sdt13

If you're in social (didnt look back too far, so I apologize if this was mentioned), I heard that most professors won't look at any applications until after SPSP. Although this may not apply this year since SPSP is now in February. However, you may be able to get 'unofficial' phone interviews by contacting the POI early on. I wouldn't rush sending in the application, but definitely have some things prepared (e.g., one professor wanted me to send an unofficial SOP and transcript to him before applying...another wanted my writing sample before he received it from the application).

Just came across this thread and find it particularly interesting/relevant to my experience right now. I decided to move early so that I could have some time to adjust, set up my apartment, and obtain all of my paperwork and what not (I moved to Canada from the U.S.). I left about 2 weeks ago but have been coming into school regularly for the past week and it's been super exciting! My advisor and I have had a few unofficial meetings where we've basically already planned out the research I will be doing for the next 2 years, so come fall we will be ready to go! We are having our first lab get-together in a couple of days so I am even more excited to meet my lab mates :-)

If you apply for a phd, most programs are funded regardless of where you're from. I'm not sure about the sciences, but in most social science phd programs they will not accept you if they cannot fund you for at least 5 years. I actually did the opposite, whereby I am from the U.S. and will be attending a Canadian university for my graduate work. I dont know if this is the standard in Canada, but at my new university it is strongly encouraged (almost mandatory) that I apply for external funding (leaving me in the situation you are inquiring about)...in the U.S., it is encouraged, but not necessarily required (there are much fewer options in the U.S anyway)...it's more to get you out of TAing and/or look nice on your CV.

As far as the program, I would recommend it. I took one class on human motivation with Martin Lynch who, I believe, is in the counseling program and I really enjoyed it. It was also pretty common for Warner students to take psychology classes (if that's your interest), which I thought was pretty cool...we had a few Warner students in my HLM class and I know a few others joined a research seminar in motivation.

I'm not too familiar with the financial aspects, but I did just graduated from UR and have a few friends at the Warner School. I know a few of them received at least half off tuition and most programs seem to be set up where classes are offered in the evening, as there are quite a few students who are already in the field in some way (e.g., teachers furthering their education, etc.) or have some sort of other job. However, I am not sure if the internships are paid but I don't see why they wouldn't be.

I don't think it would matter based on what you've done, but definitely take a loot at your program of interest's requirements. However, this has been my experience with my upcoming grad program beginning in September: My undergrad program was flexible in the sense that outside of the basics (intro, social, intro biopsych, stats) we were allowed to select whatever electives we wanted. I chose mostly social classes (motivation, social psych seminars, etc.) and completely avoided more of the neuro stuff outside of the required courses. Now my program is requesting that I complete one upper level biopsych course to satisfy their requirements (I have the option to take an upper level undergrad course or a grad course). The grad program's requirements mimic those of the undergraduate degree at the university, but they understand that it's not the same and so most incoming grads have to take at least one course to satisfy these requirements. Oddly enough though, I will be TAing intro to biopsych in the spring despite my supposed 'lack of knowledge' lol

I guess I should take all of my books out of my carry-on then...lol Do you know what the acceptable weight is?

Thanks for the great feedback, guys! We ended up having a conversation regarding why I chose this program and I think both of us walked away excited to be working together. However, does anyone have any advice or experience regarding being 1 of 3 incoming students for the same professor? MY undergrad advisor said this is not common at all as far as he knows, but it may have it's advantages (e.g., having 3 like minded people to work with) and disadvantages (e.g., tons of competition among the three).

Hi everyone, Over the weekend I had the pleasure of meeting with my advisor for the first time at a conference. Everything went really well and we got along great, but I am not sure what to make of the following situation. Apparently he has 3 students coming in at the same time, one being me. He admitted that he originally wasn't going to contact me because he thought 'I was too good and thus wouldn't want to join the program' (I had to write him about the status of my application, and once I did, we Skyped the same morning and I had an offer with funding that same evening). This is kind of a bizarre statement and so I don't really know what to make of it or this situation in general. Any advice?

Hey everyone, I will be moving out to Victoria, BC from New York at the end of this month and so I am starting to look into opening all of the necessary accounts. I am currently in Upstate NY and so I was thinking of day tripping to Toronto to set some things up, most notably a bank account and a cellphone. First off, does anyone have any suggestions on which banks and cell service providers are best? I've looked more into phones and I was thinking of going with Telus or Fido for an iPhone plan. As far as banks, I've seen that some (e.g., CIBC and RBC) have deals for 'newcomers'. RBC's site says that I will need my permit to open an account, but is this necessary for all places? I dont know if anyone can address this second question, but do you think it would be possible, given that I am so close to the border, that I could just go to the border any day and apply for my permit? I know applying at the border is possible for US citizens, but there is very little information about it. I will be leaving at the end of July, but if it's necessary that I have it before so I can open accounts than this could be a feasible option (if allowed). Thanks!

I will be driving to Victoria, BC from NY and will also be applying for my study permit at the border, as it seemed a lot faster and easier than waiting the 6-9 weeks processing time. Like you, I have found very little information online and so I called the border immigration office in Buffalo, NY to inquire. The guy told me that you can just show up with all of the documentation, pay the fee, and then you're good to go. To be ultra careful, I also asked whether it would be an issue given that I will be bringing 3 friends with me on my trip (they will drive cross-country with me, help me set up, and then leave). He said there would be absolutely no problem as long as they have documents saying they will be leaving (e.g., a plane ticket).

This was probably the most frustrating experience for me. I was in continuous contact with a POI since August who said he would be taking a student (and even floated the idea of taking a second). In the end, due to budget constraints, he didn't take any. I was incredibly disappointed because I didn't find out definitively until April 14th (after ~8 months).

I honestly don't understand why the OP bothered to ask for an opinion if (s)he is so quick to dismiss what everyone says and become incredibly defensive...especially when it's practically a unanimous response. No one is criticizing you or saying it's 'impossible', but rather your chances are incredibly low given that most "decent" schools have cutoffs (albeit, you're in a masters program and that can give you a slight advantage providing you do well).

Any time I tell a professor I am going to UVic, this is the first thing they say. I was only accepted last Friday and live in NY, so I wasnt able to visit before accepting the offer, so this sort of feedback makes me even more excited.

Anyone else going to Victoria for any kind of psych? It seems like a small program so I'm curious how many people will be in my cohort.

When is the appropriate time to apartment hunt for August? I've been browsing craigslist and various sites, but right now everything up is for May 1 or summer sublet.

This scares me because I accepted an offer at a school that I never visited. I actually didnt even think I was still in the running at this school because I never heard anything from them (no interview or anything). I emailed to check my status last Thursday and I mentioned I had another offer with the 15th deadline, but that I was still interested in the program. The professor requested we Skype on Friday and I had an offer in my inbox by 7:30pm. The school is in British Columbia while I am in NY so I obviously never visited. The research is a GREAT fit (more so than the other program I mentioned) so I took a leap of faith and accepted. My advisor and I are planning to meet at a conference in June, so that is a bit comforting.

What I've learned throughout this process is that GRE's, whether we like it or not, are important to some extent. In psychology (at least from my experience) and presumably in most social sciences, you don't necessarily need to excel unless you are looking into clinical or top programs. At the very least, it is important to score at least 50%+ on each. Despite having taken 3 graduate level statistics courses (first year psychology grad stats and HLM), I was rejected from all but one US school of various ranks. The one's that were less concerned were in Canada, but even then I was waitlisted for funding up until Friday at the program I will be attending (and they don't take students without funding). Oh, I should mention my GRE's were HORRIBLE (150'sV and 148Q), as I waited until the very last minute to take them without any prep whatsoever. For a little more perspective, I have a GPA of 3.76, 4 years of research experience, several national and international conference presentations, 2 research grants, and am currently writing up my thesis for publication. It's a tough market out there and no one is going to see your profile unless you make the cutoffs.

In the end I was torn between three programs, but my situation was a bit odd. I had one offer in hand for the past month, one came through on Friday (immediately after they learned about the first offer), and I was waiting on what I considered my top choice. Unfortunately, yesterday I learned that my top choice was unable to make an offer due to funding, despite the POI wanting to accept me. So, this morning I was charged with the task of turning down my first offer. I REALLY liked the POI, thought her lab was an excellent fit, and felt I could have learned the most in that program. However, the program was geared toward Ed Psych while my main focus is in Social Psych and it came down to what I wanted for a career in the long term. I just received a response from the POI I turned down and I am crushed, as she is still incredibly supportive despite my not attending her program. While this application season was incredibly stressful, coming out of it now I am happy to say that I think that I have successfully begun to develop relationships with future colleagues and collaborators.

My understanding is that you have until the end of the work day on Monday (this is what all of the professors in my current dept. have told me). One program specified the deadline as "the end of day on April 15th." I emailed back and asked exactly what time that meant (there is a 1hr time difference between me and this program) and they responded with "end of day is fine." o.O

Thanks for the tip, Phalanges! I'm 99% sure I am going to accept my UVic offer and so that will be really helpful when apartment hunting in the coming weeks. To marx - Would it be possible to find a temporary sublet (maybe for the first semester) until you find a more suitable place to your liking? I dont know how common that is or if a sublet would be easy to find during the academic year, but it may be worth a look.

I am on the brink of accepting an offer at UVic. I have been looking into housing and I was wondering what's the best way to find housing near campus? I see a lot of 'suites' that seem to be attached to houses or are part of a house. Is this common? How would one go about finding a typical apartment complex in Victoria?

I don't really see how it could given that you are not applying to the University itself. Rather, more likely than not, you are applying to a specific program or even a specific professor who has the say in whether or not they will accept you. More likely than not, the professor didnt get his degree at the University so why would he/she care? Why would the department care (unless, maybe your parents also did their PhD there)? Now, I can think of a way 'legacy' could actually have an impact; however, this is not legacy in the traditional sense (more of a 'family tree' as it's described in my department). Rather, I think departments and specifically professors would care more about who you worked with as an undergraduate. For example, if you work with Professor A in undergrad and are applying to Professor B for graduate work, but Professor A happened to be Professor B's PhD supervisor, I'm sure Professor B would take that into serious consideration. This is not to say that it's necessarily unfair preferential treatment, but more likely than not you would have an excellent match in research with Professor B after working with Professor A.

I'm not really into the indie music scene, but one of my roommates is. He goes to many shows a year at a variety of venues, most notably the Bug Jar (more local bands) and the Main Street Armory. I'm not sure about the developmental group, but I'm friends with some of the clinical and social grad students and some of them seem to enjoy these places as well. I can't offer much advice about housing (I'm in my last year of undergrad living on campus), but as far as I've heard many grad students live on Park Ave, in Southwedge, or in one of the complexes along Elmwood Ave. There is an apartment complex, Rustic Village, which is also really popular (although from what I've seen it's mostly international...but I could be wrong). This may be one of the most convenient if you don't have a car, as I know it's possible to travel via the UR bus system to and from campus (for free).

Hi all, I am currently debating between pursuing my graduate studies in Montreal or Victoria. When I move at the end of the summer, ideally I would like to bring my car with me, but it seems to be a hassle to do so (based on a quick internet search). Does anyone have any experience with this? My car is relatively new (2012, less than 10,000 miles) and so I would prefer to keep it than get a new one. Also, when I did a quick search it came up that the car has to be in my name to be 'imported'. My car was a graduation gift from my parents, but it's technically under my dad's name. Since he is the one paying the bill, would it still be possible to transfer it to my name? Or is this even necessary since I would be on a study permit?