Unknown LAC to good Phd program

[UndergradDad]

So looking at the websites of some of the top programs that show where the grad students went for their Bachelors, almost no colleges show up that aren't top ranked colleges.  Are  there any good stories out there this application season of anyone getting into a highly regarded program who didn't go to a highly ranked college? I know that can happen sometimes via the MA route, but even then, aren't the top ranked MA programs doing the same thing?

[machineghost]

22 minutes ago, UndergradDad said:

So looking at the websites of some of the top programs that show where the grad students went for their Bachelors, almost no colleges show up that aren't top ranked colleges.  Are  there any good stories out there this application season of anyone getting into a highly regarded program who didn't go to a highly ranked college? I know that can happen sometimes via the MA route, but even then, aren't the top ranked MA programs doing the same thing?

Some students do get into top programs from schools that are not highly regarded, but it’s definitely harder. As you mentioned, lots of people in your situation go the MA route, and you have a good shot at a top MA if you have a philosophy degree and a high GPA, especially in philosophy, even if you didn’t go to a highly regarded school. Lots of people do get into top MA programs from schools that are not particularly highly regarded. 

[TheNewGuy]

I have a friend who went to a relatively unknown LAC that just got into Oxford's master's program (with a 4.0 GPA). He had the same concerns as you have now and chose not to apply to any PhD programs as a result. It worked out for him!

[ProspectGrad]

I am going to a relatively unknown LAC (~70% acceptance rate, avg 29 ACT), and was admitted to Columbia and Chicago this year. Waitlsited @ Brown, UCSD, UCLA, Indiana, and rejected at 12 or so other programs.

[BL16]

I go to an Israeli school, and I was accepted to sixteen departments (including NYU, Rutgers, Oxford, Princeton...), waitlisted at three, rejected from one and withdrew one application before getting an answer (which would have been either reject or waitlist).

Edited March 17, 2018 by BL16

[quinessloopypun]

This thread seems in need of some more positive statistical data. I went to a Turkish school (no ranking whatsoever) for a non-philosophy, low-GPA undergrad and I am wait-listed at one top-5, one top-20 and one top-40 program. Not the most successful story, but given my background, I should have had no chance.

Don't prejudge yourself with pedigree stuff. Be genuinely interested in a subject and do your best to produce a novel writing sample. You may be amazed how it works out for you.

Edited March 17, 2018 by quinessloopypun

[maxhgns]

Schwitzgebel looked at this more systematically seven years ago: http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.ca/2011/10/sorry-cal-state-students-no-princeton.html

He basically found that it's pretty rare to gain admission to a top program from a non-elite US UG. But it's not impossible, and in the intervening years philosophers have become more aware of this bias. MA programs have also gained in prominence in US admissions, and they work to offset some of this bias.

And, FWIW, I went to an elite institution for my UG, but because it's Canadian nobody has heard of it. Except that I've discovered, over the years, that a surprising number of Americans have actually heard of it before. The moral just being that you're not best-placed to know which schools people have and haven't heard of. If your department has made consistent and recent placements into PhD programs, then the odds are pretty good that people do in fact know a little about your department. 

[shifgrethor]

More anecdotal data, but I went to a small unranked university in Canada (it doesn't even rank among Canadian universities in most fields, including philosophy), did my MA at Toronto, and was admitted to 4 top-20 programs including NYU. So while there are definitely statistical disadvantages, the high end of the bell curve doesn't stop short of the top programs.

[UndergradDad]

Thanks for the input everyone-good to hear there is hope. I'm guessing that for these "non-elite" students, the writing sample and GRE scores make a big difference since the GPA might not be trusted as much by the adcoms since they may not have had students from these schools before.

 

[Rose-Colored Beetle]

I would also keep in mind that the PGR rank only correlates weakly with placement, that is if you don't factor in likelihood of postdocs. I posted some freelance research on this here:

 

[UndergradDad]

I read your post. Great info-thanks.