Am I competitive?

[Mike234]

I have - 

A masters degree in Philosophy from the London School of Economics - I got two distinction grades out of 4 units, but only a merit grade overall and HERES THE BIG PROBLEM: only a pass grade for my dissertation 

a first class honours degree in economics from a mid-tier UK university 

Won a minor award for my undergraduate economics dissertation 

Spent a year studying philosophy/ economics at UC Santa Cruz - got a 3.93 GPA, 4.0 philosophy GPA

Can probably get 3 strong letters of recommendation - one from my undergrad dissertation supervisor, two from LSE

GRE results - 98th centile verbal, 17th centile maths (could probably get to 50th/ 60th centile maths with a lot of work but won't have time this application cycle)

 If I'm lucky I may have a forthcoming publication in an upcoming Routledge Book on Philosophy of Economics by the time I submit my applications

My question is, assuming I don't get the Routledge publication, am I competitive or will my botched masters dissertation sink my chances completely? Would a publication largely erase this problem? Do I need to do a second masters? Is there anything (besides of course just having an otherwise excellent application) that I can do to try and mitigate the problem caused by my masters dissertation?

Thank you very much in advance to anyone who takes the time to offer me some advice 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Mike234

[Olórin]

It sounds like this was a 1-year MA--which adcoms will ideally be understanding about. Here's what I would see: a student who decided to pursue philosophy late in the game, who did extra coursework and a 1-year MA to demonstrated being up to the task, and who is in fact up to the task. I promise you I would have failed a dissertation if I had to write and defend it in less than one year. Basically, you're doing okay and you're still in the running.

[PolPhil]

At programs that require the GRE, it is very unlikely that you'd be accepted with that quant score. It's below the minimal threshold for basically any program. Luckily for you, many programs this year don't require the GRE. Even though your verbal is good, I'd recommend not sending them your score. If anything, they'll assume from your econ background that you can do math/logic. Your dissertation will be a problem, for a couple of reasons. First, I'm assuming that you plan to use it as a writing sample? Your writing sample should be a paper on which you received a straight A. Not an A-, an A. If you have a different paper to use, then you might be fine. But remember that the writing sample is arguably the most important component of your application, so it has to be top notch. The second issue is that because your background is in econ, there's little evidence that you can do sustained research in philosophy. Sure, you can do fine in courses, but can you write an article-length paper where you argue something novel? Again, you can overcome this will a truly stellar writing sample, but it's going to be tough. Keep in mind that it's very suspicious if your MA advisor is not one of your letter-writers, but at the same time, I'd be wary of having your MA advisor write you a letter, given your poor performance on the dissertation.

Many people do 1 year MAs and do well on their dissertation. Additionally, many more people do 2 year MAs and do well on their dissertation. These are the people against whom you'll be competing. Are you more competitive than them?

[Mike234]

Thanks very much to both of you for the advice. To clarify I will not be using my dissertation as a writing sample, nor getting a letter from my supervisor for that dissertation. 

[Mischief]

Hi Mike,

You haven't said where generally you intend to apply, and there may be differences between the North American and UK/European reception of your application. I don't understand the UK system, so I can't comment on the LSE side of things specifically or how your situation will play in the European/UK system. Here are my comments in the North American context.

It seems unlikely to me, however, that you will find a place on your applications to list the grade you received on your thesis. In most Canadian schools, for example, we do not receive a thesis mark--it simply shows up on our transcript that we passed as a milestone. Rather, the success of your thesis comes out in the letters your supervisor writes about you and their experience working with you.

On your marks: it sounds like you've done well enough in all of your coursework for this not to be a problem. Perhaps within the UK there will be hair splitting about your LSE marks, but as I have said I don't know about this.

You should list your undergraduate award where you can, and you should list the standing you received in your undergraduate degree where you can. The time spent studying at UC Santa Cruz may not really matter unless you have someone writing you a letter on that basis OR you are applying to study at UCSC. For grades to be meaningful, you need a letter-writer to explain your position relative to your peers and the people who taught the course (e.g. you got the highest grade in the course from a fancy professor who seldom gives out such marks).

On your letters: it will be surprising and likely looked down upon by those reading your application that you do not have a letter from the person who supervised your dissertation. Think very carefully about whether you are willing to take this hit (though it may well be worth it if it won't be a strong letter).

On your GRE scores: I am very surprised that you scored in the 17th for math if you've come out of an econ degree. You will be lucky this year that so many departments are not requiring the GRE in light of the pandemic (I concur with PolPhil about this). Retake this next year if you can, with a 

On your possible publication: over and over again people on admission committees note that it doesn't matter whether you have publications or not. It's a shame, but this is the state of things. It might matter if it bears on what your letter-writers say about you, but otherwise it won't. "Would a publication largely erase this problem?" No, but insofar as it won't generally do anything for you.

To your question overall, "am I competitive or will my botched masters dissertation sink my chances completely"? Yeah probably, it really depends whether it will effect the letters you get or if you have someone really looking for such things on your transcript. From what I have encountered both in conversation and in the ever growing confessionals of people on Phil. admission committees, grades don't play a huge role. Again, this might be different in the UK.

"Do I need to do a second masters?"--no.

"Is there anything (besides of course just having an otherwise excellent application) that I can do to try and mitigate the problem caused by my masters dissertation"--no, just create an excellent application.

Best of luck!