Can I get into the school I want?

[ave1125]

I am currently an undergraduate in Berklee College of Music and I want to see what my chances are at getting into a good Master's Program in Philosophy -- Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, UCSB, UVA, Boston College, and so on.

I acquired a degree in French Literature just a year ago from Randolph College. I had many problems earlier in college. I drank a lot and took a copious amount of drugs, which made my grades suffer. But, none hit me harder than my arrest. During my sophomore year, my roommate called the cops on me for having marijuana; consequently, I was arrested. Then, my immature-self sent an angry text message along the lines of "I want to punch you in the face, but that's not what we need right now. We need to talk." This prompted my roommate to ask the school for a restraining order and this restraining order did not allow me to be in the same class with him -- he was a Philosophy major.

Losing my major and working through my arrest changed me. I had to sober up and go through legal procedures; I had to confront my demons and work to reclaim my academic passions. I worked obsessively to make up for losing my major by taking online classes, participating in online discussions, and reading more books on Philosophy than all of the Philosophy major's in my school. I also stopped taking drugs and brought my grades up. However, my GPA still ended up as a 2.88.

I am currently pursuing a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music. My grades are excellent here -- 3.7 which I plan to raise to 3.8. After completing my degree in Berklee, I plan to take Philosophy classes from the colleges nearby -- Harvard, Boston College, BU, MIT, or Northeastern -- to stay sharp and strengthen my resume. I also plan to score high on the GRE.

So what do you think are my chances? Do I have a chance to reclaim my lost academic passion?

[Duns Eith]

Do you think you have/can-get three solid letter writers from tenured faculty who can vouch for your positive academic trajectory? Do you think your writing sample can be a high enough caliber to compete against the top philosophy majors? If you can say "Yes" to both, there are some programs that will overlook a GPA under 3.0, otherwise you may be SOL. I wouldn't rely on the GRE.

[edit: sorry to be such a downer!]

Edited June 19, 2016 by Turretin

[Duns Eith]

Sorry I didn't read your initial statement as thoroughly. You want to get into a MA program? I am surprised you mentioned "Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, UCSB, UVA, Boston College, and so on." If you apply to those, you'd want to apply to the PhD. If you want to get a MA first, go for a school that specializes in their terminal MA, like Brandeis, GSU, NIU, UW-Milwaukee, and so on.

http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/maprog.asp I myself am at one of the MA's listed here (WMU)

[bookofletters]

Boston College has a decent MA program and if you have good letters they might take a chance. Your letters and writing sample will be most important. You can explain your GPA in your statement of purpose (briefly) if you think it's necessary.

[philstudent1991]

Yes, I agree that the terminal MA is the way to go. Strong PhDs rarely admit anyone to their MA programs, and someone with your background is a better fit for an MA. But even so, you will need some philosophy coursework on your transcript. Auditing classes in Boston would be a great way to do this.