eleatics

I think Stony Brook has been known to keep "hidden" waitlists in the past, but honestly I have no idea. Tbh not getting my hopes up w/o some form of express confirmation from them

Hi all! Wondering if anyone might be able to confirm an acceptance to SUNY Stony Brook? It seems like there's one acceptance listed on the results page, but no mention of it in the forums or the fb group. Thanks!

Received a very kind email from Toronto yesterday notifying me that I am on their waitlist!

@somethingwitty Hey major congrats! Definitely feel free to hit me up if you want to discuss beforehand -- not sure when your interview is, but mine is on Thursday and I'd be happy to let you know how my experience was once it's over! ?

@MtnDuck This is helpful, thank you!! Yeah I saw folks discussing it in the FB group and agree that it's likely fake lol

Hi! Out of curiosity, could anyone claim the Yale acceptance as I feel it is quite early?

Received an interview request from BC about an hour ago!

Yeah it seems like Penn State has trended toward sending out all requests on the same day. @Penny_Power Congrats and best of luck with your interview!

UO Philosophy is accepting folks! Not sure where wkthomas got his information, but I confirmed that with two faculty members (including the DGS) pre-submission deadline.

Wasn't the application deadline Jan 15th? Do you think they'll release decisions that quickly?

Hi! Just posting this here since I haven't seen another thread & folks should be hearing responses around this time (based on past years) -- Has anyone else applied to this program or have any news to share?

Oh wow, people are hearing back already?

I agree with Glasperlenspieler; also, increase in applications =/= increase in competitiveness. A number of these applications are likely to be from people who decided to throw their name in at the last minute due to the ongoing recession. I also believe that CMU does not have an application fee, which may have contributed to the drastic increase in applications. Either way, I'm trying not to dwell on it too much at this point and just focus on the things that I do have control over.

@HomoLudens I chose not to submit GRE scores due to external constraints -- my test was cancelled twice by ETS due to the pandemic, and I moved out to a remote area of Alaska in early August to begin my year of service with AmeriCorps. We do not have any testing centers here, and the internet is fine but not reliable enough to take the test at home (I submitted most of my applications via cellular data lol). You're probably fine not submitting scores, or at least better off not submitting them than submitting not great scores. To my understanding in any case, GRE scores don't really play as much of a role in admissions decisions as they used to.

@Bourbak1 I feel the same way! I'm applying to 20 PhD programs + a handful of funded MAs (including Tufts, which apparently isn't really all that well-funded apparently but they have a great placement rate). I still have a handful of more applications to submit before I'm done, but the anxiety from waiting can really feel overwhelming at times. I've been trying to pass the time/keep my mind preoccupied by working on some hobbies such as painting and making music! For what it's worth, your stats make you sound very competitive (170 in verbal!), and this is an especially difficult year for applying to graduate programs all around. Wishing you all the best!

MSt's are definitely less competitive to get into than the BPhil -- if you check out the sidebar on that webpage, you'll see that 23/86 applicants were admitted entry (that's an acceptance rate of about 27%, compared to around 8% for the BPhil, and much less for US graduate programs). Any degree from Oxford is top-notch, so I don't think it would be a bad alternative at all. The issue for internationals is always, always funding -- Oxford's graduate programs can be quite expensive unless you're independently wealthy or have managed to secure some sort of funding. Hope this helps!

Damn. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw this across the board for most (if not all) disciplines this year. Wishing you all sincerely the best of luck.

Not particularly philosophy-related but posting this here anyway since I'm wrapping up my applications for graduate programs in philosophy within the next few weeks, but damn. This process really is such a crapshoot. It seems like everyone has a 4.0 GPA, stellar letters of recommendation from well-known professors in their fields, flawless writing samples, etc etc., and I feel like my application is decent but nothing exceptional. I have genuinely no idea what's going to happen come February-April. It's going to be terribly embarrassing if I get shut out this cycle and have to explain to friends and family that none of the 20+ PhD programs I applied to this fall decided to accept my application. Just needed to vent. Best of luck to everyone submitting applications this cycle!

Hi! I am currently an Americorps volunteer applying for graduate programs. Most programs offer fee waivers on their applications for folks who have participated in Peace Corps or Americorps (which can save you $1000+ when you're applying to upwards of 10 programs). I would also see if you're eligible for the Segal Education Award, which is a post-service benefit available for Americorps that can be used towards educational expenses (up to $6.5k I believe). Not sure how helpful this is, but hopefully it's a start!

Hey! I'm also applying to programs this cycle and totally feel your pain. To my knowledge, departments are still in the process of meeting to discuss future funding for graduate students this month, so we'll know more in the upcoming weeks. For now, I would only suggest being patient and continuing to work on your applications. If it helps, I'm remaining cautiously optimistic that these programs (UChicago, Rice, etc.) will remain outliers -- I have heard on good authority that many top programs will continue to accept applications this year albeit it is highly likely they will be accepting smaller cohorts this year than they have in the past. Some good advice I have heard from other folks who plan to apply this year is to consider adding some more funded MAs to your list. From a discord channel for folks who are also applying to philosophy programs this year: "For what it's worth, I think it is unlikely that funded MA programs will be pausing admissions, particularly those that are at big, public research universities. This is because budgets at these institutions are typically set in the first quarter of the fiscal year after departments have already taken applications. So, in a sense, these places are fairly secure, but will have to worry about funding NEXT year. Notice that all of the programs (to my knowledge) that have announced a pause in admissions are affiliated with high-ranking, private institutions with very large endowments. Funding is likely not as tight at these places as the situation would seem to indicate, but they are choosing to prioritize continuing PhDs who will be graduating into a completely frozen job market." Re: waiting to apply later -- if you're set on going to graduate school, I would personally advise against waiting until next year to apply. The competition is only going to steadily increase over the coming years, and your chances of getting into a funded program will start to decrease as higher education begins to experience the long-term financial impact of COVID-19. Breathe. Have some solid back-up plans. It will all work out. Best of luck!

Hey! This might also be useful: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LIpf9vUTi6rDvQ1IDrS7EGKkdO5NxdZh5GPdVOt4M4/edit#gid=0

Just saw the news -- don't know if I'll be able to consider their MA since it's not really funded, but thanks!

Hi! I realize I've been posting here quite often lately, but I saw the call for applications to CUSP's Fall Workshop and wanted to see if it's worth it to apply? E.g. does anyone here have firsthand experience with CUSP/CUSP's workshop, is it worthwhile and useful, and would participating in this program boost my chances of getting into Penn State's graduate program at all? Thanks a mil!

Has anyone confirmed that Columbia philosophy will be accepting applications for this upcoming year? The departments of political science, history, and sociology at Columbia have all recently announced their decisions to suspend admissions for this upcoming year, and I'm not feeling great about philosophy especially after the department at UChicago suspended its admissions. It would be a bummer for sure since Columbia is one of my top choices. Thanks!