washabirva

Hey, I was in a *very* similar situation back in 2016-2017. I just posted a reply to the "How many people get shut out each year?" thread, so you can read more there if you want. Essentially, I worked hard and felt like I had "done everything right", and since all my friends got into T10 programs, I expected to do well too. My professors were all shocked that I was shut out, and at one point I was in such a dark place that I even started doubting their credibility because of my failure. It took me 4 years to gather courage to reapply (and honestly if my home country weren't in such political chaos, I might not have tried). I submitted a different writing sample and applied a lot more widely, so my results are significantly better. So, to reiterate, you're not alone, and this doesn't necessarily mean anything regarding your philosophical abilities/talents, because 1. From what I've heard, this seems to be an especially brutal cycle, so getting shut out this year (especially from T20 programs only) might not mean anything other than bad luck. 2. Even if getting shut out from T20 is indicative of *something*, it might be that your dossier doesn't accurately reflect your philosophical abilities, rather than that you're not talented/qualified, period. In my case, last time I condensed my 60-page honors thesis into about 30 pages, which was probably still too long/ambitious. But I did much, much better this time by expanding on a 15-page term paper written for a grad seminar instead. Hang in there, and PM me if you'd like to talk more!

Thanks for starting this thread. I know many people on this forum and the Facebook group are willing to share their experiences of being shut out, but I believe many more are either uncomfortable to share or simply not connected to any philosophy social media platforms. So, my guess is that it's significantly more common than we think, even though I have no way of knowing a specific number or %. For what it's worth, I'll share my personal experience. I graduated from a PGR T10 program, wrote an undergrad thesis, won awards, yaddi yadda. Seeing that all my friends got into T10 schools *seemingly* easily, in 2016-2017 I applied to only 10 schools, 9 of which are in T10. I was rejected by all of them and waitlisted/ultimately rejected at the one ranked T20. It felt really devastating at the time, but now that I look back, I feel embarrassed to have been arrogant/ignorant enough to apply like that. But my rationale at the time was that this was a career path, and therefore attending any program outside of T10 would be futile. Plus I truly had no idea that it would turn out like that because I wasn't on social media at all. And even though everyone kept telling me admissions are a crapshoot, it was basically impossible to not take it personally. This year, I submitted a different writing sample and applied widely to 21 programs within T50. So far I have 4 acceptances and 5 waitlists, but all 4 acceptances and 2 of the waitlists wouldn't even have been on my radar 4 years ago. So, I probably would've been shut out again if I didn't apply this widely, and I did so only because (1) I'm desperate to leave my home country and (2) I learned my lesson last time! To whomever is reading this and is potentially getting shut out this year, please know that you're not alone, and that this doesn't necessarily mean anything regarding your philosophical abilities/talents. Hang in there!❤️ *hugs*

I'm definitely interested!!! Thank you so much for offering this?❤️

I received and declined a non-fellowship funded offer (5 years of Graduate Assistantship) from Saint Louis University today. My AOIs are ethics of belief (ethics/epistemology), metaethics, and philosophy of religion.

Thank you for your kind words! Yeah, I was giddy about it at first, then I resumed spiraling and having anxiety attacks the next day, so the high lasted about one day I suppose ? Do you know how many people posted about acceptances, and whether they're among those who keep getting accepted (which would be good news to me)?

Hello! Long-time lurker and first-time poster here. I didn't join the Facebook group (for my mental well-being's sake), so I was wondering if anyone heard anything about the Yale waitlist. I thought they historically didn't have a waitlist, and am still shocked that I'm on it. Given that they only have about 4 spots this year, I wonder if I should hold out any hope, or just think of it as basically a rejection...I'd appreciate any information or advice! edit: Sorry, I just realized I should've posted this in the waitlist thread ?