bechkafish

@DontGetMeSartred, I don't think you're being ridiculous at all. I had a similar existential jolt going into masters work - it was my first experience being surrounded by actual "career philosophers" (my undergrad - which employed a grand total of three philosophy faculty, all many years tenured - was so unnotable as to be completely insulated from this). I suppose I was expecting some level of camaraderie and emotional honesty that I just didn't and still haven't found. People are competitive; people are obsessed with pedigree; people are largely unwelcoming / discouraging in this field, or at least in this department, because every person who makes it to the finish line is another person with whom to compete in an already overwhelmed job market. I don't think you're at all overreacting by calling the "elitst and competitive aura" nasueating. It really is. Once the shine wears off, academic philosophy is as self-aggrandizing and nasty as I think any discipline has the right to be. [P.S.: Okay, I realize this sounds a bit like bitternress re: my season going so poorly, and maybe it is a bit, but these feelings long predate this application round. I've felt a [much less well articulated] version of what you describe for the past several years.]

Really sorry to hear this. You should have demanded that the POI give you that assessment in writing... signed... and notarized...

0a / 0w / 4r [7] I am legit living my nightmare. What is even happening.

I honestly don't know. He was very vague in his email - he didn't straight-up confirm that all offers have been made (there seems to be some serious lag with the mail notifications?)... I would say keep a modicum of hope for the waitlist until you hear otherwise. They don't seem to be very organized.

Solicited response - emailed Gurtler to ask when we might expect application responses, and he kindly broke the news for me than and there.

Rejected by BC. I have given up all hope and am now simply an agglomeration of self-hatred and anxiety scanning monster.com for shitty office jobs.

Just heard back from Gurtler (that was fast!) - no BC for me, but he also didn't give me any real indication of what other applications shoulde expect. It was implied that finalists have already been notified, and that it was strange that I hadn't yet received my rejection, but that seems strange - only two acceptances on gradcafe?

Just emailed BC to try and get some clarity on where they are with repsonses... So far it looks like the only people who have heard have been the fellowship recipient and @MVSCZAR (incidentally, by email??)... I'll let you guys know what I hear!

I second @MVSCZAR on those being the two big questions you should ask yourself. In addition, though: are you hoping to go on to a PhD after your masters, or are you happy with the terminal MA? You told us what philosophy courses you took in undergrad, but not how you did on them, which is important - As? Or did you have any trouble? If the latter, you might want to take a closer look at your goals and motivations. And, ultimately, this is my biggest piece of advice - if you do end up deciding to pursue your masters, do your very best to make sure that you apply only to funded programs. I, alas, did not do this: and I'm a solid $120,000 in debt just for my MA, which is (a) criminal, and (b) not really worth it if this is only a cursory interest and/or you're not sure how you could use this degree to your financial advantage.

Amen, sister.

Chicken parmesan - the king of sandwiches. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do wonderfully.

I was incredibly depressed today after the news from Brown, so my brother came over after work and brought me a sandwich and we played N64 Mario Kart. Thank goodness that boy moved to the same city as me...

Thanks, @psm1580b, I really appreciate that. It's so firmly planted in my mind (probably in a lot of people's minds) that if I get shut out this year, that's it, I'm finished. It's comforting to know that people not only apply a second time, but actually feel much more positive / well-prepared in the process! @Siegfried42, I mean, I think it would be totally acceptable for you to defenstate phones and/or fellow human given the circumstances. We'll all come to court to act as character witnesses for your defense, and testify to the temporary insanity engendered by this whole awful process. And thanks again for being so encouraging, it really does mean a lot to me. And I'm sure it means a lot to our friend Arti that you're reading WWR - you're in for an adventure my friend. I'm just going to PM you my paper, because I hate myself and I don't want to log onto my Academia.edu page to upload it lol

First of all, let's get married. Second of all, I don't know, man. I'm losing all faith in the strength of my application; combine that with mediocre GRE scores and an embarrassingly unknown undergrad, I'm not sure where that leaves me. The departments I have left to hear from aren't giving me much hope: Columbia is the longest long shot in the history of long shots (and it looks like Lydia Goehr, the one person who maybe could have pulled for me, is on leave this semester); The New School's funding seems pretty hopeless; Boston College is/was the lowest option on my list; Boston University is great, but honestly, I was hoping to leave there and move on to bigger and better things (I'm finishing my masters there). Georgetown and Brown were really my golden tickets, you know? Ugh. I don't know. I don't think I have the mental health / confidence to try again next year if I get shut out. For now, I'm just going to curl up with this beer on my sofa and pretend everything's a-okay.

Woooo! Congratulations!!! Did they give any explanation on where they are re: acceptances in the email?

0a/0w/3r [7]... I really need to start thinking of a Plan B. Or maybe just revert to full blown alcoholism, idk.

Rejection from Brown. Crushed is an understatement.

@pecado, I'm sorry that your thread is being hijacked like this. I just wanted to stop in and say thank you for posting - it's been a rough application season for me, emotionally, and waking up this morning to your post helped me feel a bit less underwater.

Brown is going to kill me. Is there any reason to believe that more acceptances will go out?

You guys, I was on the train this morning, heading to the library to get some work done, and I looked down and there was an adhesive label lying right between my feet on the floor of the car that read CREMATED REMAINS and if that experience isn't a metaphor for my whole life right now, I don't know what is.

Where the fluck is Brown. Also, everything is terrible and I really just want to stay in bed today.

I got my Georgetown rejection at 7am and have so far (1) had a cup of coffee, (2) smoked two cigarettes, (3) gone back to bed for a couple of hours, (4) laid around like a depressed slug and stared at the wall. This weekend is not off to a super great start.

Woke up to a very kind email from Mark Murphy at Georgetown, telling me thanks but no thanks. This one stings... I really thought it was a great fit.

I'm so anxious about Georgetown that I'm probably going to die.

Oh my goodness, yes! Wagner is excellent. Parsifal = heart eyes. You know, there's actually a story about how Wagner reached out to Schopenhauer when he (Wagner) was fairly young? He sent him a copy of the score of The Nibelung and wrote him a little dedication of "gratitude" for having been such a strong influence, and Schopenhauer - being as equally unpleasant in his old age as Wagner was renowned to be - was all like, "STEP OFF, BITCH" and never wrote back. Well, sort of. He did say through a mutual acquaintance that Wagner should stop writing music.