Shooting for the Stars?

[philstudent1991]

The average PGR rank of schools you are applying to? I know there are unranked schools, MAs, and lingering questions about the reputation of the PGR. This ignores such issues. This is just a fun poll to observe the applicant pool. 

[philstudent1992]

No offense intended, but isn't this a bit facile? I'm not sure that the average PGR rank of an applicant really tells you much. As you say, there are plenty of worries about the legitimacy of the PGR (see, e.g., this excellent recently published piece http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/meta.12161/abstract ), and even if the PGR is legitimate, surely condensing the overall quality of the schools an applicant is applying to to literally one number seems overly reductive. IMHO you'd get much better information asking how many schools total, or what people's areas of interest are, etc.

[philstudent1991]

1 hour ago, philstudent420 said:

No offense intended, but isn't this a bit facile? I'm not sure that the average PGR rank of an applicant really tells you much. As you say, there are plenty of worries about the legitimacy of the PGR (see, e.g., this excellent recently published piece http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/meta.12161/abstract ), and even if the PGR is legitimate, surely condensing the overall quality of the schools an applicant is applying to to literally one number seems overly reductive. IMHO you'd get much better information asking how many schools total, or what people's areas of interest are, etc.

Certainly. I'm not looking for journal quality data here. Just for fun. If nothing else, it shows how highly the average applicant thinks of herself

[pecado]

You should have put an option that said "Not listed in the PGR", because some of us are applying in other universities, outside the USA, that are not ranked there.

Also, for a more world perspective, perhaps using the QS world rankings in philosophy might be of better utility.

I am sorry, I had to say it.

Nonetheless, this poll is answerable for those applying only at USA's schools, and it will actually let you know exactly that: what is the ranking of most of the USA's universities a person from here is applying to.

I dare to guess that the most voted result will be 10-20, for I suspect these are the schools that have those extreme admission ratios of 2%... Although we may find a surprise and discover that this is the case at the other universities, or something more surprising.

[SamStone]

[gughok]

20 hours ago, philstudent1991 said:

If nothing else, it shows how highly the average applicant thinks of herself

Perhaps not even that; in my case it shows how concerned I am about the job market. I know it's practically impossible to get placement and just as a personal decision I'm not willing to spend five or six years at a graduate program if I don't have a better-than-coin-flip chance of landing an enjoyable (re: research) TT position shortly afterward. I love philosophy, but if the only departments I'm good enough to get into would have me likely not at a research position say, three years out of graduation, then I'd rather do something else and keep philosophy as a mistress on the side. It hurts to think about it that way but as a personal life decision, all things considered, I have a hard time justifying anything else.

My list also indicates my willingness to take a year off: I only want to go straight into grad school if it's an exceptionally prestigious program. Otherwise I'd be more than happy to spend a year doing other things and then apply more broadly next season.

[thatsjustsemantics]

6 hours ago, gughok said:

Perhaps not even that; in my case it shows how concerned I am about the job market. I know it's practically impossible to get placement and just as a personal decision I'm not willing to spend five or six years at a graduate program if I don't have a better-than-coin-flip chance of landing an enjoyable (re: research) TT position shortly afterward. I love philosophy, but if the only departments I'm good enough to get into would have me likely not at a research position say, three years out of graduation, then I'd rather do something else and keep philosophy as a mistress on the side. It hurts to think about it that way but as a personal life decision, all things considered, I have a hard time justifying anything else.

My list also indicates my willingness to take a year off: I only want to go straight into grad school if it's an exceptionally prestigious program. Otherwise I'd be more than happy to spend a year doing other things and then apply more broadly next season.

I agree with gughok's sentiment. I dropped Syracuse, for example, because although I would join a PhD program for the sake of continuing my philosophical learning, I at least wanted a chance at getting a job at a liberal arts college or a university that is not solely for profit, etc.