Loren

April, sorry for not replying. If you're interested, here's my bit of advice. Make yourself known to the staff, and show that you're interested in the program. Possibly contract a potential supervisor at the beginning of the year, before the start of application season, and see if they're interested in your research and/or if they think it's a good fit for the program in question. Universities take in students based on the research and how it fits with people within the program. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the staff, and to look through who would be the perfect fit, or at least the closest. Good reference letters hold a lot of weight when it comes to applications, so be sure that when you ask for a reference letter, that a) the referee knows you fully as a student and/or TA/RA, and b ) you ask them to write you a good reference letter. It makes a difference, and you'd be able to see who is willing and who is reluctant. It's a good idea to not push for a reference letter when you see a sign of any reluctance at all. Also, there's the CV. My MA supervisor told me that schools look at how invested students are in academia during their time away from it, so try attending as much conferences as possible. Either as an attendee, a moderator and/or a volunteer, just to put it on your CV. Of course, presentations are the best. Show that you are continuously working to make yourself better and that you're not falling behind in your field of study.The other side of that is trying to get publish. Look out for Call-For-Papers in anthologies or journal articles, and submit. You can put that on your CV, no matter at what stage (ie: manuscript in progress, submitted, first round peer review, second round, etc.). Again, this will show them your continued interest. That you didn't fall out of the wagon. Finally, ask the program. Tell them of your situation, and if they have any advice of what you can do to make your application stand out. Most of the time, they'd be able to tell you, and accomodate you, especially if you make yourself known to them. I hope this helps, April. Tina, I am sorry to hear about your update. I do hope Ryerson works out for you! If you don't mind me asking, how did you find out? I'm still waiting on any word myself, but I trust I'll be back here soon enough. For now, take care.

I got an email from York's GPD and she said that I'm on the waiting list, and therefore still on the running. They find out at the end of next week if there are any spots left for them to do a second round of offers, then we find out after.

April, I'm sorry to hear about your application, but I do hope that this does not deter you. Personally, this is my 2nd time applying for a PhD position, the first during my MA. I believe that a strong research proposal does go a long way. Speaking from experience, my MA acceptance did not come until after an interview, where my GPD and supervisor said that my research was something the program wanted, but my marks made them cautious. Hence, the interview. Needless to say, the research proposal, and my enthusiasm for it, clinched my MA position. That being said, it is different for every school. Tina, I haven't received an email from the GPD and I haven't called. This is definitely disconcerting and at the moment, I'm just bracing myself for a rejection in the mail. Either way, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed as my status does still say No Decision Yet.

I do not want to force an answer from them, but really, more word would be nice. Other programs sent out notices on the post to people that got waitlisted after the first round, so if we are waitlisted, why couldn't have they sent some kind of notice as well. It's just very frustrating, since people do have to set out plans to accomodate whatever decisions they make. And it's not like PhD is a one year program. You're preparing for a 4-year life change. That's a big decision. I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a bit upset. Either way, I've made alternative plans, and if I do not hear from them, I can fall back on that one as well. I just wish I can get, as April says, some closure. But then again, it's still early. I didn't get accepted to my MA program last year until June. If you can believe it.

I also think you should accept the offer from Carleton, Frankdeg, just for a bit of security. In other non-news, I haven't received a reply from the GPD yet. The waiting is becoming too much, if I'm honest.

Frankdeg, I'm glad things are working out for you in terms of your Ryerson application, though I understand if there's some stress that lies when it comes to funding and TA positions. One of the things that pushed me to apply to the York side rather than the Ryerson side was that York guarantees funding through TA positions, basically, while Ryerson still is a competition within others in the program (ie: you have to apply to get a TA position). In other words, it's not guaranteed funding. Carleton has guaranteed funding to all their applicants, plus a possible entrance scholarship, I believe. If you are not worried about funding, and are more passionate about the program itself, then you should be fine with Ryerson.

Frankdeg, thank you for the response. I wish you luck in this application, and I hope you do end up getting an offer so you can finally make a decision! Tina, I applied for the York PhD program, and my status remains undecided. As I said, I was afraid of emailing before since I do not want to break the silence for a possible rejection. However, I asked for the advice of a friend who is currently at York for the Social and Political Thought PhD, and had waited quite a while for her own acceptance last year. She said that was no harm in emailing, and I finally sent an email out tonight. I figured it'd be better to know sooner rather than later, whatever the outcome is. Hopefully I will get a response that won't require me to call her. My email was very short and concise, basically asking her if she can tell me where my application stands at this point in the decision process. I wanted to keep it short and straight to the point, since I wasn't really sure how to approach it. Felt like I was poking a sleeping dragon, or something. Anyways, I do hope as well that this ends well for the both of us Tina, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! We enter April tomorrow, so the wait better not last much longer.

I'm thinking of emailing the GPD and asking about my status, after a week of just looking at MyFile without any word. Tina, I was wondering if you have any advice in terms of how you went about it? I'm really afraid that I will break the silence only for a rejection to come through.

I hope it works out for everyone, and I wish you all good luck. I'm sorry I didn't say this beforehand, Tina. Quite rude of me.

If it was a rejection, a friend told me it would be "Reviewed - Unsuccessful," like it was for her in another program. So I think I am on the waiting list. I saw some of the posts last year, and there were others who were contacted for permission to forward their application to Ryerson, for re-consideration. I didn't get that email at all. It's complete radio-silence except for what I know on my myfile, which, according to others, is quite accurate.

Yes, it says no decision yet. To be honest, I'm afraid to email. For all I know, I'm breaking the silence for a rejection. Sigh.

I'm also an applicant, who hasn't heard anything. Did they tell you if offers went out by email or post?