eigenname

I once heard someone tell me (perhaps only half in jest) that their business model is to earn money from tuition fees so they can afford to keep inviting Zizek over.

Last cycle, when I got shut out, I got the feeling that my writing sample was widely unpopular (despite doing really well as a dissertation thesis) - I defended an old, unpopular view in philosophy of science that one philosopher has called 'widely proven false since the 60's'. So I took another one of my essays about a more recent discussion about logical choice in philosophy of logic and extended it instead for this cycle. Otherwise, I didn't really change anything (e.g. grades, letters, personal statements) in my application.
For what it's worth, I think it's worthwhile writing something that's not conventionally deemed a dead topic. I imagine a writing sample on an extremely lively topic, of broad appeal to everyone, would be even more profitable. A 'mainstream' topic (Kant, Hume, epistemology, ethics or something) would probably be helpful for getting into more schools, and would be good if you haven't yet decided on your main interest areas; my topic was a bit more specialized, but I did get into the top PGR schools for my AOIs this cycle (phil physics, phil logic). 
Hope this helps, and all the best next year!

Declined CUNY GC, will be going to UCSD. 

Declined CUNY GC, will be going to UCSD. 

Rejection from UNC as well - exact same email used by Marc Lange as last year. At this point I am too tired to care anyway. Final result is 4a/1w/10r, so that's a lot better than last year; now to make the final decision.

I've been told that I'm still under consideration at UNC! I emailed/called to solicit. Fingers crossed...I'm praying this works out at the eleventh hour as UNC was one of my top choice schools and it would be a miracle...

Declined Irvine LPS, Columbia, Michigan, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, UConn, and Pittsburgh. 

No change on portal - from experience last year it takes a few days to be processed. 

Rejection from UNC as well - exact same email used by Marc Lange as last year. At this point I am too tired to care anyway. Final result is 4a/1w/10r, so that's a lot better than last year; now to make the final decision.

First time applicant, so I didn't realize this was the case. Oh well.

I didn't actually receive a direct response to my email itself (I had emailed Professor Paul), but I just got an email from Professor Marc Lange telling me that I will soon receive an email informing me of my rejection. So I guess I still technically have the UNC Chapel Hill decision to look forward to, although I know already what it is. Not much of a transformative experience.

Just got into CUNY GC from a wait-list I didn't know I was on until 2 days ago. I was all ready to accept UCSD...

Congratulations!

Just got into CUNY GC from a wait-list I didn't know I was on until 2 days ago. I was all ready to accept UCSD...

Just got into CUNY GC from a wait-list I didn't know I was on until 2 days ago. I was all ready to accept UCSD...

I tried a few weeks ago, and I think someone tried a few days ago, and the response was the same one (I posted it in the acceptance/rejection thread a few weeks back). I doubt L.A. Paul will change her tune until they finally decide who to reject/wait-list and that'll likely depend on people holding UNC offers rejecting them. 

Ridiculous that we still haven't heard from Chapel Hill. Apparently, they still haven't sent out a single rejection.
 

One of my favourites:
How many speech act theorists does it take to change a light bulb?
*Do you really want to know or are you simply asking me to change it?*

Let's be honest: you got admitted to a grad school in philosophy -- be worried! Your attempts for securing a poor paying adjunct job or getting lottery ticket (tenure) are becoming a reality.
Gimme heart reacts if you don't mind staring into the void.

Deplorable.

For what it's worth, I came from the top school in the UK for my undergrad, applied to 15 schools, but only got into 3 (and that's probably it). However, they all rank really highly for the fields I'm interested in (general philosophy of science, physics), so I'm not too worried, especially since I know I was competing with lots of people with a science/physics/math background (none of which I formally had as an undergrad). Also, if it helps, one of my supervisors at my undergrad university came from the other top school in the UK but only got into one PhD program, and he's in one of the most prestigious junior positions in my university now.
I like to think about it this way: if people who are leading in your subfield thought you'd make a great addition to their department, it means that you are philosophically 'good enough'. What the other rejections could mean, though, is that you were not a great fit as a *PhD student* for other departments *based on your writing sample* and some other fairly arbitrary considerations, but I'm not sure these are reliable predictors for future success. In any case, I just want to say that you are not alone, and it's going to be OK (telling this to you as much as to myself)

For what it's worth, I came from the top school in the UK for my undergrad, applied to 15 schools, but only got into 3 (and that's probably it). However, they all rank really highly for the fields I'm interested in (general philosophy of science, physics), so I'm not too worried, especially since I know I was competing with lots of people with a science/physics/math background (none of which I formally had as an undergrad). Also, if it helps, one of my supervisors at my undergrad university came from the other top school in the UK but only got into one PhD program, and he's in one of the most prestigious junior positions in my university now.
I like to think about it this way: if people who are leading in your subfield thought you'd make a great addition to their department, it means that you are philosophically 'good enough'. What the other rejections could mean, though, is that you were not a great fit as a *PhD student* for other departments *based on your writing sample* and some other fairly arbitrary considerations, but I'm not sure these are reliable predictors for future success. In any case, I just want to say that you are not alone, and it's going to be OK (telling this to you as much as to myself)

Another thing to note is that academia, for better or for worse (I think for worse) is, just like most things in life, extremely power-imbalanced: unfortunately, you guys have pragmatic reasons to do certain things (show your best face to faculty) that faculty have less of a reason to do with you.
I'm not defending that the fact that this is true (which I think it is) also somehow makes it right. But I think in this case it doesn't really matter: we should all (faculty, grad students, prospective grad students) just try to be more kind, compassionate, respectful, and professional.

I don't think Chapel Hill has sent out any waitlists yet even though LA Paul said they've constructed it. So maybe there's still hope for us @eigenname!
Chapel Hill is my last shot at a PhD this cycle and a wonderful fit...so I really hope I get lucky...

I just declined Chapel Hill. Good luck!