I can say that at UO we try to do holistic assessments for our PhD 
 program, but when it comes down to making really hard cuts (150 apps 
 this year, 6 positions), any factor can come into play.  Some faculty 
 take the GREs more seriously and some take them less seriously, but in 
 the full faculty decision making process GREs do get used as a cutting 
 mechanism. I also think that those of us who would like to see GREs 
 de-emphasized sometimes have to be strategic about who we think we have 
 a chance of getting through the full faculty review, and thus may choose 
 someone with a higher GRE score than with a lower one to put forward, 
 anticipating that this will become a factor later in the process anyway. 
 All this to say it probably is worth taking a class and improving the 
 score.  I wish we'd just do away with them, myself.

 Bonnie Mann

 On Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:14:02 -0500, Kathryn Norlock wrote:
> Hello, ethicists and feminists. Marisola, I'd like to add to these
> observations that I was the reverse: An applicant with a high GRE and
> a really terrible undergraduate record. My transcripts were an
> alphabet soup of past difficulties. Heck, I wouldn't even say I was
> motivated to do philosophy, as I was trying it out without having
> actually ever taken a course in it. I was admitted without funding to
> Wisconsin, which at the time didn't even bother providing funding to
> first-years and really considered us to be taking our own crazy risks
> (ah, the '90s). But we found mutual fulfillment, as the department
> decided I was well-suited to the field, and I decided the field was
> well-suited to me.
>
> I do not believe I was destined to succeed or anything like that, and
> I take Sophia Isako Wong's cautions as the good and provocative
> warnings they can be. My point is merely this: An application with a
> rusty spot is not necessarily a bad application. It is not even 
> easily
> predictable which programs will accept you (why would NYU take me and
> not UIC? why Wisconsin and not Minnesota?). So whatever advice you
> get, good as it all may be, is only the best guessing of those of us
> who have gone before you. Good luck,
>
> Kate
>
> Kathryn Norlock ([log in to unmask])
>
>> Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 00:30:51 -0500
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: advice to prospective PhD students
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Dear Marisola,
>>
>> While I can't answer your question directly, I can offer you this: I
> have
>> a dear friend who was in a similar situation over a decade ago
> (English was
>> her second language, her family was quite poor, and so her
> pre-college
>> education was quite poor), except she was applying to programs in
> another
>> humanities field and in women's studies. Her abysmal GRE scores had
> no
>> apparent effect. She wound up with great fellowship offers from
> several
>> excellent universities, wound up going to an Ivy League university
> where
>> she earned a Ph.D., and has been doing quite well in the job market.
> Again,
>> she is not in philosophy, but rather is in another humanities field.
>>
>> I suspect a lot of philosophers who subscribe to the FEAST list are
>> incredibly skeptical of the value of GRE scores -- I hope that is
> the case!
>>
>> I wish you well! Philosophy totally needs people like you, so I look
>> forward to seeing your name on conference programs in a few years!
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Tom
>>
>> Tom Digby
>> Professor of Philosophy
>> Springfield College
>> 263 Alden Street
>> Springfield, MA 01109
>> Email: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."
>> --William Butler Yeats
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Marisola Xhelili
>> To:
>> Date: 01/23/2012 11:19 AM
>> Subject: Re: advice to prospective PhD students
>> Sent by: Feminist ethics and social theory
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear FEASTers,
>>
>> As someone who just applied to Philosophy PhD programs, I found Dr.
> Wong's
>> list on advice for prospective students very encouraging on all
> fronts
>> except for the GRE bit. I consider myself very motivated, have
> excelled in
>> all of my philosophy courses as an undergrad, have attended
> institutes and
>> won awards for my research, but my GRE scores are, to put it mildly,
>> embarrassing. I know this has a lot to do with the timed aspect of
> the
>> test, and how counter-productive rushing madly is to producing
> anything of
>> quality. I can blame the fact that English is my second language, or
> that I
>> couldn't afford to formally prepare how to take the test, but all in
> all I
>> know that standardized tests are not my strength.
>>
>> I would really be interested to get some opinions from philosophy
>> professors on how heavily the GRE scores are weighed against other
> aspects
>> of the application. I feel like it's the one rusty spot on my
> otherwise
>> shining application.
>>
>> Many thanks,
>> Marisola.
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 5:01 PM, Sophia Isako Wong
>> wrot
>> Dear FEAST colleagues,
>>
>> I put up this webpage for the students who have asked me about
> applying
>> to PhD programs in philosophy. Since they are mostly students of
> color,
>> it is written especially with them in mind. Feel free to forward it
> to
>> your undergraduate students if you think it will be helpful.
>>
>> http://sophiawong.info/mentoring-resources/phd
>>
>> Best,
>> Sophia
>> ¨°¨¨¨¨¨°º°¨¨¨¨¨°º°¨¨¨¨¨¨
>> Sophia Isako Wong
>> Associate Professor of Philosophy
>> Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus
>> http://sophiawong.info
>>
>> ############################
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the FEAST-L list: write to: mailto:
>> [log in to unmask] or click the following
> link:
>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FEAST-L&A=1
>>
>>
>>
>> ############################
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the FEAST-L list: write to:
>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
> following
>> link: https://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FEAST-L&A=1
>>
>> ############################
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the FEAST-L list:
>> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
>> or click the following link:
>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FEAST-L&A=1
>   ############################
>
>  To unsubscribe from the FEAST-L list: write to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
> following link: 
> https://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FEAST-L&A=1

-- 
 Dr. Bonnie Mann
 Associate Professor of Philosophy
 Director of Graduate Studies
 Co-Director:  Society for Interdisciplinary Feminist Phenomenology
 Department of Philosophy
 University of Oregon
 Eugene, OR 97403-1295
 [log in to unmask]

############################

To unsubscribe from the FEAST-L list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
https://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=FEAST-L&A=1