2016 Rejection/Plan B Thread

[philosophe]

8 minutes ago, gughok said:

Welp, there's my rejection from NYU. Numbers mean nothing.

They mean something. They're just not *every*thing.

[dgswaim]

13 minutes ago, philosophe said:

They mean something. They're just not *every*thing.

And thank God! I'd be done for if numbers were all that counts!!!

[SamStone]

I just realized that I never heard back from Pitt. My application doesn't indicate anything in particular other than my application status is "submitted." I guess I'll just email to ask about it—but I'm curious if this is the case with anyone else as well...?

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

3 minutes ago, SamStone said:

I just realized that I never heard back from Pitt. My application doesn't indicate anything in particular other than my application status is "submitted." I guess I'll just email to ask about it—but I'm curious if this is the case with anyone else as well...?

Happened to me. I emailed a couple weeks ago, and was promptly informed that the system had somehow forgotten to send me my rejection. 

[SamStone]

2 minutes ago, Cecinestpasunphilosophe said:

Happened to me. I emailed a couple weeks ago, and was promptly informed that the system had somehow forgotten to send me my rejection. 

Oh, good to know. I'm assuming the same will happen with me then. 

[MVSCZAR]

3 minutes ago, Cecinestpasunphilosophe said:

Happened to me. I emailed a couple weeks ago, and was promptly informed that the system had somehow forgotten to send me my rejection. 

The system was trying to tell the ad com not to reject you. It was just like (in robot voice), "Rejection? Does not compute. Cannot do. Beep boop." 

[Cecinestpasunphilosophe]

14 minutes ago, MVSCZAR said:

The system was trying to tell the ad com not to reject you. It was just like (in robot voice), "Rejection? Does not compute. Cannot do. Beep boop." 

I'm glad you specified the robot voice. Otherwise, John McDowell would have been doing the voice-over in my head.

[doxazein918]

Got my rejections from Toronto and NYU today…nice to know I've heard from everywhere now, at least.

[Siegfried42]

@brush @philosophe have you guys heard anything from Mich yet?

[brush]

7 minutes ago, Siegfried42 said:

@brush @philosophe have you guys heard anything from Mich yet?

Yea I got the standard rejection email 3 hours ago

[Siegfried42]

Just now, brush said:

Yea I got the standard rejection email 3 hours ago

Thanks.. Still waiting on mine. Wish they'd just send these things all at once and get it over with!

[R614]

For the most part, it looks like I've heard back from all of the programs I applied to, and given these (expected but still disappointing) results, I'm unsure what I'll do. I've been told it's 'rather likely' I'll receive an offer from Notre Dame and was "just outside the initial admit group" at Davis, and I'm particularly hopeful about ND. Barring some miracle from UCLA and if I'm not admitted off ND's waitlist, I would seriously consider reapplying because I was almost laughably unprepared for the application process in the Fall. For a variety of reasons (really just me being oblivious), I didn't prepare the way I should have and wrote my writing sample the week before my first application was due, took the GRE on four hours of sleep, and did not get to refine the other components of my application. Now that I know how this process works and what I should have done, I'm inclined to try again and make my application as strong as possible. I've also been told by a few places, one being Johns Hopkins, that they had an unusually high number of applicants with an interest in Kant this year–one of my interests is in Kant's theoretical philosophy. So I'm wondering whether (i) is waiting and reapplying next year a bad idea? (ii) if not, what should I do? (iii) how is the MAPH at Chicago?

[thatsjustsemantics]

7 minutes ago, R614 said:

For the most part, it looks like I've heard back from all of the programs I applied to, and given these (expected but still disappointing) results, I'm unsure what I'll do. I've been told it's 'rather likely' I'll receive an offer from Notre Dame and was "just outside the initial admit group" at Davis, and I'm particularly hopeful about ND. Barring some miracle from UCLA and if I'm not admitted off ND's waitlist, I would seriously consider reapplying because I was almost laughably unprepared for the application process in the Fall. For a variety of reasons (really just me being oblivious), I didn't prepare the way I should have and wrote my writing sample the week before my first application was due, took the GRE on four hours of sleep, and did not get to refine the other components of my application. Now that I know how this process works and what I should have done, I'm inclined to try again and make my application as strong as possible. I've also been told by a few places, one being Johns Hopkins, that they had an unusually high number of applicants with an interest in Kant this year–one of my interests is in Kant's theoretical philosophy. So I'm wondering whether (i) is waiting and reapplying next year a bad idea? (ii) if not, what should I do? (iii) how is the MAPH at Chicago?

What about your acceptance to FSU?

[R614]

2 hours ago, thatsjustsemantics said:

What about your acceptance to FSU?

I meant could I go to FSU and then reapply after a year or two and would that be an acceptable thing to do? Or would it be better to do the MAPH?

[F.graminearum]

I currently haven't heard from any of the five schools I have applied to. So in the interim to try to not go crazy from anxiety I have been working on my Plan B which is as follows:

1. Continue working at my job which is in my field of interest
2. Apply to online MS programs (which while not as highly thought of might boost my upward mobility somewhat)
3. Save money

[thatsjustsemantics]

56 minutes ago, R614 said:

I meant could I go to FSU and then reapply after a year or two and would that be an acceptable thing to do? Or would it be better to do the MAPH?

My intuition is that reapplying after a year or two would be a bad idea unless you had a very good reason, one that your professors and peers will charitably accept. I don't know anything about the MAPH, but it's been suggested that it commands little respect in the admissions process.

Elsewhere, if you're not interested in accepting an offer because you think that neaxr year you could offered admission at somewhere more appealing given your interests or tastes, my suggestion is just to wait next year and try again. However, I'm hoping that you applied to schools that you wanted to go to in case only one works out, so perhaps the suggestion might not be helpful (who wants to wait?).

Edited March 11, 2016 by thatsjustsemantics

[janeaude]

3 hours ago, R614 said:

I meant could I go to FSU and then reapply after a year or two and would that be an acceptable thing to do? Or would it be better to do the MAPH?

I posted about this in another thread:

The consensus from the replies and from advice I've got through private messages from people currently going through the process of transferring is that it's incredibly hard to move from one PhD program to another. 

[R614]

7 hours ago, thatsjustsemantics said:

Elsewhere, if you're not interested in accepting an offer because you think that neaxr year you could offered admission at somewhere more appealing given your interests or tastes, my suggestion is just to wait next year and try again. However, I'm hoping that you applied to schools that you wanted to go to in case only one works out, so perhaps the suggestion might not be helpful (who wants to wait?).

2

Well yes, I only applied to schools that I would be want to attend, but since I was unsure of my application's strength/quality, or lack thereof, and am supposedly the first person to be accepted to a philosophy Ph.D. program from my 'no-name' undergrad, I didn't know if it would even be worth applying this year. After learning about this forum in early February, I thought that I would be rejected everywhere, and to be sure, I'm genuinely excited and grateful for my one acceptance. I think that after getting an acceptance and a few waitlists, my expectations became rather inflated. I only contemplated reapplying because of the surprising amount of consideration my application has *apparently* received at some places. Regardless, I don't think I'll actually end up reapplying either way.  

[thatsjustsemantics]

2 hours ago, R614 said:

Well yes, I only applied to schools that I would be want to attend, but since I was unsure of my application's strength/quality, or lack thereof, and am supposedly the first person to be accepted to a philosophy Ph.D. program from my 'no-name' undergrad, I didn't know if it would even be worth applying this year. After learning about this forum in early February, I thought that I would be rejected everywhere, and to be sure, I'm genuinely excited and grateful for my one acceptance. I think that after getting an acceptance and a few waitlists, my expectations became rather inflated. I only contemplated reapplying because of the surprising amount of consideration my application has *apparently* received at some places. Regardless, I don't think I'll actually end up reapplying either way.  

I don't know why you're conflating the strength of your undergrad program with the strength of your application. There are better schools to do philosophy than your 'no-name' undergrad, we're sure of that, but you should know that it's your particular preparation, course of study, and application that really appealed to those admissions committees. In any case, I'm rooting for your Notre Dame wait-list! It's a huge department, and a great school, so I hope it works out there too (or any of your other waitlists, for that matter).

[kant_get_in]

Rejected from Washington, Seattle. Email. 

[philosophe]

When do you think Stanford will put us out of our misery?

[Schwarzwald]

Presuming rejection from Brandeis. It was one of my top choices. I've already been rejected two other times so far; however, for some reason this one stings a bit.

[Myrk]

Is it a bad idea to enroll as a special student for a year at my top choice institution if I'm rejected?

[R614]

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 7:26 AM, thatsjustsemantics said:

I don't know why you're conflating the strength of your undergrad program with the strength of your application. There are better schools to do philosophy than your 'no-name' undergrad, we're sure of that, but you should know that it's your particular preparation, course of study, and application that really appealed to those admissions committees. In any case, I'm rooting for your Notre Dame wait-list! It's a huge department, and a great school, so I hope it works out there too (or any of your other waitlists, for that matter).

You're completely right. Thanks and I hope things work out for you too! 

[dgswaim]

Rejected by Maryland, officially.