<p>Or are they all equally good?</p>
<p>they are all the same, I promise you. Pick a school for other reasons, plato is plato wherever you read it. </p>
<p>Even if one school had a couple amazing philosophy profs, it doesnt mean you can take his or her class and it doesnt mean it will be very good. </p>
<p>Pick a school for different reasons than the strength of one dept.</p>
<p>While you may eventually major in philosophy, apm is quite correct that you must consider other factors. I disagree that Plato is Plato is Plato and the difficulty of getting into a certain prof’s class, but think you’d be better served by looking at the department’s range, foci, stability and teaching style(s).</p>
<p>My undergrad philosophy dept. was fairly flexible and wide-ranging for a small school. When I studied Russian, I was able to do a tutorial in Russian philosophers. Basic stuff was taught socratically.</p>
<p>one more thing, </p>
<p>I personally hate asking a serious question and getting the kind of answer i gave you. </p>
<p>so i hope you wont make the mistake of reading some shmuks answer from the internet that he heard or made up and then use it. it being based on less than first hand information. wha. </p>
<p>like i said pick a school for other reasons. </p>
<p>BUT pay extra attention to ivys that have a rep for strong lib. arts programs. specifically dart, yale and brown and obviously harvard. </p>
<p>cornell and penn and columbia have a reputation at least from what i have heard of throwing cash at more practical studies. Cornell offers hotel management. nuff said.</p>
<p>“practical studies” make money. Money is good. Heaven forbid Columbia and Penn has great business, law, and med schools! :P</p>
<p>you are obviously from bangalore *** are you talking about</p>
<p>“you are obviously from bangalore”
““practical studies” make money. Money is good. Heaven forbid Columbia and Penn has great business, law, and med schools! :P”</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely not from Mumbai.
…just enjoy what you study. your 4 years will be a waste if you don’t</p>
<p>“Pick a school for other reasons, plato is plato wherever you read it.”</p>
<p>Yeah, but the depth and subtlety of study will vary across schools. I wouldn’t say just pay attention to the Ivys, but look at the top liberal arts schools as well. A hunk of philosophy involves discussion and interpretation, not just reading. If your peer group is substantially engaging, it’ll be a great experience. Not that it won’t otherwise, but it’s worth getting the most out of it :)</p>
<p>we are going to have to agree to disagree here. </p>
<p>“but the depth and subtlety of study will vary across schools.”</p>
<p>This is true, but he cannot predict this by asking a cc.com forum where philosophy is better, there is NO WAY to gauge this depth and subtley nor gaurantee how each course will be. And the end of the day a major is just 5-10 random courses and boom you have a B.A. </p>
<p>This will come down to LUCK of who is his classmates are, if they are engaging or in over their heads or just too philosophical and full of ****. who the TA or prof is that course, if the TA or prof is busy is with research and just wants to get through the course or if the TA or prof is totally focused on teaching. What about who the faculty dept. head will be while he is there and who it will change to. What about dept. funding. </p>
<p>Use your major to narrow down schools that treat philosophy well. and then from that group pick the best school for you personally. Even MIT has a philosophy dept. with a good rep.</p>
<p>“This will come down to LUCK of who is his classmates are, if they are engaging or in over their heads or just too philosophical and full of ****”</p>
<p>I thoroughly disagree with this argument, because while universities are mixed, the sort of student you come across varies a fair amount between schools. The school environment then affects them. there’s luck in everything, heck wear an “i’m feeling lucky shirt” and go to podunk.</p>
<p>The interaction matters a huge deal, I don’t remember where you studied, but it makes a massive difference. But if you want to be around certain types (no matter how diverse) of people you should go to the university that maximizes your chances of being around those people whom you want to learn from. </p>
<p>Your argument is like saying you can get shot in a safe neighborhood and in a dangerous one, go where ever you want, it’s all about luck. This argument is superficial to the extent that it’s illogical, you need to think probabilistically.</p>
<p>“but he cannot predict this by asking a cc.com forum where philosophy is better, there is NO WAY to gauge this depth and subtley nor gaurantee how each course will be. And the end of the day a major is just 5-10 random courses and boom you have a B.A.”</p>
<p>Look, I know that you think most posters on CC are a bunch of pretentious ****s who make things up to elevate their sense of self and entitlement. Why you still post on here is beyond me. But this forum isn’t about predicting anything. It’s about the diversity of opinions and experiences, snippets of college life that are patched together to form a whole. No one on here claims to know everyhting about Columbia, let alone the philosophy department. </p>
<p>No one says they’re always right. Everyone asserts their opinions, whether a poster chooses to follow advice on here is up to him/her. </p>
<p>Let me ask you this: if a “major is just 5-10 classes and BOOM you have a BA”, why waste your money on columbia? Why not go to your home state school? Same thing.</p>
<p>Actually, Cornell has one of the most well-known philosophy departments in the country, besides Rutgers, NYU, and Princeton, which are unequivocally the best.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s more important for grad school. What you should truly be focusing on is the quality of instruction, not the quality of departmental output (in the form of seminal philosophical treatises). So while Cornell and Princeton may have better philosophy departments than, say, Dartmouth, it’s quite likely that Dartmouth may teach their undergrads better.</p>
<p>Repost the question when you get into all eight. Apply to MIT, too, just for good measure. </p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>i think according to the leiter report, brown and princeton have the best undergrad programs</p>
<p>here is a pretty good guide
[The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2006 - 2008 :: Undergraduate Study](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/undergrad.asp)</p>
<p>I think looking at rankings for undergrad majors in the humanities and liberal arts is dubious at best. What matters is getting a good job, into a great grad school, and getting a great education with individual attention. The top schools win in these areas consistently. The best Ivy for something like phil. is the one you like the most and is the best fit.</p>