ἀκρατής

I see now what you mean. Then the context was confusing to me: You were writing this to someone who is interested in Aquinas. I would assume that someone's interest is in reading him as a source of philosophical ideas, rather than just using him before writing in order to get into the right focus. But I see now that this was exactly the point you wanted to make: some people ALSO read Aquinas this way. I guess Anscombe/Foot did both... Yes, right, UCLA seems to be great for that, too (but in Pittsburgh almost the whole philosophy faculty studied Aquinas/Anscombe/Foot at some point, right?) And yes, I am very interested in the three of them. Plus Aristotle (and a little bit of Plato, Hegel, Wittgenstein). But I didn't really know what I got myself into by applying to American PhD programs (I'm from Europe) and I think I prepared my application the wrong way. I don't expect any acceptances this year but take it as a learning experience to try next year again.

Philippa Foot didn't just read 'some' Aquinas. Her most important teacher, Anscombe, is a Thomist (well, THE Thomist in some sense). I would go as far as saying that almost every thought they expressed originated in Aquinas. *smartass mode off now* (sorry) If Philippa Foot is your favorite ethicist, then Pittsburgh is probably by far the best university in the world for you to go to. But you probably already know that :-).

Wow!! Well, they only admit 5 people, I think, no surprise that the rate of declining is low. But still, I wish you good luck!

I was rejected by the committee on social thought for the reason that I am "better served by a traditional philosophy program". They prefer people who in their opinion benefit more from the interdisciplinary approach than from a traditional philosophical approach, even if their work is still within philosophy. That said, it is a great program, also for philosophers in my opinion! You can apply to do a joint-degree in Social Thought and Philosophy once you've started your graduate work in Social Thought. And I think all the philosophy classes are open to you anyway. In short: this program is way better than many "traditional" philosophy programs!

Thanks! Then I expect a rejection from Miami, too. 10% is bad, but better than the 4% of UChicago this year. I knew it will be bad, but I didn't know it was HELL... And to your UCSB question: yes, it was an automatic email, so your chances are intact! Good luck!

"Solicited email" means that this person asked a member of the committee and then got an answer by email, right? Does the person who got rejected by the University of Miami want to share some details? Is everyone rejected who hasn't gotten an acceptance notice yet? By the way, I am another UC Santa Barbara reject. Got an email two hours ago to check the website...

Oh, I just saw that it is University of South Carolina, not University of Southern California. Makes more sense then. USCalifornia will probably only send notifications during the first week of March according to my search through the last years. That's why this rejection would have surprised me. Quoting myself, haha, I am already becoming as narcissistic as some philosophy scholars...

Is the USC rejection for real? Who can tell us more about it?

I am not coffeekid, but can give an update about the UChicago situation. After having had contact with a faculty member, I know that 12 out of about 275 applicants got accepted, no waiting list. I for myself am rejected (according to the faculty member, I expect the email only in March). And so is anyone who hasn't gotten an acceptance from UChicago yet. I had made it up to the very last cut though, that's some consolation.

The two UChicago admits (Feb 1) have never been claimed by anybody in this forum. Does anyone want to do it now? (not that I am still hoping, but would still like to know more about it)