Adding some thoughts regarding diversity, privilege, and inclusiveness, as someone who was on the fence about applying and going last year and also about interacting with the global priorities community in general.
Like others said, I attended and loved this course last year. I think the value in this course is higher if you’re from an underprivileged background or if you’re a “big fish in a small pond” at a solid but non-elite university.
Mainly, it’s because you’ll get to hang out with other strong students across a range of contexts. You attend rigorous lectures, solve problem sets, and socialize with them. Last year, this included talking to PhD students at top universities. Particularly for potential PhD applicants, it’s a very good way to test your fit and seeing what your weaknesses / strengths are relative to other people. And for me, it was a good way to remove some of the idolization I had of other people.
For some, this means realizing their initial career path is arduous but interesting and ultimately doable. For others, this means realizing “Oh wow this is too much and not that useful to me. I need to rethink my career path.” Both are useful updates.
Also, as a general vibe, I found that GPI as a whole talks about diversity, equity and inclusiveness in a very thought out and genuine way. This doesn’t entirely offset the very privileged demographics that econ + philosophy pulls from, but I think it should nudge people towards applying if on-the-fence.
Hey, really glad you liked it so much! And thank you for emphasizing that people should consider applying even if they worry they might not fit in—I think this content should be interesting and useful to lots of people outside the small bubbles we’re currently drawing from.
Adding some thoughts regarding diversity, privilege, and inclusiveness, as someone who was on the fence about applying and going last year and also about interacting with the global priorities community in general.
Like others said, I attended and loved this course last year. I think the value in this course is higher if you’re from an underprivileged background or if you’re a “big fish in a small pond” at a solid but non-elite university.
Mainly, it’s because you’ll get to hang out with other strong students across a range of contexts. You attend rigorous lectures, solve problem sets, and socialize with them. Last year, this included talking to PhD students at top universities. Particularly for potential PhD applicants, it’s a very good way to test your fit and seeing what your weaknesses / strengths are relative to other people. And for me, it was a good way to remove some of the idolization I had of other people.
For some, this means realizing their initial career path is arduous but interesting and ultimately doable. For others, this means realizing “Oh wow this is too much and not that useful to me. I need to rethink my career path.” Both are useful updates.
Also, as a general vibe, I found that GPI as a whole talks about diversity, equity and inclusiveness in a very thought out and genuine way. This doesn’t entirely offset the very privileged demographics that econ + philosophy pulls from, but I think it should nudge people towards applying if on-the-fence.
Hey, really glad you liked it so much! And thank you for emphasizing that people should consider applying even if they worry they might not fit in—I think this content should be interesting and useful to lots of people outside the small bubbles we’re currently drawing from.