Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

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  1. Claudio's avatar

    I teach both large courses, like Jurisprudence and Critical Legal Thinking (a.k.a Legal Argumentation), and small seminar-based courses at Edinburgh…

  2. Charles Pigden's avatar

    Surely there is an answer to the problem of AI cheating which averts the existential threat. . It’s not great,…

  3. Mark's avatar

    I’d like to pose a question. Let’s be pessimistic for the moment, and assume AI *does* destroy the university, at…

  4. A in the UK's avatar
  5. Jonathan Turner's avatar

    I agree with all of this. The threat is really that stark. The only solution is indeed in-class essay exams,…

  6. Craig Duncan's avatar
  7. Ludovic's avatar

    My big problem with LLMs at the present time, apart from being potentially the epitome of Foucault’s panopticon & Big…

“The Professor is in,” aka, Karen Kelsky

People occasionally ask whether her services are worth it.  I'm skeptical based on what I've heard (and even putting aside that she's a nut).   You can see some reactions from her paying clients recounted here.  A few excerpts from different individuals:

(1) I paid $150 for cover letter editing. She offered to read and comment on up to 4 drafts of cover letter with that money . I think the first and second drafts are helpful but the third and fourth aren't. I felt like she was editing after the second draft just to fulfill the contractual responsibility and to make me feel my money was well spent. I agree with hanginthere that reading her blog or her recent book will suffice. BTW, she made all of her new clients after Aug 2015 to buy a copy of her new book. And she is not at all nice.

(2) I have [used her service], it cost me $400… and I regret I did.  She is extremely condescending and almost rude in her correspondence, her cuttings prove that she does not read, she changes the meaning of your statements, she pays no attention. Her advice consists in making you buy her book.  It feels like a scam.

(3) I used her this year for my cover letter and research statement. It's a waste of money, and I really wish I hadn't done it. She doesn't personalize her advice, and you can tell that she cuts and pastes most of her feedback because it's so generic….

The worst part, is that she will absolutely NOT answer any questions that you pose to her. It says in her initial letter describing the process, that any questions you have, you should include in the email with your draft. I had several questions about my CV for my first draft that where relatively straight-forward, and she literally ignored them until I forced the issue, and then she told me she would have to charge me extra money to answer the questions! For the prices I paid, that's insane. The only reason I kept going with her is because I heard it's almost impossible to get your money back from her, as she makes you pay upfront….

And, yes, she is also NOT nice. At all. I was very polite to her throughout the entire process, even when asking her why she wasn't answering my questions or giving me specific feedback, and she was very, very rude.

(4)  I have used her for CV, RS, TS quick review this year. I really regret I used her. I actually think it's not even her who does the work, I think it's the people in her "Team" who does actual work. Her blog and book are definitely helpful, but please, please do not use her service. It's really waste of money. I really did not feel it was helpful. I could see how much she spent on google doc for editing and commenting. Seriously, like less than 20 minutes. And tons of money for those. Please reconsider using her.

(5) I used her as well and regret it immensely, not so much due to the high cost or low value, but to the fact that my money went to supporting something so distasteful.  To be unhappy with one's own life choices is fine; to spread that unhappiness in the guise of a business is nothing short of corrupt.

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