Action at a Distance

The University of Florida

Well, in a nail-biting episode that went down to the wire, I chose the University of Florida for gradiate study in philosophy. Mostly because the University of Virginia turned me down in the end. But I'm not bitter...do I seem bitter? Cause I'm not.

I had told my wife repeatedly that I liked UVa and UF about the same, and that I would be equally happy to go either place (we had decided against UGa and UMass early on--mostly due to funding issues). However, I felt oddly deflated when I was finally rejected by Virginia. Although I wonder if I would have felt similarly about UF had they rejected me at the end--this could be just a bad case of 'Thegrassisalwaysgreenerism.'

The programs are very different, with UVa strong in political philosophy and ethics and strong in metaphysics purely on the strength of Trenton Merricks, and UF stronger in metaphysics and logic, having several faculty members in this area. My actual philosophical interests are much closer to UF's strengths (they also have a guy in phi. sci., too), but I think I was attracted by the better overall reputation of the University of Virginia.

So now I can start gearing up for grad school. I really don't have a clue what to expect, having gone to very small college for undergrad. Hopefully I will use my fear to motivate my preparation. My tentative plans are to really bone up on my logic this summer, and work through a basic reading list. If, for no good reason, some other potential/fully legit grad students are reading this, I would appreciate your reading recommendations for grad school preparation. Wait--I think I'll make this a new entry unto itself. Gimme a second...