Nothingtown

Same. If all I have to go for is the MA at Wake Forest and the MA at Duquesne, I'd take the one with the better funding, as I like both programs (I would still really love to attend Duquesne). But I have a few good chances at a PhD program so hopefully it doesn't come to that

I just gloss over them. If they're sent out as a mass email, I doubt they have anything meaningful to say about me individually. On the other hand, I did receive the nicest rejection email from Duquesne. I think Dr. Selcer went through the list of people who would be offered consideration for the MA instead and emailed them all individually, as they didn't come out at once. He had a huge spiel about the MA program and its benefits, and it really felt like the MA was being offered as a fair alternative, rather than a throwaway consolation prize, as so many schools do.

I actually talked to a mod about this. They said keep reporting everything as spam and they'll do their best to take it down, but there's so much that it's quite a task for them usually.

Mine is doing a donation drive targeted at alumni like myself. It's driving me crazy because you're right, the "new email sound" is so good at getting my attention these days, and it's worse if it's from a university because for a split second you go "OH MY GOSH IT'S.....my old university asking me for more money for the 4th time today."

Hey all! I received a notification yesterday that I'm on the short waitlist for UNC Chapel Hill's Philosophy PhD program. It sounds like I have a reasonable chance of getting in, and they've invited me to their Prospectives' Weekend (which immediately follows the other one I'm going to at Baylor, so it's going to be a big weekend for me)! I was to use this weekend to get to know the department, obviously, but I'd also like to make a good impression, as it may make a difference in getting off the waitlist. I've read some well-thought out lists here of good questions to ask grad students. Are there good ones to ask the professors as well? Any questions to specifically avoid? Does anyone else have experience going to a weekend like this while waitlisted? People who've been before--any do's and don'ts you'd like to recommend, or general tips?

Just got that too.

Officially waitlisted at UNC!! Such a relief.

Mood.

I'm going to wait until tomorrow at least to do anything. They've sent out notifications late in the day for the past couple of days, so I don't want to appear too anxious. Even though I totally am.

Same. What does it meeeaaan?!

Gotcha. Thanks for the update, and I'm very sorry about your rejection. Good luck with your other schools!

Can anyone claim the Arizona rejection and give more details about whether it was personalized or a mass email?

lol it's a weird spelling for sure. They're really strong in continental philosophy, which is likely why they're not on PGR, which ranks more analytic schools. At least that's my take. I was personally interested in the German continental factor.

The spam finally hit philosophy. There have been requests on Facebook to make it stop. We've had it pretty good this year compared to other disciplines, but hopefully it stops after this short outburst.

Has anyone else heard back from the University of Kentucky (acceptances, rejections, waitlists)? I saw a couple acceptances go out at the beginning of February and it's been radio silence on more, or rejections and waitlists. I don't want to bother them if they're still making some decisions.

Thank you for your contributions, and congrats on all your acceptances! I just wanted to ask, although I'm guessing the answer is "no" considering your AOI, but Pitt wasn't HPS by any chance?

Same here. I've got quite a few schools (and I've complained/vented about this frequently I guess) that have sent out acceptances. Some have sent out rejections too and my inbox is empty. I want to look at it as a good thing--maybe I'm waitlisted--but I feel hopelessly inadequate.

Hey there! I was a Fulbright ETA in 2015-2016, and I'm just now applying to grad school. Anecdotally, not all my acceptances / rejections are in yet so it's hard to say how much it helped me personally. I have gotten rejected definitively from 2 schools, so I can say it's not a golden ticket. I was told by a few well-regarded professors that having a Fulbright was a HUGE boost to grad school apps. They did make it sound like a golden ticket, though to be clear I applied to it because I wanted to be a Fulbright ETA, not because I wanted the help getting into grad school. That being said, I think it only boosts your application in addition to the standard requirements--like how well you did in your major GPA, writing sample, LORs, etc. Basically, it'll strengthen your application but it won't make or break it (in my opinion). I don't think it saved me from my low quantitative score on the GRE. Speaking of well-regarded professors, some people in graduate admissions committees and in the departments you're applying to are going to be big fans of the Fulbright, moreso than others. One of the people who helped me with my application and LORs was on the admissions committee at their university and on the review board for the US leg of the Fulbright application, so obviously for that person to see it on a resume was a big deal. Looking at the faculty in your department of interest and seeing if they have a history with Fulbright may help you figure out where it carries more weight. Also, are we talking research or ETA? From my cohort of Fulbrighters, I saw the ETAs going on to really good programs in their specialized languages (ie language, culture, or history programs), and a couple went to law school. Some went on to have US Embassy or State Department jobs, and others got positions in the countries they placed in. They all did very well, though not all of them chose to pursue graduate school. My sense is that the research Fulbright will help more if you're looking at a different field of specialization--say, science or mathematics. But it's even harder to get. I wish I had some numbers for you here, but this is just what I've observed. Feel free to DM me if you'd like more specific information!

Oh man I know that laugh all too well. I hear you. The ones that send out acceptances and then wait weeks to send out rejections hurt so bad. I know that a lot of schools (UNC for one, on my list) do it because they like to keep a hidden waitlist to accept people last minute if someone turns down the offer. At the same time, 3 of the schools I've applied to have sent out acceptances....maybe? I've seen 1-2 reports each on grad cafe of acceptances going out, and I can't decide if they're doing rolling acceptances or if they all went out and only a couple reported to Grad Cafe. Thus the * in my signature. This whole process is just crazy.

Oh wow I'm in philosophy and I got two rejections between Friday and Sunday. It was brutal. Yale woke up early and started rejecting people today too. Probably just different departments doing different things. Honestly I'm in a state of "just kill me now and give me a quick and merciful death" with these decisions at this point.

Interesting, maybe it's a state level decision to honor the federal holiday? Judging by the fact that a lot of people seem to have school today and all the results we're seeing, I think it's safe to say that many admissions committees don't have the day off. Don't know if that helps or hurts anxiety. It's occurred to me that people outside of the US must be super confused at why we don't seem to be honoring federal holidays across the board. Wish we did, folks. I'm typing this from work.

Do most of the colleges take today off? I know elementary schools are off today, but my husband attends a state university and he still has classes today.

Right--I know someone at Duquesne in a different graduate department, and I'd been talking with him as I sent in my application and he kept saying he knew my credentials and I'd get in easy. I guess his department isn't as competitive. Needless to say it was disappointing to get the rejection email. I applied to some smaller schools with spotty placement records as well and I get the feeling they're quite competitive to get into. Nothing's safe.

@SmugSnugInARug I'm not sure what your waitlist said, but I'm one of the people that was offered the MA instead, and my email mentioned that there are 4 spots for PhD this year, and also that several of this year's cohort have been offered spots at other universities as well as Duquesne. I'd interpret that as at least 1 of the 4 spots being taken internally. That may be a good thing for the waitlist though! Not so much for those of us straight up given a rejection, I'm afraid, but maybe good for you.

Rejected from Duquesne but offered consideration for MA. Feeling pretty bad at 2 rejections in a row. Cue existential crisis.