2015 Acceptance Thread

[jeremy_13]

Has anyone still not heard from CUNY?

 

I'm assuming by now that I definitely was rejected, but it would still be nice to receive official word of this from the department.

 

Hi riverstyx. I heard that I'm on the waitlist, and the email made it sound as though the waitlist itself is already decided. I don't want to say for sure (you should email them to ask). And I'm so sorry to be the bearer of (what is probably) bad news.

Edited March 6, 2015 by marshmallowy

[philoguy]

Hey, just wondering what questions are or are not appropriate to ask an admissions office in light of rejection. Can I ask if my GPA was not high enough, if my recs weren't good enough, or if my paper was not up to par? Are all these kosher questions to ask?

[isostheneia]

Hey, just wondering what questions are or are not appropriate to ask an admissions office in light of rejection. Can I ask if my GPA was not high enough, if my recs weren't good enough, or if my paper was not up to par? Are all these kosher questions to ask?

 

I don't think it would be un-kosher to ask, but there's a very good chance they won't tell you. I don't think there's much to lose if you've already been rejected.

[jjb919]

Hey, just wondering what questions are or are not appropriate to ask an admissions office in light of rejection. Can I ask if my GPA was not high enough, if my recs weren't good enough, or if my paper was not up to par? Are all these kosher questions to ask?

 

I don't think it would be un-kosher to ask, but there's a very good chance they won't tell you. I don't think there's much to lose if you've already been rejected.

 

This has been my experience. Most departments will give you a vague, generic party line. I got this treatment from Fordham when I was rejected a few years ago. Boston College, on the other hand, suggested to me without coming out and saying it that I was rejected for low GRE scores.

[phil-life]

This has been my experience. Most departments will give you a vague, generic party line. I got this treatment from Fordham when I was rejected a few years ago. Boston College, on the other hand, suggested to me without coming out and saying it that I was rejected for low GRE scores.

Last year, I asked from a professor at HPS Pitt why you rejected me... He was very positive about my application before sending me the rejection. And he responded me" admissions are lottery, that's the reality" : )))))

[philstudent1991]

Hey, just wondering what questions are or are not appropriate to ask an admissions office in light of rejection. Can I ask if my GPA was not high enough, if my recs weren't good enough, or if my paper was not up to par? Are all these kosher questions to ask?

Ya I wouldn't ask those specific questions but a general question about how you could improve your app for next time would be appropriate. I did just this and got helpful answers from 2 or 3 schools. But you probably won't learn anything you don't know. The formula for getting in is well known: excellent grades, excellent GRE, excellent letters, excellent sample, excellent fit, some pedigree and some luck, that's all it takes  

[herenowagain]

Hey, just wondering what questions are or are not appropriate to ask an admissions office in light of rejection. Can I ask if my GPA was not high enough, if my recs weren't good enough, or if my paper was not up to par? Are all these kosher questions to ask?

 

The grad school general admissions office won't be much help, you need to talk to one of the philosophy faculty involved on accepting/rejecting grads. It is totally fine to ask (you should, asking puts you on their radar for next cycle), but you'll probably get some generic non-response. 

 

Somebody above me suggested that you ask for advice for how to improve your chances in the future. Asking for help might be a good way to go about this. Then they can't just respond "we had many qualified applicants" but have to make a suggestion, plus asking for help seems psychologically a better way to invite a response.

 

Wait-listed: Maryland

[psm1580b]

Last year, I asked from a professor at HPS Pitt why you rejected me... He was very positive about my application before sending me the rejection. And he responded me" admissions are lottery, that's the reality" : )))))

This. I know I'm very competitive with my scores and GPA. However, I have to imagine that if a school gets 300 applications, there's a top 50 or so that are roughly equivalent. If the school only has, say, 5 spots, then that means one of those highly-competitive applicants only has a 10% chance of being accepted. 

 

No gambler I know would play those odds, so I can't be too upset at my responses so far. I'm spending my days working on several "Plan B's"--most of which entail applying again next year.

[sar1906]

This. I know I'm very competitive with my scores and GPA. However, I have to imagine that if a school gets 300 applications, there's a top 50 or so that are roughly equivalent. If the school only has, say, 5 spots, then that means one of those highly-competitive applicants only has a 10% chance of being accepted.

No gambler I know would play those odds, so I can't be too upset at my responses so far. I'm spending my days working on several "Plan B's"--most of which entail applying again next year.

Definitely. When I asked the DGS from one of the SPEP schools, he basically said, "I don't why. We easily could have selected you, but we didn't."

[MissingBlue]

Do I spy a Stanford acceptance? Can anyone confirm it?

[DontFly]

Do I spy a Stanford acceptance? Can anyone confirm it?

Now seems like an unusual time to send out notifications?

[Mather]

Said this elsewhere, but while I'm at it, I'll say it again:

 

If anyone has questions about Columbia, shoot me a message, and I'll answer to the best of my ability. I'm in my second year in the philosophy PhD at Columbia and currently serving as one of the grad student reps. My precise areas of interest are hard to pin down, but, roughly speaking, I'm interested the history of philosophy (esp., Kant), normativity, and agency. As a quick, general remark, I've found Columbia to be a wonderful place to study philosophy with a supportive faculty, an active and friendly graduate community, a healthy range of diversity with respect to philosophical interests, and plenty of other great academic resources within and outside of the university.

 

I'm also a former UW-Milwaukee MA student. So, if you've got questions about that program, I'm happy to throw in my two cents, though, naturally, I'd encourage you to contact current students in the program, too.

[kosmo]

Now seems like an unusual time to send out notifications?

I emailed the graduate administrator and she said they have started notifying applicants. She also kindly let me know that I was not admitted. So I guess the posts about Stanford are legit. 

[leveluptbc]

I got into Oxford's BPhil program, but I have no idea whether or not I'll get funding. Does anyone know what the odds are/average aid?

[DontFly]

I got into Oxford's BPhil program, but I have no idea whether or not I'll get funding. Does anyone know what the odds are/average aid?

I think it's fairly typical for British schools not to fund their students. I think only a very small portion of them fund a very small portion of domestic PhD's.

[Edit_Undo]

Accepted at University of Amsterdam (MA in Logic, Language, and Computation). Now I have the problem of having to decide where I want to study. A problem that I do not mind having at all.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Edit_Undo

[Duns Eith]

Accepted at University of Amsterdam (MA in Logic, Language, and Computation). Now I have the problem of having to decide where I want to study. A problem that I do not mind having at all.

Congrats!

[Edit_Undo]

Congrats!

Thank you!

[NathanKellen]

Accepted at University of Amsterdam (MA in Logic, Language, and Computation). Now I have the problem of having to decide where I want to study. A problem that I do not mind having at all.

Awesome! Let's chat soon. I have friends who have done their MA at Amsterdam, and it seems a great place.

[Edit_Undo]

Awesome! Let's chat soon. I have friends who have done their MA at Amsterdam, and it seems a great place.

Thanks Nathan! I'll contact you soon.

[Franzkafka]

Accepted into the M.A. program at Syracuse. I know Syracuse doesn't have a good terminal M.A. program. I wonder is it worthy to attend it. I will reapply to Ph.D. programs in the second year. Anyone know anything concerning its M.A. placement?

[popsteady]

Accepted into the M.A. program at Syracuse. I know Syracuse doesn't have a good terminal M.A. program. I wonder is it worthy to attend it. I will reapply to Ph.D. programs in the second year. Anyone know anything concerning its M.A. placement?

 

You can always check the APA Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy. It has some stuff on Syracuse's MA and PhD programs.

[Franzkafka]

You can always check the APA Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy. It has some stuff on Syracuse's MA and PhD programs.

In fact, I have already checked it, but it almost says nothing on Syracuse's MA program. Anyway, thank you very much.

[L13]

I think it's fairly typical for British schools not to fund their students. I think only a very small portion of them fund a very small portion of domestic PhD's.

Not a philosophy student, so sorry for barging in, but that's somewhat misleading.

 

Oxford does, in fact, offer funding to domestic and international students alike, both for doctorates (DPhil, not PhD) and master's degrees. However, it's distributed on a competitive basis and is particularly difficult to get for master's students. The average accepted student is very unlikely to receive funding, but it's not impossible.

 

News for different scholarships go out at different times, but I think it's safe to say everyone who gets funding should hear by mid-April...

[DontFly]

Not a philosophy student, so sorry for barging in, but that's somewhat misleading.

Oxford does, in fact, offer funding to domestic and international students alike, both for doctorates (DPhil, not PhD) and master's degrees. However, it's distributed on a competitive basis and is particularly difficult to get for master's students. The average accepted student is very unlikely to receive funding, but it's not impossible.

News for different scholarships go out at different times, but I think it's safe to say everyone who gets funding should hear by mid-April...

L13 is probably more accurate than I was. What I know is that LSE doesn't fund its international students or about half of its domestics - the main reason I didn't apply. Other schools might be better, though. Plus British MA's are shorter than Americans, so it might worth it. Not all American MA's give adequate funding either.