Feedback on profile/advice on applications

[isostheneia]

Hi folks,

 

I was wondering if you had any feedback on my profile as an applicant to philosophy grad schools. I'll be a senior in the fall, and plan on applying the fall after I graduate for 2015 matriculation.

 

Undergrad school: top 10 US News, top 20 PGR - analytic department with larger than usual continental emphasis

 

GPA: 3.66, 3.80 in philosophy

 

GRE: haven't taken, but I did well on the SAT, so I'm not too concerned

 

Writing sample: will be writing a senior thesis on McDowell and Hegel

 

3 undergraduate conference presentations - 2 epistemology (McDowell and Williamson) and 1 ethics (Hacking and Foucault)

 

Co-founding an undergraduate philosophy journal at my university

 

Letters of rec: will likely be getting a few of the more well-known people at my department to write my letters, and they seem to have a relatively high opinion of me as of now

 

Coursework: will be taking some grad courses and advanced undergrad/grad courses next year, as of now:

 

History of Phil - Modern and Kant + 19th century Germany

Intermediate Logic

Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche

Descartes's Meditations

Conceptual Change, Rationalism, and Relativity (Kuhn, Davidson, Wittgenstein, Cavell)

Wonder, Magic, and Skepticism (Hume and Wittgenstein)

Epistemology and the Concept of Mind (Davidson, Sellars, Brandom, McDowell, Williamson)

Intro to Phil of Mind

History of Aesthetics

Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception

Intro to Heidegger

Foucault's History of Sexuality

 

Areas of interest: Kant and post-Kantian German philosophy, epistemology (tied to secondary interests in phil of mind and language), philosophy of film (though finding a department that does phil of film in addition to my other interests well is more a hope than an expectation)

 

I'm planning on applying to a lot of high ranked (according to PGR) grad schools, but I'm not sure of my chances and would love some feedback. It's my impression that there's nothing in my application that would necessarily disqualify me at top schools, but that most top departments are a long shot for anybody. I'm also looking for departments that aren't too exclusively analytic or continental - I'd like some integration. One of my main interests is appropriations of Kant and Hegel for contemporary purposes, especially in epistemology. So if you have any recommendations for departments I should look at, I'd love to hear. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[bakedalaska]

Go to pittsburgh.

[superhamdi]

Your dossier looks strong. Going to a top school is a sizeable factor in your favor. Schools in the top20 care about that. Your GPA is good (in context), but note that doing well on the SAT does not correlate to GRE score. I did very well on SAT, very average on GRE. GRE is a different ball game, it's the big leagues. It's the difference between undergrad and grad school...Remember you'll have a 4 year gap since the last time you took a standardized test. So study a little bit every day for a few months before and be sure to take full-length timed (timing is more of an issue than the difficulty of the questions, for me anyway). Especially since you're planning so far ahead. I made the mistake of taking mine relatively on the fly because that's how I did my SAT. It would be a shame for a strong dossier to be marred by a low score.

 

My impression is that undergraduate journals/presentations don't count for much. But it might mean something that you founded one. Upper division and especially graduate courses (esp @ a T20) do carry weight.

 

I won't speak to your AOIs but you can consult the Philosophical Gourmet for that. They have specialty rankings. Also, a professor at UCR runs a blog with a very helpful manual on grad apps.

 

Good luck!

 

[bar_scene_gambler]

Hey, isostheneia, would you mind if I also jumped in on this? This thread seems like a great idea, considering I'm fairly in the dark (but not totally).

EDIT: Actually, I wonder if someone should post a separate thread for this sort of thing which all Fall 2014 applicants could participate in. Thoughts?

Edited June 13, 2013 by bar_scene_gambler

[philoSophia12]

Bar_scene_gambler, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Yes, please!

[isostheneia]

Sorry it took so long for me to respond to these helpful answers...

 

To bakedalaska, Pittsburgh is definitely one of my top choices, if not my first choice. One of my concerns is that Brandom and McDowell probably won't be around for a very long time, and although Pitt certainly has a lot of other great people, losing the opportunity to work with them would be really unfortunate.

 

To superhamdi, thanks much for the advice on GRE. I plan on starting my studying for them immediately after graduation (or maybe in the last month or two before graduation), and then taking the GRE in early fall in time for grad school applications. I certainly don't want to underestimate the level of preparation I should have, so your reminder is helpful.

 

And to bar_scene_gambler, I certainly don't mind! In fact, I'll come over to the thread you created. And one other thing: I think I might know you from one of the undergrad conferences this past April, in NY. I don't want to say anything to compromise anonymity, but if you're who I think you are, you emailed me a copy of the paper you presented, a week or two after the conference. Sound like you?

 

Finally, if anyone has any more recommendations for programs I should look at, I'd love to hear them. I'm very attracted to Pitt and UChicago, mainly places that value both analytic and continental philosophy.

[Narziss]

Let me be honest with you.  Pitt is a great program if you're very self motivated in the face of constant pressure and criticism, can deal with professors being mean and snobby (not saying all of them are mean, but some are, at least at first), don't mind a good chunk of your colleagues being introverted and equally snobby, and plan to focus only on the work they do at Pitt (as I found that some of the older faculty especially have little regard for figures outside the mainstream and will look negatively and scoff toward interest in figures like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and Merleau-Ponty).

 

I'm not trying to degrade the department, as a bunch of my friends are there, but there are many things to consider when choosing your program.  My point is, if you got into Pitt, the decision wouldn't be a no-brainer.

 

U Chicago seems a bit more of an open minded department, and they also have a huge amount of people focusing on Pitt philosophy topics, so you'd probably fit right in there.

 

Same goes for Georgetown, that has Lance/Kukla on Pitt philosophy, and also a good amount of people working on continental philosophy.

 

Lastly, although Riverside doesn't have anyone primarily working on Pitt philosophy, they are an incredibly strong department for anyone looking to bridge the continental/analytic divide.

[philstudent1991]

Don't think that the GRE will be just like the SAT, it's a whole different animal that will require a good deal of preparation. And without a GRE estimate, it is impossible to estimate where you would be competitive. 80% on Verbal is essentially a minimum qualification for good programs, with 90% being perhaps closer to the average. While a good GPA, writing sample and letters can counteract a mediocre GRE, it would be foolish to hurt your application by not taking the GRE seriously

[Narziss]

I have to give an alternate perspective on the GRE. Perhaps midrange schools lean on it too much, but for the top 20, I have first handedly seen the GRE be of no importance. For example, someone with a fairly low score got into pitt, cornell, u chicago.

The GRE doesn't matter. All having a low score will do is make them scrutinize the rest of your application a little longer but ultimately make their decision on the basis of sample and letters and advanced coursework.