[Use of TOEFL department code]

On 6/2/2022 at 3:05 AM, jeveline said:

I am an international student interested in philosophy ph.D program for 2021 admission. I am hereby posting to ask a question related to TOEFL report. On the one hand, many school says that, for GRE and TOEFL reporting, only the institutional code but not department code must be entered (for example, UNC. https://gradschool.unc.edu/admissions/instructions.html). On the other hand, TOEFL website forces me to enter whatever department code. Among those seen on the department code list are 20 (philosophy) and 99 (for any other department not listed). Which should I choose, for the score to be properly reported? Should I mail and ask this question to each school that says like that?

 

I would contact the schools just to be on the safe side...

[Are there any universities in the US that pay very good RA/TA salary?]

On 6/5/2022 at 9:42 AM, oqowa said:

Hey guys, so my American dream started in 2015 when I was admitted as PhD student and ended in 2019 when I left the US with Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering:( Now, 3 years later, I so much regret about not trying hard enough to stay and now I'm thinking of ways of what I could do to go back. But now my situation is different, I'm not on my own, I have a wife and 1 kid. So, I was wondering let's say I decide to go back to funded PhD again, are there any universities in the US that pay actually pretty good RA or TA salary which would be enough to cover monthly expenses of a family of 3 people? I have a full-time job in my country that pays higher than average, so if I make that decision, I need to make sure I'm not getting myself into financial risk.

The funding is pretty meager for RA and TAships...It might be very difficult...Location and cost-of-living should definitely at the top of your priorities if you intend to move forward with the PhD. Pick small towns over big cities!

[Philosophy MA at SFSU VS Bioethics MA at NYU]

On 6/1/2022 at 6:02 AM, FilippM said:

I am an international student with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and I have been accepted to the Meat SFSU and MA in Bioethics at NYU.

My final goal is to enroll for a PhD in a decent school (preferably in CU).

I know that this program at NYU is considered not very good (a cash cow, etc.), and the program at SFSU, on the contrary, is considered one of the best in philosophy.

Nevertheless, NYU as a whole is much more prestigious than SFSU and I think it can help in establishing contacts with professors, perhaps at the NYU Faculty of Philosophy.

Has anyone had a similar experience? What should I choose based on my goals? I will be grateful for any advice.

PS

My main area of interest is the philosophy of cognitive sciences

The NYU program is actually a good program, but yeah, kind of a cash cow. But definitely better than the MA at SFSU. My question is: why didn`t you apply to PhD programs in the first place? PhDs in philosophy usually have the master`s built-in and usually come with solid funding packages... While having a master`s is a great way to demonstrate your research skills when applying to PhDs, one thing to keep in mind is that since PhD program usually include coursework related to the MA program, chances are you won`t get many course credited toward the PhD...

In any case, NYU carries much more weight than SFSU for the PhD.

[How many PhD program should I apply to for fall 2023]

On 5/25/2022 at 5:24 PM, Maxdaguy said:

Hey guys,

I am getting ready to apply to PhD programs to start next year and I was wondering how many programs I should apply to? What`s a good number? I heard some people applied to 20-30 programs... 

Hi,

 

I think 5 or 6 is a good number. If you are considering more programs than that, something tells me you may not be targeting the right programs.

[How will my GPA be viewed by grad school admissions (unrelated major and finished undergrad 6 years ago)]

On 6/1/2022 at 7:42 PM, nodiggity said:

I finished undergrad with a GPA of 3.42 with a degree in computer science 5 years ago. Since then I've worked as a software engineer. I took 3 psyc classes during undergrad and got A/A- in all of them. I'm now completing a few extra Psyc classes and so far have gotten A's in all of them. Will my GPA be a weakness for competitive programs or will the fact that I've mostly gotten A's in psyc classes and that it was a while ago help?

 

Thanks

Admissions committees take a comprehensive look at every application so they will definitely take into account all credit-baring courses and the grades you earned. A 3.4 GPA in computer science is not that bad...but yeah, the extra A`s you got will be seriously considered by the admissions committee.

[SOP 2022: How important is the SOP in my PhD application?]

On 5/25/2022 at 4:58 PM, Jack-Lad said:

Quick question here: I am about to start applying to grad school and I heard from a few people that the most important part of the PhD application are my grades, the GRE, and my letters of recommendations. Is it true that the statement of purpose, i.e. your research project is not that important since it might change once you are accepted into a program? In other words, where should I put most of my focus in my applications?

It is extremely important. I would say that this is the first thing that the admissions committees look at when they sit around to look at files. You can have the best letters of recommendations and the best writing sample, but I a so-so SOP might deter the admissions committee to look further into your file. Make sure your SOP is rigorous, well written, and that it checks all the boxes.