2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread

[LORDBACON]

Rejected from Georgetown.  Learned a lot from trying to skate by with my GRE scores from 2 years ago.  On that basis alone Georgetown was not willing to waive my application fee (a faculty member there told me high GRE scores indicate a high chance of success for an applicant).  And from UChicago's Phil webpage:

"The three parts of the GRE examination supposedly test for verbal, quantative, and analytical reasoning skills. Be that as it may, the one ability which all three of these tests certainly do measure is your ability to take such tests..."

Takeaway: some depts, including high-rated departments, will 1) interpret high scores positively as your ability to outsmart the test; and/or 2) be more inclined to see a high scorer as a potentially successful applicant. 

If my expected shutout obtains then that will be the first thing that gets fixed.  IME this round, 316/4.5 doesn't help and probably hurts you.  340/6.0 can only and probably will help.

Edited March 1, 2018 by LORDBACON

[Plslol]

4 minutes ago, LORDBACON said:

Rejected from Georgetown.  Learned a lot from trying to skate by with my GRE scores from 2 years ago.  On that basis alone Georgetown was not willing to waive my application fee (a faculty member there told me high GRE scores indicate a high chance of success for an applicant).  And from UChicago's Phil webpage:

"The three parts of the GRE examination supposedly test for verbal, quantative, and analytical reasoning skills. Be that as it may, the one ability which all three of these tests certainly do measure is your ability to take such tests..."

Takeaway: some depts, including high-rated departments, will 1) interpret your scores as your ability to outsmart the test; and/or 2) be more inclined to see you as a potentially successful applicant. 

If my expected shutout obtains then that will be the first thing that gets fixed.  IME this round, 316/4.5 doesn't help and probably hurts you.  340/6.0 can only and probably will help.

Im extremely skeptical about this. My gre was 163V/158Q/4.5AW and Uchicago referred me to their maph. That means i was in a close to final cut, and gre based cuts would be earlier in the cutting process no? Also, having talked to grad applicant committees, they say that the sample, letters, and personal statement are by far the most important parts of an application, in that order. The idea that gres are making or breaking people feels off to me when these committees are neary solely interested in our philosophical abilities aka our sample.

[LORDBACON]

Hope dwindling for good news out of UCSD, UCR, or Syracuse.  With a couple of exceptions, the remaining unknowns are basically fallbacks that I am inclined to reject.  Psychologically readying myself to crush it next year.  Heartfelt congratulations to the UCSD admits!  And mad props to returning applicants getting good news.

[prtrbd]

I have a very good GRE and haven't had the sense that it mattered very much.

[LORDBACON]

59 minutes ago, Plslol said:

My gre was 163V/158Q/4.5AW and Uchicago referred me to their maph. That means i was in a close to final cut, and gre based cuts would be earlier in the cutting process no?

There's no general conclusion about GRE scores worthy of wide agreement except that most depts require them.  But I'm dubious of the meaning you suggest.  From what little anectodal evidence I have seen, depts are not, at least in any sense that offers further information about how well you fared in their application process, selective about which rejected PhD applications they recommend for the MA or MAPH (usually unfunded, I should add).  In fact, for several departments that seems to be more or less the rule. 

I was not suggesting that decent scores (which yours are) will get you automatically cut.  I don't think that's the case at all.  But I do think that it will not give them a reason to separate your application into a smaller set for a closer look.  I am suggesting that having near perfect or perfect scores will probably give them such a reason.

What my experience with Georgetown does mean is that sometimes departments will make assumptions about your qualifications as a candidate based solely on GRE scores.

Edited March 1, 2018 by LORDBACON

[Prose]

25 minutes ago, Plslol said:

Im extremely skeptical about this. My gre was 163V/158Q/4.5AW and Uchicago referred me to their maph. That means i was in a close to final cut, and gre based cuts would be earlier in the cutting process no? Also, having talked to grad applicant committees, they say that the sample, letters, and personal statement are by far the most important parts of an application, in that order. The idea that gres are making or breaking people feels off to me when these committees are neary solely interested in our philosophical abilities aka our sample.

The referral to MAPH is just a sales pitch.

[Plslol]

6 minutes ago, Prose said:

The referral to MAPH is just a sales pitch.

Still encouraging i feel

[LORDBACON]

11 minutes ago, prtrbd said:

I have a very good GRE and haven't had the sense that it mattered very much.

Fair.  And also fair as noted above that they're not typically high priority for depts.  But my sense is it's screwing me over, or at least contributing largely to the complete explanation of what is.  The only thing I'm confident of is that perfect scores cannot hurt us, and if I can accomplish that the next round, that peace of mind will be worthwhile.   

[eigenname]

Two columbia acceptances now, and the fact that they were generic emails suggests it's time to kill off hope and wait for another day of sun. 

[Prose]

5 minutes ago, Plslol said:

Still encouraging i feel

What you said about GRE scores being of relatively low importance is true. But understand that the MAPH isn't even an MA in philosophy, and is certainly not a bridge to top PhD programs. UChicago referred almost everyone to the MAPH who they deemed would be interested in it (i.e. doesn't yet possess an MA). They just want your money.

[RequiredDisplayName]

Rejected from Princeton, but wait-listed at UWO. pretty cool.

[Plslol]

5 minutes ago, Prose said:

What you said about GRE scores being of relatively low importance is true. But understand that the MAPH isn't even an MA in philosophy, and is certainly not a bridge to top PhD programs. UChicago referred almost everyone to the MAPH who they deemed would be interested in it (i.e. doesn't yet possess an MA). They just want your money.

Idk i saw a lot of people not get referred and their website specifically says that only the top fifth of their applicants get referred. If im in the top fifth of the university of chicago's applicants im going to take that as encouraging. So sorry

[Neither Here Nor There]

7 hours ago, Needle In The Hay said:

You really don't know whether Rose-Colored Dasein, or anyone else who has not heard back from SLU, has been rejected there. Grad cafe can give preliminary reason to expect particular results, but usually not with the kind of certainty you are suggesting. In this case, Rose-Colored Dasein might be on a "hidden waitlist" among other possibilities. I know that's possible because it happened to me at SLU one year. Moreover, I had a real shot of being accepted since the formal (i.e., "non-hidden") waitlist was very short. 

The current results from  SLU on grad cafe do suggest that if you have not heard, you are probably rejected. The hidden waitlsit is a much lesser, if not slim, probability.

But I hope Rose-Colored Dasein is on a hidden waitlist. And also:: I agree that the department should notify applicants of being on some slim hidden waitlists and should go ahead and send out rejections. We need to make plans. 

[kurumetarou]

Drank copious amounts of beer and scotch to get through the anxiety, stress, and disappointment this application season. Gotta get my liver checked after this is all over.

Congrats to everyone who got in.

[incredulous_stare]

Anyone else still waiting to hear from Notre Dame? At this point, it seems likely I'm waitlisted but it's very frustrating not getting confirmation about this to completely rid myself of doubt. Is it possible that they're just waiting to hear if anyone who was accepted declines their offer?

Edited March 1, 2018 by incredulous_stare

[Prose]

6 minutes ago, Plslol said:

Idk i saw a lot of people not get referred and their website specifically says that only the top fifth of their applicants get referred. If im in the top fifth of the university of chicago's applicants im going to take that as encouraging. So sorry

No worries. Not trying to rain on your parade by any means, just telling you what I know (it's not an MA in philosophy nor is it recognized as a strong alternative), and that professors of mine who got their PhD from UChicago think it's, to be blunt, kind of shit.

[eigenname]

4 minutes ago, incredulous_stare said:

Anyone else still waiting to hear from Notre Dame? At this point, it seems likely I'm waitlisted but it's very frustrating not getting confirmation about this to completely rid myself of doubt. 

Same. Really annoying! The least they can do is to inform us of what's going on, given they've sent out all the acceptances and rejections. 

[LORDBACON]

5 minutes ago, incredulous_stare said:

Is it possible that they're just waiting to hear if anyone who was accepted declines their offer?

Sure, it's possible.  It makes sense from their perspective.  Some departments don't use a waitlist because they're averse to making students feel like they were their 2nd choice.   So for the same reason it would make sense for ND (for example) to accept a few, wait and see how many of those decline, and then send out more acceptances, and so on. 

[eigenname]

3 minutes ago, LORDBACON said:

Sure, it's possible.  It makes sense from their perspective.  Some departments don't use a waitlist because they're averse to making students feel like they were their 2nd choice.   So for the same reason it would make sense for ND (for example) to accept a few, wait and see how many of those decline, and then send out more acceptances, and so on. 

The weird thing is ND has been sending out wait-list notifications for like the past 5 years. However, their schedule seems to have changed radically this year, what with releasing rejections instead of acceptances first. So maybe the no-wait-list policy is a part of this change. Still, very annoying!

[Plslol]

6 minutes ago, Prose said:

No worries. Not trying to rain on your parade by any means, just telling you what I know (it's not an MA in philosophy nor is it recognized as a strong alternative), and that professors of mine who got their PhD from UChicago think it's, to be blunt, kind of shit.

I go to a pretty pretty pretty shit state school rn lol so itd be nice to just go to a much more rigorous school, whether i end up getting into a phd program after, or law school, or just entering the job market. Only will do it if i get a scholarship, and a large enough scholarship to make the price the same as another year at my current school (which is pretty cheap). Ive also got the time, being 20, and honestly, the resources to support another year of school so *shrug* maybe its a mistake caused by my disappointment but i also got the time to calm down. Sorry if im hostile

[incredulous_stare]

7 minutes ago, LORDBACON said:

Sure, it's possible.  It makes sense from their perspective.  Some departments don't use a waitlist because they're averse to making students feel like they were their 2nd choice.   So for the same reason it would make sense for ND (for example) to accept a few, wait and see how many of those decline, and then send out more acceptances, and so on. 

Thank you for the possible explanation! I really hope this is the case 

[incredulous_stare]

17 minutes ago, eigenname said:

Same. Really annoying! The least they can do is to inform us of what's going on, given they've sent out all the acceptances and rejections. 

I hope it works out well for both of us! What are your AOIs?

Edited March 1, 2018 by incredulous_stare

[eigenname]

25 minutes ago, incredulous_stare said:

I hope it works out well for both of us! What are your AOIs?

Same here, fingers crossed! I know at least 2 offer-holders who would definitely reject their offers at ND, so there's *some* hope. I work on philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, philosophy of mathematics, and maybe some logic, so I was hoping to work with Nic Teh, Don Howard, Patricia Blanchette and Tim Bays among others. I also have interests in metaphysics but probably not in the same way the ND gang does metaphysics.  

Edited March 2, 2018 by eigenname

[Metanoia]

12 minutes ago, eigenname said:

 I also have interests in metaphysics but probably not in the same way the ND gang does metaphysics.  

What!  

The ND metaphysics gang is the coolest metaphysics gang there is (esp. Van Inwagen)! 

[eigenname]

4 minutes ago, Metanoia said:

What!  

The ND metaphysics gang is the coolest metaphysics gang there is (esp. Van Inwagen)! 

Probably why I am (likely) wait-listed instead of accepted  I am more into pragmatism / neo-Carnapian metaphysics heh