philosophe

I'm living vicariously through everyone who is getting off of their wait lists! congratulations all

Thank you! I really hope so. Good luck to you as well

Thanks!

Ok folks, I officially deposited for tufts today, so I declined all three of my Phd offers: Rochester, Iowa, and Tulane. Hope this helps someone!

I was told that at least one person really limited themselves location wise (by applying only to schools in the northeast) for family reasons, and the other person who was shut out only applied to T10 programs.

I've been speaking with people at Tufts, since I'm still trying to make my decision. I get the feeling they were disappointed this year because they had mixed placement. I think they still did very well, but compared to last year's slam dunk where they placed 8 people in 8 very good schools, they were surprised. One person was shut out, one only on a waitlist, and then acceptances at Duke (2), Brown, Western Ontario, University of Texas – Austin, Indiana, Johns Hopkins. Also, the following waitlists: UNC (2), Arizona, UC Irvine.

I got this too. It would be one thing if they just admitted us to a different MA program, but there's no way in hell i'd start a new application in March.

Yeah, though there are a lot of summer sublets, also because of the number of students... you might be able to get a furnished one, and then move your stuff for sept. 1

heads up to any of you considering boston-area offers, 99% of the leases are sept 1 to sept 1, because of the number of students here.

I had a general first paragraph about my background, desires for grad study, etc., and then swapped out a second paragraph to match the school. I was saying generally the same things based on my interest, but typically mentioned one to two faculty members with whom I would like to work, highlighting our interests in common. You can see my record below, I think thing's have worked out generally ok for me. By the way, my personal statements were all only a page. I was told short and sweet is best.

The placement record is easily found on any terminal MA's department website. Here's Brandeis: http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/philosophy/mastersprogram/placement.html Here's Tufts: http://ase.tufts.edu/philosophy/graduate/placement.asp

Nice, I'm rooting for you. Also, I'm knowledgeable about that dept. so if you get off and have questions, feel free to message me.

Congrats , I grew up near there. Beautiful school right on the beach.

On a related note, Brandeis has a castle! Definitely a real admissions selling point, if you ask me.

Accepted to Tulane, second on waitlist for funding (response to an email inquiry). Does anyone know what the deal is with that program? Since they're unranked I have limited info re: reputation

Yeah, as far as I can tell it's not that the climate is bad, just that they women are taking offers elsewhere. The faculty seemed very nice and supportive. I'm sure they're great, it's just that it would be isolating enough to be 1 of 2 women in the program (the other would graduate after my first year), and as a 23 year old single woman, I just see this whole different stages of life thing as another isolating barrier. :/

Yeah, trying to determine that now. I feel like academically I'm well suited to Rochester, but the program is like 95% male and 70% of those men are married / with children... socially I'm not sure if it's the right place for me. I'm considering whether I should visit Iowa, they gave me substantially less funding than Rochester, and I don't want to waste their time and money unless I'm seriously considering it, which I haven't decided yet. Planning to visit tufts, I hope I just love it and can put the matter to rest.

Thanks for your response. I appreciate the vote of confidence, I certainly hope you're right! Honestly, if I'm not succeeding in the MA program (though I obviously hope this is not the case) I might take that as a sign that I should do something else after graduation anyway. Regarding the cost, I agree with you. I'm asking a lot of questions to guestimate the situation. I'm already living in Boston, and it's true, rent is steep. I took two years off to work fulltime, so I have savings and could do it, though it would exhaust my resources. I'm waiting for them to get back to me on the details of the scholarship (and to visit all of my schools) before I make any decisions.

Thanks for your thoughts. I definitely appreciate your perspective, and I'm considering all these factors. It's a tough choice. I'm hoping my visits might make things clearer. (Also, well-deserved up vote!)

I don't really feel comfortable taking a Phd offer with intent to transfer. It seems kind of in poor taste to me, to take someone's support and then leave. (Unless there's a very good reason). If I think I'm going to be unhappy there, I'd rather go somewhere else in the first place. Tufts is definitely more of a viable option now that this scholarship is involved, but i'd still be adding two years of my life. Also, I heard their placement was mixed this year. Thanks all, your opinions are very helpful. It's nice when the internet gives general consensus! I'm going to investigate that further.

It's my understanding that Tufts generally does not give support, so I was very pleasantly surprised. It seems like I would pay out of pocked a minimal amount (say, less than a fourth of the tuition), and then I would be able to make that amount back from TAing. Part of me sees it as a great opportunity, and the other party of me is worried about the additional two years. If the Phd takes 5/6 years, then that would be a total of 7/8, which would require some serious stamina.

Yeah, those are my two Phd offers. Iowa and Rochester both have good reps for epistemology. They're placement is similar in that they place people but not in big name schools. Trying to decide if I should play it safe or follow my ambition.

Is anyone claiming that rejection from Tulane?

Hey friends, bumping this thread because my situation just got more interesting. I received a surprising and generous tuition scholarship from tufts, knocking the price down to something very affordable. So, I'm back to square one over whether or not I should go the risky MA route or the immediate phd route. I keep waiting to have all of the information before I decide, but every turn of events has just made it that much more difficult. As always, I'd be happy to hear what any of you would do in my situation!

I'm really considering tufts over my phd offers. I was pleasantly shocked today, they gave me a huge scholarship! (Like 80% of tuition). I was under the impression that they give almost no funding. I don't know, maybe it's hubris and risky to decline my other offers, but I really wonder how much stronger my app could be after going through that program. Any thoughts on this? I'm open to any and all advice.