2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread

[Halcyon23]

Finally heard back from UConn this morning. I'm on the waitlist but if accepted I'll receive full funding as a graduate assistant. If you plan on declining an offer from UConn, please do so ASAP .

For those of you still waiting to hear back from UConn, nothing in the email mentioned whether or not they're done reviewing all applications. They just mentioned that they have finished reviewing mine and decided to put me on the waitlist.

[ArendtYouKidding]

1 hour ago, Halcyon23 said:

Finally heard back from UConn this morning. I'm on the waitlist but if accepted I'll receive full funding as a graduate assistant. If you plan on declining an offer from UConn, please do so ASAP .

For those of you still waiting to hear back from UConn, nothing in the email mentioned whether or not they're done reviewing all applications. They just mentioned that they have finished reviewing mine and decided to put me on the waitlist.

Thanks for the update and congratulations! 

[philosophyswede]

Anyone have any thoughts on University of Florida? Just got an offer but its a bit of a wildcard given the PhD program is only just reopening!

[Goonasabi]

19 minutes ago, philosophyswede said:

Anyone have any thoughts on University of Florida? Just got an offer but its a bit of a wildcard given the PhD program is only just reopening!

Their placement record actually is decent, given that they haven't been a PhD program for a bit. And I think the department has some strengths. What's your AOI?

[philosophyswede]

23 minutes ago, Goonasabi said:

Their placement record actually is decent, given that they haven't been a PhD program for a bit. And I think the department has some strengths. What's your AOI?

My main AOI is Philosophy of Psychology, and philosophical questions in AI (I applied to Florida with the idea of potentially focusing on AI ethics). I'm interested in experimental/applied philosophy in general

Edited March 21, 2018 by philosophyswede

[Zimmy64]

I was just accepted to (and declined) Tulane University. I'm waiting to hear from Arizona, Virginia, Milwaukee, and North Carolina but only Arizona can stop me from heading to Atlanta this fall. 

[Kantattheairport]

17 minutes ago, Zimmy64 said:

I was just accepted to (and declined) Tulane University. I'm waiting to hear from Arizona, Virginia, Milwaukee, and North Carolina but only Arizona can stop me from heading to Atlanta this fall. 

Ah interesting, you'd prefer GSU over UNC Chapel Hill? Is it a matter of AOIs?

[Zimmy64]

53 minutes ago, Kantattheairport said:

Ah interesting, you'd prefer GSU over UNC Chapel Hill? Is it a matter of AOIs?

It's a matter of AOIs, faculty, and the chance to apply again in two years. My AOIs are political philosophy, philosophy of economics, classical liberalism, and business ethics (among others). There really isn't anyone at UNC I'm interested in while GSU has both Andrew Cohens who do work I'm very much interested in (Toleration and Business Ethics for J Cohen, reparations and public policy for I Cohen, and classical liberalism for both), Eric Wilson who works on Kant and Hume, and Tim O'Keefe (I'm not the biggest fan of Greek Philosophy but O'Keefe's work on Epicurus seems interesting). Furthermore, going to GSU gives me the chance to reapply in two years with better odds for Arizona, Brown, and Georgetown (with GSU having great placement rates for those programs). It also helps that I received the liberalism scholarship at GSU and the program was recommended by my undergraduate mentor (who is friends with both Andrew Cohens who I have been told are very interested in me).

Edited March 22, 2018 by Zimmy64

[Kantattheairport]

9 hours ago, Zimmy64 said:

It's a matter of AOIs, faculty, and the chance to apply again in two years. My AOIs are political philosophy, philosophy of economics, classical liberalism, and business ethics (among others). There really isn't anyone at UNC I'm interested in while GSU has both Andrew Cohens who do work I'm very much interested in (Toleration and Business Ethics for J Cohen, reparations and public policy for I Cohen, and classical liberalism for both), Eric Wilson who works on Kant and Hume, and Tim O'Keefe (I'm not the biggest fan of Greek Philosophy but O'Keefe's work on Epicurus seems interesting). Furthermore, going to GSU gives me the chance to reapply in two years with better odds for Arizona, Brown, and Georgetown (with GSU having great placement rates for those programs). It also helps that I received the liberalism scholarship at GSU and the program was recommended by my undergraduate mentor (who is friends with both Andrew Cohens who I have been told are very interested in me).

Those seem like very solid reasons!

[IHG88]

Anyone here turning down an offer to University of Minnesota?

[incredulous_stare]

I see that someone reported a rejection from UVA. Did anyone else hear back from them recently?

[Rose-Colored Beetle]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:20 AM, Zimmy64 said:

I was just accepted to (and declined) Tulane University. I'm waiting to hear from Arizona, Virginia, Milwaukee, and North Carolina but only Arizona can stop me from heading to Atlanta this fall. 

Do you plan on taking yourself out of the picture at the schools that don't matter to you?

[Gnothi_Seauton]

On 3/22/2018 at 1:24 AM, Zimmy64 said:

It's a matter of AOIs, faculty, and the chance to apply again in two years. My AOIs are political philosophy, philosophy of economics, classical liberalism, and business ethics (among others). There really isn't anyone at UNC I'm interested in while GSU has both Andrew Cohens who do work I'm very much interested in (Toleration and Business Ethics for J Cohen, reparations and public policy for I Cohen, and classical liberalism for both), Eric Wilson who works on Kant and Hume, and Tim O'Keefe (I'm not the biggest fan of Greek Philosophy but O'Keefe's work on Epicurus seems interesting). Furthermore, going to GSU gives me the chance to reapply in two years with better odds for Arizona, Brown, and Georgetown (with GSU having great placement rates for those programs). It also helps that I received the liberalism scholarship at GSU and the program was recommended by my undergraduate mentor (who is friends with both Andrew Cohens who I have been told are very interested in me).

I can see why you'd look at UNC's faculty list and think it would be better to wait and apply in a couple years after an MA, especially for a shot at Arizona.  But I think you might be underestimating how friendly a place UNC is for your interests.  Geoff Sayre-McCord and Luc Bovens are both really good and will definitely be around throughout your grad career.  Jerry Postema and Geoff Brennan are less likely to be around for your entire grad career, but you could still benefit from them for a few years.  Also, UNC is actively building its PPE program, so you can expect at least one hire and maybe a couple hires in your area in the next few years.  We're even in the process of creating a PPE area exam, so specializing in the area will become easier.  We also organize and run the annual PPE Society conference, which immediately gives you access to a large network (including the people I'm sure you're interested in working with at AZ, Brown, and Georgetown).  So don't write UNC off too quickly!

[Kantattheairport]

4 hours ago, Gnothi_Seauton said:

I can see why you'd look at UNC's faculty list and think it would be better to wait and apply in a couple years after an MA, especially for a shot at Arizona.  But I think you might be underestimating how friendly a place UNC is for your interests.  Geoff Sayre-McCord and Luc Bovens are both really good and will definitely be around throughout your grad career.  Jerry Postema and Geoff Brennan are less likely to be around for your entire grad career, but you could still benefit from them for a few years.  Also, UNC is actively building its PPE program, so you can expect at least one hire and maybe a couple hires in your area in the next few years.  We're even in the process of creating a PPE area exam, so specializing in the area will become easier.  We also organize and run the annual PPE Society conference, which immediately gives you access to a large network (including the people I'm sure you're interested in working with at AZ, Brown, and Georgetown).  So don't write UNC off too quickly!

Bovens was the first person who came to mind when I saw those AOIs as well - I'm sure he'd be very cool to work with. Though it's still very easy to understand the appeal of GSU for Zimmy!

[thehegeldialectic]

Rejected Vanderbilt. Already made my decision and don't really want to go there anyways, so whatever. 

Wish they would have had the decency to tell me earlier. 

[gvg]

Man, I withdrew my application from Indiana like 2 months ago and yet I still got an email rejection AND a formal rejection via snail mail. Seems a little like overkill, and while I'm sure it was due to a clerical error, it feels petty to double reject someone who already withdrew their application. Oh well.

[RequiredDisplayName]

Stanford rejection came in this morning. At this point, I've already begun planning for things not involving graduate school (in Philosophy). Still 3 places to hear back from for me and only a waitlist to my name. 

[elviejo]

I am beginning to accept that a "secret waitlist" is really a thing for some program. It seems to be the only reason I have not received outright rejections at this point. Either that or they did not bother to send anything.

[Needle in the Hay]

I was accepted on Wednesday, 3/21 to the PhD program at Baylor University, on the heels of the campus visit. I'm very pleased with the funding package. Good luck to all!

[LORDBACON]

3 hours ago, elviejo said:

I am beginning to accept that a "secret waitlist" is really a thing for some program. It seems to be the only reason I have not received outright rejections at this point. Either that or they did not bother to send anything.

Those are both live possibilities.  It depends on the program, and you should be able to get a clue how they operate by looking at their history on the survey:  https://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=philosophy

for example UCR tends to never send out rejections, and SIU Carbondale has not sent any decisions yet.  Also, a Stanford acceptance just came out of nowhere yesterday.

[LORDBACON]

On 3/5/2018 at 10:00 AM, gvg said:

 

I withdrew my application about a month ago, and the director of grad admissions responded to my email immediately with something to the effect of "well, just for the record, you were on our backup list." So yes, I think they have made decisions and would be more than willing to share your status with you if you contacted them.

I wish this was true.  I've solicited UCR twice and gotten no response.  They did give someone a solicited rejection 2 days ago though.  So either that's my fate and they're just ignoring me, or they've got me on a waitlist and might make me an offer but don't want me to know I was on a waitlist.  As asking these departments for decisions hasn't gone well for me this season, I plan on keeping quiet and hoping for the latter on this one. 

[Bring the Pain]

On 3/23/2018 at 6:29 PM, iunoionnis said:

Rejected Vanderbilt. Already made my decision and don't really want to go there anyways, so whatever. 

Wish they would have had the decency to tell me earlier. 

I was also rejected by Vanderbilt on May 23rd. 

Edited March 25, 2018 by Bring the Pain

[Duns Eith]

On 3/24/2018 at 9:45 PM, Needle in the Hay said:

I was accepted on Wednesday, 3/21 to the PhD program at Baylor University, on the heels of the campus visit. I'm very pleased with the funding package. Good luck to all!

Congrats!!!

[Nickybert]

On 3/1/2018 at 4:52 PM, Descartes blanche said:

Has anyone received a waitlist or rejection from Simon Fraser? 

 

Waitlisted at SFU on Mar 20th. Grad Chair said I'll be hearing from them soon, before the April 15 deadline.

[PhiloStorian]

I've been absent from the site due to a combination of being busy and intentionally avoiding it (I've come to believe this is an unhealthy thing for me to do, at least too frequently). I figured for accuracy's sake and for other people I should share an update on my admissions decisions.

I've been accepted to VA Tech and SF State, the former with a TAship and the latter with a teaching associateship. I expect I will decline both this week but I'm not 100% sure.

I've been waitlisted at CU Boulder, University of Virginia, UConn, Michigan State, and University of Houston.

I was also chosen by UW-Milwaukee to receive the AOP Fellowship; before I had merely been nominated by the department and it wasn't a sure thing.

I plan to decline/take myself off of waitlists for all but a few of these by the end of the month. I apologize to people who are desperately waiting to hear back from them.