Still on grad school wait lists?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, AS writes:

I am an international student who applied to PhD programs in the US this past application round. I was rejected by all schools except for one, which put me on a waitlist of six in mid-April with me being “high on the list.” Yet to this day there is no final word on my application, neither via email nor through the application portal. I emailed the DGS two months ago for an update but didn’t hear back. My question is: is it all too common to have an application pending at this time of the year? Thanks!

Good question. One reader submitted the following reply:

I would email the DGS again and ask; it is highly unusual that they still haven’t notified you about the outcome. Best of luck!

But another reader added:

I recall a friend being admitted to a law school program on Sept 1 - after being short listed - and the school term began in 6 or 7 days. That is an extreme case, but it happens. He ended up finishing about 12th in his class (which is quite high). And I do recall a few late entries where I did my grad school in philosophy.

It does seem to me to be extremely late to still be on a wait list, but you never know. Do any other readers (either grad students or grad admissions committee members) have any helpful insights to share?

Comments

[Declan O'Gara]

I was told that I was very high on a PhD funding waitlist in January last year and then received an offer in mid-May. From what I heard this wait was quite long since admin were dragging their heals a bit, so to still be waiting at the end of June seems extreme. I had better luck chasing my potential supervisors for insight on stuff like this so that might be better than contacting the DGS (assuming they know who their supervisor would be).

[UK Postdoc]

If I were the OP I would *call* - not email - the DGS or the admissions office. I think philosophers (and perhaps academic in general) have a tendendy to deal with every issue by email, but if you don't receive responses to your emails in a timely fashion I don't think a phone call is in any way impolite.