Transfer Advice

[An Ordinary Object]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice on hopping programs.

I entered my current PhD program with my BA (from a medium-sized LAC) one year ago, with a statement of purpose that I was embarrassingly broad. I've decided on an AOS, but now I want an upgrade. Placement at my (Leiter-unranked, though not unmentioned) program is decent, though in recent (~past five) years it's been bad. When there is TT placement, it's to R3s (or R2s, once in a blue moon). I'll welcome any advice! Here are a few specific concerns.

(1) My GREs were 164V (94%), 160Q (76%), and 4.0W (60%). Should I take the GRE again?

(2) I have one undergrad letter I can still use, from my department chair who went to a Leiter #21, is professionally visible, and edited a volume for Blackwell. I'm expecting to secure two letters from a prof in my AOS. Is this a good plan?

(3) I familiarized myself with Leiter's rankings, and it looks like a good application spread for my new AOI (medieval) would be Toronto, Notre Dame, Boulder, Cornell, SLU, and Purdue. Does anyone at one of these six places have insights about applying to them? Or about the status of their medievalists? And, does anyone know whether Georgetown is a decent option?

(4) Are there any embarrassing blunders I should avoid committing as I navigate this whole thing?

I plan to apply out this fall, and again next fall if nothing happens.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Edited July 11, 2019 by An Ordinary Object

[Glasperlenspieler]

Since it seems part of your desire to transfer stems from concerns about the job market, it probably worth noting that the job market for medievalists is probably worse than for philosophy generally. And since, you make it sound like you'd like an R1 position, it's probably also worth mentioning (beyond the fact that it's extremely hard for anyone to get an R1 position) that the one place where medievalists actually get hired (semi-)regularly is at Catholic colleges and universities (which, with a few notable exceptions, means smaller teaching colleges). None of this is to deter you. It may still make sense to transfer, but these are good things to think about going in. It would also probably behoove you for the job market to demonstrate a competency in related field (if you work on medieval metaphysics, make sure you can teach a class on contemporary metaphysics, or gain the skills to teach an into ancient or early modern class). That means picking  a programs that can facilitate your development in the related field as well as medieval philosophy. 

15 hours ago, An Ordinary Object said:

 (1) My GREs were 164V (94%), 160Q (76%), and 4.0W (60%). Should I take the GRE again?

Probably not worth your time

15 hours ago, An Ordinary Object said:

(2) I have one undergrad letter I can still use, from my department chair who went to a Leiter #21, is professionally visible, and edited a volume for Blackwell. I'm expecting to secure two letters from a prof in my AOS. Is this a good plan?

Not quite sure what you mean by two letter from one prof. I think it's fine to have one letter from undergrad, the other two should probably come from your current program.

15 hours ago, An Ordinary Object said:

(3) I familiarized myself with Leiter's rankings, and it looks like a good application spread for my new AOI (medieval) would be Toronto, Notre Dame, Boulder, Cornell, SLU, and Purdue. Does anyone at one of these six places have insights about applying to them? Or about the status of their medievalists? And, does anyone know whether Georgetown is a decent option?

Double check the retirement status of the medievalists at this program. Eleonore Stump, for example, could plausibly retire at any time.

15 hours ago, An Ordinary Object said:

 (4) Are there any embarrassing blunders I should avoid committing as I navigate this whole thing?

Don't alienate professors or other grad students at you current program. It's always possible that your transfer attempt fails, which means you will need to be working with these people for another 4+ years.

[hector549]

22 hours ago, An Ordinary Object said:

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice on hopping programs.

I entered my current PhD program with my BA (from a medium-sized LAC) one year ago, with a statement of purpose that I was embarrassingly broad. I've decided on an AOS, but now I want an upgrade. Placement at my (Leiter-unranked, though not unmentioned) program is decent, though in recent (~past five) years it's been bad. When there is TT placement, it's to R3s (or R2s, once in a blue moon). I'll welcome any advice! Here are a few specific concerns.

(1) My GREs were 164V (94%), 160Q (76%), and 4.0W (60%). Should I take the GRE again?

(2) I have one undergrad letter I can still use, from my department chair who went to a Leiter #21, is professionally visible, and edited a volume for Blackwell. I'm expecting to secure two letters from a prof in my AOS. Is this a good plan?

(3) I familiarized myself with Leiter's rankings, and it looks like a good application spread for my new AOI (medieval) would be Toronto, Notre Dame, Boulder, Cornell, SLU, and Purdue. Does anyone at one of these six places have insights about applying to them? Or about the status of their medievalists? And, does anyone know whether Georgetown is a decent option?

(4) Are there any embarrassing blunders I should avoid committing as I navigate this whole thing?

I plan to apply out this fall, and again next fall if nothing happens.

Thanks in advance for the help!

@Glasperlenspieler has given you good advice. I have a few additional thoughts. I haven't myself transferred programs, but I do know people who have done so. My sense is that moving up the rankings once you're already in a PhD program is difficult. Of course, it still might be worth a shot. I've heard of instances in which it has happened. However, I've also heard of students making lateral moves or moving to lower-ranked programs. I think it partly depends on the circumstances that lead to the transfer, which brings me to my second point: You'll need to offer a reasonable explanation to admissions committees about why you're seeking to transfer. Maybe this goes without saying, but don't portray your present program in an unfavorable light. I know you're concerned about placement at your current program, but it also sounds as though (maybe?) you don't have someone you can work with right now in your desired AOS. That's a perfectly good and uncontroversial reason to transfer. As for your concerns about placement at your present program, I would worry about mentioning this in your SOP. Placement isn't great at lots of good programs, and medieval, as Glasperlenspieler mentioned, is a particularly difficult area for jobs. Ad coms might think you're out of touch, that you're not going to be satisfied at their program either, etc etc. Rather, make a case for why your program isn't a good fit for you, and why the program to which you're applying is.

Edited July 11, 2019 by hector549

[Rose-Colored Beetle]

I have a friend who transferred to Notre Dame from a program roughly similar to yours. Just so you know it can happen.

[VentralStream]

I mentioned this in another post, but to my surprise, there were 4 who were transferring out of their current programs that were on Notre Dame's waitlist and some of which had been accepted to U T Austin and UVA. My impression is that transferring is becoming much more common and I think desirable to a certain extent: programs want students to finish in 5 or 6 years, and this will be more likely if you already have one or two years of doctoral studies under your belt. 

Edited July 19, 2019 by VentralStream

[Moose#@1%$]

I'm a little confused about your concern with placement. Did you not know about your current programs placement record before you applied or accepted the position? it seems a little weird to me and it just looks like you simply used this program as a stepping stone. Which is fine, I'm not judging or condemning lol. BUUT... I suspect you'd probably want to mention in your SOP to your desired program why you're wanting to transfer and the placement reason will seem suspicious. I've heard from profs that people do transfer but you must be VERY careful. Philosophy is a relatively small community of people and you do not want to get a bad name or burn bridges. Especially if you're moving up to a "better" school. Be very careful as you navigate this transfer. I've only been warned about transferring programs unless you have a legit reason (AOI changed and have no prof at current program willing to take you on, prof retired or moved, family reasons etc.).  Hope it helps, and again my initial comment isn't condemning but just the first thing that popped into my head.

[TorreAttack]

I have successfully transferred, and am very happy with my own results. I also made the blunder of having an incredibly general/aimless statement of purpose. In my second round of applications I made certain to tailor my SOP to particular institutions well beyond the paragraph swap I think most people do. I also sent different writing samples to different institutions depending on what I thought they would enjoy. This last move is dubious, most would say to polish one and only one sample, but I had two papers out of my graduate courses that I was very proud of, and for each paper, I was applying to a school that had a professor I was responding directly to.

I spoke to several trusted professors about my transfer attempt, and when recounting successful transfer attempts, the common thread seemed to be the transfer was successful because the student had particular people they wanted to work with in the receiving department, and the application made very clear that they were targeting the department in particular for those people.

I do think transferring in general is harder. My evidence is that every school that waitlisted me in the first round rejected me outright in the second, even with, in my evaluation, better samples, letters, and SOPs. I think that the targeting strategy works, because my successful transfer was in a department well out of my expected range (an extreme reach) that had a professor that I supported directly in my writing sample and made clear in my SOP that I wanted to work with.
 
I am willing to share my SOP's and samples if they would help anyone here.

[episode413]

I have a related question. I am in a top 10 PhD program now and I am considering applying for a couple of other places mainly because I want to see if there could be a better fit. Does anyone know how important the grades I get in this current PhD program are? I have a couple of A grades and a couple of A- grades. Would the A- grades be bad for my applications? Thanks! 

[maxhgns]

4 hours ago, episode413 said:

I have a related question. I am in a top 10 PhD program now and I am considering applying for a couple of other places mainly because I want to see if there could be a better fit. Does anyone know how important the grades I get in this current PhD program are? I have a couple of A grades and a couple of A- grades. Would the A- grades be bad for my applications? Thanks! 

Unless the grade is bad, nobody cares about grades. (And an A- isn't bad.) Instead, they'll care about the reasons you give for wanting to transfer, and about the quality of your work.