<p>As I enter the final leg of my sophomore year, I am, like many high schoolers, looking towards college. While I consider specialized options like the prospect of a service academy as a result of my interest in politics and public service, or some creative writing program--both unlikely--I can't help but think, too, of what I enjoy most academically: I have an unwavering interest in philosophy, and I honestly could see myself in academia when I'm older.</p>
<p>This is an interesting predicament when it comes to looking at colleges. Reading the Leiter Report on graduate philosophy programs, I see that the top schools to study Philosophy at a graduate level are NYU, Rutgers, Princeton, Pitt, and UMich. This I found interesting. Of course I've always thought of schools like NYU, Princeton, and UMich for undergrad...but I was surprised to see, still, that NYU had the top philosophy program (by a relatively large margin at that), followed by Rutgers.</p>
<p>I saw what Leiter said about studying philosophy as an undergraduate...but would it be better to study philosophy at NYU as an undergrad, than, say, Columbia, Penn, or Swarthmore? Would even a small exposure to the senior faculty at NYU be helpful if, say, I wanted to go there for grad school? What would be best?</p>
<p>Like many high school students, you’re going about the college selection process completely backwards. Come up with a list of factors you want in a college, make a list of colleges that meet those criteria, and then (and only then) evaluate their philosophy programs. </p>
<p>Here’s a very brief list of criteria to get you started:</p>
<ul>
<li>Which part of the country (Midwest, Southeast, etc.)?</li>
<li>Public or private?</li>
<li>Coed or single-sex?</li>
<li>Rural, suburban, or urban?</li>
<li>Small (< 2000), medium (2000-10000), or large (10000+)?</li>
<li>Is cost an issue?</li>
<li>Certain extracurricular activities, like a fencing team?</li>
<li>Popular Greek life or no Greek life?</li>
<li>Special needs (LD, physically disabled, etc.)?</li>
<li>Selectivity?</li>
</ul>
<p>I think both issues are important…both fit of the general college and students as well as an excellent department. My own son is a philosophy major deciding between full scholarship at Pitt (#4 but only 65th overall) or Chicago (#20th or so but very high overall). It is quite a conundrum…does he go for the better department for his major and for his future grad school choices (which is pitt) or the more prestigious school (chicago) that FEELS like a better fit?</p>
<p>I would check out all the schools that interest you, keep in mind financial aid issues (NYU is notoriously bad, a school like Pitt is very generous to good students) and the reach schools that interest you. Pick a variety of schools that fit your requirements and then see what happens come March 2011!</p>
<p>For going on to grad school in philosophy, it’s extremely helpful to impress famous philosophers so they can write you strong letters of recommendation. But it’s also important to have a faculty that is willing to spend time with you, get to know you, help to develop your philosophical writing. Probably the latter is more important than the former.</p>