Venting Thread

[eigenname]

7 minutes ago, Gnothi_Seauton said:

Regarding UNC, I don't have any privileged info, but I'll say a couple things that might factor in.  First, we are still in the middle of a few faculty searches, which might be delaying sending out rejections.  Second, we had a pretty significant yield a couple years ago, so our admissions practices have changed a little so as to avoid getting more students than we can fund.  The result is a smaller-than-in-the-past group of accepted students, a larger-than-in-the-past group of officially waitlisted students, and, I believe, a so-called "hidden" waitlist.  The purpose of the hidden waitlist is to keep some students in the running without having to fund prospective student visits for them (which can get expensive for the department).  If you haven't heard anything at this point, then you are either on the "hidden" waitlist or else rejected.  Our prospective student visit is this weekend/early next week, so if you're hoping for good news, stay tuned until at least next week.  

The fog of war thins a little - thank you so much for the information!  I am not holding out for any miracles but fingers crossed. 

I am still confused about the rejections that @JuniusBattius mentioned though  

[To φ or not to φ]

14 hours ago, Gnothi_Seauton said:

Regarding UNC, I don't have any privileged info, but I'll say a couple things that might factor in.  First, we are still in the middle of a few faculty searches, which might be delaying sending out rejections.  Second, we had a pretty significant yield a couple years ago, so our admissions practices have changed a little so as to avoid getting more students than we can fund.  The result is a smaller-than-in-the-past group of accepted students, a larger-than-in-the-past group of officially waitlisted students, and, I believe, a so-called "hidden" waitlist.  The purpose of the hidden waitlist is to keep some students in the running without having to fund prospective student visits for them (which can get expensive for the department).  If you haven't heard anything at this point, then you are either on the "hidden" waitlist or else rejected.  Our prospective student visit is this weekend/early next week, so if you're hoping for good news, stay tuned until at least next week.  

Could you kindly tell the admissions committee to accept me? 

[RumHaven]

22 hours ago, Gnothi_Seauton said:

Regarding UNC, I don't have any privileged info, but I'll say a couple things that might factor in.  First, we are still in the middle of a few faculty searches, which might be delaying sending out rejections.  Second, we had a pretty significant yield a couple years ago, so our admissions practices have changed a little so as to avoid getting more students than we can fund.  The result is a smaller-than-in-the-past group of accepted students, a larger-than-in-the-past group of officially waitlisted students, and, I believe, a so-called "hidden" waitlist.  The purpose of the hidden waitlist is to keep some students in the running without having to fund prospective student visits for them (which can get expensive for the department).  If you haven't heard anything at this point, then you are either on the "hidden" waitlist or else rejected.  Our prospective student visit is this weekend/early next week, so if you're hoping for good news, stay tuned until at least next week.  

I've been stumped by the practice of hidden waitlisting. You say it's because if these students were explicitly waitlisted, they would have to be offered funding for a prospective visit. I wonder how standard of a practice that is. My impression was that the majority of schools don't fund waitlisted candidates to visit. In my limited experience being waitlisted, USC doesn't fund all waitlisted candidates to visit, while Princeton does fund at least some. I personally would appreciate being explicitly waitlisted and not given funding to visit more than being kept on a hidden waitlist.

And, of course, if UNC has divided the remaining candidates into those who are on a hidden waitlist and those who are rejected, they could still send out the rejections (though that might ruin the hiddenness for those candidates that check these forums and such).

[dormouse]

I have struck out (haven't heard from UCal Berkeley or Toronto but assuming them to be rejections). I'm thinking about writing to some of the departments and asking to be considered for their MA program. Thoughts? I think having the MA will help with my application next year but not sure if it's worth it if a PhD is my end goal. 

Edited March 20, 2017 by dormouse
sleep deprivation

[hector549]

2 hours ago, dormouse said:

I have struck out (haven't heard from UCal Berkeley or Toronto but assuming them to be rejections). I'm thinking about writing to some of the departments and asking to be considered for their MA program. Thoughts? I think having the MA will help with my application next year but not sure if it's worth it if a PhD is my end goal. 

It could be a good idea if you can get funding. I wouldn't do an unfunded MA.

It might be tricky if you're trying to do an MA at a PhD-granting institution. Many will only award the MA on the way to earning the PhD, and will not accept master's-only students. Many will only offer assistantships and other funding to their PhD students, even if they accept you as a master's student. Some (e.g. NYU) may treat their MA programs as cash cows. MA students might also not get the same attention and support as PhD students at some institutions. Brian Leiter writes about that potential problem here along with some other sage MA advice: http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/maprog.asp

I think getting an MA in philosophy is preferably done at a funded, MA-only program. There may, of course, be exceptions. I know Texas A & M, for example, funds its MA students, and has decent placement to PhD's for its MA graduates. In this case, it may be because its MA program has existed for much longer than its PhD program.

 

Edited March 20, 2017 by hector549

[To φ or not to φ]

Come on, UNC. 

[Sam Anscombe]

2 minutes ago, To φ or not to φ said:

Come on, UNC. 

I spoke to someone who is visiting now and I'd be willing to bet that most who have not been accepted or waitlisted will be rejected. Perhaps there are a few on a "hidden" waitlist, but I wouldn't count on it.

[To φ or not to φ]

1 minute ago, Sam Anscombe said:

I spoke to someone who is visiting now and I'd be willing to bet that most who have not been accepted or waitlisted will be rejected. Perhaps there are a few on a "hidden" waitlist, but I wouldn't count on it.

Thanks! 

[Dialectica]

Another day of me wondering what the heck is going on with Riverside and Austin and their waitlists. I'm still hesitant to contact them, but also remaining hopeful that I'll either hear back soon or someone else will contact them. 

[pandabearfz]

14 hours ago, hector549 said:

It could be a good idea if you can get funding. I wouldn't do an unfunded MA.

It might be tricky if you're trying to do an MA at a PhD-granting institution. Many will only award the MA on the way to earning the PhD, and will not accept master's-only students. Many will only offer assistantships and other funding to their PhD students, even if they accept you as a master's student. Some (e.g. NYU) may treat their MA programs as cash cows. MA students might also not get the same attention and support as PhD students at some institutions. Brian Leiter writes about that potential problem here along with some other sage MA advice: http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/maprog.asp

I think getting an MA in philosophy is preferably done at a funded, MA-only program. There may, of course, be exceptions. I know Texas A & M, for example, funds its MA students, and has decent placement to PhD's for its MA graduates. In this case, it may be because its MA program has existed for much longer than its PhD program.

 

Hi,

Thank you for your thought about MA program. I am currently facing a similar problem, so I would like to hear some suggestions from you. Of course I would appreciate if other people can also provide some suggestions for me.

I was rejected from my top choice PhD but was admitted to the MA, though unfunded. I wish to go there because there is one Professor that I really want to work with. If you ask me what program or philosopher I want to apply and work with after two years MA, I will definite choose that University and that Professor. 

So my question is, if I enroll as an MA student, do you think it is polite or permissible to apply to this university at the end of this year? Surely time is short and if my application materials do not have significance change, the result will not change much. But despite that, I was wondering how this kind of thing work in the States? 

Thank you very much.

[sleepingsusurrus]

8 hours ago, pandabearfz said:

Hi,

Thank you for your thought about MA program. I am currently facing a similar problem, so I would like to hear some suggestions from you. Of course I would appreciate if other people can also provide some suggestions for me.

I was rejected from my top choice PhD but was admitted to the MA, though unfunded. I wish to go there because there is one Professor that I really want to work with. If you ask me what program or philosopher I want to apply and work with after two years MA, I will definite choose that University and that Professor. 

So my question is, if I enroll as an MA student, do you think it is polite or permissible to apply to this university at the end of this year? Surely time is short and if my application materials do not have significance change, the result will not change much. But despite that, I was wondering how this kind of thing work in the States? 

Thank you very much.

 

If you haven't already done so, check their website or email the DGS about this. Some schools do not like to accept their own MA students (i.e. Oregon) while others have a track record of taking their own (i.e. BC). Plus, if they accepted you to their MA they must have some interest in you, and you expressing interest in continuing forward in their Ph.D program will perhaps open that door a smidge. 

[arageniues]

Does anyone know anything about FSU's MA program? I'm seriously considering their offer (the funding is especially attractive), but I'm worried about attending a program with both PhD students and MA students; also, I'm not sure how the dynamic of applying to other universities is. That is, do they expect you to continue towards their PhD and offer less support for other PhD programs? Edit: if I don't get funding from VTech, then this would likely be my choice

Edited March 21, 2017 by Litgenstein

[hector549]

1 hour ago, Litgenstein said:

Does anyone know anything about FSU's MA program? I'm seriously considering their offer (the funding is especially attractive), but I'm worried about attending a program with both PhD students and MA students; also, I'm not sure how the dynamic of applying to other universities is. That is, do they expect you to continue towards their PhD and offer less support for other PhD programs? Edit: if I don't get funding from VTech, then this would likely be my choice

If they're offering you decent funding, I'd say that's a good sign. One thing I would want to know: what's their placement record to PhD programs from their MA program? Do students often move into their PhD program or apply out successfully to other good programs? If other students are applying out, then I doubt that there is the expectation that you would continue in their PhD program. It might also be a nice option to continue on into their doctoral program if you like the department, and find faculty you'd like to work with.

If you're concerned about getting time and attention from professors as an MA student, you could talk to some current MA students and see how they feel about it.

[pandabearfz]

20 hours ago, sleepingsusurrus said:

If you haven't already done so, check their website or email the DGS about this. Some schools do not like to accept their own MA students (i.e. Oregon) while others have a track record of taking their own (i.e. BC). Plus, if they accepted you to their MA they must have some interest in you, and you expressing interest in continuing forward in their Ph.D program will perhaps open that door a smidge. 

Hi Sleepingsusurrus,

Thank you for your reply. I checked the requirement for their MA student and it is reported that the MA is not a "avenue" into their PhD program. And candidates for their MA program do not  ordinarily apply to their PhD program. Is this sounds like they do not like to accept their own MA students? 

 

[lyellgeo]

7 hours ago, pandabearfz said:

Hi Sleepingsusurrus,

Thank you for your reply. I checked the requirement for their MA student and it is reported that the MA is not a "avenue" into their PhD program. And candidates for their MA program do not  ordinarily apply to their PhD program. Is this sounds like they do not like to accept their own MA students? 

 

I think this is because the expectation is that you would apply to other phd programs at different schools.

[Dialectica]

Spam call from Riverside just now. Cool. 

[Nichi]

Spam call!?

 

Unrelated, has anyone heard anything about visiting Arizona? 

[Dialectica]

45 minutes ago, Nichi said:

Spam call!?

 

Unrelated, has anyone heard anything about visiting Arizona? 

Yeah, from Riverside, CA—not UCR. Still wondering about their waitlist, so it was annoying. 

[To φ or not to φ]

Not really venting here, but has anyone not heard from Brandeis yet?

[Duns Eith]

15 minutes ago, To φ or not to φ said:

Not really venting here, but has anyone not heard from Brandeis yet?

Yes. I can't remember the handle, but I know of one.

 

[To φ or not to φ]

19 minutes ago, Turretin said:

Yes. I can't remember the handle, but I know of one.

 

After searching "Brandeis" in this sub-forum, the most I've seen is those who have received an informal notification but who have yet to receive a formal letter. Sadly, I've not even received an informal notification. Thanks anyway!

[akraticfanatic]

1 hour ago, To φ or not to φ said:

After searching "Brandeis" in this sub-forum, the most I've seen is those who have received an informal notification but who have yet to receive a formal letter. Sadly, I've not even received an informal notification. Thanks anyway!

I would email the department. Also, check your spam folder to be sure you haven't received anything. 

[Dialectica]

Come on! Just send out the rejections already!!!! Put us out of our misery and let us decide where we will go, if anywhere!!

[Duns Eith]

17 hours ago, Dialectica said:

Come on! Just send out the rejections already!!!! Put us out of our misery and let us decide where we will go, if anywhere!!

Where are you waiting to hear back from? I'm just waiting on SLU, and I'm presuming a rejection -- though hoping otherwise.

[Ibycus]

Still waiting on UT and UNC myself. I want to accept Colorado, but it looks like that won't be happening until sometime after April 2nd (UNC); haven't heard much about UT :/

Edited March 26, 2017 by Ibycus