Loric

I never said it was consistent among schools. That goes back to "fit" that the entire Philosophy forum has declared a word to not be uttered. If you're at all resourceful you can figure out who is going to be a committee. Fun thought: Did any of you even ASK?

It really bugs ya that my principal adviser and advocate has a PhD from Berkeley doesn't it?

And i'd not be surprised in the least to learn that someone else drew a better skeleton and got in while I didn't. The mentality that everyone is good and everyone is equal and everyone is "the best" is complete nonsense. It has nothing to do with what the criteria are, it has everything to do with bothering to acknowledge that they exist and that some people exceed while others fail.

But admissions are not a fair coin and it's nowhere near 50%.

There's a coin toss. Person who calls it gets in. Guy who determines the weight, strength, angle, etc.. picks heads. Other guy picks tails, cuz, reasons. It lands on heads. Who deserves to get in and who is the "best" candidate? The guy who picked heads.

It is not unknowable. That mindset alone is enough to determine who is the best and who is not.

Ahem.. "The M.A. Thesis is most relevant to what I'm working on" Again, why submit the "less" related work?

The best were not the best in the eyes of the adcom, and their opinion matters.. not yours, not mine, not anyone else's but theirs. Why is that such a hard concept to grasp?

and i never said that just "Good" applicants were going to get in or that just being good was good enough.. it's not. You have to be whatever it is they perceive as the best.

They make a quality judgement to choose the final admitted students. It is not unknowable or random. Just because you can't understand the complexity of the system doesn't mean it's not at work. I suppose evolution doesn't happen because it's too complicated?

And i also said they could ask - and if it's a pissing match, you started it. I dont think it's a good reason. I don't think there's any reason for the first unrelated to the field item to even be submitted and am at a loss for why it's the "go-to" instead of the masters work in a truncated form. Someone agreeing to take on the extra paper and include it in your file - who is an admissions person no less, not the person making your final decision, is asking for trouble. Nearly doubling the workload for your app is asking for trouble in any field. I don't recommend it and don't see why anyone would.

It is not unknowable, but as long as you persist in thinking that and behaving that way the answer will continue to elude you. And because you decided to reassign the meaning of the word "random" does not mean your definition is somehow valid and should be accepted at will by anyone else with any respect for the English language.

No, I've just spoken to people in admissions and page limits exist for a reason.

Why were you with someone for 4.5 years if you're willing to drop them when a career/education opportunity comes along?

If they have a page limit, it's because they dont want to read more than 20 pages. What you want and what they want aren't exactly meshing.. and you're very close to "does not follow instructions" territory. (That being one of the "easy" ways to weed out the applicant pool.) You can ask, but you need to understand that what you want really isn't important. It's about what they want.

Seriously, why persist in the delusion that a failure to gain acceptance into a Philosophy program is in no way a reflection of yourself and your ability to put out a good application? Admissions are not random. They do not flip coins. They judge people and their applications based on whatever criteria they feel like, and yes, to an extent you cannot control that criteria, but being prepared and having a "good" application is a far cry from sitting around saying it's all "random" and that you'd statistically not be accepted (hello, they chose SOME people who weren't you, so obviously it's possible.) I'm not one to think not getting in makes you a bad person or anything, but I certainly believe that blaming everyone and everything else - at this point, the flip of a coin and fate - as being the reason for not getting in is just absurd and reflects perhaps the plethora of reasons you weren't accepted or wont be accepted in the first place. And perhaps if you, philosophy hopeful, accepted that a bad application will mean rejection much moreso than a good application (which while still possible, is significantly less statistically so) then MAYBE you can take the steps needed to solidify your having of a GOOD application and then stand a decent chance at garnering the admission you so crave. But no, instead sit around saying it's all random, there's no hope, and there's nothing you can do. Let me know how far that gets you. You may have done your best, and perhaps your best was not good enough. Welcome to the real world. There are no A's for effort here. Do better, be better, and you'll be seen as better. Want to get in? Have a better application. Make your best better than it is. That's the difference between in and out.

Well, the old adviser is certainly doing you no favors. See what the department head says. If there is a venue for a formal complaint, I don't see why not to pursue it.

And those are the people who got interviewed/accepted.. and yet my theory that most applications/applicants are just plain BAD/AWFUL is soooooo wrong *eye roll*. Reality, I wish more people lived in it.

Your belief that it's "random" is stupid. I'm anticipating watching your rejection list grow.

If I wanted to call you a hobag I would. Directly, in front if your family, pastor, employer, first love and God himself. I do indeed lack that level of qualm and restraint. Don't aggrandize yourself thinking i've put that much effort into thinking up ways to backhanded insult you on the sly. If I wanted to insult, you'd know it.

Just a note about SOP - it only helps if they read it. It can be one of the last things they do, if at all, at some programs.

Note: go to flyertalk.com and ask in the United forum for help. They will say many if the same things but maybe they'll take pity and help.

Also. Pull up a one way. Bet you it costs more than round trip. Save that for in case they question why you booked what you did.

You needed home to A and back, and still do so to speak. It's not fraud to change your plans. You bought the ticket in good faith within the airlines rules. Less than 200 is cheap, btw. I'd be seeing minimum 400 to fly out to some schools. So then B happens. You don't need the A return. Sorry, it can't be refunded. Oh well. It happens. Really the airline needs to splice in another leg but someone over there is being a jerk. As long as your dept/return city is the same they should be able to modify and charge that price. That would be what B pays. Alas, no. Just book a to b, b to home. Charge that to be. Don't worry. Print the receipts out and if all else fails - check in online and print boarding passes. Problem solved. But call and ask about that leg modification. Your fee is not home-a-home with no ability to modify at all. It will cost, but can be done.

Couple of notes.. Most applications are BAD. Absolutely awful bad bad bad BAD. There's a reason we joke about the overused and cliched SOP phrases. If you're able to express yourself halfway decently in written words you're ahead of a lot of people. Second, being marginally good at your chosen subject.. that helps too. There are a lot of applicants who are just hopeless. I'm saying this as someone from a test score and grades standpoint who - if i was anyone else - would have about zero chance. Because I'm me, I'm special and I know an adcom is actually considering me seriously. I wasn't just "cut" and my last semester at my old grad school is all F's (admittedly from classes i didnt take, but didnt drop/withdraw from formally, and the adcom knows this.) But everyone thinks they're special. If everyone was actually special, no one would be. So it's a matter of being objective. You're not a number, not an unknown value who will be randomly sorted into slot A or B at the flip of a coin. You are a thing that will be judged, and even the person who said they were "shut out" admitted that with some polish they turned their poor application into a good one. It is not chance it is not magic it is not voodoo. You are being judged and all the alchemy of that process is in play. Yes, it may be because you like XYZ and someone on the adcom hates XYZ so you're out. You can't really account for their opinions in that manner.. but it is a judgement, not chance.