LeftInLimbo

"Mere hours before the deadline" was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, 2 days before the deadline?  C'mon.  It seems very rude to me.  When each applicant is paying ca. $100 per application, I think a timely response would be not only courteous but deserved.

Does anyone have a sense of what the chances of wait-listers actually is?  I understand that there must be some differences in the length of wait lists by department, and of course there are the human variables of who actually decines offers or not.  But, in general, what is a typical wait-list size, and how many of those folks can expect to win an acceptance?  Any information that can shed light on the secret workings of wait-lists would be helpful.
 
So far I haven't been particularly excited about learning I'm on a waitlist.  I mean, before they told me anything I thought I might get into the program or I might not, and after they told me I was on the wait list, I am still in the position of "maybe getting in or maybe not getting in."  In fact, I find the additional tease-factor to be even more anxiety provoking.

Hey, cool.  I just remembered that there are only 28 days in February.  So that means tomorrow is March.  That is totally like 2 less days we will spend waiting, compared to if this had been another month.  I mean, imagine if it was a leap year.  Erm...something to be thankful for, right folks?

Considering an application fee is somewhere between 50 and 100 dollars, which is a lot of money for some people (don't worry Mom, I'll pay you back once I publish that best-seller), I don't think it is out of line for an applicant to expect an e-mail response or two. 
 
(Although I imagine the people tasked with responding to these e-mail requests aren't the ones responsible for the discrepancy between application fee cost and the staff made available to process them, so I guess we can spread the sympathy around.)

In my experience, those who don't have much familiarity with or appreciation of philosophy assume that "Philosophy Major" is codeword for "spent my college years smoking pot and reading New Age books."

Accepted to Missouri.  Waiting on funding decision.
 
Accepted to Memphis.  Waitlisted for funding.
 
I am less excited and more annoyed.  My anxiety level would have been lower had I not heard anything from them until a final decision was made.  What kind of sick joke is "accepted" but "waitlisted for funding" anyway?  What a tease.  Another month and a half refreshing my e-mail every half hour if not every 5 minutes.  Better than nothing I guess.
 
3.7 ug, 3.9 g, 168/155/5.5, no-rep BA and MA.

Accepted to Missouri.  Waiting on funding decision.
 
Accepted to Memphis.  Waitlisted for funding.
 
I am less excited and more annoyed.  My anxiety level would have been lower had I not heard anything from them until a final decision was made.  What kind of sick joke is "accepted" but "waitlisted for funding" anyway?  What a tease.  Another month and a half refreshing my e-mail every half hour if not every 5 minutes.  Better than nothing I guess.
 
3.7 ug, 3.9 g, 168/155/5.5, no-rep BA and MA.