2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread

[MishaPanda]

41 minutes ago, PhiloStorian said:

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.

Thanks for the update @PhiloStorian. When did you get the WL notification from CU Boulder? As far as I can tell, only a couple of people on gradcafe have received any any kind of response from them. 

Edited March 26, 2018 by MishaPanda

[PhiloStorian]

27 minutes ago, MishaPanda said:

Thanks for the update @PhiloStorian. When did you get the WL notification from CU Boulder? As far as I can tell, only a couple of people on gradcafe have received any any kind of response from them. 

I solicited the response from Graeme Forbes on March 8, he got back to me right away saying that I was on their waitlist but he wasn't sure where because they hadn't ranked it yet. He also said that they had already made their first round of offers. That was almost three weeks ago though, I'm sure things have changed a bit since then.

[mynameismyname]

3 hours ago, PhiloStorian said:

I solicited the response from Graeme Forbes on March 8, he got back to me right away saying that I was on their waitlist but he wasn't sure where because they hadn't ranked it yet. He also said that they had already made their first round of offers. That was almost three weeks ago though, I'm sure things have changed a bit since then.

A bit strange. I solicited a response from CU Boulder on March 12 and was told "decisions on applications have not yet been made."  Maybe I should assume rejection then. 

[elviejo]

4 hours ago, mynameismyname said:

A bit strange. I solicited a response from CU Boulder on March 12 and was told "decisions on applications have not yet been made."  Maybe I should assume rejection then. 

I received the same response, but I did not contact Graeme Forbes.

7 hours ago, PhiloStorian said:

I solicited the response from Graeme Forbes on March 8, he got back to me right away saying that I was on their waitlist but he wasn't sure where because they hadn't ranked it yet. He also said that they had already made their first round of offers. That was almost three weeks ago though, I'm sure things have changed a bit since then.

Is Graeme Forbes the best contact for applicants?? I have not heard anything official from the department and my status has not changed on my application account.

[PhiloStorian]

7 hours ago, mynameismyname said:

A bit strange. I solicited a response from CU Boulder on March 12 and was told "decisions on applications have not yet been made."  Maybe I should assume rejection then. 

 

2 hours ago, elviejo said:

I received the same response, but I did not contact Graeme Forbes.

Is Graeme Forbes the best contact for applicants?? I have not heard anything official from the department and my status has not changed on my application account.

I couldn't say. It worked out for me, and in his signature on the email he listed himself as director of graduate admissions, so he probably was the best person to email.

[SlumberingTrout]

Received an update from the DGS at Indiana University saying that 6 students will be admitted in the fall, and that I'm #9 on the wait list. He also said "if experience is any guide, that means that there is a good chance that, before April 15 has come and gone, I will be in a position to offer you admission to our program," and "please, don’t accept an offer from a program you like less than ours without checking with me about what your standing is at IU".

Curious what y'all's impression is. It strikes me as a little ... optimistic ... to say that #9 on a waitlist has a good chance of being offered admission. Surely it's uncommon for wait lists to be pulled from that deeply?

[Halcyon23]

26 minutes ago, SlumberingTrout said:

Received an update from the DGS at Indiana University saying that 6 students will be admitted in the fall, and that I'm #9 on the wait list. He also said "if experience is any guide, that means that there is a good chance that, before April 15 has come and gone, I will be in a position to offer you admission to our program," and "please, don’t accept an offer from a program you like less than ours without checking with me about what your standing is at IU".

Curious what y'all's impression is. It strikes me as a little ... optimistic ... to say that #9 on a waitlist has a good chance of being offered admission. Surely it's uncommon for wait lists to be pulled from that deeply?

While it is a bit optimistic it doesn't seem too optimistic. I'm guessing that not every person admitted will accept the offer and that a handful of the people higher than 9 on the waitlist will accept an offer elsewhere. With that in mind, you will probably move up at least a few spaces on the list prior to April 15. So maybe it's not that they go 9 people deep, but that by the time they do pull from the waitlist, you'll have moved up to a higher position?

But this is all speculation.

[ArendtYouKidding]

19 hours ago, mynameismyname said:

A bit strange. I solicited a response from CU Boulder on March 12 and was told "decisions on applications have not yet been made."  Maybe I should assume rejection then. 

I wanted to chime in and let you know that I had also solicited from CU Boulder the same day, March 12, and was also told that the decisions hadn't been made and were going to  be made before the end of the month. I have no idea what it means, but just wanted you to know it wasn't just you!

 

Anybody have anymore contact with UConn?

[Theodore8]

50 minutes ago, SlumberingTrout said:

Received an update from the DGS at Indiana University saying that 6 students will be admitted in the fall, and that I'm #9 on the wait list. He also said "if experience is any guide, that means that there is a good chance that, before April 15 has come and gone, I will be in a position to offer you admission to our program," and "please, don’t accept an offer from a program you like less than ours without checking with me about what your standing is at IU".

Curious what y'all's impression is. It strikes me as a little ... optimistic ... to say that #9 on a waitlist has a good chance of being offered admission. Surely it's uncommon for wait lists to be pulled from that deeply?

It might benefit you to send a brief email that says something like, “Thank you for this helpful information. While I do have standing offers I am currently considering, I would turn them down for Indiana if I were to be offered.” This might move you up the waitlist if they think there’s a sense of urgency. Also, departments really dislike giving offers to those who won’t accept them, so knowing for sure you’d accept if offered might make them more likely to offer you than someone else on the waitlist. 

As as for the likelihood of you being offered, I don’t think it’s a big stretch. People are going to start removing themselves from waitlist really soon so you’ll move up quickly. And 6 spots is a lot to fill. I’d take the word of the DGS that there’s a good chance you’ll be offered, but that there’s no guarantee.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Theodore8

[MishaPanda]

Solicited rejection from CU Boulder. “We have just completed the ordering of our very small waiting list. I am sorry to have to tell you that you are not included on it.” Made me sad. But his response was very kindly worded. I’ve also solicited Tulane, my first choice and final hope, but it’s been a couple of days and I haven’t had a response yet. I’ll be sure to update when I do. 

[dormouse]

7 hours ago, MishaPanda said:

Solicited rejection from CU Boulder. “We have just completed the ordering of our very small waiting list. I am sorry to have to tell you that you are not included on it.” Made me sad. But his response was very kindly worded. I’ve also solicited Tulane, my first choice and final hope, but it’s been a couple of days and I haven’t had a response yet. I’ll be sure to update when I do. 

I am most likely going to decline my Tulane offer - I hope it opens up a spot for you! 

[JeshZhavvorsa]

How to dress for visits?

[prtrbd]

5 minutes ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:

How to dress for visits?

Have you already gotten in? If so, dress however the hell you want. They are trying to impress you.

[PhiloStorian]

50 minutes ago, prtrbd said:

Have you already gotten in? If so, dress however the hell you want. They are trying to impress you.

This. This didn't click until my second campus visit, but once it did I felt so much better and was actually reasonably comfortable and competent during the visit. We already put ourselves out there with our applications and came out the other side. On the visit it's their turn to be in the hot seat.

Edited March 28, 2018 by PhiloStorian
Spelling.

[PhiloStorian]

I almost forgot why I came here. Accepted to Brandeis with a $20k scholarship, TAship, and fellowship nomination.

[Kantattheairport]

1 hour ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:

How to dress for visits?

A full-tweed toga is what I hear is in fashion.

[MishaPanda]

3 hours ago, dormouse said:

I am most likely going to decline my Tulane offer - I hope it opens up a spot for you! 

Thank you kind @dormouse I reckon this means one of your waitlist positions turned into an offer?!  

[machineghost]

3 hours ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:

How to dress for visits?

I agree with the others in general. Don’t be *overly* concerned. At the same time, if you plan to actually go into academia, bear  in mind that how you conduct yourself, including how you dress, can and will be used against you. So dress how you want bearing in mind that non-philosophical factors such as how you conduct yourself will make a difference in how your professors perceive you and it might influence their opinion of your philosophical ability as well (rightly or wrongly).

[dormouse]

3 hours ago, MishaPanda said:

Thank you kind @dormouse I reckon this means one of your waitlist positions turned into an offer?!  

Yes! Got an offer from Boston University last week and visited this past Monday. Still hoping to hear back from Arizona, Colorado-Boulder, UConn, and Virginia but I'd be pleased as punch if I went to Boston. 

[Needle in the Hay]

I've just accepted Baylor's offer and...

Declined: FSU

Removed myself from the waitlist: SLU, Fordham, Ave Maria (Theology)

Withdrawn my applications from: University of Dallas; University of St. Thomas, Houston

I hope that this helps someone!

[SlumberingTrout]

Thank you for the input @Halcyon23 and @Theodore8! I feel license to be a little more optimistic now.

And @Needle in the Hay -- as someone on the wait list at SLU, let me be the first one to thank you!

[Neither Here Nor There]

On 3/27/2018 at 10:15 PM, SlumberingTrout said:

Received an update from the DGS at Indiana University saying that 6 students will be admitted in the fall, and that I'm #9 on the wait list. He also said "if experience is any guide, that means that there is a good chance that, before April 15 has come and gone, I will be in a position to offer you admission to our program," and "please, don’t accept an offer from a program you like less than ours without checking with me about what your standing is at IU".

Curious what y'all's impression is. It strikes me as a little ... optimistic ... to say that #9 on a waitlist has a good chance of being offered admission. Surely it's uncommon for wait lists to be pulled from that deeply?

Maybe you are #9 counting the 6 admits which is reall #3 on the wait lists. maybe that is what he means. I agree that #9 on a waitlist doesn't sound optimistic to me, unless they tend to admit too many students that were also accepted to NYU or something. 

[SlumberingTrout]

9 minutes ago, Neither Here Nor There said:

Maybe you are #9 counting the 6 admits which is reall #3 on the wait lists. maybe that is what he means. I agree that #9 on a waitlist doesn't sound optimistic to me, unless they tend to admit too many students that were also accepted to NYU or something. 

Another possibility I've considered is that the same wording is sent to everyone on the wait list, and it just becomes increasingly inapplicable the further down the list it's addressed.

[PhiloStorian]

2 hours ago, SlumberingTrout said:

Another possibility I've considered is that the same wording is sent to everyone on the wait list, and it just becomes increasingly inapplicable the further down the list it's addressed.

I think this is the right answer. I received a similar email which, rereading your earlier posts, actually seems to be exactly the same wording, except that I am #4 on the waitlist "as things now stand."

Edited March 29, 2018 by PhiloStorian
Just to clarify: the quote is from the original email, not any later communications.

[elviejo]

Received a formal rejection from U of Arizona this morning. Still waiting to hear from CU-Boulder and UT-Austin.