<p>Hi, all!!! I am a Brazilian student preparing the application for PhD programs in Philosophy, but I would like some realistic advice on which 6 institutions to apply of the following list: NYU, Pittsburgh , Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UCLA,Cornell, CUNY, Chicago, Brown, Southern California,Penn, Washington/St.Louis, Johns Hopkins, Miami. I would like to apply for all of them, but it would be too expensive to me. As an intl´student, I must pay not only application fees but the certified translation of my lots of transcripts. I am also concerned with what I consider my major handicaps: 1) AGE: I am turning to 36. I got my college degree in 95 and my MA in 2003. I actually have never been away from academy. In all this this time, I have taught philosophy at the undergraduate level. What kind of impression is it going to cause on admission committees? 2) GPA: I got 8.3/10.0 in the undergrad courses and straight A at Master´s.
My GRE scores: verbal: 530, quantit: 640, analytical: 4.0 I know these are low scores. But can I expect to be forgiven for being a non native speaker of English? By the way, my last score on TOEFL (not valid anymore): 253 - I am going to retake TOEFL in November.IELTS score: 8.0 My main interests are, in order: phil of mind, Ancient philosophy, phil of language, Kant, phil of law. </p>
<p>I know that a lot of wight in the selection is put on the writing sample, that you cannot evaluate here. But I know that, in the universities of better reputation, the applicant has his paper read only after his other credentials are already evaluated... I appreciate any suggestion, advice and comment. Thank you a lot!!
Joao.</p>
<p>Age is not a handicap. I'm 52, in Classics, and have been told repeatedly that my age will simply not be a consideration. This makes sense in a number of ways: First, they still get the two plus semesters of teaching from me. Second, as a motivated adult, I am (presumably) more likely to finish the program and thereby improve their completion rates and reflect glory on the institution by my (hopefully) brilliant and mature thesis and publications.</p>
<p>You have a definite advantage in that you already have a masters and teaching experience. Your graduate GPA will take precedence over your undergrad.</p>
<p>GRE is fairly unimportant and they will cut you some slack for being a non-native English speaker. However, most places will be looking for a TOEFL paper score of something like 550 (213 on the computer version) so that might be an issue. Your IELTS is fine.</p>
<p>You should not assume that your application will be read in some specific order. this is particularly true if you are submitting a published paper as your writing sample. It will carry a great deal of weight since it shows that you are capable of doing what PhD candidates do - research and write.</p>
<p>As to your list of schools - you seriously need to focus in on the departments and on possible advisors - 17 is way too many. Try to get to something like 2 "reaches", 3 or 4 matches, and 2 or 3 safeties.</p>
<p>Thank you, WilliamC. Your reply was quick and helpful. Could you please tell me if you know of anyone older than 35 in any philosophy program - at your college or any other? Or from Brazil, no matter the age, but in classics or philsoophy? If you prefer, please write to me in my private e-mail</p>
<p>
[quote]
As to your list of schools - you seriously need to focus in on the departments and on possible advisors - 17 is way too many. Try to get to something like 2 "reaches", 3 or 4 matches, and 2 or 3 safeties.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is simply not the case for philosophy programs. </p>
<p>Also, joaoabreu, you should target schools that are a little lower-ranked. Except for MIT and Cornell, who don't require GRE scores, every other school on that list will ding you because your GRE is too low.</p>
<p>The GRE, while not important and not decisive, is still used to filter through applications. It is used as a "cut-off," and a good GRE score is usually the only criterion used to evaluate applicants in the first screening. After the first screening, it is the recs and grades for around two more screenings. In the final couple of screenings, your statement of purpose and writing sample will pull you through.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It will carry a great deal of weight since it shows that you are capable of doing what PhD candidates do - research and write.
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</p>
<p>They don't care whether or not you're published.</p>
<p>To nspeds:
Thank you a lot for your reply! And thank you for the candidness (is this the way to say it?) in evaluating my chances!!!</p>
<p>Actually, I was already worried about the problem with GRE scores. But could not I hope that the admission committees could consider that I am not a native speaker of English? Somewhere else in this forum, I read a post saying that certain schools (I do not remember in which field) could take the nationality enough to be more flexible about the GRE requirement...Do you think if departments like classics or comparative literature could be like this in their admission attitude?
Anyway, I do admit that I had not prepared for the test, though I do not know if retaking it could raise my scores, even if with a good training. </p>
<p>"Quote:
As to your list of schools - you seriously need to focus in on the departments and on possible advisors - 17 is way too many. Try to get to something like 2 "reaches", 3 or 4 matches, and 2 or 3 safeties.<br>
That is simply not the case for philosophy programs."
So, what would be the case for philosophy programs?</p>
<p>"you should target schools that are a little lower-ranked"
Do you have any suggestion of a lower-ranked school? Again, I would like to study more of philosophy of mind, Ancient philosophy and philosophy of law...</p>
<p>Any further advice that you, or anyone else, can give me will be extremely welcome!!!
Joao</p>
<p>
[quote]
Actually, I was already worried about the problem with GRE scores. But could not I hope that the admission committees could consider that I am not a native speaker of English? Somewhere else in this forum, I read a post saying that certain schools (I do not remember in which field) could take the nationality enough to be more flexible about the GRE requirement...Do you think if departments like classics or comparative literature could be like this in their admission attitude?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That explanation will not help and will probably be even more deleterious to your chances. </p>
<p>Your competition at these schools will be fluent English speakers from outstanding universities in the United States. Telling them that you do not have facility with English will not help, and having lower GRE scores will not help, since your competition will likely surpass you in those areas.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So, what would be the case for philosophy programs?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Over the past couple of years, admissions into Ph.D programs has become extremely competitive. Schools like Harvard, MIT, and Princeton receive upwards of 250 applications for only four to five spots. Because it is so difficult to be admitted, it is usual to have a list of 12 or so schools to which you want to apply.</p>
<p>
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Do you have any suggestion of a lower-ranked school? Again, I would like to study more of philosophy of mind, Ancient philosophy and philosophy of law...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, you could try for Georgetown. We have outstanding resources in the philosophy of law and ancient philosophy, and our bioethics program is the best in the nation.</p>
<p>I appreciate your help a lot... I will try Georgetown! Could you tell me anything about the atmosphere there and the typical financial aid they offer? More precisely, what is the typical routine of a graduate student who counts only on the financial aid from the dept? Anything else you can say about it will be welcome...If you prefer, pelase mention just what cannot be found in the department´s website.</p>
<p>And, I am sorry to insist on the GRE question. OK, OK, I have already accepted that I did pretty bad....But, if both international and American applicants are to be judged under the same general criteria, why do schools require scores of English tests (TOEFL/IELTS)also, which are much easier than GRE verbal/written parts? Are there non-native speakers of English in your department? Do you think they could help me in a case like this?
Anyway, if you need more confidentiality, do not hesitate to write to my personal e-mail address:
joaoabreu_edu at yahoo.com.br
Thank you a lot, man!!!!</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation as yourself. Applying to PhD in philosophy and being an international student and so on.</p>
<p>I was also very concerned about my not-so-outstanding verbal score and went around asking people on the web, professors, and admission officers. The impression I got is that: they are NOT going to go easy on you because you are not a native speaker. Perhaps your fluency in portuguese is going to be a plus in your field (if it is), but as far as grad admissions go, and as far as career in the field goes, you are expected to be in perfect command of English. I don't mean perfect like a professional writer or stylist; I mean the ability to communicate fully well. That said, I can certainly see how your superb writing sample and/or sop demonstrating perfect fluency (if they are) can fill in where GRE scores fail you.</p>
<p>Humanities fields are extremely competitive, and I am not in a position to say too much about it, because I am just like you, extremely paranoid about this whole process.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is a bit late for you to study for the GRE again. You should really spend the rest of your time on producing a superb writing sample and SOP!</p>
<p>Berkeley could be a consideration for someone interested in some of your fields of interest, but it isn't that much lower ranked than many on your list.</p>