What If You've Still Heard Nothing?

[philosophyofemomusic]

Hi all,

I applied to 9 graduate programs this year. Thus far, I have received one rejection, zero waitlists, and zero acceptances. Looking through the survey, some of these schools apparently haven't contacted anyone yet. But several of the programs have apparently sent acceptances, waitlists, and even rejections, while I still haven't heard anything from them.

Does this pretty much guarantee rejections from those schools at this point? Should I solicit the programs?

(The programs I've applied to which have already sent out at least some acceptances are: Duke, Boston University, University of Arizona, NYU, and CUNY.)

[Bamboo Flute]

I have the same experience with you. I feel really sad. One program appears to have sent out their offers, waitlists and rejections, but I got nothing.

[akraticfanatic]

As I've suggested before, if they've sent out acceptances, waitlists, and rejections, and you haven't heard anything, it's permissible to email them and solicit your status (but check spam folder and portals first to make sure you didn't miss something). 

Here's the template I used: 
"My name is [Firstname Lastname] and I'm a philosophy PhD applicant [include app number here if applicable]. I've heard from other applicants that some decisions have been released, and I'm hoping you can give me an update on my status or when I can expect to receive a decision. Thanks in advance for your time."

[Duns Eith]

Be aware that many programs, especially 'lower ranked' programs sometimes have hidden waitlists. They don't want to reject you, because they can't take back that decision. But if they run through their waitlist, you may have met their qualifications and be put on if it turns out they are close to clearing their waitlist. I have had one school explain that they put me on their hidden waitlist because they don't want to get my hopes up (they expect all offers to be taken from those they notified either as accepted or waitlisted) but they don't want to give me bad news that ties their hands.

No response may be that you are unlikely to get an offer. You're on the waitlist to the waitlist.

But it could also be that your notification went to spam or some other communication error. A mistyped email, a wrong phone number, a 'we thought we notified you', or something else. So, go with Akraticfanatic's template.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Duns Eith

[Bamboo Flute]

18 hours ago, akraticfanatic said:

As I've suggested before, if they've sent out acceptances, waitlists, and rejections, and you haven't heard anything, it's permissible to email them and solicit your status (but check spam folder and portals first to make sure you didn't miss something). 

Here's the template I used: 
"My name is [Firstname Lastname] and I'm a philosophy PhD applicant [include app number here if applicable]. I've heard from other applicants that some decisions have been released, and I'm hoping you can give me an update on my status or when I can expect to receive a decision. Thanks in advance for your time."

I have written to them but received nothing...

[akraticfanatic]

4 hours ago, Bamboo Flute said:

I have written to them but received nothing...

Who did you write to, and how long has it been? 

[philosophyofemomusic]

Update:

I have since received one acceptance. The others are all still nothing. I emailed quite a few of them and got told by all of them that my application is "still under review". This includes email responses from Columbia and NYU just today, which have apparently both just sent out a big batch of rejections.

Really weird. Anybody have any insight on how this truly works? Are there waitlists we're just not notified of? Just releasing rejections in batches? Are they making decisions in "waves", as some people claim?

[Bamboo Flute]

17 hours ago, akraticfanatic said:

Who did you write to, and how long has it been? 

I wrote to their department, they only provided one email address for consultation. It has been more than 6 days.

[exaznable]

18 hours ago, philosophyofemomusic said:

Update:

I have since received one acceptance. The others are all still nothing. I emailed quite a few of them and got told by all of them that my application is "still under review". This includes email responses from Columbia and NYU just today, which have apparently both just sent out a big batch of rejections.

Really weird. Anybody have any insight on how this truly works? Are there waitlists we're just not notified of? Just releasing rejections in batches? Are they making decisions in "waves", as some people claim?

To whom have you sent an email? 

[Moose#@1%$]

There is still time for them to get back to you. Especially the programs with later application deadlines. Second, the hidden wait-list part is true to some extent. When I was going through the process, I found out I was on wait-lists for two schools once i emailed them. Until then, I hadn't heard anything.