Do you have any advice for a sophomore?
I'm currently an undergraduate sophomore, and have just declared as a Philosophy major. Ideally, I would probably be an English major, but I attend a small school that has a pretty weak English department. The Philosophy department, on the other hand, is one of the school's strengths (they run the only PhD program at my university).
My question is ( Read more... )
My question is ( Read more... )
In terms of general advice, start preparing for the GRE early. Figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and work on the weaknesses.
Be sure have your LOR writers figured out early, and give them lots of time to write the letters. Pick professors who really know your work and are enthusiastic about you. To be sure you have professors like that get to know your professors. Talk in class. Go to their office hours.
If you can get some research experience (in the form of a senior thesis or independent research project) that is a huge plus.
Have your applications ready before the deadline, and send them in early if you can. That gives you more time to fix problems if something goes missing. Be prepared that things like transcripts and GRE scores go missing far more often than applicants would like. Basically, if it's something someone else has to send it, it is much more likley to be late or missing.
When researching school, focus on finding a good match for you. A school with a well known name or a good reputation is no help to you if they don't have what you want to study. Find at least one good match for an advisor at each school, more if you can. Contact them via e-mail and make sure they are taking students, and are not thinking of retiring or going on an extended sabbatical.
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