Roquentin

You're asking strangers to hold your hand and walk you through a professional decision. Unlike your supervisor, no one here is obligated to do that. I hope you found a good way to resolve your problem.

I requested that a confirmation note be sent my way. Easy peasy.

Now that this nonsense has died down, I'll share a bit more. I'm in the second year of my PhD studies. This was my first time applying for SSHRC doctoral funding, and I picked up a basic fellowship. I've had great internal funding for the past two years, including a major scholarship I now have to decline next year. I'm not sure what my exact GPA is, but I believe it's around a 3.8 or so. When I applied in the fall I had four peer-reviewed pubs. (two co-authored), a couple non-reviewed pubs. (i.e. book reviews), and seven conference presentations under my belt (incl. two grad. conferences). The employment history section of my app. (for what it's worth) was loaded with TA and RA positions and work I've done editing scholarly and literary journals. I'm sure my reference letters were good, but I mainly attribute my success to the strength of my research statement. Ok, that's it. Congrats to everyone who has received positive news, and good luck to everyone who is still waiting (incl. the wait-listed).

Go for it. Why wouldn't you? If you haven't presented much and need the experience, then don't be afraid to go to smaller gatherings. They'll support your applications, they'll prepare you for bigger conferences (and teaching), and they'll provide you with opportunities to meet others in your field (including potential supervisors or other peeps who might end up reviewing your grad school apps). So yeah, thumbs up from me!

It's easy to exaggerate the importance of grades in grad school - they're important during the application process, but when you finish your PhD and hit the job market, hiring committees won't spend much (i.e. any) time with 'em. Keep 'em consistent, keep 'em high enough to meet the requirements of your funding and your department, and keep 'em high enough to remain competitive for extra funding opportunities. By the time you're a PhD student, coursework should be a snap. Get decent grades, get your coursework out of the way, and start in on the stuff that actually matters (research, teaching, comps).

For me, comfortable shoes are an absolute must. I find that teaching well is a matter of comfort (with the material, the students, and yourself). So yeah, shoes, shoes, shoes.

Shortly after I defended my MA thesis I was contacted by a publisher (ha!) like this. They offered to print my thesis as a book, and they said that I would get a free copy (oooo, shiny!). I looked them square in the monocle and said NEIN! Publishers like this exist to satisfy the vanity of young scholars (also, I've heard that certain European students are required to publish as a condition of their degree - these venues provide that outlet). These publishers know that they'll make a few bucks when Granny and Momma Roquentin buy his book, and they get to wheel-and-deal young authors who are very unsophisticated when it come to publishing their work. Here's the rub. You don't want non-reviewed, vanity publications on your cv. Hiring committees will see these a mile away, and they'll assume that you're a rube who isn't prepared to navigate the waters of serious, professional research dissemination. These "publications" will diminish your credibility. So for the love of fun, save your valuable ideas for the pages of reputable journals in your field! Publish your monographs with real academic publishers! Don't waste your talent!

The letter that I received was sent to a very select few. I’m sure that different schools have different approaches to doling out sensitive info. like this. I don’t want to (and I won’t) say more about this before SSHRC makes the results widely available. Just know that some folks are already celebrating or cursing their luck. I’ve visited this forum for several months now, but I wasn’t inclined to start an account and post until I saw the negative reactions to Dotlock’s note (congrats Dot!). I’m no troll, just a fellow procrastinator. I hope that everyone receives their results soon, that everyone is successful, and that we all live happily ever after. Also, we’re all adults, yes? Enough of the troll talk - we don't need that here. You wouldn’t speak that way to a colleague, would you?

Dot's no troll, ya noodles. I just heard from my school this morning (doctoral fellowship, yay!). You'll all be receiving your results shortly, I'd expect. And when you do, perhaps send some apologies to Dot, mkay.