Canadian MA Philosophy

[kate.elizabeth]

I am a Canadian student at the University of Western Ontario applying to graduate school in philosophy. I have applied to three schools--Dalhousie for the MA, UWO for the MA, and McGill for the PhD. I am wondering what my chances are for getting into these schools or if I should apply to one or a few more just in case.

I completed my first 2 years at Queen's with straight Bs; however, I suffered from a very seirous health condition and missed a lot of class. All three of my letter writers have assured me that they will address the problem and state that my GPA from Queen's should not be considered in assessing my application.

My grades in philosophy in my final two years are:

Philosophy of Psychiatry: 90

Plato: 90

Early Modern Philosophy: 90

History of Science: 90

Logic: 86

Philosophy of Ecology: 86

Ethics and Emotions: 89

Metaethics: 81

Intro to Theory of Knowledge: 90

Philosophy of Religion: 77 (really did not like this course)

My writing sample is probably the best part of my application, and my statement of purpose will likely be considered mediocre. I also submitted a CV--research assistant and editorial assitant for two professors (not sure if this helps at all).

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[kate.elizabeth]

Oh, and I also have to take the exam for my Ancient Philosophy course in January (reason: long story), but I am going into the exam with 92.

[Strangefox]

My writing sample is probably the best part of my application, and my statement of purpose will likely be considered mediocre.

Just curious - why do you think that your SOP will be considered mediocre? If you have a brilliant writing sample it means your writing skills are great and that in turn means your SOP must be also great

[wtncffts]

I would echo StrangeFox's comments. The SOP is something completely in your control right now, unlike some other parts of applications. If you really think it'll be mediocre, work on it!

[kate.elizabeth]

Thanks for your comments! I actually have submitted my applications already. I say that my statement of purpose for each school may be mediocre because I found it very difficult to explain why I wanted to go to each particular school. That being said, I thing my explanation of my research interests was fine.

It's difficult to know the expectations for the writing sample--I took an A+ paper in a fourth year seminar course and polished over the summer with the professor who graded it. I am hoping that my sample goes above and beyond what most students apply with, but who knows; maybe everyone is this prepared for graduate applications!

Thoughts?