ianfaircloud

Maybe L.A. Paul's letter was so amazing and inspiring that it knocked this person's socks off.

Agreed! Also, of the thousand who applied this season, only about 10 get the privileged position of hearing an acceptance in January. So you're setting yourself up for failure if you expect anything this early.

I'm not among them, but the person who I know who is among them is highly qualified (as one would imagine). I mention this for two reasons. One, I won't be surprised if this person is admitted to other programs of similar quality, leaving open a spot to someone else. Two, I think it's nice to know that (at least some of) those who are admitted ahead of us are at least very well qualified. Two years ago I remember reading acceptances on the 'results' pages with incoherent comments. (E.g. One person reported that he/she was "absolutely enthralled" at the acceptance.) That was disappointing to me.

This is so true. Thanks for this. I'm keeping in mind as we go that many schools have to admit, over the course of weeks, three times as many as they hope to enroll. I have personal experience with a particular department that has admitted roughly FOUR times what they aimed to enroll. So that means very long wait-lists.

I've confirmed through a friend that UNC released its first acceptances very early this morning. Emails were sent directly from a member of faculty to each student individually. More: http://faircloudblog.wordpress.com/ Congratulations to those who have been accepted!!!

The effectiveness of the gradcafe results site depends on people being reasonable and civil. And it just so happens that it's worked out pretty well so far. So yeah, Table, you're right that one person could mess up the whole thing. But since that's not happened yet, some of us are putting a little confidence in the system. If I see a few posts, I'm going to assume it's legitimate.

Ahh, my memory sucks!! How embarrassing. I remember your real name, but I forgot your user name. Anyway, your situation may be a bit different, since you're no longer hanging around the dept. I see these people pretty often. But yeah, our administrator is the best.

Gettier.

I'm just glad to see that ethics isn't particularly popular. I was tempted to list ancient as an AOI on my SOPs, only to set my application apart from the rest.

This is the best advice I've heard. Do we have the same department administrator?? I thought about this awhile, and I've decided to stick with simple thank-you notes. As a TA, I've received gifts. It's very uncomfortable for me, and I simply can't imagine that it's much more comfortable for anyone else. In fact I've turned down gifts or distributed them anonymously among the grad students to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

What's with the attitude? I find that my numbers give a rough idea. I think you're over-thinking this, my friend. But I can see that you don't find it helpful. That's fine. By the way, do you think the strongest candidates are sitting around thinking to themselves, "I'm among the strongest candidates"? Do you think the weakest candidates are saying, "I'm among the weakest"? I assume not. But you suggest that "the very strongest candidates" can "expect to survive the first cut." Who are these folks who can expect anything, let alone expect to survive the first cut??

To this claim: "We don't have meaningful data regarding being shut out." I respond: Yes, we do. Meaningful comes in degrees. It *does* mean something that the top-20 programs admit between three and ten percent of their applicants. And we can take an educated guess what it means for us.

Respectfully, that's incorrect. All things considered, what is the average chance of being admitted to a program on your list of schools? If it's ten percent -- and I think that's not too far off (in my case) -- then you can calculate the chance of being shut out. The words 'all things considered' matter. I'm surprised that you think the math doesn't tell us something meaningful about our chances. That's a shocking claim.

I appreciate your thoughtful reply, and I think there's much truth to what you're saying. But I think it's an overstatement to say that we can't have meaningful data with regard to being shut out. Surely you agree that if one applies to the top 20 programs in philosophy, even the very strongest candidates likely have not much better than a ten percent average chance of admission. There's guessing involved here, but one's average chance of admission to each program can be roughly estimated. I think I'd be a fool to think my chances are much better than ten percent on average. And if that's the case, then the data is quite meaningful. But yes, I agree with the sentiment in your words, namely that there are many, many variables, and one can't be sure of one's chances.

Unfortunately, many great candidates will be completely shut out of graduate admissions -- even candidates who applied to 20+ programs. I did the math, and I won't repost everything here. If the admissions process were completely random, and if you applied to 20 programs, and if the average acceptance rate at those programs is five percent, then your chance of being shut out is 36 percent!!!!! That's ridiculously high, in my view. If the average acceptance rate is ten percent, things look a little brighter. (Who knows what the average acceptance rate is??) http://faircloudblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/will-i-get-shut-out-of-admissions/ Anyway, I'd like to know everyone's thoughts.

Yes, schools send out admissions decisions over the course of weeks. There will be offers of acceptance issued weeks from now (except in extraordinary circumstances). A school like Duke is competing for students who also applied to Harvard and other top institutions.

Is Kant an AOI for you? Or is that just a catchy user name?

I'm sorry-- that was vague! I meant U Chicago!! Second Duke post is now up...

Duke #2 is now up. Unless there's a conspiracy, Duke has sent out / is sending out its first round of acceptances.

I think we'll hear from three total this week. Duke, U Chicago, Riverside (though I'm less certain about Riverside, because I hear that their process changed this year). Duke may already be out. (One person posted today, but I'm waiting to see more than that.)

I'm guessing it's for real. Keep in mind that decisions and wait-lists often trickle for a few days. The department may not have notified everyone who's been admitted in the first round. I do wish the person who posted would have given something more than the stats. E.g. did a particular professor notify this person? Was that professor someone who was named on this person's statement of purpose?

Thanks, re: the stats. But stats aren't everything. I applied with very similar stats a few years ago and was rejected by a long list of programs. The whole package is important, including the undergraduate institution and the names on the letters of recommendation. But yeah, I have very nice numbers, and I'm proud of them. I'm trying to be somewhat anonymous on this site. I study 'normative' philosophy, as opposed to metaphysics or epistemology. Quite a bit falls under the umbrella of normative philosophy. Ethics, metaethics, social-political. Questions in feminist philosophy and philosophy of race. Legal philosophy. Sometimes people include philosophy of action under the heading of normative philosophy. I believe that it's wise not to be too specific on your statement of purpose, with regarding to areas of interest. For one thing, many of us are young and relatively new to philosophy. I've only spent about five years in philosophy. So of course I expect that my interests will continue to evolve.

You raise a good point. I guess I'm assuming that a lot of folks don't bother entering the separate date of notification. The default date of notification is the date of the entry. But yes, there's an important difference. When I went through the list, I looked at the dates of notification. Usually (though not always) the dates are the same.

There will certainly be more acceptances from Ohio State. All we know now is that a few people have been admitted. It's complicated, but some departments (including the one with which I'm presently connected) attempt to gauge the likelihood of the first half-dozen or so applicants going elsewhere. This allows the department to extend the best financial packages to the next-best six applicants, e.g. This is one of several possible reasons for the slow drip. Also, FYI, I updated the results on my blog: http://faircloudblog.wordpress.com. I'm putting everything in one place, and I hope people will find the blog useful. It's a way for me to pass the (stressful) time of application season.

Good question. I recall a plurality of releases on Fridays. Mondays were common. Tuesdays and Thursdays weren't as common, if I recall correctly. Some people post results later in the evening, and the results will appear as Saturdays or Thursdays, though the department likely contacted those people on Fridays or Wednesdays, respectively. If you've ever posted on the results page, you'll notice that the page operates on UTC time. So a post at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 23 will appear as Jan. 24.