Your stats and profile are own point and you will certainly be in consideration for any school you apply to. That being said if you are applying to NW, Brown, Washington AND Bowdoin you may get shut out everywhere as “Philosophically” those schools are all very different and it could mean you have not really identified the right fit for you!
Look through your list, look at the list of programs on the college transitions site. Look not only at the school (LACs, Larger Research, open curriculum…) but dive a little deeper into their Philosophy programs. Some may emphasize Classics, some might have a track toward Philosophy and science. Some may be undergrad focused, some more PhD leaning.
Once you find those things that speak you. It will be much easier not only to refine your list but to demonstrate why the school is a good fit for you. When you do that your chances will be much higher than shotgunning a bunch of highly ranked schools.
Most of the schools on your list will calculate your unweighted academic GPA based on your transcript, even if your school doesn’t provide one. Would help you to put your own chances in better perspective were you to calculate the unweighted GPA.
In terms of ranking, if you go to a HS with significant numbers of applicants to those schools, the AOs will have a very clear idea of where you place in your class.
Your SCEA choice - Yale - does not admit by major.
Would suggest you submit abstracts for your published works. Don’t submit the entire paper - the AOs won’t read it. If they find the abstract interesting they will request a link to the full paper which they will then forward to a professor in the field for evaluation.
A supplemental letter of recommendation from the Phil prof you’re working with could be helpful, particularly if it were highly laudatory.
In terms of chances, from highest to lowest:
Northwestern
Bowdoin
Pomona
WashU
Brown
Williams
Yale SCEA
Would add that your list reflects a lack of sufficient research into Phil programs on your part…
NYU and Rutgers are the two top ranked Phil programs in the country. Neither appear on your list.
Not to nitpick, as those are all incredibly selective schools, but based on admit % and test scores, Northwestern is about as selective as Brown and Pomona and more selective than Wash U, Williams, and Bowdoin. Yale SCEA actually might be a slightly more likely admission than Northwestern/Brown/Pomona are in the RD round.
You have an unweighted GPA - 4 for A, 3 for B, etc.
I assume the out of 5 includes the 1 Point AP bump.
You have an exceptional portfolio - your odds are maybe slightly better than the average. So if a school has a 6% acceptance, maybe you have a 12%, etc.
It’s still a tough road.
I’m not going to get on your for your list like others. Just because you’ve chosen a major doesn’t mean you need to apply to the top ranked schools in it - and I’ve looked at several rankings and don’t see Rutgers anywhere. Frankly, I’m sure you can get a good philosophy major anywhere (Rutgers included) and I would find the right schools for you.
It is important you pick the right and not just highest ranked schools.
It’s the Times that has Rutgers near the top for Philosophy.
But yeah, really any decent school is likely to have a quality Philosophy program. Check out other aspects of the school for fit. To probe further for academic fit, check out the courses they offer within your major.
If interested, read through the College Transitions site posted above. To its credit, it includes Rutgers, as well as other top programs for philosophy.
When the top ranked programs in the field have higher admit rates than the schools the student is asking for chances, it is a good idea to look at the top ranked programs.
There aren’t many rankings of particular undergrad majors in any field, but there are rankings of the departments and Phd programs which make a fairly useful proxy for finding departments that are leading in research in a particular field. Google “Philosophy Phd rankings” and you’ll find a number of good sources all of which rank NYU and Ruttgers higher than any of the schools the OP wanted to be chanced for.
I guess my point is - find the school that fits you - and choosing based on a rank (which appears the OP did but I don’t know) is not the best way - because you have to live there, four years, day after day after day.
One can say the same about Rutgers and NYU - they might be a wonderful fit for the OP and if so, they’re great. But they may not be.
Maybe Ohio State is or Beloit College…that’s all I’m saying.
Find a school for the right reasons, not because of what’s listed in a publication.
As an opinion, rankings of PhD programs may represent a counterproductive source for the selection of an undergraduate college. With respect to large universities such as NYU and Rutgers, their appeal to undergraduates for the study of philosophy would seem to be less than that of undergraduate-focused schools such as Williams, Amherst, Hamilton and Claremont McKenna.
Lots of really great advise in this thread that tends to get forgotten by students when looking for a college. Searching for of “top” schools are a great starting point but you need to always dig behind the rankings and look at the criteria that is most meaningful to you.
On top of the focus of the program (Undergrad vs pHD), size of actual program should be considered. Do you want a school like UPenn that have about 500 undergrad Philosophy students or a more smaller focused school like Williams. Whats the goal after college? Law School? Banking? Teaching? becoming a modern Philosopher?
It probably should be stated that the author of the Daily Nous article traveled a long way from the 18 Penn students graduating in a recent year with pure philosophy “first majors” by including those with philosophy related majors (with the latter apparently mostly pursued by social science students interested in public policy). The author acknowledges this, but doesn’t appear to regard it as especially consequential to the remainder of his analysis. Further, the author didn’t normalize for enrollment. As a proportion of their student bodies, it would be safe to say that quite a few colleges graduate more pure philosophy majors than Penn.
Not to toot my school’s own horn, but I highly recommend adding Amherst College to your list. It’s another highly respected liberal arts college, basically a twin to Williams College (they are often considered the two most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country, and both located in Massachusetts with similar student bodies). Amherst also has a very strong philosophy department. This would be another high reach, but I think you would most certainly have a shot at admission given your profile!
Have you considered UChicago? They have a strong philosophy department. And if you are not worried about financial aid, they also accept ED2 applications. This helps boost your odds.
I’m assuming, based on this, that Yale didn’t work out EA. Sorry to hear that. Know that it is a crapshoot for absolutely everyone; no person, no matter how deserving they think they are, has the right to expect admission to a school like Yale. Also know that, because of this fact, your Yale decision doesn’t reflect the quality of your application, but rather the sheer amount of competitiveness (which, truth be told, likely attracted you to begin with).
I definitely agree that you need reach schools that are NOT in the <10% range (WashU is currently the only one not in that category).
Some LAC recommendations:
Middlebury College (~16%). WONDERFUL philosophy program; my brother (former philosophy major at Midd, and recent Harvard law grad) can attest to it. A tippy-top LAC with slightly less selectivity, and quite similar vibe to Bowdoin (which is considerably more selective).
Wesleyan University (~19%). All-around wonderful school. Has the open curriculum, like Brown and Amherst, which allows more flexibility to deeply pursue additional passions beyond your major, which you certainly seem to have. Very big on social/political activism. They tend to have very strong humanities majors, and I would imagine this would extend to their philosophy department.
Vassar College (~19%). Quite a similar school to Wesleyan, thus very similar reasons to apply!
Thank you for the recommendations! It sucks that Yale didn’t work out but it will be alright. I didn’t get deferred which was surprising because I thought I was strong enough to at least get a deferral. I’ll look into the schools you suggested more in depth: thank you! I will also apply to some sub 10 percent AR schools as well just to shoot my shot!
I apologize if I missed this in earlier discussion, but do you have preferences outside of (just) your major, like:
Geographic location & weather
Size of school/student population
Setting – urban, rural, suburban? Do you care if the place is covered in trees/grass or concrete?
Do you need a big sports scene, greek life, etc.?
Answers to these questions can help. There are a ton of quality schools with quality Philosophy programs, so additional info can help us help you filter the options.