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As some of you may know due to my random posting, I am currently applying for a PhD in Philosophy starting in September 2015. I sent 8 applications: all the deadlines were around January, be it at the beginning or at the end. The locations are:
- King's College, UK
- Cambridge, UK
- Oxford, UK
- Stanford, California
- UC Riverside, California
- Washington DC
- Purdue, Indiana
- Notre-Dame, Indiana
Some unis provide you with results as late as May (!) so the wait is long and unsettling. Well, today I received the first punch: I didn't get in King's College, London. There was just a small update on my page, saying how the environment is competitive blabla.
I shouldn't despair too much yet - I still have other 7 applications going! - but, I don't know why, this struck me. I really feel depressed right now, mostly because I really have no plan B. I have to get in because this is really the only career I think I can do - I worked in a bank for a bit and boy I was feeling like an alien.
What can I say? I will keep you updated. Thanks to everyone who read this far.
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EDIT: Just check the last page of the blog to know how I am doing, I won't update this!
 
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28100 Posts
Well those are some pretty good schools, I wouldn't be too depressed if you don't get in. There are many more schools out there.
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As a political science PhD candidate who's getting his ass kicked... May God have mercy on your soul.
Still managing to fool these clowns into thinking I'm smart enough to be dicking around people who are actually smart at a prestigious university, but at this level it seems like they're going to find out 
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On February 10 2015 08:34 TheEmulator wrote:
Well those are some pretty good schools, I wouldn't be too depressed if you don't get in. There are many more schools out there.
Yeah, but deadlines already expired. I applied to 8 because I thought it was a fair number (I spent around 400 $ in applications fee, more than that I could not afford). So I need to get in because I cannot waste another year :S
On February 10 2015 09:04 Djzapz wrote:As a political science PhD candidate who's getting his ass kicked... May God have mercy on your soul. Still managing to fool these clowns into thinking I'm smart enough to be dicking around people who are actually smart at a prestigious university, but at this level it seems like they're going to find out
Good luck buddy!
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28100 Posts
On February 10 2015 09:07 SoSexy wrote:Show nested quote +On February 10 2015 08:34 TheEmulator wrote:
Well those are some pretty good schools, I wouldn't be too depressed if you don't get in. There are many more schools out there. Yeah, but deadlines already expired. I applied to 8 because I thought it was a fair number (I spent around 400 $ in applications fee, more than that I could not afford). So I need to get in because I cannot waste another year :S
Oh right. I always forget about application fees, lol.
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I remember when I applied to grad programs, yea can be pretty nerve wracking. Its such drawn out process of applications, fees, letters, email correspondence, interviews, etc. Glad I am over that  However, I am taking my Candidacy exams this semester
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Good luck! I'm a first year PhD student, and so far it's been really interesting and enjoyable. I guess the stress factor ratchets up as things go on, but I think grad students sometimes overstate how hard their lives are :p
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Good luck and do not despair. I applied to 10 schools and got admitted to only one... And it turned out to be a great match for me! There is large amount of randomness in the process. If you have a good relationship with your recommendation letter writers, you may want to talk to them and see what they think. They may even actively help you by calling some of the schools.
And I hope you know what you are about to get yourself into PhD is damn tough experience. I finally graduated last May, but not once or twice I thought about quitting. And the same applied to all of us in the program...
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On February 10 2015 11:01 nbaker wrote:
Good luck! I'm a first year PhD student, and so far it's been really interesting and enjoyable. I guess the stress factor ratchets up as things go on, but I think grad students sometimes overstate how hard their lives are :p
Huh, I'm a first year PhD and I sort of hate my life. I think grad students understate how lonely it can be
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you should definitely check grad cafe at least ten times an hour from now until April 15
ps if you have any questions about UCR please feel free to PM me. I am not in philosophy but I know some people in the department
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On February 10 2015 14:42 n.DieJokes wrote:Show nested quote +On February 10 2015 11:01 nbaker wrote:
Good luck! I'm a first year PhD student, and so far it's been really interesting and enjoyable. I guess the stress factor ratchets up as things go on, but I think grad students sometimes overstate how hard their lives are :p Huh, I'm a first year PhD and I sort of hate my life. I think grad students understate how lonely it can be
The loneliness mainly depends on whether you have a nice place with co-workers and maybe you can tie parts of your research to other researches or apply things in industry, that helps a lot too.
I'm doing a PhD (last - fourth year now) in the Netherlands, in two locations, so travelling a lot. That makes it lonely because I have less time for bonding in one spot and the research disconnected a bit from the work of others.
So search for the connections and make sure you get a good work environment!
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Considering that you had trouble with your master's thesis and just mostly winged it without having any real plan, I am not even sure if you deserve a spot at any of the top20. On the other hand, desert is such a stupid notion to begin with, so take that with a grain of salt. The point is though that if you really don't have a plan B and want to do a phd at any cost, then you should have applied to more than just a bunch of higher ranked schools, especially given that you're not from a very competitive uni yourself and don't have the money and connections to make things happen from afar.
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Thanks for all the positive comments guys! You cheered me up a bit
On February 10 2015 18:55 GERMasta wrote:
Considering that you had trouble with your master's thesis and just mostly winged it without having any real plan, I am not even sure if you deserve a spot at any of the top20. On the other hand, desert is such a stupid notion to begin with, so take that with a grain of salt. The point is though that if you really don't have a plan B and want to do a phd at any cost, then you should have applied to more than just a bunch of higher ranked schools, especially given that you're not from a very competitive uni yourself and don't have the money and connections to make things happen from afar.
Well in the end my master's thesis went very good, I took the best possible grade in Italy and my professor said it is well written. Bologna may not be the best in the world but in my field (medieval philosophy/philosophy of religion) it surely plays a role (oldest university in the world - 1088 ad) and you know, Vatican, etc. I really couldn't afford to send 20/30 applications because that would have costed me around 2000 $ just in fees. So I decided to go for a fair number, 8, and to shoot high. Let's hope.
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Don't be too disheartened by rejections - there's always next year, and you can take the time in between applications to get more experience in the field, and generally improve yourself as a candidate. I got rejected from every PhD I applied to - but didn't give up hope, and ended up getting an offer for a PhD I didn't even apply to! You never know what can happen
Good luck!
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Best of luck! PhDs are tough, regardless of where you end up doing them! I'm doing my PhD at Rutgers now (in math education) and you should have totally applied here, because Rutgers has one of the best Philosophy programs in the world
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On February 10 2015 18:21 Ketch wrote:Show nested quote +On February 10 2015 14:42 n.DieJokes wrote:On February 10 2015 11:01 nbaker wrote:
Good luck! I'm a first year PhD student, and so far it's been really interesting and enjoyable. I guess the stress factor ratchets up as things go on, but I think grad students sometimes overstate how hard their lives are :p Huh, I'm a first year PhD and I sort of hate my life. I think grad students understate how lonely it can be The loneliness mainly depends on whether you have a nice place with co-workers and maybe you can tie parts of your research to other researches or apply things in industry, that helps a lot too. I'm doing a PhD (last - fourth year now) in the Netherlands, in two locations, so travelling a lot. That makes it lonely because I have less time for bonding in one spot and the research disconnected a bit from the work of others. So search for the connections and make sure you get a good work environment!
Almost all of my classmates are non-native english speakers which sucks. They're very smart, very nice and they speak well enough to exchange pleasantries but not well enough to communicate meaningfully. I'm not blaming them or anything, I'm not bilingual but the only other American in my program does something totally unrelated to me. Oh well
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I really hope I don't come across as a dick, my objective really isn't to be bashing you or anything, I'm sincerely curious. What's your career goal when applying for something like a philosophy PhD ? I mean except for teaching philosophy, or maybe writing, what are the other potential jobs you can apply to with a philosophy PhD ?
Also, GL to you man. I got rejected by a school once, it hurts :-/
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On February 11 2015 17:54 LoneYoShi wrote:
I really hope I don't come across as a dick, my objective really isn't to be bashing you or anything, I'm sincerely curious. What's your career goal when applying for something like a philosophy PhD ? I mean except for teaching philosophy, or maybe writing, what are the other potential jobs you can apply to with a philosophy PhD ?
Also, GL to you man. I got rejected by a school once, it hurts :-/
exactly the ones that you said, teaching and writing my dream job would be teaching at university/doing some research
And F*** off to the guy who suggested me gradcafe. I am literally F5ing it to death aaaaarrrrghhhh o.o
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You really should start to take a look at English PhD-Programs in European Countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and so on. I don`t have a lot of insight about medieval philosophy but there are certainly programs that are better suited for your interests than e.g. Stanford (and the chances of getting in should also be higher). If everything fails try to bolster your cv with a publication, a teaching gig an so on...
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On February 11 2015 20:54 SoSexy wrote:
And F*** off to the guy who suggested me gradcafe. I am literally F5ing it to death aaaaarrrrghhhh o.o
hahaha GOT YA
On February 11 2015 17:54 LoneYoShi wrote:
I really hope I don't come across as a dick, my objective really isn't to be bashing you or anything, I'm sincerely curious. What's your career goal when applying for something like a philosophy PhD ? I mean except for teaching philosophy, or maybe writing, what are the other potential jobs you can apply to with a philosophy PhD ?
Who gives a fuck about JOBS when you can SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY. jobs are for CHUMPS
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EPT
