2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread

[PhiloStorian]

Waitlisted at UW-Madison. One of my letter writers is an alum and he says they tend to go at least a few deep into their waitlist, so I'm definitely feeling good about this.

[thehegeldialectic]

4 minutes ago, Humever said:

OMG, just accepted to Pittsburgh!

Congratulations! 

Edited February 17, 2018 by iunoionnis

[prettyhorse]

Waitlisted at UW Madison, is it too soon for me to ask them how high I am on their waitlist?

[SmellsLikeWorldSpirit]

Also waitlisted at Madison. Fingers crossed that they dip into their waitlist! I got accepted to University of Maryland yesterday. Rejected from Michigan earlier in the week...it's good to have closure, haha. 

[MishaPanda]

26 minutes ago, SmellsLikeWorldSpirit said:

Also waitlisted at Madison. Fingers crossed that they dip into their waitlist! I got accepted to University of Maryland yesterday. Rejected from Michigan earlier in the week...it's good to have closure, haha. 

One acceptance, one waitlist, one rejection is like a perfect hat trick! 

[fizzycalism]

1 hour ago, rb1 said:

just want to rant - so far with a handful of rejections from PhD programs and 1 acceptance from an MA (not top choice, poor funding) -  that (1) this a very prolonged predicament for those of us with less options to choose from than what we'd like and that (2) the lingering hope for the next 2 weeks is a dangerous thing! Huge respect for the person accepted by Brown after a second Masters - you've kept the good fight and i sincerely wish you decades of success ahead.

That would be me. Thank you so much for your kind words! I don't know your situation, but don't lose your hope just yet, and even if you don't get any PhD offers this season (fingers crossed you do), don't let it discourage you; in my experience it's becoming increasingly more common for people to go on to graduate studies in very good programs after a few years of trying/working outside academia.

Edited February 17, 2018 by fizzycalism

[MishaPanda]

13 minutes ago, fizzycalism said:

That would be me. Thank you so much for your kind words! I don't know your situation, but don't lose your hope just yet, and even if you don't get any PhD offers this season (fingers crossed you do), don't let it discourage you; in my experience it's becoming increasingly more common for people to go on to graduate studies in very good programs after a few years of trying/working outside academia.

This is super inspiring to me too, I’ve only done one masters but I’m 34 and it feels like a slightly different game...I’ve only got one response so far (rejection from Berkley) and I’ve still yet to hear from Brown—my top choice at this point—but thanks for keeping my hope alive!

[MishaPanda]

16 minutes ago, fizzycalism said:

That would be me. Thank you so much for your kind words! I don't know your situation, but don't lose your hope just yet, and even if you don't get any PhD offers this season (fingers crossed you do), don't let it discourage you; in my experience it's becoming increasingly more common for people to go on to graduate studies in very good programs after a few years of trying/working outside academia.

Btw what’s your AOI? 

[fizzycalism]

15 minutes ago, MishaPanda said:

Btw what’s your AOI? 

All over the place! Metametaphysics mostly, with metaethics and philosophy of language thrown into the mix. 

1 MA under your belt at 34 doesn't sound so bad! I thought my two consecutive masters degrees were proof that I was just stagnating academically and that they would hurt me, but I guess they *are* serious about giving lots of weight to the writing sample in making admissions decisions. And the older I get, the better I write haha. That should be the case for most of us.

Edited February 17, 2018 by fizzycalism

[bridgephil]

Just got waitlisted at Brown. For those of you cool kids who've been accepted to Brown (congratulations by the way), I and I'm sure everyone else on the waitlist would of course really appreciate if you could let them know as soon as you know if you get a better offer somewhere. ESPECIALLY if your interests are lemm-y.

*sigh*

Also, best of luck to those above me still hoping to hear from Brown. It looks like they sent out their rejections, so if you still haven't heard back there is definitely still hope for wait listing. 

[Mikel]

Has anyone received an acceptance from Oregon by chance? I noticed that some people got wait listed but not sure if the department already sent the acceptance letters, too. Getting kinda desperate. I now realize that I was overly optimistic, being a first time international applicant and all.

[finetune]

Admitted to (both yesterday): 

- UC Irvine

- University of Maryland 

Waitlisted at: 

- University of Rochester

29 schools to go...

[thehegeldialectic]

5 minutes ago, finetune said:

 

29 schools to go...

Your AOS must be money!

[Devotions]

Are the people who submitted acceptances for Boston College (I think there were two?) legitimate? It seems that February 1st was kind of early for an acceptance...

[SirPyros]

Congratulations to everyone who has received good news from a program. So far, I have received one rejection and most of the other schools have already sent out acceptances. At this point, I'm preparing myself for the possibility this might not be my year. I've been thinking about what I can strengthen for next year (better GRE score, stronger sample), but a thought occurred to me. I am a bit older, 37, and I have had a 15-year career in computer science. Does anyone know if that would be perceived unfavorably by AdCom? 

[shifgrethor]

Accepted to Pittsburgh! Extremely nice phone call from Erica Shumener referencing my writing sample and inviting me to visit in March. Not sure if I'd go over Toronto but it is nice to have a choice to make 

[clownlacanian]

So it looks like Penn State has sent out two waves of rejections over the past few days (11R/1A), and it also looks like Duquesne has sent out several decisions (3R/3WL/2A). I'm an applicant for both programs but I've heard nothing back yet from either of them yet -- could this absence of bad news be (perhaps) the promise of good news to come? Or is this one of those impossible questions?

[machineghost]

1 hour ago, SirPyros said:

Congratulations to everyone who has received good news from a program. So far, I have received one rejection and most of the other schools have already sent out acceptances. At this point, I'm preparing myself for the possibility this might not be my year. I've been thinking about what I can strengthen for next year (better GRE score, stronger sample), but a thought occurred to me. I am a bit older, 37, and I have had a 15-year career in computer science. Does anyone know if that would be perceived unfavorably by AdCom? 

I’m in a similar boat, but I’m even older. I  worked as a software engineer for over a decade. I don’t know whether one’s age makes a difference but I do think that it would be frowned upon if you haven’t done much course work recently. For example, if you haven’t taken any philosophy courses in 15 years, that would almost certainly be looked upon unfavorably. But if you have, then I doubt it will matter much. A terminal MA is probably a good option for you if you haven’t taken philosophy courses in a while. That’s what I did, and you will also end up with better letters, a better sample, etc. 

[Saltatrix]

On 2/16/2018 at 9:00 AM, shadowyBeing said:

I just wanted to take the time to thank the applicant who rejected the offer from Ohio State in such a timely manner. Friendly reminder: if you *know* you will not take an offer---perhaps, given your other offers---decline that offer asap, for the sake of the department in question and your fellow applicants. Every year alot of people sit on offers they know they won't take; don't be like them. 

This is my first post here - the above post motivated me to create an account and share my experiences. I applied to 13 programs, hoping for an acceptance to an MA program or two, but prepared for the real possibility of being shut out, based on what I'd read here and heard from others about how competitive admission is these days. Especially since everyone here seems so knowledgable and accomplished! 

So far I've been accepted to 7 PhD programs and rejected from 1, and still have to hear back from the other 5. I have been in shock the past couple weeks; I seriously can't believe my good fortune! My acceptances, in order of when I heard from each program, are: Stony Brook, DePaul, Penn State, Emory, Vanderbilt, Loyola Chicago, and Duquesne. My rejection is from Northwestern. I have yet to hear back from: UC Riverside, UC Irvine, New Mexico, Memphis, and Oregon.

I am totally thrilled as this is beyond anything I could have imagined. At this point, I have absolutely no idea which program I will attend, and because of that, I haven't declined an offer yet. But I promise, as soon as I decide not to attend one, I'll notify the department immediately so a spot will open up to the next very deserving applicant! 

I wish all the best for everyone! Stay hopeful!   

[Metanoia]

Accepted to Pittsburgh! Got a call from Erica Shumener.

[jelris]

Does anyone have any details on Memphis perchance? I noticed that one person, but only one person, has posted an acceptance so far. Not sure if this indicates that acceptances have been sent out or just that one early acceptance, perhaps to a fellowship nominee.

[big modality]

So far, I've been admitted to 7 PhD programs: UC Irvine LPS, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Berkeley, UCLA, and UChicago. I am waiting on 12 more and am not really leaning one way or the other. 

(Here's a small argument for not immediately declining offers you likely won't take. If you have multiple offers, you can leverage them against each other for better funding packages. While I love philosophy and will study it come what may, I also love not starving and having good housing.)  

[thehegeldialectic]

Just got an interview with Villanova.

So far, I've been accepted at University of Kentucky, very short waitlist at DePaul, interviewed at Villanova, and rejected Emory and Chicago.

Still waiting to hear back from nine programs.

This is going to be very hard to decide.

[Plslol]

I applied to three schools, chicago, yale and columbia. Chicago referred me, yale has not sent me an acceptance so i think i may safely assume rejection. Lord am I nervous. Columbias definitely the best fit for me and my top choice so heres hoping.

Edited February 17, 2018 by Plslol

[NotMyAncestorsPhilosophy]

1 hour ago, jelris said:

Does anyone have any details on Memphis perchance? I noticed that one person, but only one person, has posted an acceptance so far. Not sure if this indicates that acceptances have been sent out or just that one early acceptance, perhaps to a fellowship nominee.

Hi! I can claim the Memphis acceptance. I was surprised I didn't see any others posted. Not sure if all other acceptances were sent out already, but I suspect at least some others have been since the prospective student visit is only two weeks away. It also might matter if you applied for PhD or MA though.