What matters in applying to grad school?

[akatsushi]

Hey all! I'm a current freshman undergrad who is strongly considering philosophy grad school. I study philosophy on my own a lot, have an A+ in my phil class, had my professor offer to write me a rec (not a well known academic), am expecting to major in philosophy (and German), and go to a school with a well-respected philosophy department (top 5 in Leiter rankings).

Now, I don't want to make this too personalized, because I have a feeling this forum isn't meant as an advice column, so I wanted to ask two questions. One is more general.

1. What sort of things are emphasized in the admissions process for philosophy grad school? What matters most, and what is more secondary? What should I be doing as an undergrad to increase my chances of admission at competitive programs?

2. More personal problem, my first semester freshman GPA is going to be bad... I'm probably going to get a B or A- in one class (Econ) and a C in another (Calc III, multivariable). Overall first semester GPA will add up to a 3.25... this was pretty rough, because I had good high school grades. But I'm not taking any more math classes after this semester: I'm planning on taking only philosophy (and German) courses... I'm naturally terrible at math (no idea why I took calc iii), so I expect my GPA to improve, and I think I can probably manage a 4.0 next semester (and believe I can continue improving over time - given all 4.0s from now on, which is unlikely but possible, I can end with above a 3.9).

I guess my question boils down to: does getting a C in calculus freshman year look terrible on an application, and how important is my overall GPA (as opposed to my major GPA if my major is in philosophy)?

Thanks

[steadygaze108]

3 hours ago, akatsushi said:

Hey all! I'm a current freshman undergrad who is strongly considering philosophy grad school. I study philosophy on my own a lot, have an A+ in my phil class, had my professor offer to write me a rec (not a well known academic), am expecting to major in philosophy (and German), and go to a school with a well-respected philosophy department (top 5 in Leiter rankings).

Now, I don't want to make this too personalized, because I have a feeling this forum isn't meant as an advice column, so I wanted to ask two questions. One is more general.

1. What sort of things are emphasized in the admissions process for philosophy grad school? What matters most, and what is more secondary? What should I be doing as an undergrad to increase my chances of admission at competitive programs?

2. More personal problem, my first semester freshman GPA is going to be bad... I'm probably going to get a B or A- in one class (Econ) and a C in another (Calc III, multivariable). Overall first semester GPA will add up to a 3.25... this was pretty rough, because I had good high school grades. But I'm not taking any more math classes after this semester: I'm planning on taking only philosophy (and German) courses... I'm naturally terrible at math (no idea why I took calc iii), so I expect my GPA to improve, and I think I can probably manage a 4.0 next semester (and believe I can continue improving over time - given all 4.0s from now on, which is unlikely but possible, I can end with above a 3.9).

I guess my question boils down to: does getting a C in calculus freshman year look terrible on an application, and how important is my overall GPA (as opposed to my major GPA if my major is in philosophy)?

Thanks

1. What matters most for admission to top philosophy grad schools?

Your writing sample has to be a killer.

Killer letters of recommendation from killer professors.

Avoid B's and C's at all costs - go for A-, A, or A+ in all of your classes.

Avoid 4.0 GPA, go for 3.7-3.9 overall, and A, A-, A+ grades in all your philosophy classes (4.0 makes one think you have no life outside of academics).

Find a professor you really want to work with and make that professor really want to work with you.

Getting that C will not hurt - but don't get any other B's or C's.

Hope this helps!

[akatsushi]

5 hours ago, akatsushi said:

Hey all! I'm a current freshman undergrad who is strongly considering philosophy grad school. I study philosophy on my own a lot, have an A+ in my phil class, had my professor offer to write me a rec (not a well known academic), am expecting to major in philosophy (and German), and go to a school with a well-respected philosophy department (top 5 in Leiter rankings).

Now, I don't want to make this too personalized, because I have a feeling this forum isn't meant as an advice column, so I wanted to ask two questions. One is more general.

1. What sort of things are emphasized in the admissions process for philosophy grad school? What matters most, and what is more secondary? What should I be doing as an undergrad to increase my chances of admission at competitive programs  https://100001.onl/ ?

2. More personal problem, my first semester freshman GPA is going to be bad... I'm probably going to get a B or A- in one class (Econ) and a C in another (Calc III, multivariable). Overall first semester GPA will add up to a 3.25... this was pretty rough, because I had good high school grades. But I'm not taking any more math classes after this semester: I'm planning on taking only philosophy (and German) courses... I'm naturally terrible at math (no idea why I took calc iii), so I expect my GPA to improve, and I think I can probably manage a 4.0 next semester (and believe I can continue improving over time - given all 4.0s from now on, which is unlikely but possible, I can end with above a 3.9).

I guess my question boils down to: does getting a C in calculus freshman year look terrible on an application, and how important is my overall GPA (as opposed to my major GPA if my major is in philosophy)?

Thanks

i got this.....

Edited March 23, 2023 by akatsushi

[groupoid]

(deleted)

Edited March 25, 2023 by groupoid

[GradStudent987]

One of the most important factors is a B.A. from an elite program, and you've already got that covered! So as long as your writing sample is good, you'll likely be very successful. On that note, I would start developing a writing sample sooner rather than later. Maybe wait until your junior year of undergrad, so you can get some grounding in phil courses first. But once you find something you're really interested in, write a paper about it and start getting feedback from professors ASAP. 

I would also recommend trying to publish while you're in undergrad. It's really difficult, and it almost never happens, but it's not as difficult as most people think it is, and one of the reasons it almost never happens is because almost no one ever tries. This will also require lots of feedback from your profs. Actually, I would start by sitting down with some of your profs and asking them how they prepare papers for publication, and then follow the same steps. 

If you finish with a B.A. from an elite institution, an excellent writing sample, a 3.9 GPA, and a publication or two, you'll have a very good chance of getting in almost anywhere.

[Marcus_Aurelius]

Yeah, you're totally fine. Major GPA matters more than overall GPA (especially at a prestigious school), and lots of people get lower grades as they're settling in. Writing sample and letters matter most. No need to worry about those until second half of third year. In the meantime, take a wide variety of courses. Get grounding in lots of different areas of philosophy. Take time to explore and enjoy! The other important thing is to try to take classes with tenured and tenure-track professors. Doesn't have to be every course, but you want to build relationships with folks. (Relationships with grad students can be helpful as well! They just can't write letters, but some might be willing to help with your application, though it depends on the person.) Go to office hours, get to know professors. Ask questions, because it really helps your own learning. And also be open to reevaluating whether you want to go to grad school. You might know now that you want to and stay the course (that was my situation), or you might realize you've lost the spark. It's cool either way. 

I want to disagree with the advice above to try to publish. This isn't something that's rewarded in PhD admissions. Undergrad journals are fine, but for real journals there's just no expectation that someone coming into grad school would be able to do anything that's actually publishable yet. Taking grad seminars is another of those things that looks like it should be helpful but actually is neutral. Ditto for conferences. I went to Rutgers undergrad, and the people who took grad seminars weren't any more likely to get into good programs. (I only took one grad seminar, in my last semester.) Certainly, grad seminars can be worthwhile if there aren't enough undergrad seminars in your topic(s) of interest; they're not bad either, they're just mostly neutral. Follow the advice of the professors you build relationships with. Every semester you can ask professors for their advice on what courses to take the next semester.

Edited April 4, 2023 by Marcus_Aurelius