firstene

Wow, congratulations! i'm still hoping...... thanks for posting so we know that calls are going out.

hey, no problem. I am also in a kind of nervous state, constantly checking my phone in case somehow i missed a call even though the ringer is on and it is only a few feet from my ears.... anyway, they had not yet started making calls when I called, at 11:33 am eastern time Carmen said that they would start asap, but that she had spent the day thus far answering phone calls and emails from applicants asking the same questions I asked. She thought that she would be able to start making calls yesterday, but wasn't sure. She said there were about 1000 applicants, and so she was dealing with a lot of calls. (Which makes sense, if 10% of the applicants called, it would take a long time to deal with 100 phone calls.) But she did say that selected applicants should hear by the end of the week. And, she didn't tell me about my application. I didn't ask, but she said, "I don't have the list right in front of me" and it was hard for me to resist the urge to say "can you please get the list and tell me?!!!" I can understand the not being able to concentrate on work! I have been trying to finish some work all day for a class that is 2 hours away, and all I can seem to accomplish is web surfing and phone-checking Good luck!

all my fingers are crossed. I called yesterday and spoke with Carmen Gordon and she said that Sara, the other woman in charge of notifying applicants, was out sick. Also, the DOE didn't authorize a release of funds until late in the day on March 1st. So, that means that they were not able to make the calls on the first, but they planned to start yesterday and will likely finish by the end of the week. She also said that if you do not hear by the middle of next week, you can call and get confirmation either way. She said they were also behind on calling people yesterday because of the huge amount of calls they were getting from nervous applicants like myself who just wanted to know what the deal was. But I couldn't help myself! So, if you haven't heard yet, there is still hope. If you have heard, CONGRATULATIONS! (and plz post and let the rest of us know! ) hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Hi-- I applied this application season to 15 schools, ranked from one to 30 something on the Leiter report, and was grateful to be accepted to a few of them. One thing that I think helped was that the professor who gave me my lowest grade addressed this in his letter of recommendation. He explained that the grade was in a graduate level course, I worked very hard, did well on final, etc etc. I did not have the option to re-take the class, as my school only allows grades to be replaced if the grade is below a c-. (A terrible rule, in my opinion! What about the people who want to replace a B+! or a C!) Okay, my point is that I think it could be helpful to retake that class if you can, and if not, to see if at least one of your letter-writers might comment on that. It was one thing to give my own explanations in my statement of purpose, but I think it helps to have a respected philosopher agree with you. One more note of advice: a student I graduated with also applied to many schools, had a fairly similar GPA to mine, and above average , although not stellar, GRE scores. I believe that his writing sample was strong as well. In any case, the student was rejected everywhere that s/he applied, and after a lot of research into the reasons, it became clear that the letters of recommendation were not very strong. For one of the letters, the student asked the super star professor in the department, although he had never even taken a class with him. It was probably clear to that professor that the student just wanted to use the big name of the professor, and the professor wrote a letter that basically said "I am not familiar enough with the work of this student to make an accurate judgment." This is then very questionable in the eyes of admissions departments, because it makes the student appear shallow, and it also raises the question of why the student didn't get to know any other professors well enough to ask for a letter. So, if you are searching for your other two letter writers, look for people that know you well and know your work well. If you happen to know one of the superstars from your department well enough to ask for a letter, that is a double bonus. and I second the above advice to apply widely. It is insanely competitive-- more so than I thought it would be. I had a 3.9 phil GPA, 3.8 overall, over a 1450 combined GRE with a solid 6.0 on the writing section,and my writing sample paper earned me high honors. Yet none of the top thirteen schools even put me on a waiting list. I did not really expect it, and I am not trying to say that my stats are particularly impressive, I just want to say that when I applied, I was under the impression that I was in pretty good shape. Other students that I know who had more impressive stats, such as a published paper as a writing sample, still had trouble getting into top ten schools. Luckily you still have time to research schools and see where to apply In a way, I enjoyed the whole process, so I wish you luck along the way.

I think I will be rejecting Madison............ an possibly Riverside. I am waitlisted for funding at Amherst, but if I can't get funding, then I will decline Amherst, and still consider Riverside or Madison. I hope that is in some way helpful, and not just indicative of my confused state.....