GSU

[bar_scene_gambler]

Anyone other than Philstudent and I going to GSU? Just curious? There have been a few acceptances reported and I don't know if there are some lurkers out there who are also attending or not.

[PhilApplicant]

Hi, 

 

I'll be attending GSU as well. Congratulations on your acceptance!

[smg]

I will be applying for the fall of 2015.  Any tips?  Suggestions? 

[bar_scene_gambler]

I will be applying for the fall of 2015.  Any tips?  Suggestions? 

 

 

Pretty much the stuff that everyone's been posting in the other threads on this forum. Do well on your GRE's, work on your writing sample, and try to tailor your personal statement to the department's interests, though, in this case it might not be as important given that GSU's program revolves around training people to be good grad students/PhD applicants/educators, and as such some students here have interests which don't explicitly coincide with the interests of faculty here. I'd just read the hints in the "here's what we learned" thread that's been pinned. When it gets closer to application season, I'll probably start watching this forum a bit closer, trying to give advice and such.

[PhilApplicant]

I will be applying for the fall of 2015.  Any tips?  Suggestions? 

 

As bar_scene_gambler said in her/his post, do take a look at various threads on this forum related to details about preparing an application. Unfortunately, there are too many contingencies at play in graduate philosophy admissions to ever guarantee an applicant's acceptance. I will, however, make the argument that having interests in areas of a department's strength matters a whole lot to the committee reviewing your application and that the content of your writing sample and statement of purpose will demonstrate this the best. (And this doesn't mean that your views must accord with those faculty in the departments you're applying to!) For one thing, demonstrating compatibility with a department is likely to place you at an advantage over an otherwise equally qualified applicant who doesn't display such compatibility, or does so to a lesser extent. This is especially true for those departments - such as GSU - that strongly advertise their principle areas of research. Your writing sample of course must speak to your philosophical ability, yes, but in some cases it's not sufficient. If you're interested in the philosophy of X and department Y specializes in X, then why not show Y that you're a good (or promising) philosopher of X? Important parts of your file (e.g. your WS, letters, and SOP) should make it obvious to a committee that you have good reasons for applying to their program - that you're really into what they're doing.

 

Best of luck!