I began working on the applications in early November and completed most of the attachments by early December to be ready for the first submission to Princeton. In hindsight, I regret not spending enough time on the Writing_Sample.pdf, which was part of my Bachelor Thesis. The quality of this work was subpar, receiving a 2.7 for the B.A. Philosophy Thesis and a 2.0 for the B.Sc. Mathematics Thesis, grades that are unlikely to be competitive for Ivy League schools.
Beyond the writing sample, I am not confident about the recommendation letters. The recommenders were either not well-acquainted with my work or did not have a strong belief in it, which diminishes my confidence in their letters.
Additionally, I believe I did not devote sufficient effort to crafting the statements of purpose. I did not upload them here because I tailored each one to specific universities, highlighting the professors and research groups of interest. However, these statements were never thoroughly revised or polished.
Furthermore, I regret not considering a broader range of universities in the process. While I selected some institutions from the Philosophical Gourmet ranking for Philosophy of Mathematics and Mathematical Logic, I should have conducted more extensive research and applied to more universities. Omitting institutions like Berkeley University was certainly a poor decision, though necessary due to the late stage at which I decided to apply for PhD positions, the overarching goal of completing the M.Sc. Logic (UvA) within a year (see Assume I finish the MoL in one year, what then), and the overall Master’s Outline.
I remain uncertain whether putting in more effort would have altered the PhD Applications Results. Finally, it is important to note that my current motivation and clarity about my future academic path are uncertain, as reflected in Is it the Begin of a Motivational Decline.
[20.02.2025] I later realised that for Notre Dame I should have applied to the HPS track and not to the general Philosophy PhD since the application process is different. [22.02.2025] I got in fact rejected.
[22.02.2025] Another thing I regret is applying only to PhD programmes in Philosophy. Since my Research Areas lie between the two fields, and I would be happy working in either department (or even in a Computer Science department), it would have made much more sense to apply to multiple programmes per university (where allowed). I also wish I had applied to a wider range of universities, including those with lower prestige in the USA.