2013 Applicants (Philosophy)

[superhamdi]

contradiction, here is the email I just received from UCSB in response to an inquiry I made over a week ago:

 

Thank you for your inquiry. At this point in time a formal decision has not been made about your application. Yet, we have formed a wait list and we have not placed you on that wait list at this time. I am sorry to say that it is not likely that you will be offered admission for our institution.

Sincerely,
Alicia

Edited April 3, 2013 by superhamdi

[incontradiction]

I was given a similar response, though mine was worded a bit differently.

[superhamdi]

Well, boo for the both of us. But that's all I was waiting on.

[exacerbate_inthe_dark]

Any thoughts on the result from SUNY Buffalo? The test scores are strange. 

[philosophia3]

Any thoughts on the result from SUNY Buffalo? The test scores are strange.

That's not my post, but I was accepted to their PhD. Havent contacted me about funding yet, though.

[introspectiveopacity]

Any thoughts on the result from SUNY Buffalo? The test scores are strange. 

 

The test scores are percentiles.

[exacerbate_inthe_dark]

The test scores are percentiles.

Ah. That makes sense, and they're less strange now. Thanks. 

[superhamdi]

Since we're nearing the end of the season, would anyone like to post their final decisions, waiting lists, etc?

 

Congratulations to the incoming class of '13 and best of luck to all!   

[philosophia3]

I think a new thread with Final Decisions should be created. I don't want to create it, though, since I have yet to make any final decision! 

[lovephil]

Just turned down an offer at BU at took myself off of UT Austin's wait list. Good luck to those on the wait lists!

[superhamdi]

Done. I wrote it to include people like you, Philosophia, who are still in deliberation but (probably) nearing a decision and also those who are on waiting lists, etc. If you'd care/want to share that (there).

[lovephil]

Does anyone know what's going on with the wait lists at U of Maryland and Iowa? I'm asking for my boyfriend.

[philosophia3]

Thanks, superhamdi! I will hopefully be posting the official decision there soon... Still awaiting some stuff, though.

[incontradiction]

Does anyone know what's going on with the wait lists at U of Maryland and Iowa? I'm asking for my boyfriend.

Maryland doesn't expect to go to their waitlist. They're only taking four people this year.

[LeftInLimbo]

Finally received a rejection e-mail from Vanderbilt this afternoon.  Mere hours before the deadline and they finally get around to sending these out!  Alongside their refusal to give solicited responses a straight answer, I think Vanderbilt's handling of the admissions process is shameful.  Please join me in publicly shaming this institution and any others who choose to wait until just before the deadline to deliver admissions results!

[superhamdi]

I thought the deadline was Monday?

 

Not that it's much better. But there are schools I still haven't heard from (obviously rejects). Apparently, that's not out of the ordinary.

Edited April 13, 2013 by superhamdi

[LeftInLimbo]

"Mere hours before the deadline" was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, 2 days before the deadline?  C'mon.  It seems very rude to me.  When each applicant is paying ca. $100 per application, I think a timely response would be not only courteous but deserved.

[BernardJOrtcutt]

But if we publically shame Vanderbilt, then soon they will have to reclaim their name, only Vanderbilt will be able to call anyone a Vanderbilt, and there will be Vanderbilt walks to overcome the stigma.

[Phil2013]

So how does this April 15th business work? I've already emailed CUNY a few times saying "hey I got another offer, should I stick around on the list" and they've said yes, but sometime today I have e-mail him to say that I have to have a decision in on my Indiana offer by noon tomorrow. Should I expect him to reply to me in a timely fashion before noon? Should I call him?

[exacerbate_inthe_dark]

"Mere hours before the deadline" was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, 2 days before the deadline?  C'mon.  It seems very rude to me.  When each applicant is paying ca. $100 per application, I think a timely response would be not only courteous but deserved.

 

If this is a complaint about Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt is free to apply to. This makes the late decision more bearable. 

[LeftInLimbo]

If this is a complaint about Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt is free to apply to. This makes the late decision more bearable. 

 

Ah, you're right.  Vanderbilt is a free app, isn't it?  I suppose I will end my shame campaign.

[ἀκρατής]

Ah, you're right.  Vanderbilt is a free app, isn't it?  I suppose I will end my shame campaign.

Well, then let's start a shame campaign for the same reason against UCLA. They did the same, and it costs $100 for international students to apply to their school ($80 for US people I think). Schools like that just make the chaos around April 15th even worse than it would already be.

(I guess it's not exactly the same as with Vanderbilt, but in no way better: they just didn't respond at all until yesterday. When I solicited an answer earlier, it took me 5 emails and more than two weeks, just to get the answer "you're not rejected, but also not accepted at this point of time").

UCLA has an awesome program though, so let's keep the shame campaign to their admissions procedures.

 

[ἠφανισμένος]

For the advocates of the "shame campaign," how do you know that these schools are directly responsible for increasing the April 15th chaos?  On one hand, perhaps schools are indeed harboring malice aforethought, delighting in their sorry treatment of applicants who paid them good money.  On the other hand, perhaps schools are themselves waiting on their first-round offers to accept or decline, in order to then extend further offers to those on an official or unofficial waitlist.  Any DGS knows that it is in his or her best interest to get offers out as soon as possible, but of course they can extend only a certain amount of offers at a given time.  Extending additional offers requires that first-round admits decline.  Since many of those first-round admits are also waiting on other schools, a cycle of indecision results.

 

I really don't think it's as simple as departments just dragging their feet because they can.

[ἀκρατής]

For the advocates of the "shame campaign," how do you know that these schools are directly responsible for increasing the April 15th chaos?  On one hand, perhaps schools are indeed harboring malice aforethought, delighting in their sorry treatment of applicants who paid them good money.  On the other hand, perhaps schools are themselves waiting on their first-round offers to accept or decline, in order to then extend further offers to those on an official or unofficial waitlist.  Any DGS knows that it is in his or her best interest to get offers out as soon as possible, but of course they can extend only a certain amount of offers at a given time.  Extending additional offers requires that first-round admits decline.  Since many of those first-round admits are also waiting on other schools, a cycle of indecision results.

 

I really don't think it's as simple as departments just dragging their feet because they can.

 

I agree. The only thing that made it a bit more chaotic than necessary was that they didn't tell people that they were on an unofficial waitlist until one day before the deadline, unless solicited (and soliciting was very hard). They wouldn't necessarily have had to leave us in the dark for so long.

[lovephil]

I'm going to express my frustration because my boyfriend is way too easy going. He's on a wait list and received a VERY strange email last night from the grad coordinator saying they won't know until today. It's 11:24 where we are, and still nothing. Isn't there an April 15th deadline? Is the department to blame, or their FGS?