TheVineyard Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Was your undergraduate institution ranked around #20 (US News), or your department (PGR)? When talking about the impact of "prestigious" institutions on application outcomes, the distinction seems important... Thanks for the info you've given so far. Thanks for the info underdrag, and I'd like to see this question answered as well. Is it a top 20 institution generally or top 20 on the PGR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monadology Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Just received a rejection from Baylor. I'm confused and depressed. Sorry to hear that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattDest Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I got accepted to Syracuse and waitlisted at WashU today. I'm currently visiting Arizona and loving it, so it is very likely I will turn these offers down. EDIT: So, I completely fudged my results entries. The comments with WashU should be applied to Syracuse. WashU was just a waitlist spot. But, at least the notifications are up. Table, Hypatience, hopefulpessimiste and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stressedout Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Just received a rejection from Baylor. I'm confused and depressed. Don't be depressed. Why? Because I will help dispel your confusion. I know several people who were rejected by Baylor and yet accepted to top 20 schools this cycle and over the past few years. They have a very idiosyncratic admissions process that heavily weights the quantitative portion of the GRE. Some people were rejected as quickly as 3 or 4 weeks after the admissions deadline (late January)...and I while these people had lowish quantitative scores (50-70 percentile), their verbals and writing were high (95+). I doubt their samples were even given a glance. There's more I could say about this, but anonymity concerns keep me from it. PM me if you want more info. The upshot? Don't be depressed about it because now you know. I was depressed at first until I started asking several of my friends who applied there in the past (all at top 20 schools at the moment!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humean_skeptic Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 On 2/20/2014 at 6:55 PM, MattDest said: I got accepted to Syracuse and waitlisted at WashU today. I'm currently visiting Arizona and loving it, so it is very likely I will turn these offers down. Congrats nonetheless, Matt! MattDest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgswaim Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Don't be depressed. Why? Because I will help dispel your confusion. I know several people who were rejected by Baylor and yet accepted to top 20 schools this cycle and over the past few years. They have a very idiosyncratic admissions process that heavily weights the quantitative portion of the GRE. Some people were rejected as quickly as 3 or 4 weeks after the admissions deadline (late January)...and I while these people had lowish quantitative scores (50-70 percentile), their verbals and writing were high (95+). I doubt their samples were even given a glance. There's more I could say about this, but anonymity concerns keep me from it. PM me if you want more info. The upshot? Don't be depressed about it because now you know. I was depressed at first until I started asking several of my friends who applied there in the past (all at top 20 schools at the moment!). I'm disappointed mainly because Baylor and Notre Dame were my two top choices, and I've now been rejected by both. Baylor in particular would have been a great fit for my research interests... plus I would have really like to have studied with Pruss. It is interesting to know that their process is so idiosyncratic. I wonder what causes them to weight the quant portion so heavily... especially considering the number of Kierkegaardians in the department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianfaircloud Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I'm hearing a lot of people talk about GRE scores. While these matter a little, at some point, they don't matter that much. A 4.0 versus a 6.0 on AW, for instance, means almost nothing in philosophy admissions. And though some departments use cut-offs, after an application makes that cut, the rest is about the reputation of the institutions attended, the strength of the letters, and the strength of the writing sample. I'm in a particularly good position to comment on this. I teach test-prep with a well-known, national brand in the industry. Also, common sense suggests that the GRE can't be much of a factor beyond the cut-off. GRE numbers won't tell a committee whether one applicant with a great writing sample is going to be a better philosopher than another applicant with a great writing sample. Everybody knows that many great GRE scores were purchased not with strength of intellect but with time and money. You get a reasonably high score, and the score becomes a non-factor. You don't get the reasonably high score, then your score becomes a liability. ungerdrag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhD applicant Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I'm hearing a lot of people talk about GRE scores. While these matter a little, at some point, they don't matter that much. A 4.0 versus a 6.0 on AW, for instance, means almost nothing in philosophy admissions. And though some departments use cut-offs, after an application makes that cut, the rest is about the reputation of the institutions attended, the strength of the letters, and the strength of the writing sample. I'm in a particularly good position to comment on this. I teach test-prep with a well-known, national brand in the industry. Also, common sense suggests that the GRE can't be much of a factor beyond the cut-off. GRE numbers won't tell a committee whether one applicant with a great writing sample is going to be a better philosopher than another applicant with a great writing sample. Everybody knows that many great GRE scores were purchased not with strength of intellect but with time and money. You get a reasonably high score, and the score becomes a non-factor. You don't get the reasonably high score, then your score becomes a liability. Do you mind me asking then, in light of your tag which suggests you have pretty good stats/CV, what do you think might cause a department to reject you, personally? Because I'm sure you feel the way the rest of us do "I'm so awesome how could they fail to recognize it?" But still, the fail does happen. And I'm having a lot of conversations with myself as I walk around where I'm pretending I'm a member of the admissions committee and trash talking my CV or writing sample to the other members "This applicant is not good enough for X,Y,Z reasons" and at other times "Cleary this is an exceptional candidate for X,Y,Z reasons"... I know it's impossible to predict what makes them pass on you, I doubt they draw our names out of a hat or something like that, but I hope if I get rejected the reasons are perfectly reasonable at a level I would totally understand if I were in their shoes. Hopefully, it's because the other applicants are far more awesome than I am. That's what I prefer. But when I look at your tag I'm thinking "Really? out awesome that?" You would need a kick-ass writing sample or something. I just don't see it. Would you just seethe with injustice or what - because, frankly, your tag tells me you have better stats than me, that's all. And I would get it if you got chosen over me, but if I got in to some school X and you didn't, I would be confused and really want to know the explanation or see your sample or something. Sorry, I usually don't post on here, I think I had too many carbonated beverages just now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianfaircloud Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Do you mind me asking then, in light of your tag which suggests you have pretty good stats/CV, what do you think might cause a department to reject you, personally? Because I'm sure you feel the way the rest of us do "I'm so awesome how could they fail to recognize it?" But still, the fail does happen. And I'm having a lot of conversations with myself as I walk around where I'm pretending I'm a member of the admissions committee and trash talking my CV or writing sample to the other members "This applicant is not good enough for X,Y,Z reasons" and at other times "Cleary this is an exceptional candidate for X,Y,Z reasons"... I know it's impossible to predict what makes them pass on you, I doubt they draw our names out of a hat or something like that, but I hope if I get rejected the reasons are perfectly reasonable at a level I would totally understand if I were in their shoes. Hopefully, it's because the other applicants are far more awesome than I am. That's what I prefer. But when I look at your tag I'm thinking "Really? out awesome that?" You would need a kick-ass writing sample or something. I just don't see it. Would you just seethe with injustice or what - because, frankly, your tag tells me you have better stats than me, that's all. And I would get it if you got chosen over me, but if I got in to some school X and you didn't, I would be confused and really want to know the explanation or see your sample or something. Sorry, I usually don't post on here, I think I had too many carbonated beverages just now. Good discussion. If I'm rejected, I'll blame my weak undergraduate institution and my time outside of philosophy. I think these are liabilities in philosophy admissions. I think when it comes down to it, departments will look at my weak undergraduate institution; they'll say that my undergraduate GPA is meaningless and that my graduate GPA is inflated. And because I have another master's degree in an unrelated field, they'll question my seriousness. But I may also blame bad luck. Because I'm convinced that great candidates can be unlucky. Then there's the possibility that I'm overconfident. Maybe I am deluded; I think I'm cut out for philosophy, and in fact I'm not. I really hope that's not true. I mean, I have some evidence of my philosophical potential: I was admitted in the first round to a very-solidly top-six MA program. But you know, not everyone in these programs is cut out for philosophy. Edit_Undo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgswaim Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Good discussion. If I'm rejected, I'll blame my weak undergraduate institution and my time outside of philosophy. I think these are liabilities in philosophy admissions. I think when it comes down to it, departments will look at my weak undergraduate institution; they'll say that my undergraduate GPA is meaningless and that my graduate GPA is inflated. And because I have another master's degree in an unrelated field, they'll question my seriousness. But I may also blame bad luck. Because I'm convinced that great candidates can be unlucky. Then there's the possibility that I'm overconfident. Maybe I am deluded; I think I'm cut out for philosophy, and in fact I'm not. I really hope that's not true. I mean, I have some evidence of my philosophical potential: I was admitted in the first round to a very-solidly top-six MA program. But you know, not everyone in these programs is cut out for philosophy. Maybe there should be a thread devoted to what it means to say that one is "cut out for philosophy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) Praying to the acceptance gods that today will be a fruitful day for all Edited February 21, 2014 by philosophe AcademicX, Gnothi_Seauton and ungerdrag 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottagecheeseman Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Praying to the acceptance gods that today will be a fruitful day for all I'll pray to them for you if you pray for me! University of Miami and University of Southern California should release stuff soon based on last year! Also if you're accepted/waitlisted at UVA and positive you won't go there, please let them know that in a timely manner! Best of luck everyone, we still have another month of this left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I'll pray to them for you if you pray for me! University of Miami and University of Southern California should release stuff soon based on last year! Also if you're accepted/waitlisted at UVA and positive you won't go there, please let them know that in a timely manner! Best of luck everyone, we still have another month of this left! I'd like to hear from Iowa, Harvard, and USC... and it would be nice if Indiana could put out its wait list, please and thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModalFictionalist Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Yourself and Modal are obviously seen as special applicants and have clearly put together a couple of the absolute best applications that adcoms will be seeing this year. Could you two tell us what you are comfortable with revealing? Example question: Are you from a top 10 department? Top 5? Do you have letter(s) from philosophers considered eminent? Thanks for responding if you choose to! I can't say much at this point without quickly giving away my identity, but I'm happy to say more at a later time. I do come from a top university with a top philosophy department, and some of my letters were from eminent philosophers. I had either taken a graduate seminar or done independent work with each of my recommenders. My writing sample is in my AOI, and my stats are in the signature below. If you have any specific questions, I'll let you know whether I'm comfortable answering them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ungerdrag Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Was your undergraduate institution ranked around #20 (US News), or your department (PGR)? When talking about the impact of "prestigious" institutions on application outcomes, the distinction seems important... Thanks for the info you've given so far. Thanks for the info underdrag, and I'd like to see this question answered as well. Is it a top 20 institution generally or top 20 on the PGR? My institution was barely in the top 20 PGR, but not even in the top 50 US News. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) MIT WL posted. If you've been waitlisted can you give more info? Bulk email or personalized? Edited February 21, 2014 by philosophe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattDest Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I can give more information about MIT rejections, if someone needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I can give more information about MIT rejections, if someone needs it. Why not! I'm at the end of the alphabet, so I tend to get them later than other people... does it seem like they're copying and pasting and personalizing the name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattDest Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Why not! I'm at the end of the alphabet, so I tend to get them later than other people... does it seem like they're copying and pasting and personalizing the name? Yeah, just a small (though nice!) e-mail. Dear Matt: I am truly sorry to inform you that we are not able to offer you admission to the MIT philosophy Ph.D. program. This year, the number of exceptionally talented applicants for admission to our department greatly exceeds the number which can be accommodated and it has been necessary to refuse admission to many fine applicants. We very much appreciate your interest in our program and we hope that you will successfully pursue your graduate education in philosophy. Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavngoose1 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 MIT WL posted. If you've been waitlisted can you give more info? Bulk email or personalized? The Wait-list email was similarly short and uninformative as the rejection email, though they look to be individual emails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philstudent1991 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 For me personally, if I get shut out of PhDs and go to an MA, I will definitely ask all the departments what I could have done better, how far I made it through the process if anyone remembers, those sorts of things so I can know for next time. I applied to 11 phd so surely someone will bite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philosophe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Yeah, just a small (though nice!) e-mail. Dear Matt: I am truly sorry to inform you that we are not able to offer you admission to the MIT philosophy Ph.D. program. This year, the number of exceptionally talented applicants for admission to our department greatly exceeds the number which can be accommodated and it has been necessary to refuse admission to many fine applicants. We very much appreciate your interest in our program and we hope that you will successfully pursue your graduate education in philosophy. Thank You. Thanks for the info, MattDest! I'm sorry about your rejection, but you have some great offers on the table. Hopefully more to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopefulpessimiste Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Claiming a UVA rejection. I'm getting really tired of posting rejections on the results page! But, at 0a/0w/5r out of 19 total apps I have a feeling I'm going to be posting a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottagecheeseman Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Someone was waitlisted for "philosophy of religion" phd at Chicago. Does anyone know if that's through the philosophy department or religion? It's kinda a weird thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgswaim Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Someone was waitlisted for "philosophy of religion" phd at Chicago. Does anyone know if that's through the philosophy department or religion? It's kinda a weird thing. My guess is that it's through the Divinity School. The Divinity School has a track specifically in philosophy of religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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