Others on Multiple Waitlists?

[dunkeaters]

Currently on two waitlists for philosophy PhD programs (one with a very good chance of getting in, the other seems very unlikely). Also been accepted into a couple master programs, though only one offers funding and I'm currently waitlisted for that too.

 

Are other people in the same waiting situation? I'm having trouble comparing the three possibilities given the likelihood/unknown funding amounts, and I'm not sure how long I'm gonna have to make a decision (if I have one). 

 

Any tips, or others with similar experience, would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited March 28, 2013 by dunkeaters

[tlopiano2]

I too am on multiple lists, one for a PhD Program and one for a masters program. Unlike you, I have no idea what my chances are on either since the directors claim the lists are unranked. Also unlike you, I have not been accepted anywhere, which has made for a very stressful last few weeks just waiting on pins and needles.

 

The trick with waitlists is that you likely won't know if you got in off the waitlist until april 15th, which is the deadline for most people to accept offers at their respective programs and decline offers at yours. The catch being that if you already have an acceptance you will likely need to make a decision on or before april 15th, meaning that there is a very tight window for a school that has wailisted you to let you know you're in before you commit somewhere else. 

 

I hope this helps to clarify and doesn't just stress you out more.

[practical cat]

Ok. So I'm on three wait lists with no legitimate offers -- it's an admit off the wait list or nothing for me this year -- and one thing I have been very sure to do is make sure I have a sense of my preference/action in any given outcome. This includes various funding outcomes (the school where the wait list is most likely to convert is also the one with the most tenuous funding) and pays no attention to likelihood. I have made sure that all of my questions have been answered -- including teaching load, travel funds, courses for the next year or so -- and that those answers are appropriately weighted in my decision. I am learning about housing and cost of living in each location so I can make quick decisions about funding. Though I would be ecstatic to go to any of the three programs, I have them ranked (though one school's in there a few times for a number of different funding outcomes) and feel confident that I could make a quick decision on, say, April 15 or beyond. This is some kind of obsessive planning but it has given me an outlet for all of the neurotic energy I have from the waiting and it makes me feel better to know that I won't have to make any last minute decisions. (Though, admittedly, I'm still waffling between a couple of different outcomes but it's unlikely I'd have to make that choice in practice.)

I'd like to add, too, that my letter writers (as mentors) have been really helpful in this process, offering insights that I wouldn't think of or have access to.