2015 Applicants Assemble!

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

Philosophy jokes!

http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/01/25/a-philosopher-walks-into-a-coffee-shop/

For anyone else who needs a distraction from marveling at the number of rejections people have received on a Sunday.

Some of these made me chuckle. Sadly, the author doesn't seem to have read much Wittgenstein. To compensate, this is one of my favourite philosophy jokes/pastiches: http://stevepetersen.net/personal/wittgenstein-fog.html

[sidevans]

Florida State accepted someone!

 

Can anyone confirm the Florida State acceptance? I'd like to post a notification on the blog, but it's significantly earlier than their acceptance dates for the past two years, and is reported to be within a day of the two Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy acceptances from FSU, which aren't from the philosophy department.

[roast beef]

Thought I'd say hello, since I've been quietly reading the forums. I'm a recent graduate of GSU's MA program, and my interests are 19th century German philosophy, aesthetics, and political philosophy. I'm applying to 12 schools—pretty much the ones you would expect for someone who wrote a thesis on Hegel.

 

I can also claim the first Northwestern wait list on the results page. It's nice to start out with not-bad news this time around.

 

Edit: By the way, I'd be happy to answer any questions people might have about Georgia State. Last year, I had good conversations with a few people who were considering attending. Just send me a PM.

Edited January 29, 2015 by roast beef

[Franzkafka]

Thought I'd say hello, since I've been quietly reading the forums. I'm a recent graduate of GSU's MA program, and my interests are 19th century German philosophy, aesthetics, and political philosophy. I'm applying to 12 schools—pretty much the ones you would expect for someone who wrote a thesis on Hegel.

 

I can also claim the first Northwestern wait list on the results page. It's nice to start out with not-bad news this time around.

 

Edit: By the way, I'd be happy to answer any questions people might have about Georgia State. Last year, I had good conversations with a few people who were considering attending. Just send me a PM.

Thank you, I applied to GSU. I wanna ask that is every student admitted fully funded in the MA program?

[roast beef]

Thank you, I applied to GSU. I wanna ask that is every student admitted fully funded in the MA program?

 

Yes—every student gets a full tuition waiver, plus subsidized health insurance and a stipend. Stipends differ based on how much you teach and whether you get one of the fellowships. More info here: http://philosophy.gsu.edu/graduate/admissions/assistantships/

[Franzkafka]

Yes—every student gets a full tuition waiver, plus subsidized health insurance and a stipend. Stipends differ based on how much you teach and whether you get one of the fellowships. More info here: http://philosophy.gsu.edu/graduate/admissions/assistantships/

Thank you very much, I'm an international student and I did not well in GRE. My verbal section is only 159 and my writing section is quite low, will that highly reduce my rate of acceptance? Sorry to bother you again.

[ianfaircloud]

Thank you, I applied to GSU. I wanna ask that is every student admitted fully funded in the MA program?

 

In my experience, everyone gets generous funding to attend Georgia State.  See https://faircloudblog.wordpress.com/funding/.

 

I've been meaning to remind people that the funding survey, if I may say so, is extremely valuable.  Please, everyone, use the survey!  I'm going to see whether Sid Evans and I can work into the new site (philosophyadmissions.wordpress.com) something similar for this year.

Edited January 29, 2015 by ianfaircloud

[Franzkafka]

In my experience, everyone gets generous funding to attend Georgia State.  See https://faircloudblog.wordpress.com/funding/.

 

I've been meaning to remind people that the funding survey, if I may say so, is extremely valuable.  Please, everyone, use the survey!  I'm going to see whether Sid Evans and I can work into the new site (philosophyadmissions.wordpress.com) something similar for this year.

Really helpful reply, thank you very much!

[merivo]

Hi friends,

 

I'm trying JHU Philosophy this year. My story: I was born in Latvia, then studied in Moscow (MSU), and studied there history and Hebrew. GPA is 4.12 out of 5 (maybe ~3.3 in 4.0 scale?) Than I moved to Israel and finished here MA at HUJI at dept of Jewish Thought with GPA 93.29 out of 1000 (3.8? 3.7?). My M.A. was dedicated to publication of a manuscript of an almost forgotten Jewish self-proclaimed Sabbatean prophet/messiah which was a Neo-Scholastic philosopher at the same time. His work is dedicated to unknowability of the First Cause and written like a Kabbalistic treatise, yet I think he draws heavily on Christian apophatic tradition and pholosophy. That's what I tried to prove in my work (apart from publishing the text itself)

Another field of my interest is KANT. I'm totally devoted. I've spent countless hours on him and wrote a big work about his notion of freedom in the 3rd (not a typo!) Critique. 

 

My writing sample was about the notions of time and space in his work; I tried to show how his thought is related to Aristotle and to Lurianic Kabbalah. Looks like I'm fitting precisely neither for philosophy, nor for religion, nor for history in US. Still I'm trying to become accepted! So, this is my story. 

[Monadology]

Another field of my interest is KANT. I'm totally devoted. I've spent countless hours on him and wrote a big work about his notion of freedom in the 3rd (not a typo!) Critique. 

 

The third Critique is the best part of Kant!   You have excellent taste. 

[kosmo]

Philosophy jokes!

http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/01/25/a-philosopher-walks-into-a-coffee-shop/

For anyone else who needs a distraction from marveling at the number of rejections people have received on a Sunday.

Thank you, definitely need a distraction after getting my first rejection, from Northwestern :(  

[a_for_aporia]

Hi friends,

 

I'm trying JHU Philosophy this year. My story: I was born in Latvia, then studied in Moscow (MSU), and studied there history and Hebrew. GPA is 4.12 out of 5 (maybe ~3.3 in 4.0 scale?) Than I moved to Israel and finished here MA at HUJI at dept of Jewish Thought with GPA 93.29 out of 1000 (3.8? 3.7?). My M.A. was dedicated to publication of a manuscript of an almost forgotten Jewish self-proclaimed Sabbatean prophet/messiah which was a Neo-Scholastic philosopher at the same time. His work is dedicated to unknowability of the First Cause and written like a Kabbalistic treatise, yet I think he draws heavily on Christian apophatic tradition and pholosophy. That's what I tried to prove in my work (apart from publishing the text itself)

Another field of my interest is KANT. I'm totally devoted. I've spent countless hours on him and wrote a big work about his notion of freedom in the 3rd (not a typo!) Critique. 

 

My writing sample was about the notions of time and space in his work; I tried to show how his thought is related to Aristotle and to Lurianic Kabbalah. Looks like I'm fitting precisely neither for philosophy, nor for religion, nor for history in US. Still I'm trying to become accepted! So, this is my story. 

 

Very interesting interests! Which parts of Aristotle's corpus have you worked on? 

[reixis]

Hey guys, there is something I would like to ask for your input. I've been admitted to an MA program in my country and classes start in March. The academic year here is similar to the calendar year (it usually starts in Feb and end by Nov). The thing is that I've been offered a pretty generous scholarship and they are willing to make things work out so that I can receive it until July, and if I'm offered a place in the US, I would leave my scholarship for another person and then only come back in January 2016 to my thesis defense.

 

Both my prospective supervisor and the graduate program coordinator have agreed on this, but I don't know if that is something even to consider from the point of view of US universities. I mean, I'm not sure it's possible to start a possible PhD in the US and being linked to another institution in my country at the same time. The "link'' would be only institutional, no money would be involved since I would give up on my scholarship by the time I leave the country.

 

Do you guys think I should ask programs in case I receive an offer? It's a great opportunity since I wouldn't be able to commit to any job for such small amount of time, and the money I would receive is far more generous than any job I could get at this time. Plus, I could raise some money by continuing on studying philosophy.

Edited January 31, 2015 by reixis

[mano]

Hey guys, there is something I would like to ask for your input. I've been admitted to an MA program in my country and classes start in March. The academic year here is similar to the calendar year (it usually starts in Feb and end by Nov). The thing is that I've been offered a pretty generous scholarship and they are willing to make things work out so that I can receive it until July, and if I'm offered a place in the US, I would leave my scholarship for another person and then only come back in January 2016 to my thesis defense.

 

Both my prospective supervisor and the graduate program coordinator have agreed on this, but I don't know if that is something even to consider from the point of view of US universities. I mean, I'm not sure it's possible to start a possible PhD in the US and being linked to another institution in my country at the same time. The "link'' would be only institutional, no money would be involved since I would give up on my scholarship by the time I leave the country.

 

Do you guys think I should ask programs in case I receive an offer? It's a great opportunity since I wouldn't be able to commit to any job for such small amount of time, and the money I would receive is far more generous than any job I could get at this time. Plus, I could raise some money by continuing on studying philosophy.

I might have understood your question wrong so sorry if my answer is irrelevant.

I have two friends who are now PhD students in US, and at the same time they are enrolled in another university (in their home-country. they just freeze their registration if it is required to do so). So, as far as know it is formally possible to be "linked" to two universities. 

[reixis]

I might have understood your question wrong so sorry if my answer is irrelevant.

I have two friends who are now PhD students in US, and at the same time they are enrolled in another university (in their home-country. they just freeze their registration if it is required to do so). So, as far as know it is formally possible to be "linked" to two universities. 

 

That's really good to hear. And yes, this is exactly what I am asking. The only legal commitment I would have to the program is to defend my MA thesis (or else I would have to return my scholarship money). The department coordinator told me that I can take all the required courses prior to July, and then come back to Brazil in 2016 or even later to defend.

[overoverover]

That's really good to hear. And yes, this is exactly what I am asking. The only legal commitment I would have to the program is to defend my MA thesis (or else I would have to return my scholarship money). The department coordinator told me that I can take all the required courses prior to July, and then come back to Brazil in 2016 or even later to defend.

The only complication I could see arising is that some universities base your funding on what external fellowships or scholarships you have and if you have more than a bachelors degree. Not saying this will sink your chances at it all working out, but it may make things complicated depending on particular policies (as such, I'd recommend talking to people at the various universities about your situation, as it really will vary).

[merivo]

@Monadology — of course) And, on that Critique's basis, we may ask for universal agreement on this point!  

 

 

@a_for_aporia — I found the structure of the second part of Derush ha-Iqqarim and Physics IV very close, so I tried to compare them in one of the chapters of my MA (in Hebrew). Then I translated this into Russian (and reworked it significantly), and published it as an article, then, again, translated into English (and imporved it again). Now this is my writing sample. If anybody has a wish to read 14 pages of questionable English on Abraham Cardoso, Aristotle, and Lurianic Kabbalah, I'd be happy to send it and receive some criticism. 

[tuv0k]

Hello, been lurking passively at GC for some time, but finally signed up because I needed somewhere to direct my admissions-related neuroticism. Thought I'd introduce myself. Undergrad was entirely non-phil related, MA from a well-known philosophy department (known for its top-ranked faculty and PhD programme, NOT its MA programme, which they offer because the school administration requires them to. I leave it up to you to imagine the level of support MA students receive). Grad GPA was alright but unspectacular compared to what I've seen on this forum (about an A- GPA, with more than a few B+s), GREs were okay (164 verbal, 165 quant, 5.5 writing), recommendations were pretty strong and writing sample was a bit of a gamble (strange topic that departments would either be very interested in, or not at all).

 

Applied to (gulp) 18 schools in the US (ya, I started saving up for this early -.- was the financial cost of applications a huge thing for everyone else?). News so far - wait listed by Duke on 26 January. (I'm VERY grateful this isn't a rejection. But can I just say, it's slightly annoying to have results season kick off so early with this, since other schools won't be releasing results for quite some time which means I'll just be stewing in this uncertainty, and also I probably won't know which direction I'll be shoved off the Duke list until April.)

 

Also, I made lots of horrifying and ridiculous errors in my application that I only spotted after submission. Does anyone else have this problem? Just... involuntary blindness towards MAJOR things, despite going over everything a gazillion times? (e.g. I submitted the wrong writing sample to about 5 schools - a very early, typo-riddled draft. Yup. Fortunately managed to update 4 of the schools on this a couple weeks later)

 

And also, does anyone know how large waitlists usually are in comparison to the size of the admissions group? I really have very little idea as to how waitlists work, and what committees have in mind when they form them. Other Duke waitlistee who posted their result.... are you here?

 

Anyway. Congratulations to all the acceptees so far, and good luck all! Anxious to see how everything goes for everyone! (Sorry for all this word vomit. As I said. Admissions-related neuroticism. Lots and lots and lots of it :/)

Edited February 2, 2015 by tuv0k

[philstudent1991]

Hello, been lurking passively at GC for some time, but finally signed up because I needed somewhere to direct my admissions-related neuroticism. Thought I'd introduce myself. Undergrad was entirely non-phil related, MA from a well-known philosophy department (known for its top-ranked faculty and PhD programme, NOT its MA programme, which they only offer because the school administration requires them to. I don't think most people are even aware this department offers an MA, ha). Grad GPA was unspectacular (about an A-), GREs were okay (164 verbal, 165 quant, 5.5 writing), recommendations were pretty strong and writing sample was a bit of a gamble (strange topic that departments would either be very interested in, or not at all).

 

Applied to (gulp) 18 schools in the US (ya, I started saving up for this early). News so far - wait listed by Duke on 26 January. (Can I just say, it's a bit annoying to have results season kick off so early with this, since I won't hear from any other schools for quite some time, and I probably won't know whether I'm off this list until mid April. So much hand-wringing until then. But at least it's not a rejection..?)

 

Also, I made lots of horrible errors in my application that I only spotted after submission. Does anyone else have this problem? Just... involuntary blindness towards MAJOR things, despite going over everything a gazillion times? (e.g. I submitted the wrong writing sample to about 5 schools - a very early, typo-riddled draft. Yup.)

 

And also, does anyone know how large waitlists usually are in comparison to the size of the admissions group? I really have very little idea as to how waitlists work, and what committees have in mind when they form them. Other Duke waitlistee who posted their result.... are you here?

 

Anyway. Good luck all. Anxious to see how everything goes for everyone! (Sorry for all this word vomit. Lol very neurotic personality at work here :/)

Congratulations. A wait list at Duke is a very promising sign for your season. I can't say much about wait lists unfortunately. Some schools, like Chicago, don't even have them. Some schools have an internal waitlist. Some schools have pretty big waitlists. 

[ianfaircloud]

Hello, been lurking passively at GC for some time, but finally signed up because I needed somewhere to direct my admissions-related neuroticism. Thought I'd introduce myself. Undergrad was entirely non-phil related, MA from a well-known philosophy department (known for its top-ranked faculty and PhD programme, NOT its MA programme, which they only offer half-heartedly because the school administration requires them to. I don't think most people are even aware this department offers an MA, ha). Grad GPA was alright but unspectacular compared to what I've seen on this forum (about an A-), GREs were okay (164 verbal, 165 quant, 5.5 writing), recommendations were pretty strong and writing sample was a bit of a gamble (strange topic that departments would either be very interested in, or not at all).

 

Applied to (gulp) 18 schools in the US (ya, I started saving up for this early -.- was the financial cost of applications a huge thing for everyone else?). News so far - wait listed by Duke on 26 January. (I'm VERY grateful this isn't a rejection. But can I just say, it's slightly annoying to have results season kick off so early with this, since other schools won't be releasing results for quite some time which means I'll just be stewing in this uncertainty, and also I probably won't know which direction I'll be shoved off the Duke list until April.)

 

Also, I made lots of horrifying and ridiculous errors in my application that I only spotted after submission. Does anyone else have this problem? Just... involuntary blindness towards MAJOR things, despite going over everything a gazillion times? (e.g. I submitted the wrong writing sample to about 5 schools - a very early, typo-riddled draft. Yup. Fortunately managed to update 4 of the schools on this a couple weeks later)

 

And also, does anyone know how large waitlists usually are in comparison to the size of the admissions group? I really have very little idea as to how waitlists work, and what committees have in mind when they form them. Other Duke waitlistee who posted their result.... are you here?

 

Anyway. Congratulations to all the acceptees so far, and good luck all! Anxious to see how everything goes for everyone! (Sorry for all this word vomit. As I said. Admissions-related neuroticism. Lots and lots and lots of it :/)

 

I would accept the Duke wait-list as a very promising sign. It's at least cause to be optimistic.

 

The rule on wait-lists is that, as departments get further away from top-five or so, they tend to admit more people. So a #5 department (very roughly here, as a rule) admits fewer people than a #25 department, because the #25 department will lose some people to higher-ranked programs. I think the number goes up slightly as you approach #50/unranked programs. This rule sort of plays out with the MA programs, too. MA programs admit a lot of people. As a matter of fact, MA programs may admit 30+ people with the aim of enrolling just 10 or fewer of them. Again, the reason is that MA programs lost people to PhD programs (and higher-ranked MA programs). If you get on an MA program wait-list, you could be among 30 or so on that list. That's why some MA programs actually tell you your position on the list. E.g. Northern Illinois University used to tell people something to the effect of, "You're so high on the list that we can virtually guarantee that you will be admitted."

 

Duke probably doesn't have to admit too many people, because it's a great program. (I.e. Duke probably doesn't need a long wait-list.) University of Chicago "breaks the rules" by admitting 10 people and wait-listing no one. Typically, as I understand it, University of Chicago enrolls at least six of these people. Duke is ranked very similarly to University of Chicago, so I don't see any reason that Duke would have to admit that many more people than University of Chicago. This is all to say that my educated guess (for what very, very little it's worth) is that Duke wait-lists about five people. I remember that last year that I speculated that people wait-listed have a better than 50 percent chance of being admitted. I can't remember how I came to that conclusion.

 

I see that you applied to a lot of T20 programs. That's good. If I were in your shoes, I would be optimistic right now. I hope things work out for you.

 

Tangentially, I will mention: Sometimes it's appropriate for a letter-writer, if she knows a member of faculty at the department at which you're wait-listed, to reach out to a member of that department. Handle with care. I've seen it done. Sometimes wait-lists aren't ranked, particularly when those lists are short. The letter-writer may be able to communicate tactfully that you are very serious and would accept the offer, if extended. The letter-writer may be able to push things in a helpful direction. This tactic is not (yet) widely accepted practice, but it's being done. Maybe one way to look at it is that it's part of the process. Not sure what people think of this. Seems shady, but I'm not sure that there are relevant differences between this tactic and many others that are widely accepted (and even expected).

[tuv0k]

I would accept the Duke wait-list as a very promising sign. It's at least cause to be optimistic.

 

The rule on wait-lists is that, as departments get further away from top-five or so, they tend to admit more people. So a #5 department (very roughly here, as a rule) admits fewer people than a #25 department, because the #25 department will lose some people to higher-ranked programs. I think the number goes up slightly as you approach #50/unranked programs. This rule sort of plays out with the MA programs, too. MA programs admit a lot of people. As a matter of fact, MA programs may admit 30+ people with the aim of enrolling just 10 or fewer of them. Again, the reason is that MA programs lost people to PhD programs (and higher-ranked MA programs). If you get on an MA program wait-list, you could be among 30 or so on that list. That's why some MA programs actually tell you your position on the list. E.g. Northern Illinois University used to tell people something to the effect of, "You're so high on the list that we can virtually guarantee that you will be admitted."

 

Duke probably doesn't have to admit too many people, because it's a great program. (I.e. Duke probably doesn't need a long wait-list.) University of Chicago "breaks the rules" by admitting 10 people and wait-listing no one. Typically, as I understand it, University of Chicago enrolls at least six of these people. Duke is ranked very similarly to University of Chicago, so I don't see any reason that Duke would have to admit that many more people than University of Chicago. This is all to say that my educated guess (for what very, very little it's worth) is that Duke wait-lists about five people. I remember that last year that I speculated that people wait-listed have a better than 50 percent chance of being admitted. I can't remember how I came to that conclusion.

 

I see that you applied to a lot of T20 programs. That's good. If I were in your shoes, I would be optimistic right now. I hope things work out for you.

 

Tangentially, I will mention: Sometimes it's appropriate for a letter-writer, if she knows a member of faculty at the department at which you're wait-listed, to reach out to a member of that department. Handle with care. I've seen it done. Sometimes wait-lists aren't ranked, particularly when those lists are short. The letter-writer may be able to communicate tactfully that you are very serious and would accept the offer, if extended. The letter-writer may be able to push things in a helpful direction. This tactic is not (yet) widely accepted practice, but it's being done. Maybe one way to look at it is that it's part of the process. Not sure what people think of this. Seems shady, but I'm not sure that there are relevant differences between this tactic and many others that are widely accepted (and even expected).

 

Ah, thanks so much for this detailed response. It's extremely helpful. And I just discovered your philosophy admissions blog! Ahhhh.

 

I'm strongly disinclined (for now) to attempt what you mention in the last paragraph, although it's tempting and very possible. Beyond the possibility of it backfiring, I am also just uncomfortable with the idea.

 

Somewhat relatedly, here's another idea that cropped up but I rejected due to queasiness. Professor A, one of my letter writers who knows my work well, is a relatively junior professor at my current workplace. Professor B, who is not one of my letter writers and is almost entirely unfamiliar with my work, is a senior professor, and the superior of both A and me at work. Before submitting the letters, Professor A asked me if I wanted them to forward their letter to Professor B to submit under B's name, since B was more senior and better connected to faculty members at the places I was applying to. Professor A ostensibly thought this was fine since B is pretty much my boss at work. It's not like B and I are unacquainted - B is simply unfamiliar with my philosophical work such that they wouldn't be able to write anything meaningful for me unaided, as I work mostly with A. I thanked Professor A, but declined their suggestion.

 

I've been called an idiot for saying no, but have no regrets. I dunno though, can't help but wonder... what do others think? Would you have accepted the offer? Is it a common thing to do?

 

Anyway, Ian, I will keep your suggestion in mind - who knows, I may find myself needing to do it! Blah. Thanks once again.

 

Addendum: what do people think about emailing the admissions committee yourself if waitlisted, to let them know you're very serious about the department? I'm much more inclined to do this over asking one of my recommenders to do it.

Edited February 2, 2015 by tuv0k

[Edit_Undo]

Ah, thanks so much for this detailed response. It's extremely helpful. And I just discovered your philosophy admissions blog! Ahhhh.

 

I'm strongly disinclined (for now) to attempt what you mention in the last paragraph, although it's tempting and very possible. Beyond the possibility of it backfiring, I am also just uncomfortable with the idea.

 

Somewhat relatedly, here's another idea that cropped up but I rejected due to queasiness. Professor A, one of my letter writers who knows my work well, is a relatively junior professor at my current workplace. Professor B, who is not one of my letter writers and is almost entirely unfamiliar with my work, is a senior professor, and the superior of both A and me at work. Before submitting the letters, Professor A asked me if I wanted them to forward their letter to Professor B to submit under B's name, since B was more senior and better connected to faculty members at the places I was applying to. Professor A ostensibly thought this was fine since B is pretty much my boss at work. It's not like B and I are unacquainted - B is simply unfamiliar with my philosophical work such that they wouldn't be able to write anything meaningful for me unaided, as I work mostly with A. I thanked Professor A, but declined their suggestion.

 

I've been called an idiot for saying no, but have no regrets. I dunno though, can't help but wonder... what do others think? Would you have accepted the offer? Is it a common thing to do?

 

Anyway, Ian, I will keep your suggestion in mind - who knows, I may find myself needing to do it! Blah. Thanks once again.

 

Addendum: what do people think about emailing the admissions committee yourself if waitlisted, to let them know you're very serious about the department? I'm much more inclined to do this over asking one of my recommenders to do it.

I really admire your decisions. Those things do indeed seem shady. If you asked me a year ago of whether I would accept the offer that Professor A has suggested, I would have said no. But if you ask me now as I am applying for the second time, I would probably do it. Just because I am disparate in finding ways to improve my application and ways to get ahead of other applicants. 

[tuv0k]

Btw, in case this ever helps anyone: from my experience, many admissions chairs respond helpfully and promptly to emails regarding substantive, non-shady requests. Things are less bureaucratic than one might think.

For example: significant updates to my CV occured after I submitted my applications - including a good forthcoming publication where I previously had none, and a TA-ship. I managed to update my CV with almost all the departments weeks after the deadlines, by emailing the philosophy professors listed as Directors of Graduate Admissions / DG Studies (or, if no professor was listed, the administrative managers at the philosophy department). They were fairly pleasant about it too. Four schools even let me update a faulty writing sample that I had uploaded by mistake, and they were nice about it too! (Although - I'm NOT recommending that anyone ever find themself in this situation to begin with.)

If you are ever very worried about anything important, I'd advise you to give a ballsy shot at contacting the department directly. ONLY substantive concerns that really require action though, and make sure it's done in an open, non-slimy way. No random brown-nosing recommended. Ever.

Edited February 2, 2015 by tuv0k

[reixis]

The only complication I could see arising is that some universities base your funding on what external fellowships or scholarships you have and if you have more than a bachelors degree. Not saying this will sink your chances at it all working out, but it may make things complicated depending on particular policies (as such, I'd recommend talking to people at the various universities about your situation, as it really will vary).

Yes, I thought of that too. But I wouldn't travel with a scholarship, I would only hold it for the months I will be in my country. When I depart from Brazil, I would resign and let another person benefit from it.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from schools to ask about my situation. I think it doesn't make much sense to e-mails DGSs now since I don't have any offer. The only possible complication is if I get into waitlists (I have to formally accept the scholarship by the first week of March), but I guess I can still make things work.

 

--

 

@topic

 

I think many of us will start hearing from schools this week. Good luck everyone!

[overoverover]

 

 

@topic

 

I think many of us will start hearing from schools this week. Good luck everyone!

 

 

I have no reason to think this, but in addition to thinking I'll hear from Berkeley this week, I can't help but be very optimistic about what I'll hear. This comment will probably come back to haunt me, of course, but whatever. If anybody can understand the weird mix of anxiety and optimism I'm experiencing right now, it's you folks!