2016 Rejection/Plan B Thread

[philosophe]

1 hour ago, currentphilgrad said:

For UT-Austin, maybe I'm just not looking at the right thing but under status for me it says "In review." Am I looking in the right place? Ah limbo...

 

1 hour ago, philstudent1992 said:

I also only see "under review" for Texas. Looking back at past years, apparently some people who asked about their status were told that they weren't accepted or on the waitlist, but they also weren't officially rejected yet, either. So it's possible that's the case, but obviously it's also possible that they just haven't uploaded all rejections yet.

Same. I'm considering soliciting... just for my sanity.

[Calyspo06]

Wow, UNC-Chapel Hill is on the rampage today.  I sort of wish they had admitted EVERYONE.  Or at least wait-listed more people than they evidently have.  Also, hurry up Stanford and Princeton!  Lets get this ball rolling.   I'm glad today is Super Tuesday.  It will keep my mind diverted tonight.

[philosophe]

10 minutes ago, philosophe said:

 

Same. I'm considering soliciting... just for my sanity.

 

1 hour ago, philstudent1992 said:

I also only see "under review" for Texas. Looking back at past years, apparently some people who asked about their status were told that they weren't accepted or on the waitlist, but they also weren't officially rejected yet, either. So it's possible that's the case, but obviously it's also possible that they just haven't uploaded all rejections yet.

 

1 hour ago, currentphilgrad said:

For UT-Austin, maybe I'm just not looking at the right thing but under status for me it says "In review." Am I looking in the right place? Ah limbo...

Hey folks, so I emailed to ask and this is what they said: 

"We had a very strong applicant pool this year and we have a limited number of openings.  Thus, competition for admission was very keen this year.  Unfortunately you are not among those being admitted or on the wait list at this time.  Things could still change in the next couple of weeks, but for now we cannot admit you."

Seems like we're in the rejection pile, but they're holding off to see if their first round of accepts/wls fill their open slots. If not, it seems like they'll reach into our pile. 

 

[dgswaim]

UT thinks I'm lame. Bummer.

[matchamatcha]

So I'm predicting a shut out now that I got my UBC rejection.  I'll be revisiting my writing sample for next year since there's nothing I can do about my GPA.  I think my LoRs are good, but perhaps from unknown-ish people given that I go to a STEM school with no arts pedigree (this is what I get for not switching schools when I switched into a Phil major), and my GRE is as solid as I care to get it.

I'll try to work on some papers to submit to journals, but other than that, anyone have any suggestions on how to make my application look more appealing next year?

[puppylover]

Rejection from Tufts! </3

[MVSCZAR]

30 minutes ago, matchamatcha said:

So I'm predicting a shut out now that I got my UBC rejection.  I'll be revisiting my writing sample for next year since there's nothing I can do about my GPA.  I think my LoRs are good, but perhaps from unknown-ish people given that I go to a STEM school with no arts pedigree (this is what I get for not switching schools when I switched into a Phil major), and my GRE is as solid as I care to get it.

I'll try to work on some papers to submit to journals, but other than that, anyone have any suggestions on how to make my application look more appealing next year?

Languages. I've heard repeatedly that people are impressed with my languages. But maybe it's a continental thing. 

[matchamatcha]

Just now, MVSCZAR said:

Languages. I've heard repeatedly that people are impressed with my languages. But maybe it's a continental thing. 

Perhaps a continental thing?  I'm conversationally competent in 5 languages and can read/write in 3 including English, and I have a minor in Applied Language Studies.  Granted, they're not the most useful languages for Philosophy.  Time to learn Greek!

[matchamatcha]

@KevDoh. Thanks so much for the comprehensive post!  You're right in that I'm probably overstating the negative influence of my lack of pedigree, I assume it's because I'm super upset since I feel that I worked my ass off to compensate for some setbacks I had at the start of my undergrad, so I feel the need to blame something other than me lol.  There are some language classes near me which I could enroll in starting in the summer (I mentioned just above that I actually know a few languages, but they aren't very philosophy related, so maybe I need to rectify that).

I've already started applying to some university jobs as well as other jobs around town because being poor and out of school is no fun at all, and I certainly have some gaps in my philosophical knowledge, but my school perhaps isn't the best place to fill in those gaps given its weaknesses in course offerings.  Obviously self study doesn't hold the same weight in applications, but it seems I have to basically treat applying to phd programs as a job in itself.

Thanks for the motivation.  I've got a ton of books I want to get through since I do feel like I was drifting away from my main AOI after my MA thesis, and this may be the perfect opportunity to gain a new philosophical interest without the pressure of academia.

It really helps that my partner is in the same position as I (presumably since we haven't gotten some official rejections yet), so I'll have a support system going through this garbage again.

Edited March 1, 2016 by matchamatcha

[Calyspo06]

39 minutes ago, matchamatcha said:

So I'm predicting a shut out now that I got my UBC rejection.  I'll be revisiting my writing sample for next year since there's nothing I can do about my GPA.  I think my LoRs are good, but perhaps from unknown-ish people given that I go to a STEM school with no arts pedigree (this is what I get for not switching schools when I switched into a Phil major), and my GRE is as solid as I care to get it.

I'll try to work on some papers to submit to journals, but other than that, anyone have any suggestions on how to make my application look more appealing next year?

Actually, languages are not essential depending on your area of interest.  Obviously if you are doing ancients, or continental French philosophy or something like that, the relevant language(s) is/are pretty much a must.   But if you are doing M&E, phil of science, or logic, I have seen  departments move toward the the trend of having flexible requirements that allow you to opt out of the language requirement and allow you to take some non-philosophy classes that are useful for your area of interest or else take high level logic courses if that is more relevant.  E.g., if you are doing phil of mind, you may be required to take some psychology or cognitive science in lieu of a language.   

Also, I highly recommend what @KevDoh says above.  I know people who did well getting in PhD programs some years later by the tactics KevDoh has described above.  Believe me, you have time.  I didn't get into my PhD program till I was 32.  I first spent time in grad school doing poli-sci, then classics, then an MA in philosophy.  I made a lot of good faculty connections during that time before applying to the PhD.  Keep your chin up.  

[matchamatcha]

7 minutes ago, Calyspo06 said:

Actually, languages are not essential depending on your area of interest.  Obviously if you are doing ancients, or continental French philosophy or something like that, the relevant language(s) is/are pretty much a must.   But if you are doing M&E, phil of science, or logic, I have seen  departments move toward the the trend of having flexible requirements that allow you to opt out of the language requirement and allow you to take some non-philosophy classes that are useful for your area of interest or else take high level logic courses if that is more relevant.  E.g., if you are doing phil of mind, you may be required to take some psychology or cognitive science in lieu of a language.   

Also, I highly recommend what @KevDoh says above.  I know people who did well getting in PhD programs some years later by the tactics KevDoh has described above.  Believe me, you have time.  I didn't get into my PhD program till I was 32.  I first spent time in grad school doing poli-sci, then classics, then an MA in philosophy.  I made a lot of good faculty connections during that time before applying to the PhD.  Keep your chin up.  

Thanks for the motivation!  My (current) AOI is in the phil of science (physics) and language with a budding interest in modal logic.  It'll probably be helpful for me to get a better foundation in physics, and maybe I'll ask my supervisor about the language situation.

[MentalEngineer]

1 hour ago, matchamatcha said:

So I'm predicting a shut out now that I got my UBC rejection.  I'll be revisiting my writing sample for next year since there's nothing I can do about my GPA.  I think my LoRs are good, but perhaps from unknown-ish people given that I go to a STEM school with no arts pedigree (this is what I get for not switching schools when I switched into a Phil major), and my GRE is as solid as I care to get it.

I'll try to work on some papers to submit to journals, but other than that, anyone have any suggestions on how to make my application look more appealing next year?

Another thing to consider is applying to more schools. Six is not very many; the recommendation for MA students at UWM is to apply to at least 12, and many apply to more. While there might be particular people at your target programs that you would just love to work with, I promise you there are more places out there that you could do really well at - but you won't have even a chance if you don't apply to them.

If there are financial constraints, there's usually a waiver process. It's usually a pain in the ass, but it can be navigated if you budget the time to do so. If there are location constraints (e.g. a partner's job), apply to all the schools in acceptable locations and hope for the best.

Edited March 1, 2016 by MentalEngineer

[matchamatcha]

3 minutes ago, MentalEngineer said:

Another thing to consider is applying to more schools. Six is not very many; the recommendation for MA students at UWM is to apply to at least 12, and many apply to more. While there might be particular people at your target programs that you would just love to work with, I promise you there are more places out there that you could do really well at - but you won't have even a chance if you don't apply to them.

If there are financial constraints, there's usually a waiver process. It's usually a pain in the ass, but it can be navigated if you budget the time to do so. If there are location constraints (e.g. a partner's job), apply to all the schools in acceptable locations and hope for the best.

Thanks for the tip!  Applying to more schools is definitely something I've realized this month.  I already thought 6 was a lot, but given the acceptance rates, I was obviously mistaken.

[Schwarzwald]

Just took my first official L from GSU, it feels so weird, I'm a combination of excited and like, the cusp of being maybe disappointment, IDK, the feeling is weird, I'm almost as excited as I was for the acceptances, lol.

[psm1580b]

Just received my email ejection from Irvines LPS program.

Wonder why it took so long.

[MVSCZAR]

17 hours ago, Schwarzwald said:

Just took my first official L from GSU, it feels so weird, I'm a combination of excited and like, the cusp of being maybe disappointment, IDK, the feeling is weird, I'm almost as excited as I was for the acceptances, lol.

Official L? 

[currentphilgrad]

As time goes on, it really looks like I'm going to get shut out this year. It just sucks because I'm already in a damn PhD program. I could keep living my dream if this wasn't such a miserable place to be. I just wish I chose a different school the last time I did this...

[Schwarzwald]

1 hour ago, MVSCZAR said:

Official L? 

Official loss, I got my first official rejection letter.

[omfgzell]

Just got ejected out of Limbo into Rejection by Berkeley.

[MVSCZAR]

54 minutes ago, Schwarzwald said:

Official loss, I got my first official rejection letter.

Ach so. Sorry to hear that. :/ 

[Disgruntledlurker]

On 3/1/2016 at 4:21 PM, matchamatcha said:

So I'm predicting a shut out now that I got my UBC rejection.  I'll be revisiting my writing sample for next year since there's nothing I can do about my GPA.  I think my LoRs are good, but perhaps from unknown-ish people given that I go to a STEM school with no arts pedigree (this is what I get for not switching schools when I switched into a Phil major), and my GRE is as solid as I care to get it.

I'll try to work on some papers to submit to journals, but other than that, anyone have any suggestions on how to make my application look more appealing next year?

Do be careful with journal submissions as well. You'll get different advice if you ask different people, so be aware that not everyone looks at every journal publication as a positive. To some, publications at unknown and not-prestigious journals makes it look as though you've set your sights very low and aren't fancy school material. 

[FoxAndChicken]

Also rejected from Tufts, but not really worried about this one. Probably doesn't bode well for my other Ph.D. Application chances though. 

[R614]

So I recently just became aware of this site a few weeks ago (I go to a small, fairly undistinguished private school and recently learned that I'm the first person to ever be accepted into a Ph.D. program in Philosophy from here, so I guess I'm a tad out of the loop). I'm currently on five waitlists and have one acceptance. I have been keeping an eye on the results page, and from what I've seen, it looks like rejections vary quite a bit. On 2/29 UCLA emailed me saying that they had sent initial offers, and while it is unlikely I'll receive an offer, it's "still possible." I think I saw a few other people post that they had received the same email as well. It doesn't mention anything about a waitlist, so it sounds like I'm on a "waitlist" for the actual waitlist. Does anyone know what this means? Seems more or less like a rejection to me.

Edited March 3, 2016 by ahpriori

[UnAltroEgitto]

Hi everybody! I guess this is the last time I stop by to say hello. I've received an outstanding score of 9 rejections out of 9 applications (some of those weren't even sent, I had to solicit multiple times). So... well, I guess that's it, I won't come back next year, as I already dedicated my entire life and sacrificed oh-so-many things for something that didn't happen and will have very little chances to happen in the future. I'm not a young student anymore, fluent in five languages, got two B.A.s, an M.A. and a Master Degree, 330 on the GRE and 118 on the Toefl test, my gpa is a solid 4.0 for every single University I attended (and almost every single course I've taken), and I have won grants and scholarships for many bits of my work. Still not enough.

I'm not whining about stats and numbers, I know they are 'cold' and don't tell all the story, and I'm not even here looking for solace; I'm just stating the fact that I've done everything that was within and beyond the range of my capabilities. Can't go much further, no "plan B" for me. Probably I just don't fit in well, or I am not good enough, or maybe I've just been unlucky. To be honest, at this point I don't care.

I'm sending out a huge 'good luck' message to those of you going for another try next year, or whatever your plan will be. I really hope you'll succeed.

Best.

Edited March 3, 2016 by UnAltroEgitto

[psm1580b]

Rejected from Yale.

eh, didn't wanna go there anyway