Decision Thread

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

I thought it would be useful to start a separate thread in which we discuss decisions, i.e. what offer we intend to accept and why. Also, for seeking advice and support during the hard deliberations ahead. It might be a bit early in the season, but I imagine this thread could become increasingly helpful as April 15th approaches. 


I'll start by saying that I only have one offer so far, one waitlist (unpromising), and haven't heard back from the other 10 places. If I get rejected everywhere else, then my decision will be made for me. 

Placement record is the most important factor in my decision, so I might end up taking my current offer even if I get accepted into some of the higher ranked programs. What factors are people using to pick between offers?

[sleepingsusurrus]

@Schopenhauerfanboy Since you use the phrase the "decision will be made for me," I'm curious how you (and anyone else) feels about that? I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but the possibility of the decision basically being made for me makes me nervous

[goss]

21 minutes ago, sleepingsusurrus said:

Since you use the phrase the "decision will be made for me," I'm curious how you (and anyone else) feels about that? I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but the possibility of the decision basically being made for me makes me nervous

I can't speak for Schop., but at least for me I wouldn't feel nervous. If I did not plan on attending to the school then I would not have applied there. Maybe that's why my list of schools I applied to is shorter than others (perhaps mistakenly).

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

5 hours ago, sleepingsusurrus said:

@Schopenhauerfanboy Since you use the phrase the "decision will be made for me," I'm curious how you (and anyone else) feels about that? I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but the possibility of the decision basically being made for me makes me nervous

Maybe there's a feeling of fatalism involved in there being no other options, haha. But, in line with @goss, I only applied to programs at which I'd actually want to study. 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Schopenhauerfanboy

[sleepingsusurrus]

@Schopenhauerfanboy Yes, of course, I only applied to those departments I thought would be a good fit for me. My problems are now 1) coming to terms with where that department is located and 2) what if the fact they admitted me is a fluke?! Though I do not want to doubt an adcom *Praise be to Adcoms*

Edited February 17, 2017 by sleepingsusurrus

[Nichi]

I imagine visit days are going to be one of the biggest factors in my decision. I've already been accepted into a very good¹ school for one of my AOI. And looking at what they're doing over there, so long as my interests don't radically change, it'd be a nice place to be for 5-6 years. I haven't dug into placement yet, nor the effects of specializing basically as soon as I start. I've yet to hear back from anywhere with a substantially higher overall ranking², but if I do, that will be another axis to consider.

 

¹ top-ranked for the specialty
² obligatory note about how I'm not a big fan of rankings but acknowledge their importance, both for future considerations and that they probably did something to be as such. That circles back to the fit problem, exacerbated by degrees of uncertainty about what I will come to want to do in the coming years. 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Nichi
clarifying

[alaskanbullworm]

3 hours ago, Nichi said:

I imagine visit days are going to be one of the biggest factors in my decision. I've already been accepted into a very good¹ school for one of my AOI. And looking at what they're doing over there, so long as my interests don't radically change, it'd be a nice place to be for 5-6 years. I haven't dug into placement yet, nor the effects of specializing basically as soon as I start. I've yet to hear back from anywhere with a substantially higher overall ranking², but if I do, that will be another axis to consider.

 

¹ top-ranked for the specialty
² obligatory note about how I'm not a big fan of rankings but acknowledge their importance, both for future considerations and that they probably did something to be as such. That circles back to the fit problem, exacerbated by degrees of uncertainty about what I will come to want to do in the coming years. 

Ditto on the visit days. Right now I am just completely confused on what to decide, and I still have many schools to hear back from. I hope after visiting it will become clear to me... I am of course very, very thankful and excited to have this problem, but it is still stressful... Trying to place value on location, AOI, funding, etc etc.

[matchamatcha]

My decision will probably be made for me, but Calgary was probably my 4th or 5th choice, so I certainly won't be sad.  I don't really care if I end up in a less desired academic position (college, BA only institution), but placement data is still pretty important.  I just want to continue doing academics, and I didn't apply anywhere I'm not willing to go.

[matchamatcha]

Not sure why I can't edit my eariler post in this thread, but obviously, I spoke too soon.  I'll actually have a decision to make, so the anxiety won't be over anytime soon.

 

Why can I edit this one but not the last one?  Does it have something to do with the upvotes?

Edited February 18, 2017 by matchamatcha

[Dialectica]

2 minutes ago, matchamatcha said:

Not sure why I can't edit my eariler post in this thread, but obviously, I spoke too soon.  I'll actually have a decision to make, so the anxiety won't be over anytime soon.

 

Why can I edit this one but not the last one?  Does it have something to do with the upvotes?

I thought it had something to do with how much time passes after you've posted. But I'm not sure. 

[Nichi]

10 hours ago, Nichi said:

I've yet to hear back from anywhere with a substantially higher overall ranking², but if I do, that will be another axis to consider.

Hey everyone, guess what just happened!

 

Edit: This is probably the worst thing to complain about.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Nichi
Realizing why what I posted is silly

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

How's everyone doing with their deliberations? 

I will accept the offer from Western unless I get into: Toronto, McGill, Boston U, Syracuse, Catholic U, or St. Louis. Haven't heard back from ANY of those schools though and it's almost March. Assuming that I was either waitlisted or (more likely) rejected from Syracuse though, since some of their offers have been floating around for awhile now. 

[Witsclaw]

1 minute ago, Schopenhauerfanboy said:

How's everyone doing with their deliberations? 

This about sums it up:

In all seriousness though, with 2 waitlist offers, 9 schools yet to hear back from, and figuring out schools visits, this is rough.

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

2 minutes ago, Witsclaw said:

This about sums it up:

In all seriousness though, with 2 waitlist offers, 9 schools yet to hear back from, and figuring out schools visits, this is rough.

Especially given the quality of the schools at which you've been waitlisted - can't imagine the level of anticipation.  

[Nichi]

My professor to me yesterday: "You've been accepted to Florida State which has Al Mele and UC Riverside which has John Martin Fischer. How will you decide?"

 

 

[Zelda_Fitz]

Hi all, if anyone has any thoughts about the philosophy programs at BC or Villanova it would be very helpful. Both seem like great places to do 20th-century work. 

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

On 2/26/2017 at 3:37 PM, Zelda_Fitz said:

Hi all, if anyone has any thoughts about the philosophy programs at BC or Villanova it would be very helpful. Both seem like great places to do 20th-century work. 

Boston College probably has been name recognition, but Villanova has an exceptional program for preparing their students to teach. To my understanding, the have courses on pedagogy built into the program, and give students ample opportunity to teach their own courses. 

[Nichi]

All of the schools I have applied to have sent out at least one wave of acceptances. I guess now is a good time to give up hope on them and focus on the four with (semi-)positive responses? (Though I won't be able to make any decisions until I visit at least two of them to be able to actually compare them. Mizzou next weekend, FSU three weeks later, and then UCR two days later. ND is in late March....hopefully if I get off the waitlist it's before that. Though I live within driving distance, so another visit wouldn't be impossible if they'd allow.)

[Coconuts&Chloroform]

I'm finding the decision between WashU (PNP) and Rutgers much harder than I thought it would be. Rutgers obviously has an excellent program, and made me a very generous offer, but I have an unshakeable suspicion that having something of a more ostensible background in the empirical realms of cognitive science - like what is offered at WashU's PNP program - might make me more attractive to future hiring committees than even a degree from a program as well-ranked as Rutgers. Am I crazy to even consider this, considering Rutgers' overwhelming advantage over WashU in PGR rankings?

[Glasperlenspieler]

On 3/5/2017 at 7:05 PM, Coconuts&Chloroform said:

I'm finding the decision between WashU (PNP) and Rutgers much harder than I thought it would be. Rutgers obviously has an excellent program, and made me a very generous offer, but I have an unshakeable suspicion that having something of a more ostensible background in the empirical realms of cognitive science - like what is offered at Wash U's PNP program - might make me more attractive to future hiring committees than even a degree from a program as well-ranked as Rutgers. Am I crazy to even consider this, considering Rutgers' overwhelming advantage over Wash U in PGR rankings?

While I could understand picking a lower ranked program over a higher ranked program, I'd take a very close, hard look at these two lists before you do:

WUSTL: https://philosophy.artsci.wustl.edu/graduate/placement/academic-placement-record

Rutgers: http://philosophy.rutgers.edu/placement

[Coconuts&Chloroform]

38 minutes ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

While I could understand picking a lower ranked program over a higher ranked program, I'd take a very close, hard look at these two lists before you do:

WUSTL: https://philosophy.artsci.wustl.edu/graduate/placement/academic-placement-record

Rutgers: http://philosophy.rutgers.edu/placement

This is just the kind of good sense I feared. But yeah, this speaks for itself.

[VeiledByIgnorance]

Hi all,

I usually just lurk in the forum, but I have a tough decision to start weighing, and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their thoughts on the situation. Right now I am split between a BPhil at Oxford and a PhD program in the US, which is T15 overall and ranks very highly in my AOI. Oxford seems to offer the strongest overall placement (from what they report), but the PhD is not bad either, especially at placing people in my AOI. My biggest concern is what I've heard about funding at Oxford (whereas the PhD is funded). What are your all thoughts on this? 

[sleepingsusurrus]

4 hours ago, VeiledByIgnorance said:

Hi all,

I usually just lurk in the forum, but I have a tough decision to start weighing, and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their thoughts on the situation. Right now I am split between a BPhil at Oxford and a PhD program in the US, which is T15 overall and ranks very highly in my AOI. Oxford seems to offer the strongest overall placement (from what they report), but the PhD is not bad either, especially at placing people in my AOI. My biggest concern is what I've heard about funding at Oxford (whereas the PhD is funded). What are your all thoughts on this? 

 

I'm not sure if location is a factor for you, but I would take the funded offer point blank. 

[HarlanTheTechnician]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post. I have been sifting through these forums for the past couple weeks. I am currently a MA student at a program that has a decent placement record. My primary interests are, broadly, Political Philosophy, Epistemology and Africana Philosophy.

I applied to 12 schools this season: 2 acceptances (UVA and Rutgers), 1 waitlist (Rice), and 4 definitive rejections (Georgetown, MIT, WashU, Brown) with the rest expected rejections. I have already contacted Rice that I would not be attending their program, and that they should free up the waitlist spot. So, my decision is between UVA and Rutgers. (I will make a definitive decision after my visits to both schools.) But the distinction of Rutgers' faculty, the generous funding and the alignment of my interests makes it hard to turn down. I am really in shock that I got in. Thoughts or useful anecdotes?

[perpetuavix]

On 3/5/2017 at 5:05 PM, Coconuts&Chloroform said:

I'm finding the decision between Wash U (PNP) and Rutgers much harder than I thought it would be. Rutgers obviously has an excellent program, and made me a very generous offer, but I have an unshakeable suspicion that having something of a more ostensible background in the empirical realms of cognitive science - like what is offered at Wash U's PNP program - might make me more attractive to future hiring committees than even a degree from a program as well-ranked as Rutgers. Am I crazy to even consider this, considering Rutgers' overwhelming advantage over Wash U in PGR rankings?

Placement matters, and it matters a lot, but it's not the only thing that matters. Visit, if you can. That's probably the best way to get some sense of whether or not either is a program where you can succeed. Placement only matters if you actually graduate, and there's a lot of attrition in PhD programs. Here's a source saying that the median rate of completion within eight years for philosophy PhD programs is about 40% (meaning 60% of students don't finish or take longer than eight years). I choose a much lower ranked school (top 50 but barely) over a higher one (top 15) because it had a better community and a lot more support, which I found out by visiting. It also helped that the 'lower ranked' school had the better climate (which should matter to you, even if you aren't a woman or POC) and good placement for my AOS/intended supervisor. I also don't put that much stock in PGR, which made it a lot easier to rely on my own impressions of the programs and information I gathered. Deciding between programs isn't easy, and I don't think it can be boiled down to just looking at the placement pages, even if placement is an important factor.