Best school for PhD program (ideally logic) for low GPA?

[swizzle24]

I'm planning to go straight from my undergraduate degree (in philosophy) to grad school. I want to become a professor and get my PhD. However, my grades aren't great. I have an overall 3.38 and a 3.53 in philosophy. Where can I go to maximize my chances of admission/funding while still going to a decent school? I would prefer something on the east coast.

Are there any good lists or rankings out there with this sort of information?

Thanks in advance...

EDIT: I am in my junior year at a private university. I have been a TA in the physics department for a few semesters so far as well but I have yet to take a practice GRE.

Edited February 27, 2012 by swizzle24

[UnbearableNausea]

Hi Swizzle,

The answer to your question is a bit more complicated than providing a list, as there are a large number of factors that could change the way your GPA is perceived. Is your private institution highly regarded and known for being academically rigorous? I ask because a 3.5 from Harvard or a similar institution is said to be on par with a higher GPA from an unknown school. If this is the case, then I would say you have less to worry about.

If not, unfortunately most, if not all, PhD programs in Philosophy (especially those that are ranked programs) have a suggested minimum GPA of 3.5, although most applicants to these programs have at least a 3.7. Is your relatively low GPA due to medical problems? Family problems? Any extenuating circumstances that impact your GPA can be discussed either in your personal statement or by your letter writers and, depending on the nature of the circumstances, these might mitigate some concerns about your ability to perform in the program.

How are you performing in your advanced philosophy courses? If you are getting A's in these courses and continue to do so, then not only will you be able to pull your GPA up but these are also the courses that programs will see as being more important than, say, your grade in Into courses your first semester in school.

All of that being said, I think you should understand that PhD programs, ranked or otherwise, are incredibly competitive, especially when funding is brought into the mix. I think you would save yourself a lot of headaches if you applied primarily to funded MA programs, and a few PhD programs that are on the lower end of the top 50 or are unranked. You can help balance out your application by scoring very well on the GRE, having a solid writing sample, and getting excellent letters from professors who have (1) given you excellent grades in philosophy courses and (2) who can speak positively about your ability to perform in a rigorous academic program. Getting into a good MA program will help you demonstrate you can complete the work, will give you a chance at a high graduate GPA, and can help you get into a better PhD program than you might be able to enter otherwise.

What do your professors say about your desire to go to graduate school?

[swizzle24]

Wow! Thanks for the incredibly thought out response. I also take advanced physics and math, this has mostly caused the lower GPA but there hasn't been any real reason beyond that. I'll definitely take your advice into account as I enter my senior year - hopefully there's still time to boost my gpa.

Do you have any recommendations for places that would fund masters even with my GPA? As I stated, I would prefer to be near the East Coast if possible. If getting a masters before a phd improved my chances I would probably look into that. How would you (or anyone) recommend I do so?

[UnbearableNausea]

Hi Swizzle,

I am not sure if you check the results survey (seeing as you are not yet applying this is unlikely) but there have been at least one or two posters who have below-average GPA but are getting admission into ranked PhD programs WITH funding. I believe one GPA was as low as 3.18. So do keep in mind that this is a very subjective process, and you might be extremely talented philosophically and have the writing sample and letters to back that up and provide entry into a solid program.

Now, the PGR lists some of the top MA programs but it does not really do so with regard to a focus area. While I think a focus area is less important in MA programs as in PhD programs, this is still something to consider. When applying to graduate schools, do not go just off of the rankings themselves - research which programs score highly in your desired area of interest. Here is a link to the MA section of the PGR: http://www.philosoph....com/maprog.asp

As far as I know there is no database of funded MA programs versus unfunded MAs in Philosophy, but I could be wrong. The PGR is as close to official rankings as we can get and Leiter does not strictly order the MA programs, or discuss funding.

It sounds like you are primarily interested in just going to graduate school in Philosophy, and you haven't mentioned any particular areas of interest. I would counsel you to develop a general idea of what you would like to study, not only because programs expect to hear about this in your personal statements, but also because you want to target your applications to programs strong in your area. The PGR lists PhD programs by strength in certain areas, but this is only the top 50 PhD programs in the United States. Given that many of these programs receive 300+ applications per year and only open 5-8 slots, dedicating some time to researching highly-regarded MA or even PhD programs that may not be ranked but have good placement is a good idea. I have heard that it is not always a good idea to enter an MA program at a top-ranked school (i.e. top 15 or 20) because more energy, time, and resources are spent on the PhD students. I have no way of confirming if this is true or not.

Again though, what do your professors think of your desire to enter graduate programs? They can point you in the direction of faculty who might work in your area of interest, or good programs you might not know about otherwise. If you have a good relationship with them then they should also be able to tell you how strong a candidate you will be and whether you should focus on MA programs or PhD programs, etc. Input from your professors is invaluable in this process.

Edited March 1, 2012 by UnbearableNausea

[theblues]

Georgia State's MA program provides full funding for all of its students and has a great placement record, but it is rare in that funding aspect. Check out the placement records for the programs you're looking to, I'm in a similar boat as you (3.8 and rising philosophy GPA, but 3.4 overall due to Math/Science courses) and also looking for MA programs. A lot of other programs talk about granting tuition remission and funding on a competitive basis, so its worth applying and seeing what you get. I have heard that GRE scores are critical for positive funding decisions because while committee members may not care much about GRE as an indicator, it looks good on the books for school administration.