2015 Waitlist Thread

[philstudent1991]

So I am on UMD's waitlist and I am just starting to get waitlist-fever a bit. I know there are 10 days left, but... agh!

 

Here's what I know:

* UMD hasn't accepted anyone off their waitlist yet (which I think is about 22 long).

* UMD is admitting 5, but they sent out 10 initial acceptances (They are expecting 5-7 to reject their initial acceptance offers). 

* To date: 4 of the initial acceptances have definitely rejected the offer (1 from Georgetown, 2 from GSU, & 1 from gradcafe-IWokeUpLikeThis).

* To date, at least 1 of the initial acceptances have accepted (an aesthetics person). 

* That leaves 5 of the initial acceptances I don't know the status about...

 

Of the 5 left, 1 has an offer from UW-Seattle that they are deciding between and another 1 is waitlisted at Madison which I suspect they will take if offered. I am not sure what the other 3 might be deciding between.

 

It's probably gonna come down to the 15th for me, but I am kinda losing my mind here. I guess I am just looking to express my situation to people who would understand and sympathize. 

 

Anyone else on UMD's waitlist?

There should be a lot of movement soon! Don't despair. Btw, you must have a lot of "little birdies", as they say. 

[cassette]

I am on the waitlist for the MA at U of British Columbia and Dalhousie. Both have told me to be hopeful for some movement this week.

 

Accepted at Western Ontario with amazing funding, so at least there's that.

 

Good luck all! If anyone is planning to drop from UBC or Dal please let me know!

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

I am on the waitlist for the MA at U of British Columbia and Dalhousie. Both have told me to be hopeful for some movement this week.

 

Accepted at Western Ontario with amazing funding, so at least there's that.

 

Good luck all! If anyone is planning to drop from UBC or Dal please let me know!

 

You'd really take either of those over Western? I've heard they have quite a strong department!

[cassette]

You'd really take either of those over Western? I've heard they have quite a strong department!

 

Interesting. I have heard the opposite. My advisor even told me not to apply there because they don't have the name brand necessary to get you into a tier 1 PHD.

[Jumbo Juice]

Important caveat: especially if you are attending a Canadian school, your adviser may have inside knowledge of Canadian philosophy Master's programs that I and most of the other posters here lack.  That being said, judging by the Leiter specialty rankings, Western Ontario has one of the top departments for philosophy of physics/science in the world and is also strong in history of philosophy, philosophy of mathematics, and feminist philosophy. If I were you, I'd at least speak to a current Master's student there (and at UBC and Dalhousie, if you are accepted) and ask about recent placement before making a decision.  Note that all three institutions also grant PhDs (although Dalhousie only rarely), and at many schools with doctoral programs lowly Master's students end up being treated as afterthoughts.  Because this varies in unpredictable ways not correlated with faculty quality, it is particularly important to speak with current students and obtain placement information.


I don't know if you've looked already, but here's UBC's Master's placement record:

http://philosophy.ubc.ca/alumni/ma-graduates/

And here are the Leiter specialty rankings by department (Canada is towards the bottom, just above Australasia):

http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/departments.asp

[riverstyx]

I emailed my waiting list schools to see what my chances are. Only Wisconsin got back, but the only thing the person said was that I was still on the waiting list. That's it. Is there some policy certain schools have about being deliberately tight lipped about their wait lists? Because in March the other schools had told me I should feel free to check up with them in April and that they would update me accordingly. What should I take from the fact that he didn't tell me anything?

[Franzkafka]

I'm 7th on the wait list for funding at the University of Houston (it's my first choice). It seems that my chance is very low. Is there anyone plan to decline a funded offer or wait list from there? Thanks!

[TheJabberwock]

So I am on UMD's waitlist and I am just starting to get waitlist-fever a bit. I know there are 10 days left, but... agh!

 

Here's what I know:

* UMD hasn't accepted anyone off their waitlist yet (which I think is about 22 long).

* UMD is admitting 5, but they sent out 10 initial acceptances (They are expecting 5-7 to reject their initial acceptance offers). 

* To date: 4 of the initial acceptances have definitely rejected the offer (1 from Georgetown, 2 from GSU, & 1 from gradcafe-IWokeUpLikeThis).

* To date, at least 1 of the initial acceptances have accepted (an aesthetics person). 

* That leaves 5 of the initial acceptances I don't know the status about...

 

Of the 5 left, 1 has an offer from UW-Seattle that they are deciding between and another 1 is waitlisted at Madison which I suspect they will take if offered. I am not sure what the other 3 might be deciding between.

 

It's probably gonna come down to the 15th for me, but I am kinda losing my mind here. I guess I am just looking to express my situation to people who would understand and sympathize. 

 

Anyone else on UMD's waitlist?

 

(Long-time lurker here) I am not on UMD's waitlist, but I am on Rice's waitlist. I feel pretty much the same as you have said. I am not sure exactly where I am on the waitlist, but I know I am not near the top. My chances feel a bit better than impossible, but it is hard to say if I'll get an offer. From what the DGS said, it could also come down to the 15th from me. I am happy waiting for good news, however if it's bad news it'll make it that harder having waited this long. So, I am definitely going stir-crazy from waiting! Also, I have been rejected from ten, waitlisted at Rice and I have one presumed rejection (still waiting on Duquesne!).

 

I emailed my waiting list schools to see what my chances are. Only Wisconsin got back, but the only thing the person said was that I was still on the waiting list. That's it. Is there some policy certain schools have about being deliberately tight lipped about their wait lists? Because in March the other schools had told me I should feel free to check up with them in April and that they would update me accordingly. What should I take from the fact that he didn't tell me anything?

 

You should take it with a grain of salt! It seems that a lot of schools are a bit hesitant in telling students where they are located on the waitlist. One reason might be that they don't want to give students false hope, or completely rule out their chances. These schools have a waitlist for a reason, they have to dig into them. And some years they might have to dig deeper than in others. It would be nice if they could tell us how many slots are open to the waitlist and where we sit on that list (Rice recently gave more information about how many slots they had and on a follow up they told me roughly how deep I am on the list), but some schools don't want to give that information. It seems like there is a lot of luck, even for the schools themselves. They are also waiting on people to accept or turn down an offer and those people might be waiting on another University and so on.

 

On a positive note, we'll all know by the end of next week how it will all wash out, so the best of luck!

[qualiafreak]

Anyone wait listed or accepted to Colorado? They told me not to expect any word until on or after the 15th. So helpful!

[Duns Eith]

I'm 7th on the wait list for funding at the University of Houston (it's my first choice). It seems that my chance is very low. Is there anyone plan to decline a funded offer or wait list from there? Thanks!

Why does being 7th on the waitlist suggest chances are low? Do they only accept a handful of applicants (less than 5?)..? Or have you shifted up from 20th position to 7th, and think additional shifting will be minimal?

 

7 spots can easily shift at a school with 7 openings.

[reixis]

As I believe many of us will have our futures defined this week, I would like to wish the best of luck for all of us still waiting! It's been a very stressful couple of months, but it certainly helped to have this place to talk about the process. 

[Franzkafka]

Why does being 7th on the waitlist suggest chances are low? Do they only accept a handful of applicants (less than 5?)..? Or have you shifted up from 20th position to 7th, and think additional shifting will be minimal?

 

7 spots can easily shift at a school with 7 openings.

Yes, they only provide five TA packages. And 7th is my initial ranking in the waiting list for funding. So my overall ranking is 12th, I mean there are five people with TA packages and six people in the waiting list for funding before me. The DGS told me that one person has accepted the funded offer. So only if seven or more of these people (in fact, ten people) who haven't made their decisions decline their offers, I can get a TA package. 

[Duns Eith]

Ah, that makes more sense but did the DGS suggest that your chances were low based off similar situations in the past?

Edited April 6, 2015 by Turretin

[Franzkafka]

Ah, that makes more sense but did the DGS suggest that your chances were low based off similar situations in the past?

I just got an updated news from him. He said that last year the person ranked 7th on the waiting list got the TA package finally. While the year before last year, the 7th guy didn't make it. In addition, he said that my chance is about 50%. Anyway, all I can do is waiting. Thank you for your concern!

[Duns Eith]

50%! Not bad odds, but I can see why you're not banking on it.

[Franzkafka]

50%! Not bad odds, but I can see why you're not banking on it.

Yeah, feel really hopeless after being wait listed for funding at many universities.

[qualiafreak]

Yeah, feel really hopeless after being wait listed for funding at many universities.

It just takes one, don't give up hope yet ~

[Franzkafka]

It just takes one, don't give up hope yet ~

Yeah, I will keep waiting until the last minute. Thank you!

[armchair_revolutionary]

I am 3rd on the wait list at Marquette with 3 of the original offers (out of 4) yet to be accepted or declined. I'm wondering what my prospects are here...

[DontFly]

Interesting. I have heard the opposite. My advisor even told me not to apply there because they don't have the name brand necessary to get you into a tier 1 PHD.

As a Canadian student with some familiarity with these schools, I'll just say that I'll take UWO over UBC anytime. This is especially true is most of their MAs are placed internally. (Though it seems that UWO expects MAs to apply in their first year, which might be a deterrent.) Feel free to PM me for more information.

[herenowagain]

I knew someone who a few years ago was accepted to School 1 and School 2, they decided for School 2 over School 1, but they never contacted School 1 to turn them down. He just let the April 15th deadline pass by.

 

He never talked to School 1 again. I don't know if they tried emailing him or calling him on the 15th or... what. 

 

Any idea on how schools handle a "no response" to an acceptance after April 15th? 

[armchair_revolutionary]

I don't know how schools deal in the case of not getting a response by the 15th. It would seem that by that date the admitted student has had plenty of time to weigh their options, and I would hope the school would thus take silence as a rejection and move immediately to the waitlist.

In any case, not notifying a school of the intent not to attend is inconsiderate and irresponsible.

Edited April 8, 2015 by armchair_revolutionary

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

I'll be declining Fordham's offer today. Hopefully that helps someone!

[Duns Eith]

I'll be declining Fordham's offer today. Hopefully that helps someone!

You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day

[qualiafreak]

Looks like it's actually going to come down to the 15th for me.... Scary!

 

I decided if I haven't heard from my wait lists by noon on Wednesday I will turn them all down and accept the MA offer.