Duns Eith

I heard from a grad student that they are in the process of installing a new dept. chair, and it is possible that is a reason for delay. I hope we hear from them soon!!

Post. (USPS)

My presumption had been confirmed. I am rejected at Indiana University Bloomington Dang.

That sucks. I take it you're the one with 12 conferences and all that other jazz? Geeze.

I sympathize. But here's the issue: when you cut off the bottom 80%, your applicants start looking pretty dang similar. They all have great GREs, great GPA, great letters of recommendation, and the writing samples differ so widely but not much with respect to quality. Personal statements vary, but they show more clearly your goals and personality -- these really help to indicate fit within a department. Regarding randomness: If you have 50 people rolling dice, there are some who roll boxcars (get a bunch of offers at top-ranked programs), some who roll 7's (the most common result: a few offers, a waitlist, and plenty of rejections), and some who roll snake-eyes (get shut out). So, of course if you have more than 50 people with excellent applications and they are reporting on TGC and other places, you're going to hear of those rare cases, the exceptions. For example, a few years ago someone applied to only 10 programs and they were all top-10 programs, PGR, and got offers from all of them. Unlikely, though conditionally probable perhaps, it is statistically bound to happen eventually. For this reason, it seems random or arbitrary, and this is not very much unlike the market as well. A VAP position may get over a hundred applications, and the search committee is forced to ask, "Who of these dozens of extremely qualified applicants do we reject? How can we reject such excellent applicants for the job?!" I have an anecdote from a professor regarding this exact situation. And it blows that it feels, and likely is, not insignificantly random. This is not in any way saying that the applicant pool in general is random. I'm talking about after you've effectively reduced the pool to the top 20%. (50 people rolling dice is to represent crudely the top 20% across programs) Go for it. The worst they can say is "Buzz off"

This is spot on. I heard of someone who was rejected at Baylor (unranked), but accepted at Cornell (PGR 17). I think there were some rejections and waitlists at lower ranked schools as well. I myself thought that I would get into a good ranked program. My peers thought so too, and they saw my writing sample, GRE scores, GPA in undergrad and grad; they knew my letter writers, they saw how I was tailoring my personal statements, they knew about my conferences, publication, etc. Yet as you can see from my signature, I've only been accepted or waitlisted at unranked programs. (Meanwhile, almost all of them have offers at ranked schools.) There is a lot of randomness to this, and there is also a lot unknown to the applicant. Fit is an important factor, and one I should've taken into account more. That said, make sure you ask not only will your professor write you a letter, but also will your professor write you a good letter. It is in your interest to be frank and ask candidly.

This may help me, indirectly or directly. I'm waitlisted at Purdue. Thanks. I think that helps someone I know who applied to Baylor, and perhaps indirectly me for Purdue (though we have different AOI). Thanks!

Congrats!

I heard thru the grapevine that they have done calls as well. FB group? Anyway. I just checked the mail in light of that post 15 min ago. Nada.

Thanks! May the adcomms have that good feeling too!

My presumption has been confirmed. I am rejected at Notre Dame and "The" Ohio State University. Dang.

Congrats! Would could top this? NYU?

Congrats for being high on the list at Purdue. I hope that the waitlist gets a lot of movement, since I'm hoping to come off it (my AOI is not continental, though)

Shut out? That sucks. How many places you apply to?

I thought I'd take the discussion that was happening on the results page and ... have the discussion on the discussion forum. unless there's a reason to remain anonymous?

I think while the writing sample may be the culprit, the sheer odds may be as well. You applied to only 6 programs? Unless you were an outstanding applicant, far exceeding your peers at your school, you might have had less than a coin flip probability getting in somewhere. That said, flip again -- or, perhaps, multiply the number of schools you apply to by 3 fold.

You tease. What did it say?

Congrats!

Congrats! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'm lookin' to graduate with my MA in philosophy this April.

I think mid-March, like March 15.

Same. That's my last school in Chicago (4/4 rejected me). So it looks like I'm not moving there! I actually thought I'd be a good fit there, too. I wasn't sure about the stipend though, given the cost of living.

Waitlisted at Purdue.

I just did today. Yippee skippy? And now it turns out my undergrad has changed its transcript request system, including how they are charging a lot now. And won't accept the form when it is completed. zomg.

Conference this weekend for me! Presenting my paper, which was my writing sample for every school I applied to.

I was asked to submit the transcripts a couple years ago, but that was with explicit mention that I was waitlisted. I hope that I have better than "middling" chances, given that since last time I applied, I have earned an MA in philosophy and think I have significantly improved every part of my app since then. There are few programs I applied to that I think I would have a better "fit" at. I'd gladly take it over some of the ranked programs I applied to.