs with funding than analytic, and I come from a continental background and have primarily continental interests. I'm going to be meeting with one of my professors from undergrad on Sunday, and he knows some higher-ups at Emory, Penn State, and DePaul (and likely more, these are just the ones I know for sure), so I'll ask if he's heard anything about those programs and let y'all know if he tells me any juicy deets. Thanks for all your advice @eleatics--I'm set on going to grad school, so I'll still be applying to programs this year, and I sincerely hope I get in somewhere. Like you said, I think it is only going to get worse from this point on vis-a-vis competition and funding. Good luck to you as well and stay safe!

This seems less than official, but here: Granted, I have no way of verifying the veracity of this, but I wouldn't doubt it as a legitimate possibility. It could be incorrect info, though, so my fingers are crossed for you. I would reach out to the director of graduate admissions to confirm. This [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1yb_yciijFGEp5roVKYJ40U4eiREo3ZQTeSQkEjGMSsg/htmlview?usp=gmail#] is the document I mentioned in the original post. I check it daily, and, aside from the sometimes-depressing news about programs not admitting, its a useful resource.

I know that there is a running document that updates pretty regularly about programs that are not admitting for Fall 2021--University of Chicago, Rice, UPenn, Loyola (one of my top choices ? ), Columbia, etc.--but I was wondering if any of y'all who are are currently enrolled in US schools have any insider info about whether other programs are going to decide to follow suit (or if that option is being seriously considered), whether stipends for Ph.Ds will be significantly lower, or any other useful information that isn't yet posted on departments' websites. An honest opinion about whether potential applicants for this cycle should defer applying would also be greatly appreciated.

Hi @Marcus_Aurelius, thank you for your response! Ah, I have a bad habit of being self-deprecating and focusing on the negatives rather than the positives, so in my mind the latter pale in comparison to the former. For example, my GPA could just mean that I'm one-dimensional--a good student, to be sure, but lacking pizzazz [insert jazz hands]. And, alas, removing the autobiographical information from my thesis might be difficult--I took an existential/phenomenological approach, so save for my summaries of the texts that I use, information about my personal struggles with addiction abounds, and most of it is critical to my broader argument. Nevertheless, the advice is sound, and I think it will be worthwhile to try to find a way to do it. Re: German as a weakness, I just worry that three years may be insufficient for some of the programs (though I guess some language experience is better than none). A few of the programs I will be applying to require doctoral students to take language exams in two different languages ? But, if you think it can only be a strength (even a minor one), that does afford me some comfort. I think (or hope) I will have better luck with MAs. As you mention/warn, PHDs are highly competitive, and I cannot honestly say that I am in the top 3-5% of applicants, and I imagine those acceptance rates will be even lower this cycle given the pandemic (but still, ?). That said, I know that this is what I want to pursue. I really can't imagine myself doing anything else. So if I don't get in anywhere this cycle, then hopefully I'll have better luck in the next (or the next)! Thank you again for taking the time to read this and respond!

Hi there, First time poster. I wanted to get input from others as to whether or not I am (or if I could be) a competitive applicant for philosophy Ph.D. programs (specifically continental programs, though I do have a pluralist bent). I am not opposed to MA programs either, and I will be applying to a handful terminal MA programs—I love philosophy, and I will happily go wherever I am accepted (if that even happens), but receiving funding is ideal. Okay, a little bit about me. Starting with the positives: -Never graduated high school, so I went to community college and graduated with an associate’s degree (4.16 GPA) -Transferred to a university that consistently ranks as one of the best continental programs in the country, (according to some) but, not elite in the grand scheme of things (and it didn’t make the Top 50 in the Leiter report). However, they do have a good track record of placing undergrads at places like Penn State, SUNY Stony Brook, and Emory. -BA in Philosophy, summa cum laude, departmental honors (i.e., I wrote and defended an honors thesis), inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. -An essay of mine (on Spinoza’s theory of emotions) won the department’s award for best undergraduate essay (yay) -Went back to the same university the following year as an undergrad post-baccalaureate and got a BA in political science and minored in German Studies. Social and political philosophy is one of my primary interests. -With my first BA, I graduated with a 4.13 (4.09 in PHIL, lowest grade was an A- in my metaphysics course my first term) -After my second BA, I had a 4.15 GPA (4.18 in PS) … however, I have heard that my GPA may not mean all that much. -Three years of German Language; I would say I can read at an advanced undergraduate level (I think this might be a weakness?) -Was a tutor for two years (tutoring PHIL courses, among others) -Worked for Stance (an international undergraduate philosophy journal) as an Assistant Editorial Board Member -Presented a paper at one symposium, and had one paper accepted to another undergraduate philosophy conference, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic (I am unsure of whether presentations are relevant, though). -Founder and editor-in-chief of an undergrad philosophy journal at my university. Now, the negatives: -In my honors thesis, I discuss my struggles with addiction (really, the whole paper is an attempt to develop a philosophical understanding of drug use and addiction) , so I don’t know if it’s usable as a writing sample (I don’t want programs to think I’m a risky investment, and I know that some committees might be more conservative/traditional than others). The same goes for the previously mentioned Spinoza paper. Given that the writing sample is arguably the most important part of the application, this seems like a significant issue. Aside from these papers, I don’t really have anything that I personally think is worthy of being my writing sample (I have one paper on Freud’s drive theory, with a bit of Derrida and Deleuze sprinkled in for good measure, but this feels like it would only be applicable to programs that have professors working in psychoanalysis, e.g., Emory, New Mexico, New School, etc.). Should I risk it and send a portion of my honors thesis, or should I write something new? At this point, I'm leaning towards the latter. -My interests are definitely varied—perhaps too varied, which I think might be a problem when it comes to writing my statement of purpose. -Haven’t taken the GRE and don’t know how well I will do on it (though a fair amount of the programs I’m looking at don’t require it or its optional this cycle due to the pandemic). Nevertheless, I am going to schedule it for late October or early November. -My course work in philosophy. I did graduate with more PHIL credits than I needed, but just barely. I took two author seminars (one on Spinoza and one on Dewey), and one seminar on the philosophy of language. But other than that, the majority of my course work was at the 300-level. I think this might be one of my biggest weaknesses next to my writing sample problem. I did take a fair amount of political theory courses last year for my second major, but I’m unsure if that will be entirely clear just from looking at my transcripts. -My LoRs. Two of my letter writers know me incredibly well—one has known me since my days at community college (she also teaches at the university I attended), and the other is the director of undergraduate studies, whom I have worked with closely throughout my time in undergraduate. They were also my advisors for my honors thesis. However, neither of them are tenured or TT. One is a Pro-Tem Instructor and the other is a Senior Instructor. I have heard mixed things about how this plays out in the admissions process, but I have been told that having non-tenured professors can be problematic. My third letter writer, however, is a real bigwig in philosophy of language—I took two courses with him, and went to his office hours regularly, but I don’t think the quality of the letter will measure up to that of my other two letter writers. Still, it might be a strong, especially if I ask him to be my "advisor" for a new writing sample. -An extraneous negative: the pandemic (e.g., University of Chicago and Columbia University are not accepting applications this cycle, and, though I wasn’t planning to apply to these programs, I worry that other programs may soon follow suit). -There are likely more negatives that I’m not thinking of, too. I know I need to be brutally honest with myself vis-a-vis my chances, but it would help to have some outside input to help me more accurately gauge them. If you took the time to read all of this, and especially if you take the time to respond, thank you in advance!