Rose-Colored Beetle

It beats mashing the "refresh" button on my gmail account.

It's like stress eating.

Hey, Needle... I don't have plans yet. If Boston College, SLU, and three MA programs would get back to me, I could come closer to a decision. I will say that I'm inclined to accept Fordham's offer, but not totally set on it. I'm still not sure why they accepted me. My writing sample was not very good, by professional standards (though it did demonstrate original thought). I only have a B.A., and that from a little-known liberal-arts university. I do have teaching experience and a decent GRE, as well as favorable letters, but still.

An abductive inference about the truth-value of R ("I am rejected by school X") does not immediately seem possible. Since an accepted inference is an inference the truth of which the inferring person is prepared to live, abductively inferring R would compel the inferring person to live as though he or she had been rejected, which would in some cases mean immediately accepting an offer from another school (out of kindness to those waitlisted). I say we withhold judgment. I would also like to say, in general, that "best explanation" in the definition of "abductive reasoning" implies "best" in a sense which includes such specific life-factors of inferring persons, and not just "best" in the sense of "statistical plurality of likelihood," or something.

Anyone heard more from WMU, UWM, or Brandeis?

Prtrbd, congrats on the acceptance. I was disappointed to be rejected at ND, and my worry is that my writing sample was my downfall as my GRE scores were within or above the averages stated on their site. Would you mind telling me in general the topic of the sample you applied with?

I'm anticipating a difficult decision between my generous PhD offer from Fordham and a probable MA offer from one of the typical schools (GSU, UWM, Western Michigan, Brandeis) which could potentially place me at a more prestigious program (Notre Dame, Rutgers, SLU). Really, this gets at a bigger life problem. Do I pursue advanced research at a top-notch university? Or do I seek out "pluralistic" philosophical exposure and top-notch teacher development? I take it that none of the schools I listed have sent out much, besides fellowship offers from UWM? That's comforting, I suppose... As a Wisconsin resident, I'd find an offer from them attractive indeed.

And now for a good-humored rant. Does anyone else regret sending out your GRE scores to the masses? I just checked my spam folder, and I have recent emails from no less than seven institutions. This isn't counting all the ones that made it past my spam filter. Why do people think I want a master's degree in library science, social work, education, counseling, international policy, or digital design? What is the Pratt Institute? What in thunder is USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck? I am dubbing these institutions "vulture schools," since they are apparently waiting for those who are sick unto death after being shut out.

The SLU app deadline was February 14. That implies what strikes me as a pretty short time to review apps... But if the decisions are out, they're out. How have people been notified? I haven't kept up with this thread well. I obviously don't know the inside of a philosophy department, but it doesn't seem like it would be too hard for any institution to send out a mass BCC rejection email. This whole process is so mentally kaleidoscopic. My Fordham app was very weak, as all of my documents (writing sample included) were at a *very* nascent stage. By the time the SLU deadline rolled around, I thought I had built an excellent application for their program. Hm.

I was accepted at Fordham. My problem is similar to yours: it's currently my only PhD acceptance (of four applications). I'm still waiting to hear back from Boston College, SLU, and all four MA programs I applied to (which would hopefully slide eventually into ND, Rutgers, or SLU).

Rejected at ND two days ago, generic email notification. Still had to log on to see the decision. Accepted at Fordham today, same notification system.