johnsmith62892

That's not really what I was asking. I want to continue to concentrate in political philosophy and metaphysics and most programs are competent in both of those areas so it doesn't matter what program I choose for the most part. My question is, however, what level of program am I looking at with my resume? Am I wasting my time applying to a top 10 or top 20 school even if my writing sample is pretty good, or is it within my reach? If not, what is the area best within my reach? Top 30? Top 40? Or is this resume more along the lines of an applicant at top masters program? And quarter credits, as in, using the quarter system rather than the semester system. There's a big difference beings as most universities which operate on the quarter system require 180 cr to graduate while those on the semester system generally require 120 cr.

I am a recent philosophy graduate from a state college in Oregon with a relatively weak philosophy department and I will be applying to grad school here this fall or next and my predicament is choosing the schools which are best within my reach. I was hoping someone could breakdown exactly what is within my reach (i.e. top 20 school, top 50 school, top tier masters, etc.). Here are my general stats: Major: Philosophy Minor: Writing Overall GPA: 3.51 Phil. GPA: 3.72 GRE: 700 Verbal, 480 Quantitative, 5.0 Writing Over 100 quarter-credits in philosophy: Metaphysics/Epistemology (16 cr.) Political Philosophy (20 cr.) Phil. of Religion (16 cr.) Logic (15 cr.) Hst. of Philosophy (12 cr.) Ethics (8 cr.) Intership as TA (12 cr.) Thesis (8 cr.) And a few other topic courses (i.e. feminist philosophy, philosophy of mind, etc.) My LORs are all from past philosophy professors. I have four of them. My sample is on the philosophy of botany and was constructed via independent research during my senior year. Accomplishments: Graduated Cum Laude, Undergraduate Arts Fellow Note: I also started a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging youth to pursue careers in academic philosophy but I wasn't sure if this would have any factor in the overall selection process. Thank you for your input.