2013 Applicants (Philosophy)

[hasbeen]

edited to add: As an example of how totally arbitrary the whole thing is, a professor of mine actually told me that a LOR from an eminent philosopher, who does continental, would actually hurt my chances at the schools to which I'm applying (mostly analytic--have some of those letters too)! This guy is someone I became close with in my early undergrad career, when I was still exploring my AOIs. I never thought a laudatory letter from a philosopher could HURT my chances!

 

Just another example of the stupidity that is the analytic-continental divide.  For too many, it can't just be, "Oh, well we're doing different projects."  A value judgment has to be added.  

 

*sigh*

[intersectional]

An excellent post, highly relevant for philosophers:

Academic assholes and the circle of niceness http://thesiswhisperer.com/2013/02/13/academic-assholes/

[Red Bull]

Just got an admissions decisions notification from UC Santa Barbara. I was supremely excited because I hadn't seen any acceptances or rejections pop up for that school yet. Rejected. /sigh. It's hard to keep hanging in there with two firm rejections, two very likely rejections, and two unknown. 

Edited February 19, 2013 by Red Bull

[imtryinghere]

Can anyone here claim the Pittsburgh waitlist? I saw you were international: could you say where you're from? What was your writing sample on?

That was me! Like you, I'm from Canada, and my writing sample was on property dualism. My areas of interest are political philosophy and philosophy of mind. Brings me to 0a/2w/2r (one of the rejections is implied from UC Berkeley) out of 14.

[superhamdi]

Just got shut down by Carnegie-Mellon. Looks like I'm not alone. What's the deal with Santa Barbara? Seems that just a few rejections went out? Anybody else?

 

Hasbeen- totally agreed. I thought these days depts were supposed to be more pluralistic... I guess so many of the adcom members are 100s of years old so they harbor antiquated ideas. At least I can hope.

[anon530]

Just got shut down by Carnegie-Mellon. Looks like I'm not alone. What's the deal with Santa Barbara? Seems that just a few rejections went out? Anybody else?

 

Hasbeen- totally agreed. I thought these days depts were supposed to be more pluralistic... I guess so many of the adcom members are 100s of years old so they harbor antiquated ideas. At least I can hope.

 

antiquated indeed. most of what i find exciting in philosophy at the moment resists any classification according to the categories analytic/continental. 

[ἀκρατής]

"Solicited email" means that this person asked a member of the committee and then got an answer by email, right?

Does the person who got rejected by the University of Miami want to share some details? Is everyone rejected who hasn't gotten an acceptance notice yet?

 

By the way, I am another UC Santa Barbara reject. Got an email two hours ago to check the website...

[superhamdi]

intersectional-

 

Illuminating article! I know it's about peer perception of academics, but that behavior usually translates to how they treat their students as well. Elitist jerks who choose favorites in classes vs. genuinely nice professors who encourage all of their students (but also invest in the most interested ones). 

 

isaka- yes that's what solicited means. Thanks for chiming in about UCSB also.

Edited February 19, 2013 by superhamdi

[incontradiction]

"Solicited email" means that this person asked a member of the committee and then got an answer by email, right?

Does the person who got rejected by the University of Miami want to share some details? Is everyone rejected who hasn't gotten an acceptance notice yet?

 

By the way, I am another UC Santa Barbara reject. Got an email two hours ago to check the website...

I'm the one who got rejected by Miami. I emailed the department, as I thought I had a good shot at the school (my advisor got his PhD there, plus I've met some of the department at talks and such). I just asked when people could expect rejections and acceptances, and Peter Lewis broke the news to me.

Re: UCSB. Looks like they reject before they accept (at least some years). I've got my fingers crossed. I've been rejected from the first two schools I've heard from.

 

EDIT: I should note that Lewis told me Miami had less than a 10% admissions rate.

Edited February 19, 2013 by incontradiction

[hasbeen]

I was the recent Loyola-Chicago rejection.  I had been in contact with Victoria Wike the past couple days, so she emailed me to let me know before my fiancee finalizes her match list.  Everyone else who has been rejected should receive the official letter within the next few days.  As it stands:

 

Waitlisted:  UK

Rejected:  Northwestern, WashU, DePaul, Loyola-Chicago

Pending:  SLU, Duquesne

 

If this doesn't work, I'll do the larger application process after my fiancee finishes residency in three years.  I'm hoping to come off that UK waitlist, though, as I really like the program.  We'll see, I guess.  *crosses fingers*

[CanadianStudent84]

That was me! Like you, I'm from Canada, and my writing sample was on property dualism. My areas of interest are political philosophy and philosophy of mind. Brings me to 0a/2w/2r (one of the rejections is implied from UC Berkeley) out of 14.

Thank you for your response, and congratulations (hopefully that turns into an acceptance soon)! I really hope some such letter will arrive in my mail!

[incontradiction]

Could people who got rejected by UCSB clarify if it was a form email or a personal one?

I only ask because, if it was a form letter, there is a likelihood they were all sent at once. If that's the case, I've got some hope of being accepted. If they're personal rejections, it could just be a matter of time.

And yes, I'll admit I'm trying to draw inferences from terrible data. But this is a stressful time for all of us, so I'll take any sliver of consolation I can get.

Edited February 19, 2013 by incontradiction

[iamtheother]

Anyone going to claim the Binghamton acceptance and or have any insight about when to hear, etc.?

[superhamdi]

I hear ya contradiction.

 

On another note,

 

If you were accepted to a good MA program (listed on the MA section of the Leiter report) and a low-ranked PhD program (40-50), which would you choose? Obviously the idea is that you might get accepted to a better PhD program afterwards.

 

I know some people are going to be in this boat so I figured I'd ask. 

[microflora]

Just got accepted (with scholarship) to one of the canadian MAs characterized as 'thriving' on the philo gourmet. So far I'm only 1a/0r/0w and I still have to hear back from 5 other canadian MAs.

[schoneschein]

Hi All,

 

I've been watching this forum for awhile - It's been a big help, but I didn't have much to share until now. I'll offer some information about myself, and then I'll ask a question. 

 

I have an MA from an off-the-map state university. My interests are social philosophy, 19th c., especially Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Hegel somewhat, also Heidegger, critical theory, aesthetics, and comparative philosophy. 

I finished my MA in 2011 and have been an adjunct since, teaching courses for the honors program and the philosophy department at the same university from which I received my MA. I've taught a broad ranges of courses (I'm not sure that this helps my applications). 

 

My grad GPA is 3.97. 

 

I applied to: Boston U, DePaul, Duquesne, Fordham, Hawaii, Loyola, Oregon, Stony Brook, Temple, Villanova. 

 

I have explicit rejections from DePaul, Loyola, and Oregon, and an implied rejection from Stony Brook. 

 

I now have one acceptance: Temple. 

 

Can anyone claim the other listed Temple acceptances? Does anyone know much about their admissions process? There seems to be a surprising acceptance to rejection ratio on the survey, and few offers with funding. Also, I notice that though there are a number of you applying to many of the same programs that I am applying to, no one who is posting in this forum has mentioned Temple. What's up?

[lovephil]

Just got accepted (with scholarship) to one of the canadian MAs characterized as 'thriving' on the philo gourmet. So far I'm only 1a/0r/0w and I still have to hear back from 5 other canadian MAs.

I completed my MA at one of those "thriving" Canadian MA schools and it was the best decision I ever made. I'd be happy to offer my insights and advice on this if you have questions!

[philosophia3]

Hi All,

I've been watching this forum for awhile - It's been a big help, but I didn't have much to share until now. I'll offer some information about myself, and then I'll ask a question.

I have an MA from an off-the-map state university. My interests are social philosophy, 19th c., especially Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Hegel somewhat, also Heidegger, critical theory, aesthetics, and comparative philosophy.

I finished my MA in 2011 and have been an adjunct since, teaching courses for the honors program and the philosophy department at the same university from which I received my MA. I've taught a broad ranges of courses (I'm not sure that this helps my applications).

My grad GPA is 3.97.

I applied to: Boston U, DePaul, Duquesne, Fordham, Hawaii, Loyola, Oregon, Stony Brook, Temple, Villanova.

I have explicit rejections from DePaul, Loyola, and Oregon, and an implied rejection from Stony Brook.

I now have one acceptance: Temple.

Can anyone claim the other listed Temple acceptances? Does anyone know much about their admissions process? There seems to be a surprising acceptance to rejection ratio on the survey, and few offers with funding. Also, I notice that though there are a number of you applying to many of the same programs that I am applying to, no one who is posting in this forum has mentioned Temple. What's up?

I applied to Temple. I haven't heard anything from them yet. It seems as if they have sent a few acceptances, so I'm goin to take that as an implicit rejection. Congrats on your acceptance! Great program for aesthetics.

[schoneschein]

Hi philosophia3,

 

Yes - if I were to enter Temple, I would take it as an opportunity to get much more into aesthetics!

 

But I'm not going to get my hopes up too much until I hear about funding.

[incontradiction]

I hear ya contradiction.

 

On another note,

 

If you were accepted to a good MA program (listed on the MA section of the Leiter report) and a low-ranked PhD program (40-50), which would you choose? Obviously the idea is that you might get accepted to a better PhD program afterwards.

 

I know some people are going to be in this boat so I figured I'd ask. 

There's a decent chance I'd do the MA. In my case, I'd do the MA at Brandeis over a place like BU. BU is a good program, but Brandeis places at a higher level. 

MA programs can be tricky. My undergraduate institution has a Leiter-mentioned MA program, and the placement record of the MA students is decidedly mixed. Some don't get in at all. 

Now, I really, really like the program at UCSB. Even though they rank at 40, I'd probably go to UCSB. I have near identical interests with the faculty, and the funding seems nice. 

Honestly, right now all I'm thinking about is getting even one acceptance. I'd probably kill for one (ethics be damned!).

[ἀκρατής]

I'm the one who got rejected by Miami. I emailed the department, as I thought I had a good shot at the school (my advisor got his PhD there, plus I've met some of the department at talks and such). I just asked when people could expect rejections and acceptances, and Peter Lewis broke the news to me.

Re: UCSB. Looks like they reject before they accept (at least some years). I've got my fingers crossed. I've been rejected from the first two schools I've heard from.

 

EDIT: I should note that Lewis told me Miami had less than a 10% admissions rate.

 

Thanks! Then I expect a rejection from Miami, too. 10% is bad, but better than the 4% of UChicago this year. I knew it will be bad, but I didn't know it was HELL...

And to your UCSB question: yes, it was an automatic email, so your chances are intact! Good luck!

[incontradiction]

Thanks! Then I expect a rejection from Miami, too. 10% is bad, but better than the 4% of UChicago this year. I knew it will be bad, but I didn't know it was HELL...

And to your UCSB question: yes, it was an automatic email, so your chances are intact! Good luck!

I hated being the one to email (I emailed Duke as well, which is how I found out about my rejection), but the stress and anxiety have really been getting to me during this process. Uncertainty is not my friend.

[LawrencevonBuskirk]

I applied to: Boston U, DePaul, Duquesne, Fordham, Hawaii, Loyola, Oregon, Stony Brook, Temple, Villanova. 

 

I have explicit rejections from DePaul, Loyola, and Oregon, and an implied rejection from Stony Brook. 

 

Were your DePaul and Loyola rejections by mail? If so, could you say when you received the letters and where you are in the country? 

 

I ask because I'm very near Chicago in St. Louis but have not received letters from either school (nor offers of acceptance). 

[schoneschein]

Were your DePaul and Loyola rejections by mail? If so, could you say when you received the letters and where you are in the country? 

 

I ask because I'm very near Chicago in St. Louis but have not received letters from either school (nor offers of acceptance). 

 

I'm in the southeast, and I received both letters by mail yesterday. 

 

Maybe there is reason for you to have hope? good luck!

[LawrencevonBuskirk]

I'm in the southeast, and I received both letters by mail yesterday. 

 

Maybe there is reason for you to have hope? good luck!

 

I spoke too soon about DePaul, haha. It was sent to my permanent address.

 

Still nothing from Loyola, however!