2018 Acceptance/Rejection Thread

[machineghost]

12 minutes ago, philosophyswede said:

Saw someone just posted a CUNY acceptance on fb - does anyone know if they send their acceptances out all at once or if there's still hope of good news?

If past years are any guide, they are sort of all over the place and pretty unpredictable. In general, though, it’s probably not sensible to be hopeful at this point. 

[quinessloopypun]

16 minutes ago, Pythian said:

I see a lot of people with Notre Dame waitlists, and some new Notre Dame rejections. I still haven't received any information from them. Anyone got a inkling for why this might be the case? A hidden waitlist perhaps?

I also haven't heard from Cornell yet. Not sure what to make of this either.

Good news is, I got waitlisted at U Texas Austin!

You can solicit your decision for Notre Dame. Someone did yesterday and found out, I think.

[eigenname]

22 minutes ago, Pythian said:

I see a lot of people with Notre Dame waitlists, and some new Notre Dame rejections. I still haven't received any information from them. Anyone got a inkling for why this might be the case? A hidden waitlist perhaps?

I also haven't heard from Cornell yet. Not sure what to make of this either.

Good news is, I got waitlisted at U Texas Austin!

 

8 minutes ago, quinessloopypun said:

You can solicit your decision for Notre Dame. Someone did yesterday and found out, I think.

I was the one who solicited yesterday - if you did not receive the wait-list notification yesterday, it means you *were* on a hidden waitlist (which seemed like it was~90 people long), but have since failed the final cut of wait-lists. A rejection will follow shortly. (cf my post a few pages back for the email I received)

[Pythian]

11 minutes ago, eigenname said:

 

I was the one who solicited yesterday - if you did not receive the wait-list notification yesterday, it means you *were* on a hidden waitlist (which seemed like it was~90 people long), but have since failed the final cut of wait-lists. A rejection will follow shortly. (cf my post a few pages back for the email I received)

That's too bad. A 90 person hidden waitlist though? That's absurd. Shows how many qualified applicants there are though.

I noticed you are presuming a Rutgers rejections. Is that based on any admissions data, or just an gut feeling?

EDIT: Just checked the admissions doc - turns out Rutgers acceptances and waitlists have already gone out. I should've checked before I posted.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Pythian

[eigenname]

4 minutes ago, Pythian said:

That's too bad. A 90 person hidden waitlist though? That's absurd. Shows how many qualified applicants there are though.

I noticed you are presuming a Rutgers rejections. Is that based on any admissions data, or just an gut feeling?

Yea not sure how seriously to take their claim that 'there was considerable interest in my application', maybe I just have imposter syndrome (and PhD application cycles don't help too much)! 

The presumed Rutgers rejection is inferred from the fact that they've already given out acceptances and wait-lists, and I think it's unlikely that enough people from this combined group rejects Rutgers for any hidden wait-list to be handy. Maybe I am just pessimistic, though. 

[soproperlybasic]

21 minutes ago, eigenname said:

Yea not sure how seriously to take their claim that 'there was considerable interest in my application', maybe I just have imposter syndrome (and PhD application cycles don't help too much)! 

The presumed Rutgers rejection is inferred from the fact that they've already given out acceptances and wait-lists, and I think it's unlikely that enough people from this combined group rejects Rutgers for any hidden wait-list to be handy. Maybe I am just pessimistic, though. 

I really want to solicit Rutgers on Monday so I can move on with my life. Rutgers has been my dream school since before app season even started and I want to stop hoping that I still have a tiny chance.

Edited March 3, 2018 by soproperlybasic

[soproperlybasic]

If Rutgers intends to reject everyone who didn't get an acceptance or waitlist already, why drag it out? 

[Pythian]

5 minutes ago, eigenname said:

Yea not sure how seriously to take their claim that 'there was considerable interest in my application', maybe I just have imposter syndrome (and PhD application cycles don't help too much)!

I have this same feeling, even with my official waitlists. I seem to be amassing quite a number of them at places high up on my list. They all say, "we are very impressed by your application. I am sure you have many other offers - please keep in touch about your decision," and here I am sitting with only 1 acceptance with funding.

You have 3 acceptances from good programs. You should feel proud! Getting an acceptance in the first round is impressive, and means you have a very competitive application.

5 minutes ago, soproperlybasic said:

I really want to solicit Rutgers on Monday so I can move on with my life. Rutgers was my top choice and I want to stop hoping that I still have a tiny chance.

I am thinking the same thing. Really wanted the Rutgers waitlist (an acceptance would be miraculous) but doesn't look like its going to happen. I see you are in at NIU as well - if I get funding, there's a good chance I'll be seeing you there! Good news is, Rutgers has a lot of students who are graduates of NIU, so there's a second chance!

[eigenname]

4 minutes ago, soproperlybasic said:

If Rutgers intends to reject everyone who didn't get an acceptance or waitlist already, why drag it out? 

L.A. Paul has a comment on Leiter Report last year justifying UNC Chapel Hill's use of a 'hidden wait-list', and I think this may be what Rutgers is doing (the pessimistic explanation is they are just slow). Here's her explanation: 

I am UNC’s Director of Admissions. I am aware that applicants would like more information, and I understand that this is a stressful time. However, I believe that, in UNC’s case, sending out rejection notices before the start of April is not in the best interest of the applicant or the Department. This is why we have not sent out rejection notices yet.

Let me explain: UNC does not have a “secret waitlist”, or anything resembling such. Rather, we have found that, on occasion, as our list of who is considering our offer of admission evolves after the campus visit (as prospective students with offers begin to make decisions), we need to revisit our waitlist. (We retain extensive notes on candidates at every round of the process.) In particular, we may revisit our waitlist because we are looking to have an entering class that is intellectually diverse, and as the season progresses and people start to make decisions, that diversity can be imperiled.

The reason we have not sent out mass rejections is that occasionally, when candidates who failed to make it past an early round are reassessed when we revisit the waitlist, a candidate is subsequently brought forward and officially waitlisted or admitted. If we rejected applicants early in the way that some people apparently think we should, we could not do this. (Rejecting candidates entails that we officially process them for rejection through the Graduate School.)

Candidates who have not been offered admission at this time from UNC can infer that their chances of admission are not high. Yet, they are not non-existent, and as soon as we can give candidates further information, we will. (We expect to begin sending rejections at the start of April. However, we are waiting on our current prospectives to make decisions, and so there is only so much we can do. We are doing the best we can, and we urge all prospectives to make decisions in a timely manner.)

My assumption has been that candidates prefer a small chance of admission to a zero chance of admission. (If they don’t, they have the power to change the situation. They can withdraw themselves from consideration.) It would be much easier to rush through the process and to send mass rejections early. But this is not in the best interests of the applicants or the Department. It is not appropriate for me to give further information about the internal workings of the admissions process, but I hope this explanation helps our applicants to understand why we have not been prompt in sending rejection notices. I am sorry that the process is drawn out and difficult, and for the anxiety this causes.

So, it's not a new phenomenon, and seems to be an accepted (if not universally accepted) practice. There's interesting but short discussion on the post itself, which reproduces a question by an applicant about why departments employ 'hidden' wait-lists. (http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2017/03/against-secret-waitlists-in-phd-admissions.html)

[soproperlybasic]

11 minutes ago, Pythian said:

I am thinking the same thing. Really wanted the Rutgers waitlist (an acceptance would be miraculous) but doesn't look like its going to happen. I see you are in at NIU as well - if I get funding, there's a good chance I'll be seeing you there! Good news is, Rutgers has a lot of students who are graduates of NIU, so there's a second chance!

I will definitely be going to NIU barring any funding issues: they're reviewing my tuition waiver + I'm waiting to hear back about an assistantship, since I've been told I'm 'relatively high' on the waitlist for one. They have an excellent placement record, and I hope I can re-apply to Rutgers then!

You seem to have a lot of awesome waitlists+an acceptance at Texas A&M--do you not have faith in those, or would you just prefer NIU?

Edited March 3, 2018 by soproperlybasic

[kurumetarou]

Still haven't got anything from Toronto, Pitt, and Cornell. I just hope they could be swifter. This whole thing has become mental torture.

Edited March 3, 2018 by kurumetarou

[Pythian]

6 minutes ago, soproperlybasic said:

I will definitely be going to NIU barring any funding issues: they're reviewing my tuition waiver + I'm waiting to hear back about an assistantship, since I've been told I'm 'relatively high' on the waitlist for one. They have an excellent placement record, and I hope I can re-apply to Rutgers then!

You seem to have a lot of awesome waitlists+an acceptance at Texas A&M--do you not have faith in those, or would you just prefer NIU?

I applied for the MA program at TAMU, but the discontinued that and accepted me into the PhD. But, I don't think I am interested in the PhD given other offers. I would prefer NIU given either the tuition waiver or assistantship - I have also been told I am relatively high on the list.

I would love to get off any of the waitlists, but I don't know how likely that is. I talked to USC over the phone, and I couldn't pin them down on anything. A waitlist seems similar to a deferred decision, so I put them in the same category as the schools I haven't heard back from.

[prtrbd]

Congratulations to the second wave of Cornell admits! I am a huge Karen Bennett fan, so I'm sad not to be among them.

It is interesting what people were saying about Notre Dame highly valuing GRE. I suppose that explains them taking a chance on me when other schools wouldn't.

[Prose]

1 hour ago, prtrbd said:

Congratulations to the second wave of Cornell admits! I am a huge Karen Bennett fan, so I'm sad not to be among them.

It is interesting what people were saying about Notre Dame highly valuing GRE. I suppose that explains them taking a chance on me when other schools wouldn't.

Did you get into ND??

[prtrbd]

Yes, on Wednesday.

Edited March 3, 2018 by prtrbd

[Prose]

8 minutes ago, prtrbd said:

Yes, on Wednesday.

That's awesome. I read your bit about spending a year at Harvard law, reminded me of myself. Took the LSAT and planned on attending there, but decided in the end the law was too shallow compared to philosophy for me to dedicate my life to it.

[Halcyon23]

Hey everyone, been lurking a while but haven't posted before. Just curious about how to go about soliciting information from a department about my status. There are a few schools that have sent out acceptances and waitlists but I haven't been notified about anything (all the online portals don't say anything useful either). I'm assuming these are implicit rejections but I want to move on with my life. Thanks in advance.

[machineghost]

33 minutes ago, Halcyon23 said:

Hey everyone, been lurking a while but haven't posted before. Just curious about how to go about soliciting information from a department about my status. There are a few schools that have sent out acceptances and waitlists but I haven't been notified about anything (all the online portals don't say anything useful either). I'm assuming these are implicit rejections but I want to move on with my life. Thanks in advance.

I’m always just pretty direct. Find out who the DGS is and send them a short email. In my experience, most people will get back with you pretty quickly. 

[Rose-Colored Beetle]

1 hour ago, prtrbd said:

Yes, on Wednesday.

Prtrbd, congrats on the acceptance. I was disappointed to be rejected at ND, and my worry is that my writing sample was my downfall as my GRE scores were within or above the averages stated on their site. Would you mind telling me in general the topic of the sample you applied with?

[Neither Here Nor There]

8 hours ago, soproperlybasic said:

If Rutgers intends to reject everyone who didn't get an acceptance or waitlist already, why drag it out? 

It seems that the department often sends the information along to the school of graduate studies or graduate admissions or whatever other office in charge of applications, who gets a letter from the dean and they post the letter on the portals and then an email is generated to everyone. When it goes to the graduate office, it takes time for them to send out the letters, because the office is dealing with a lot of departments. 

I really think that is reasonable not to expect the department to send out all the rejections and to allow it to go through the graduate office. I do appreciate it when the department notifies applicants of waitlists, however. 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Neither Here Nor There

[prtrbd]

3 hours ago, Rose-Colored Dasein said:

Prtrbd, congrats on the acceptance. I was disappointed to be rejected at ND, and my worry is that my writing sample was my downfall as my GRE scores were within or above the averages stated on their site. Would you mind telling me in general the topic of the sample you applied with?

Modality and laws of nature, roughly.

[thehegeldialectic]

27 minutes ago, prtrbd said:

Modality and laws of nature, roughly.

That sounds dope.

[prtrbd]

19 minutes ago, iunoionnis said:

That sounds dope.

So far, one and a half out of twelve admissions committees agreed with you!

[SlumberingTrout]

I'm trying to determine when I should respond regarding the offer I've received. It's a long shot that I'd be admitted from either of the wait lists I'm on, but I don't want to discount the possibility; it would be unfortunate to accept the offer only to receive another with better funding. (I feel like the proverbial dog with two bones.) Is the first week of April a reasonable time to go ahead and assume the wait lists won't pan out, or might there be other things I'm not considering? Anyone else in this situation?

[Swann]

30 minutes ago, SlumberingTrout said:

I'm trying to determine when I should respond regarding the offer I've received. It's a long shot that I'd be admitted from either of the wait lists I'm on, but I don't want to discount the possibility; it would be unfortunate to accept the offer only to receive another with better funding. (I feel like the proverbial dog with two bones.) Is the first week of April a reasonable time to go ahead and assume the wait lists won't pan out, or might there be other things I'm not considering? Anyone else in this situation?

why would not you wait until april 15 if you would rather accept a different offer?