Problem on my hands (philosophy)

[LawrencevonBuskirk]

I have a fully funded Ph.D offer from U Kentucky, and I'm 4th on the waitlist of 9 for the same at U Oregon. Yesterday I was informed that I've been accepted to The New School For Social Research with a %50 tuition waiver.

 

The New School was a total "long shot" school for me; it was pretty much the "longest shot." It's one of the few primarily continental schools that actually made Leiter's list (not that this list matters much to me). But now I'm faced with the decision of either taking an only partially funded offer in an expensive city from a prestigious university or taking the full-ride from a lesser known school. Not that Kentucky is bad by any stretch, but it's no New School.

 

If I end up getting an offer from Oregon, I will most likely go there without losing any sleep over The New School. But going to Kentucky over NS, even if the former is funded, will be a tough decision.

 

A friend in New York says that he can get me a job. But such things aren't definite or guaranteed.

 

Any thoughts, advice, information?

 

My specific interests: social and political philosophy, Marx and 20th century Marxism (esp. Frankfurt School Critical Theory), Arendt, "existentialism," Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, the French scene from 1940-1960 (i.e. Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Beauvoir, and Camus), philosophy of language, meta-ethics.

 

[selecttext]

considering that an advanced degree in philosophy is unlikely to drastically improve your lifetime earnings, it would probably be wise not to in debt yourself. but if your objective is some kind of poncy position afterwards then maybe it's worth going to new york.