Neither Here Nor There

Who is the person who has gotten 9/10 acceptances and no waitlist or rejections. Holy Moly. What was your writing sample on?

Re: Georgetown. Delayed by a week or so is not clear. If the average day is the 17th, it could be to next week. But if the average is earlier, it could be as soon as Friday. I second what the others. Thanks for contacting them for us.

Is Loyola University Chicago over? I got a weird email the other day saying that the committee is still making decisions, which did not make sense since I've seen them on the results page. So I'm not sure if there is more to come, or if that was just an automated message since there was nothing on my file. Also still nothing from Fordham.

Message current graduate students and ask them questions. You will probably learn more that way anyway.

Did anyone hear from Fordham? It seems last year it was released on the 10th but I have not seen anything from them on the results page, nor have I heard from them.

I also have an MA. My experience likewise is that papers that get As in undergrad do not necessarily get As (or an A-) in grad school. However, bear in mind that if your writing sample was good enough to get a funded MA spot, you probably aren't your average A undergrad - you are probably above average. This isn't to say that you should not put all effort into writing rigorously, you should because your MA is your time to get the needed skills you need for future phd work, but it is to say that it won't be as hard as you think to make good grades. My experience here in Canada, and it may be different n the states, is that professors try to give at least an A- in the overall class because Bs taint your future phd work. So there is more expectations than undergrad, as one's shitty undergrad paper that got an A- will be shot down right away, but it's not impossible expectations either. As far as what it takes to make an A, a good term paper, and if you have other assignments, such as reading responses or a presentation, do them thoroughly. I would make As on my reading responses while other students made Bs, not out of talent, but because I filled out the page and made an effort to highlight the main arguments of the text. I don't recommend reading quickly per se. Read thoroughly. You will write your term paper on one thing. You will do your presentation on one thing. It is far from necessary to absorb all the material. The best and most original work you may do may be from studying one section of a text over and over and more or less paying half attention to the rest.

I would start with your coursework and then do your thesis or research project, unless there is a pressing reason to. Your coursework is preparing you to write a tight and rigorous writing sample, in the sense that you are practicing writing lengthy papers of junior scholar quality, and indeed, a term paper can be modified into a writing sample. I finished my MA thesis last semester and did not use it as my writing sample. It was ultimately on the same topic as the thesis, but the entire program, coursework and thesis, helped me become a better writer.

I wonder if they rejected you because you had an offer somewhere else. I would love to hear others stories. Questions about the writing sample are fair, though sounds painful, but drilling you about where you are applying is so odd. So odd. EDIT: P.S. How long was this interview/

It is acceptable to email the department assistant. But when I applied to MAs in Canada, I was on more than one waitlist and wasn't told about it. So some departments don't notify students of waitlists.

I am wondering if people are not posting their results as much as in the past. I see a Oregon waitlist. I was not aware that they had sent acceptances yet. I wish people would post their acceptances more.

I spent around $130 per school with the transcripts and GRE score. I applied to 13.

I agree completely that the GRE should not be blown off, and that committees probably use it to select between otherwise equal candidates all the time. I don't blame the professors. I might do that as well if I was on the committee. The issue, as you well know, is that it takes an enormous amount of time to relearn the math tricks if you are not a math person (as a lot of continental students particularly are) and a lot of time to memorize the vocabulary. I had to study on top of full-time graduate studies in my MA program, where I was writing a meaningful thesis, writing and presenting at a conference, and studying languages. All this on top of the fact that I was working. And I'm sure my story is shared by almost everyone else here. So they are asking me to forfeit the time I need to do actual things to improve my philosophical future (master Latin and German; conference papers; graduate work) to study for an exam that is only mildly related to philosophy at best. But sure, you are right that it should not be blown off, and you are also right that it could have been a way to set me apart from the other applicants, by receiving a top score. I would much prefer that if they insist on a test to balance the subjectivity of the committees that we have a different test. I would prefer a language or logic exam, or philosophy subject test. That would be a peel to study for, but I'd complain less because at least what I would be learning I would need in a very direct way in the future (forcing me to double down on studying a language is never a bad thing). P.S. I wrote this. Not scoot. Not sure what happened.

Also, a good point. I can make a good score. By using all my time that I need to be spending studying Latin memorizing vocabulary and relearning the math tricks. That's it. The test really doesn't test anything other than the fact that you had time and resources to study. That you devoted time isn't a bad quality to have, certainly, because it says a lot about your devotion to learning in general, but there could be more holistic things to look for . . like one's foreign language skills or logic skills.

Spoken like a philosopher! The real reason we have this gosh awful test is that it makes money! I also would not complain if it was cheaper to retake. But it cost me a fortune to take the test and then send all the scores. Its quite frankly ridiculous, but such is life in capitalism.

Right so if the writing sample is a better way to test that . . . so shoundn't other things be a better way than the verbal test, which only tests your ability to memorize vocabulary words? . .. like say the fact that I made all As in my philosophy courses? Heidegger is some of the hardest stuff to read, and I have written and understood him. I've also read him in German. Is the GRE really a better test to these reading abilities than my coursework and language study? its like good grief. and my math was worse than yours (though I was scoring around the 151 on the practice test, I didn't to finish the test and it pulled me down). I think it will shut me out, because if the final pool is between really good and somewhat equal applicants, the person who studied well for the GRE will pull up top. But I do resent that. I have a publication. Four conference papers. Three degrees with straight As in all my coursework. Good letters and good thesis. And I know those things can't get you in of itself, but the GRE should not be relevant to whether I make the cut, but it will.

And I agree that the AW is by far the closest to what we do in philosophy. In fact, it is quite related. I wrote one of mine on Heidegger. haha. However, even as someone who got a 5.5., I don't think it says much about my writing abilities. It just says I an write an essay the GRE way in 30 minutes. In the real world, we write much slower and often in a more creative ways. Its not that useful. By the time you are applying to phd programs, a standardised test should not be necessary.

My quant GRE was also terrible. My AW was a 5.5. It was the only section I did well on. Not a coincidence. I expect to be shut out because of it, though I am continental and hope the person above me is right that the quant will just be ignored. Personally, I think the whole thing does not tell much. Sure, the verbal is related, but my writing samples and letters show more about my ability to read and analyze difficult concepts. The test just tests if I can analyze them quickly and think about the answers in a very black and white way. Perhaps the worst part of the whole thing is the amount of time that is wasted studying it. I am learning Latin and had to take off time studying for Latin to work on math skills. Latin I need. Math I don't. And I will add that I actually know how to do the math questions for the most part . . . what I can't do is solve them quickly because I've lost the formulas or quick tricks. So I'm too slow to get a good score. I had some of the same problems on the verbal though not as bad, hence not a bad score on the verbal but not a great one either. Really, it just sucks. It should go away. And gosh, damn it, if it shuts me out. I understand perfectly why it would shut me out. If the application pool is 250, and they have 5 spots, why would they choose the person with the low GRE? But if we eliminated the test and instead asked for things that really help our success (like language skills), I think that would be a much better way to narrow down applicants.

Has anyone gotten acceptance letters from universities in the afternoon, or is it generally only morning?

I also applied to BC and did not get an acceptance letter. My portal just says "application submitted." I assume that means I'm either on the waitlist or on the rejection list. I guess we will know soon. Thing about BC: sometimes they will take 2 or 3 people from their MA program into their phd, and they only take 5 students. They are insanely difficult to get into. I am definitely anticipating a rejection. Hopefully somewhere else will work.

Easy. If you are an American immigrating to Canada on a student permit, you can obtain the permit by flag poling. Just show up at the border and ask to go inside and apply for a permit. You need basically two things (1) acceptance letter and (2) proof that you have enough money. For proof, you need enough money to cover all the tuition and fees and about $1000 worth of income per month to pay for your living expenses. So for a 1-year MA, you need about $12,000 in the bank for living expenses + the amount you need for tuition and fees. It does not have to all be cash, however, If you have a fellowship and TAship that counts. You can also work up to 20 hours per week off campus. If you have a phd offer, you have proof of income through the fellowship and TAship. So it will be no big deal. MAs are more likely only to be partially funded (enough to cover the fees and some living expenses) so you will need more cash in the bank. You can also get your parents to send a copy of their bank statement + notorized copy of their signature saying that they will provide funds if you run out. If you are not American, flag poling will not be an option and there will be addition loopholes required. But it is very very easy for Americans as long as you can show proof that either you or the university or a combination of the two is providing enough funds for all your fees, tuition, AND living expenses. You will probably have to pay around $125 for the permit and expect to be at at the immigration building a few hours (probably because of long lines and I think they will run a background check on you, though they probably will not tell you they are doing that). You can also bring your car if you are American. PM me if you have questions.

Can anyone claim the Saint Louis acceptance? I was disappointed to hear the phone call was on the 30th. That was the day my application was finally completed! My MA transcript had been lost and I didn't know it until two weeks ago and had it resent. I emailed the head of the committee and he said he would still consider my application but would need the transcript. So naturally I am disappointed that Saint Louis sent out an acceptance already. In past years it was the end of February for them. It's okay to be rejected because I'm not wanted but not because my MA transcript was lost. How disappointing.

oh okay, cool. Much congrats.

You received a message on a Saturday? was it via email or via the website?