Transfer chances at a few places

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey, I am a Philosophy major at James Madison Univeristy, I was almost sure I was going to transfer before I got here, but the place has grown on me so I am not really sure right now. Anyway, I am still curious about my "chances."</p>

<p>(William and Mary, University of Chicago, Cornell [heh yeah right...], and University of California Berkeley)</p>

<p>HS:
3.65 weighted GPA
1340 SAT (old)
Honors classes and a few APs
EC: played football but not much else</p>

<p>College:
3.4 GPA (maybe a 3.5 or 3.6 after next semester)
EC:
Honors Program
EMT (emergency medical technician) volunteer at Harrisonburg rescue squad (for whatever that's worth)
various clubs (Amnesty International, Free Thinkers...)</p>

<p>PS
I am taking the ACT in February, is it going to matter much what I get on it?</p>

2

<p>oh yeah I am living in Virginia (if that affects W&M and UCB)</p>

3

<p>I am also a bilingual immigrant</p>

<p><em>bump</em></p>

4

<p>For philosophy, you might be better off ommitting W&M from the list. UCB is not friendly for out-of-state transfers. UNCH has an excellent philosophy department, and is apparently generous to both in-state and out-of-state students.</p>

<p>Be chary of UChicago, whose department is oriented more toward continental philosophy. A department offering a plenitude of courses from both halves is sufficient.</p>

5

<p>Is that UNC at Chapel Hill?</p>

6

<p>Yes.</p>

<p>I met a philosophy professor from UNCH in November; he delivered an excellent lecture, was friendly, and brilliant. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.unc.edu/depts/phildept/prinz.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.unc.edu/depts/phildept/prinz.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Thomas E. Hill, a known scholar in Kantian ethics, also teaches at UNCH.</p>

7

<p>what does "bump" mean</p>

8

<p>That is cool I will definitely consider UNC, but how do you judge philosophy department? Experience or word of mouth or something else?</p>

<p>A bump is a post that <em>bumps</em> a thread to the top. People usually bump their own threads before they are forgotten.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
what does "bump" mean

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Bring Up My Post.</p>

<p>
[quote]
That is cool I will definitely consider UNC, but how do you judge philosophy department? Experience or word of mouth or something else?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A good indicator is the ranking published by <a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Looking at faculty credentials, the department's overall ranking, and actually meeting professors in the school to which you intend to apply provides a strong intuition about how good the department is. </p>

<p>By meeting professors, I do not mean actually visiting them. All the professors I met were in department lectures. If your university does not have one, the best university in your town should. When I was in Houston, I frequently sat in the department lectures at Rice University.</p>

10

<p>Do you think I have a good enough chance to be admitted next year at the Fall Semester? Should I even bother if I haven't started my app yet?</p>

<p>Ughh admissions were confusing last year, transferring is even worse this year....</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
Do you think I have a good enough chance to be admitted next year at the Fall Semester?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I am not sure, because your GPA does not seem competitive enough. Perhaps a Spring Sophomore transfer or a Fall Junior transfer will be sufficient.</p>

12

<p>Just an FYI, the University of Pittsburgh has excellent philosophy programs (both traditional and history/philosophy of science ranked in top 5 graduate philosophy programs) and you should really look into transferring there. From what I can tell it's a very easy school to transfer into, and you would get a first-rate philosophy base education there.</p>

13

<p>ok, I have revised the schools I am looking at (hah that was quick)</p>

<p>I am now looking to transfer to:</p>

<p>UNC at Chapel Hill
University of Pittsburgh
William & Mary (I will be a business major if I go there)
University of Chicago (I will be an econ major if I go there)</p>

<p>I am not even going to bother applying to Cornell or UCB</p>

<p>I am glad I posted this thread, thanks guys</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
Just an FYI, the University of Pittsburgh has excellent philosophy programs (both traditional and history/philosophy of science ranked in top 5 graduate philosophy programs) and you should really look into transferring there.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, but what is good for graduate studies is not necessarily the best for undergraduate. Rutgers's graduate program is ranked first, but there are many better undergraduate schools from which one could choose.</p>

15

<p>oh the gourmet rankings are all graduate, and those were the only one's I can find....</p>

<p>rankings would be incredibly subjective, especially for Phil, but how else am I supposed to figure out where is the best place?</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
Pittsburgh may have an outstanding philosophy department, but it might make more sense for a good student interested in philosophy to do his or her undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins or Amherst, where student-faculty ratios are more favorable, and where there is a stronger focus on undergraduate education.

[/quote]
</p>

<p><a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

17

<p><a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com&lt;/a> is not actually much of a resource. It has been highly criticized by many. Although, it is correct in pointing out the rankings are just about useless for undergrads.</p>

18

<p>If Pittsburgh is comparable to Amherst and Johns Hopkins then that speaks well of its department. Also, we should take into account that this particular transfer student would have a very hard time tranferring into those types of schools. (small, very selective, expensive, liberal arts colleges)</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
It has been highly criticized by many.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, but I do not think the creator intended to make it the USNews of philosophy. Insofar as persons construe it as such, then criticism is apropos; however, such criticisms are, then, founded on a false interpretation.</p>

20

<p>The question raised was:</p>

<p>"but how do you judge philosophy department? Experience or word of mouth or something else?"</p>

<p>You responded beginning with:</p>

<p>"A good indicator is the ranking published by <a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com"&gt;http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com&lt;/a&gt;." </p>

<p>Insofar as philosophical gourmet is seen as an indicator, it should be criticized for its inability to lead to good judgments.</p>