Rejection Thread

[goss]

Rejection from Carnegie Mellon with an extremely pleasant email. If all departments were this cordial and friendly the philosophy field would be a better place!

[Schopenhauerfanboy]

On 2/27/2017 at 3:15 PM, Turretin said:

Same. That's my last school in Chicago (4/4 rejected me). So it looks like I'm not moving there!

I actually thought I'd be a good fit there, too. I wasn't sure about the stipend though, given the cost of living.

Did you decline your offer from SUNY Buffalo? Wondering why it's crossed out. Lurk mode over 9000. 

[Glasperlenspieler]

Columbia wins points for best rejection letter this year although it's still not quite up to the standard of the rejection letter Ted Sider wrote when he was at Cornell.

[Duns Eith]

14 minutes ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

Columbia wins points for best rejection letter this year although it's still not quite up to the standard of the rejection letter Ted Sider wrote when he was at Cornell.

You tease. What did it say?

[Glasperlenspieler]

21 minutes ago, Turretin said:

You tease. What did it say?

Haha, sorry.

 

Dear Applicant,

I regret to inform you that after evaluating a very strong admission cohort, the Faculty Committee on Admissions is unable to offer you admission to the Ph.D. program in Philosophy.

I know that this is unpleasant news. Unfortunately, we must necessarily base our decisions on materials that reduce unique and complex individuals to the components of their dossier. Nevertheless, I can assure you that your application received the most careful consideration, and that the committee made this decision after much deliberation.

I wish you success in your future career, and thank you for having given us the opportunity to consider you for admission to Columbia.

Sincerely yours,
Carlos J. Alonso
Dean

[Ibycus]

21 minutes ago, apophantic said:

Looks like I am 0/6 with only one decision left standing. This is somewhat difficult since I have been set on a philosophy PhD for 5 years or so. Originally I wanted to get a PhD in English, but I took a class on existentialism and was hooked. After receiving good grades and positive feedback, my intention was encouraged...It is tempting to blame my lack of success on going to an unprestigious undergrad and MA program. But I assume the truth is that my writing sample was not strong enough. I am also kicking myself for not being more definite regarding my dissertation topic in my statement of purpose. I mentioned what fields I am interested in, and which figure in the history of philosophy I'd like to focus on, but I think I should have been more precise about the question that I'd like to address in my dissertation. 

Now I suppose the decision is in my court...to continue with this idea of getting a Phd in philosophy and reapply next year, or to change tracks and come up with a new path for myself.

Sorry about the possible shutout. For what it's worth though, I don't think you need to be ultra-specific about your projected dissertation in your statement of purpose. What you put down sounds reasonable to me. I've read that ad coms don't expect you to have everything figured out right off the bat. 

[Duns Eith]

3 hours ago, apophantic said:

Looks like I am 0/6 with only one decision left standing. This is somewhat difficult since I have been set on a philosophy PhD for 5 years or so. Originally I wanted to get a PhD in English, but I took a class on existentialism and was hooked. After receiving good grades and positive feedback, my intention was encouraged...It is tempting to blame my lack of success on going to an unprestigious undergrad and MA program. But I assume the truth is that my writing sample was not strong enough. I am also kicking myself for not being more definite regarding my dissertation topic in my statement of purpose. I mentioned what fields I am interested in, and which figure in the history of philosophy I'd like to focus on, but I think I should have been more precise about the question that I'd like to address in my dissertation. 

Now I suppose the decision is in my court...to continue with this idea of getting a Phd in philosophy and reapply next year, or to change tracks and come up with a new path for myself.

I think while the writing sample may be the culprit, the sheer odds may be as well. You applied to only 6 programs? Unless you were an outstanding applicant, far exceeding your peers at your school, you might have had less than a coin flip probability getting in somewhere. That said, flip again -- or, perhaps, multiply the number of schools you apply to by 3 fold.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Turretin

[Coconuts&Chloroform]

Just rejected from CUNY. It's a painful one, because it's my first rejection in this process, but I guess we all know that PGR top 5 programs are more or less crapshoots. Here's hoping I luck out with my last two!

[be.]

3 hours ago, apophantic said:

Looks like I am 0/6 with only one decision left standing. This is somewhat difficult since I have been set on a philosophy PhD for 5 years or so. Originally I wanted to get a PhD in English, but I took a class on existentialism and was hooked. After receiving good grades and positive feedback, my intention was encouraged...It is tempting to blame my lack of success on going to an unprestigious undergrad and MA program. But I assume the truth is that my writing sample was not strong enough. I am also kicking myself for not being more definite regarding my dissertation topic in my statement of purpose. I mentioned what fields I am interested in, and which figure in the history of philosophy I'd like to focus on, but I think I should have been more precise about the question that I'd like to address in my dissertation. 

Now I suppose the decision is in my court...to continue with this idea of getting a Phd in philosophy and reapply next year, or to change tracks and come up with a new path for myself.

To echo what Ibycus said above, judging from what you say here, it's unlikely that your stated research interests were vague enough as to hurt your chances of admission. In fact, I think (and I've heard this from several professors) that being too specific with respect to one's interests actually hurts one's chances of admission. This is so for two reasons.  First, programs are looking to produce philosophers––they're looking to shape their students' interests and ways of doing philosophy. If you indicate that your interests are more or less fixed, this may suggest to an admissions committee that you may be less receptive to their molding/guidance/indoctrination. You're applying to be a student, not just a researcher. Second, I think indicating that your interests are more or less fixed on a specific area reflects a certain lack of humility, as least with respect to applicants who are applying straight from undergrad. After all, if you only have your undergraduate degree, then you have in all likelihood only scratched the surface of the discipline. If so, then how could you know that you're only interested in area x when you've never come in to contact with areas y and z? This second point presumably doesn't apply as much to applicants who possess an MA.

My point, then, is that you probably did nothing wrong with respect to your personal statement. I hope you get an acceptance from that last school! If not, keep plugging away at that writing sample, if you're inclined to try again next year. 

[goldenstardust11]

And with a rejection from CUNY, that's all folks (with some presumed rejections). On to decision time. Good luck to everyone wrapping up this process!

[mano]

10 minutes ago, goldenstardust11 said:

And with a rejection from CUNY, that's all folks (with some presumed rejections). On to decision time. Good luck to everyone wrapping up this process!

good luck with your decision!! (seven acceptances!! holy cow... it's gonna be a tough decision) 

Edited March 1, 2017 by mano

[franz]

Reject from Penn State today.

It's not very surprising, as their department seems rather oriented to social and political philosophy, which my research interests are entirely devoid of. At least, that's my impression of the department.

[Duns Eith]

I thought I'd take the discussion that was happening on the results page and ... have the discussion on the discussion forum.

unless there's a reason to remain anonymous?

[Dialectica]

Just saw a rejection reported for Austin. To the person that posted: were you prompted to check the site for their decision?

I would also encourage others to check, in case the decision has already been made. 

[mano]

8 minutes ago, Dialectica said:

Just saw a rejection reported for Austin. To the person that posted: were you prompted to check the site for their decision?

I would also encourage others to check, in case the decision has already been made. 

I just got an e-mail to check the website.

[Dialectica]

1 minute ago, mano said:

I just got an e-mail to check the website.

Got it. I anticipate it coming in waves then, as many people apply there, and there have been few reported. 

[753982]

Rejected from Oxford's BPhil program (implied given the recent posts in the results section). Waiting on confirmation of my implied rejections from JHU, Michigan, UCSD, and Notre Dame. Tempting to call, but I guess I'll wait and see if I don't get anything by the 15th. It's looking like a shut-out for me in PhD admissions.  

[eigenname]

38 minutes ago, 753982 said:

Rejected from Oxford's BPhil program (implied given the recent posts in the results section). Waiting on confirmation of my implied rejections from JHU, Michigan, UCSD, and Notre Dame. Tempting to call, but I guess I'll wait and see if I don't get anything by the 15th. It's looking like a shut-out for me in PhD admissions.  

In the same boat as you man - (implied) rejection from Oxford BPhil and (likely) shut-out for PhD admissions. Still waiting for UCSD, Berkeley, UNC and USC to give me the concrete rejection. Given my last three schools pending are NYU, Stanford and Rutgers, I don't have much hope for them. 

Really regretted chopping up my writing sample for Oxford instead of finding some shorter essay to submit; given the tepid response my writing sample has received from PhDs, it probably became a lot worse when I chopped it up.  

[Duns Eith]

43 minutes ago, 753982 said:

Rejected from Oxford's BPhil program (implied given the recent posts in the results section). Waiting on confirmation of my implied rejections from JHU, Michigan, UCSD, and Notre Dame. Tempting to call, but I guess I'll wait and see if I don't get anything by the 15th. It's looking like a shut-out for me in PhD admissions.  

Shut out? That sucks. How many places you apply to?

[753982]

6 minutes ago, Turretin said:

Shut out? That sucks. How many places you apply to?

11 PhD programs, all of which were Leiter ranked. Only one was outside of the T25. I was probably way too ambitious given I didn't go to a well-regarded undergrad and didn't have a great quantitative score. But my sights were set on being a research-oriented professor of philosophy. Apparently I'm not cut out for that.

My writing sample came together late, and I probably could've gotten more feedback. Yet I would still be somewhat skeptical of the possibility of a new writing sample (after a terminal MA program probably) being that much better than the one I used this time.

7 minutes ago, eigenname said:

In the same boat as you man - (implied) rejection from Oxford BPhil and (likely) shut-out for PhD admissions. Still waiting for UCSD, Berkeley, UNC and USC to give me the concrete rejection. Given my last three schools pending are NYU, Stanford and Rutgers, I don't have much hope for them. 

Really regretted chopping up my writing sample for Oxford instead of finding some shorter essay to submit; given the tepid response my writing sample has received from PhDs, it probably became a lot worse when I chopped it up.  

It's very disheartening. I guess I might finish my application to the University of Houston, even though that wouldn't be a sure thing. I feel reluctant to pursue a master's degree since I suspect that could drag the PhD process out to 7-8 years if you include the terminal MA in the total time spent pursuing the PhD (that's assuming an eventual acceptance - something of which I feel skeptical given my slew of rejections this cycle). I've been considering other career options pretty seriously. 

[eigenname]

8 minutes ago, 753982 said:

It's very disheartening. I guess I might finish my application to the University of Houston, even though that wouldn't be a sure thing. I feel reluctant to pursue a master's degree since I suspect that could drag the PhD process out to 7-8 years if you include the terminal MA in the total time spent pursuing the PhD (that's assuming an eventual acceptance - something of which I feel skeptical given my slew of rejections this cycle). I've been considering other career options pretty seriously. 

Yea it's been tough re-thinking my entire life - I've spent the past few years (high school, uni) with the explicit goal of becoming an academic, but now it seems I am at a dead end. Ironically, my partner who only applied just so she could be in the States with me got into two programs (UT Austin being one of them), while I've gotten into none so far. My last shot is a Cambridge MPhil conditional offer, but I can't attend without funding (which is scarce in the UK)... 

What do you think the main reason for your rejections were? I suspect it was fit for me, or maybe a weak writing sample (though all my supervisors told me that they thought it was a good piece of work, so I am just very confused atm). 

Edited March 2, 2017 by eigenname

[753982]

14 minutes ago, eigenname said:

What do you think the main reason for your rejections were? I suspect it was fit for me, or maybe a weak writing sample (though all my supervisors told me that they thought it was a good piece of work, so I am just very confused atm). 

Lack of pedigree, my writing sample, or maybe something else that it'd be impossible to know. I suspect many of the better applicants have engaged in more CV-building activities than I have too.

[Big Ariana]

32 minutes ago, 753982 said:

Lack of pedigree, my writing sample, or maybe something else that it'd be impossible to know. I suspect many of the better applicants have engaged in more CV-building activities than I have too.

 

50 minutes ago, eigenname said:

Yea it's been tough re-thinking my entire life - I've spent the past few years (high school, uni) with the explicit goal of becoming an academic, but now it seems I am at a dead end. Ironically, my partner who only applied just so she could be in the States with me got into two programs (UT Austin being one of them), while I've gotten into none so far. My last shot is a Cambridge MPhil conditional offer, but I can't attend without funding (which is scarce in the UK)... 

What do you think the main reason for your rejections were? I suspect it was fit for me, or maybe a weak writing sample (though all my supervisors told me that they thought it was a good piece of work, so I am just very confused atm). 

are y'all coming straight from undergrad, and, if so, did your undergrad institution have a phd program, and, if so, how many classes did you take with graduate students?

my understanding is that the 'pedigree' stuff is ambiguous between the fancy shine of good grades from a good school/good letters from a famous person on one hand and the hard-lined evidence that these students can handle graduate coursework. A letter from a moderately well known prof at a program in the 30s saying "this student took a graduate seminar, made some contributions discussions, and did well on a paper held to graduate level standards" will go way further than any number of conference presentations or extra curriculars. 

the sad truth is that not everybody has the opportunity to take these sorts of classes as an undergrad. that's unfair and a bummer. but adcoms are mainly asking the question "will this student succeed in the program?" and if you haven't done graduate-level coursework that leaves a huge question mark. so if you have the opportunity to do a quality MA (or even just audit graduate-level seminars somewhere and try to write a paper, many professors will let you do this if you have an undergrad degree in philosophy), you're showing that you can succeed at the graduate level, even if you don't end up writing a significantly better writing sample. it's possible to still excel coming straight from an undergrad-only institution, and maybe things like conferences will help in this case. but the best way you can show you're ready for graduate-level coursework is taking graduate-level coursework, and for many people, this means an MA is the best way to shore up their application, even if you don't think it'll result in an astronomically better writing sample.

that said, if you're applying from undergrad, that means you've been doing quality philosophy writing for, what, three years max? more realistically maybe two? it's hard to believe that your writing and philosophical abilities won't improve drastically in the intervening year and a half before you apply again, since that's so much time to improve relative to your upper-level philosophy career. 

[Ibycus]

Rejected from UVA with the ole 1 AM email, RIP.  

[Ibycus]

And the UCSD rejection comes as well! Hey, at least I'm getting out of app limbo here