sar1906 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I wouldn't infer anything from this. Lots of people who get into well ranked programs get rejected from lower ranked programs. I've heard of someone who got into Harvard and was rejected from every other program they applied to. Plus, while fit helps and is important, it might just be that they preferred someone else with the same interests and didn't want two incoming people overlapping two much with interests (and the reason for the preference could be any number of reasons that might not even have to do much with the quality of your application). tl;dr the admissions process is really chaotic and basically impossible to predict. The evidentiary (evidential?) weight of rejections, wait-lists and acceptances is minimal. How does that work??! They decide partially based on AOI? My initial field was biochemistry and it follows the expected pattern of acceptance by rank.
Matt Bauer Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I was waitlisted at Baylor. Not sure how many others are on the waitlist, I only see one on grad cafe besides myself. After speaking with the DGS at Baylor, he sounded optimistic about those on the waitlist receiving offers this year.
Gnothi_Seauton Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I wouldn't infer anything from this. Lots of people who get into well ranked programs get rejected from lower ranked programs. I've heard of someone who got into Harvard and was rejected from every other program they applied to. Plus, while fit helps and is important, it might just be that they preferred someone else with the same interests and didn't want two incoming people overlapping two much with interests (and the reason for the preference could be any number of reasons that might not even have to do much with the quality of your application). It's even possible that the interests of the cohort last year could have influenced whether they wanted to admit someone with your interests this year. tl;dr the admissions process is really chaotic and basically impossible to predict. The evidentiary (evidential?) weight of rejections, wait-lists and acceptances is minimal. I want to second this. It's a weird process. Last year, one guy got admitted outright to Harvard but was waitlisted by UVA. I got into UNC outright and was rejected by Tufts for the MA. There are lots of unpredictable results, so I wouldn't infer anything from rejections (or acceptances). Curious Bean 1
Monadology Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) How does that work??! They decide partially based on AOI? My initial field was biochemistry and it follows the expected pattern of acceptance by rank. That's right. Last year I was wait-listed at Purdue. At Purdue that year, the admissions was organized by AOI. I was in the 'continental' category (at the top of the wait list). I would only get an offer from them if the person who currently had an offer and was their 'continental' candidate turned it down. If someone with an offer with a different AOI (say philosophy of religion) turned their offer down, I wouldn't get an offer. Instead, the first person on the wait-list in the 'philosophy of religion' category would get the offer. I have also heard second-hand that sometimes AOIs from previous years matter. If the last class at a program was really heavy on phil of mind, they might emphasize other AOIs because otherwise the phil mind faculty will have a lot of advisees (which is bad for the faculty and advisees). The only trend I have seen as far as rank is that people who get into more than one top program have decent odds of getting into a few more. But even the all-stars don't generally get in everywhere, and will get rejections from lower ranked programs. Edited February 14, 2015 by Monadology Curious Bean 1
reixis Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Reporting a UPenn wait-list notification. No info on ranks, but from the e-mail I received, it seems like it's divided between areas of interest.
sar1906 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 That's right. Last year I was wait-listed at Purdue. At Purdue that year, the admissions was organized by AOI. I was in the 'continental' category (at the top of the wait list). I would only get an offer from them if the person who currently had an offer and was their 'continental' candidate turned it down. If someone with an offer with a different AOI (say philosophy of religion) turned their offer down, I wouldn't get an offer. Instead, the first person on the wait-list in the 'philosophy of religion' category would get the offer. I have also heard second-hand that sometimes AOIs from previous years matter. If the last class at a program was really heavy on phil of mind, they might emphasize other AOIs because otherwise the phil mind faculty will have a lot of advisees (which is bad for the faculty and advisees). The only trend I have seen as far as rank is that people who get into more than one top program are pretty reliably going get get into a few more. But even the all-stars don't get in everywhere, and will get rejections from lower ranked programs. I see. Makes sense. So it seems that once applicants reach a certain minimal standard of quality in their letters, GPA, writing sample, etc., they just need a lot of luck. Monadology and Hcarp 2
tuv0k Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) That's right. Last year I was wait-listed at Purdue. At Purdue that year, the admissions was organized by AOI. I was in the 'continental' category (at the top of the wait list). I would only get an offer from them if the person who currently had an offer and was their 'continental' candidate turned it down. If someone with an offer with a different AOI (say philosophy of religion) turned their offer down, I wouldn't get an offer. Instead, the first person on the wait-list in the 'philosophy of religion' category would get the offer. I have also heard second-hand that sometimes AOIs from previous years matter. If the last class at a program was really heavy on phil of mind, they might emphasize other AOIs because otherwise the phil mind faculty will have a lot of advisees (which is bad for the faculty and advisees). The only trend I have seen as far as rank is that people who get into more than one top program have decent odds of getting into a few more. But even the all-stars don't generally get in everywhere, and will get rejections from lower ranked programs. I see! Good to know. Perhaps that's something to do with why I got (presumably) rejected by Georgetown then... they have "particular strengths in bioethics, ethical theory, the history of philosophy" (right off their website) and well... you can take a look at my AOIs below. Haha sigh. Oh well! C'est la vie Edited February 14, 2015 by tuv0k
tuv0k Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Ok, solicited and received confirmation from Penn that their wait list is unranked, and slots open up according to area. Curious Bean 1
Franzkafka Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Does anyone know if Georgetown does waitlists (for admission, not just for funding)? I did a search on the gradcafe survey history and it seems like only one waitlist that was clearly for admission was ever posted in the past few years. I'm pretty crushed not to have received anything today :/ Not only was Georgetown a great fit, it also happened to be the lowest-ranked programme I applied to. Not a good sign at all. Me too, it seems that my lowest program will reject me. Really hopeless.
humean_skeptic Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Me too, it seems that my lowest program will reject me. Really hopeless. I applied to 14 Philosophy PhD programs in the 2012/2013 season and was accepted -- in February 2013 -- at a Top 25 Leiter ranked program. I was also rejected by places like Rice, Rochester, and several other places in the 30s (and a couple others in the 40s). Curious Bean and Cecinestpasunphilosophe 2
tuv0k Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) I applied to 14 Philosophy PhD programs in the 2012/2013 season and was accepted -- in February 2013 -- at a Top 25 Leiter ranked program. I was also rejected by places like Rice, Rochester, and several other places in the 30s (and a couple others in the 40s). Interesting. Come to think of it, someone I know who graduated from Stanford once told me that while he'd gotten into MIT, Berkeley, Pitts etc., he got rejected by UC Irvine and Davis. I wonder if it's common for mid/low-ranked departments to reject exceptionally strong applicants who are likely to enrol higher-ranked schools, so as to make their admissions process go smoother and boost their enrolment stats. I've heard rumours of this. Stories like yours seem to make it almost certain that this happens. Edited February 14, 2015 by tuv0k
tuv0k Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Update: waitlisted at UCSD. 8 people on wait list. Numerically unranked, slots given on the basis of area. Weird.. website said they didn't operate with a wait list NathanKellen and Monadology 2
Monadology Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Update: waitlisted at UCSD. 8 people on wait list. Numerically unranked, slots given on the basis of area. Weird.. website said they didn't operate with a wait list Interesting! I don't think they had one last year, but they also ended up with only two students in the incoming class. Perhaps they changed things because of that result.
reixis Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Ok, solicited and received confirmation from Penn that their wait list is unranked, and slots open up according to area. Did you ask how many were on the waitlist? I also asked about ranks, but forgot to ask about the number of people on the list.
tuv0k Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Did you ask how many were on the waitlist? I also asked about ranks, but forgot to ask about the number of people on the list. I did specifically ask about how long the list was, but that question went unanswered. According to the website, in recent years they've "made offers of admission to anywhere from 11 to 15 students, with a target incoming class of 5 or 6". If the 11-15 students included waitlisted students who were later admitted, it doesn't seem like the list would be very long. reixis 1
Twas Brillig Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Hi, I have declined both my Northwestern and my UBC offers. I have not asked whether UBC keeps a waitlist, but I hope this helps someone. NathanKellen, GWFHegelFTW, sidevans and 3 others 5 1
Twas Brillig Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 This is my first application season and I am pretty new to this site, so I apologize if I have been violating forum etiquette; I didn't mean to come off as arrogant or presumptuous.
philstudent1991 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 This is my first application season and I am pretty new to this site, so I apologize if I have been violating forum etiquette; I didn't mean to come off as arrogant or presumptuous. You didn't! Thanks for contributing.
Franzkafka Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 Wait listed by Cincinnati, is there anyone wanna decline his /her offer?
An0416 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 Anyone in the "I didn't hear back from UCLA but other people have already been accepted" boat? I am! Not sure if I should send them an e-mail or not...
Infinite Zest Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 No word from UNC today... I guess I'm not going to be a Southerner anytime soon.
Infinite Zest Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I am! Not sure if I should send them an e-mail or not... Let me know if you do. On that note, I like your signature.
An0416 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Let me know if you do. On that note, I like your signature. Oh well thank you! I think, for now, I am going to hold off on the e-mail. I was looking at past years and it seems either they admit in multiple waves or they hold onto this internal wait list and admit when others decline their offer. Plus, it seems a little early to bug them.
overoverover Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Same boat re: UCLA. I figure it's just better to wait it out.
Gnothi_Seauton Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Same boat re: UCLA. I figure it's just better to wait it out. I still haven't heard anything from UCLA, and I applied last admissions cycle! Infinite Zest, tuv0k, MattDest and 4 others 7
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