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RunnerGrad

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  1. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to MathCat in Very Confused: Rescinding Non-funding offer for Funded Offer?   
    What we're saying is that if A does badmouth you to B, it looks far, far worse for them than it does for you. Frankly, even if it all went as horribly as you fear (you decline A, they badmouth you to B, and then B rescinds their offer) - is that really worse than going to A? This sounds like a recipe for a toxic environment and unhappiness, not to mention a lot of debt. In a worst-case scenario, you can apply elsewhere next year. Is that really such a terrible outcome?
     
    The longer you wait, the worse it is (more inconvenient for A). You should absolutely accept B's offer and decline A. Be very apologetic and professional about it to A, but just do it.
  2. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to geographyrocks in Very Confused: Rescinding Non-funding offer for Funded Offer?   
    A school has no right to badmouth you for not accepting an unfunded offer. They're upset because they won't get money from you (which it sounds like they desperately want). Thank school A for their offer and politely decline. Keep all emails.
    I doubt they would bother contacting school B, but if they do, you will have the emails to back you up.
    If it was funded, it may be a little rude to decline, but it still wouldn't make you a bad person or worthy of being badmouthed.
  3. Downvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to twentysix in McGill vs Harvard   
    No. McGill is more like the Ohio State of Canada. It isn't even the best school in Canada, UBC and UToronto are both better...
     
    McGill might have a program or two that is really great, but the university as a whole isn't even a top 30 school.
  4. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to Ellies in Very Confused: Rescinding Non-funding offer for Funded Offer?   
    I would accept B and decline A right away after; you have no reason to feel guilty about anything. It really sounds like you've given it more than a decent chance, a lot more than most others would have done.
  5. Downvote
    RunnerGrad got a reaction from pooner in Age at start of degree - POLL   
    Older and less tech savvy? I swear that the "digital natives" only know how to use social media (exaggerating, but it boggles my mind how many 20-somethings don't really know how to use computers). Whereas those of us who are "older" remember command lines, having to program to get a computer to do anything, etc. I find those in their 40s who had Commodore 64s as their first computers are much more "tech savvy" than the 20 year old who uses social media, but can't put together a computer or program anything.
  6. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to nugget in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    We are not all privileged to be able to afford school without financial assistance. Bursaries can be extremely beneficial for some people and can greatly ease the financial burden. As well, some programs like business and engineering pay their students to complete practicums and most masters programs with a thesis provide funding so many students can attend school debt-free. So I do not think it is unreasonable to hope that an MSW program would provide some financial assistance.
     
    In your MSW program, there will be lots of discussions and readings related to social location and privilege. After some deep reflection on your own social location and the social benefits and privileges it affords you, as well as reflection and analysis on others with different social locations from you (as MSW programs typically encourage students to do), your perspective on the importance of some people receiving funding in order to be able to attend school could change over time. Some food for thought.
  7. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to fuzzylogician in Failed Midterm. How can i recover?   
    I think this is a general problem in academia. No one ever tells you about their failures, you're left assuming that you're the only one who's ever struggled to do things or had rejections. It can give people a very skewed picture of reality. Even very successful people have setbacks, and they also get low grades occasionally, and they have papers rejected and grants not awarded, etc. But no one puts that on their CV, so you end up just seeing their shiny successes but none of the hard work and frustrations that preceded them. It's like the Facebook syndrome for academics--everyone's life is full of beautiful smiling children, spiffy vacations, delicious looking food, etc., but you know no one's life is really like that.  
  8. Upvote
    RunnerGrad got a reaction from Crafter in Age at start of degree - POLL   
    Older and less tech savvy? I swear that the "digital natives" only know how to use social media (exaggerating, but it boggles my mind how many 20-somethings don't really know how to use computers). Whereas those of us who are "older" remember command lines, having to program to get a computer to do anything, etc. I find those in their 40s who had Commodore 64s as their first computers are much more "tech savvy" than the 20 year old who uses social media, but can't put together a computer or program anything.
  9. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to dat_nerd in Age at start of degree - POLL   
    I see these questions pop up from time to time, but can't help but wonder if they're of any use.
     
    All it seems to do is make anyone outside the 23-28 age range feel out of place. Isn't there enough worry already about being able to connect with new peers?
     
    One of the things I love about grad school is that it's so transient. For some amount of time, you get to be surrounded by peers who are from different backgrounds, different knowledge bases, different sets of experiences, and so forth. With that, you get a number of students who don't fit the "standard" age range, but it also means that it just doesn't matter any more.
     
    What does matter is that you can learn new information quickly, keep up with a hard-working lifestyle, and build relationships with new and interesting people. I don't see how age affects any of that, nor why anyone outside the "standard" age range should feel like they have something to prove.
  10. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to surefire in What aspect of graduate student life surprised you the most?   
    A nice surprise has been how much profs and colleagues trust me with their projects and value my feedback. I definitely anticipated some collaborative efforts and RA work, but I didn't expect my comments to be really helpful to grad students in different sub fields, nor did I expect a prof to just hand over several months worth of data collection and just say, "Code this, I'm looking for these things, but tell me what you think is interesting". Like, really?! You want to know what I think is interesting?! It gives me probably more than the warranted amount of giddiness to be trusted with other peoples' stuff.
     
    A less nice surprise has been informed by the recent TA Union strikes here in Canada. As a grad student, I sometimes entertain this notion that I am now an academic insider, privy to behind-the-scenes knowledge of the scholarly sausage-making. The recent strikes have made me question my place in the broader system; I have seen admins (and some faculty who sometimes wear admin hats) show quite a bit of disdain for grad students of late, like we're an annoying workforce to be managed rather than, I don't know, fledgling colleagues. I'm still working this through, and I suppose it might be possible to compartmentalize, to draw firm lines between the admin (which I'm wary of) and my department (which I love) while being mindful of where these intersect, or between my role as a student and my role as a TA and my role as a researcher - but yeah, there's some reconciling to do regarding the nature of the system in which you've become a cog.
  11. Upvote
    RunnerGrad got a reaction from Sigaba in Confused Undergrad. No Masters = doomed for life? :(   
    Canada is not the U.S. Associates degrees don't exist in Canada, the way they do in the U.S. Nursing is a bachelor's degree in Canada. Practical nursing is a college diploma, but you won't get into a master's in nursing with a college diploma in Canada. You need a bachelor's with at least a B+ standing (and it is usually higher) in your last two years of a bachelor's to get into a master's program in Canada. Or you need a B average with plenty of work experience.

    Lots of people in Canada do a second undergraduate degree to make themselves competitive for health professions.
  12. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to Holly44 in When I am on an admissions committee, I will....   
    You say that you don't want to live in a world where there is a false sense of equality, but how does giving people privileges solely based on their race, ethnicity, or gender promote equality? If anything, it just creates a bigger bias. Furthermore, minorities are not the only ones that have limited opportunities. I am a white woman that grew up in a low SES household and the first one in my family to attend college. I put myself through college by working my butt off and now because of the color of my skin I should be held to higher standards than the guy or girl sitting next to me because it is assumed that I had access to more resources or opportunities? Sorry, but that's kind of ridiculous. 
  13. Downvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to selbstverteidigung in FALL 2015 APPLICATONS   
    And unfortunately I think Linguistics is still dominated by a few male names who care only for their own ideas. I think it's great there are so many women, but my guess is they also have a financially solvent male figure in the equation.
  14. Downvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to selbstverteidigung in FALL 2015 APPLICATONS   
    I'm not a sexist by any means. But the current trend suggests an overwhelming # of women, especially married women, in graduate school. I hope my negativity will enlighten some out there who are headed for a lifetime of debt. That is the reality of Linguistics programs. By no funding, I simply mean there's no funding. What about that is not clear?
  15. Upvote
    RunnerGrad got a reaction from burgundywave in What surprised you the most going through this whole process?   
    I'm surprised that in the US you don't need a Masters degree to get into a PhD program!  Most PhDs in my area, in Canada, require a thesis-based Masters degree in order to be able to apply.  Now, there are some students who start a Masters and, if they do well, apply for promotion to the PhD, so they never actually complete the Masters.  I'm just so surprised that the normal thing in the US seems to be undergrad to PhD!  It just seems so strange to me.
  16. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to Lexxa in Waiting it out: Munk School MGA (Toronto) Fall 2015   
    I was really hoping this topic would be dropped, but this is just ridiculous.
     
    There's a huge difference between commenting on how "easy" an entire nations' women are (particularly in the context of choosing where to complete your advanced IR degree) and dating/relationship questions/concerns. It's degrading, disrespectful and frankly, inappropriate for this forum. 
     
    It would be similarly ridiculous if I commented on preferring a school in America by suggesting "Plus, they say American men have money." 
  17. Downvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to maozedong in Waiting it out: Munk School MGA (Toronto) Fall 2015   
    Are these responses really necessary? His comment might be a little distasteful but I am sure he didn't mean any harm by it. Consider that he is an international student so there might be a cultural gap, or maybe he is just trying to develop solidarity with the guys. Either way, those responses come off as mean-spirited.

  18. Downvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to lumberjack23 in Waiting it out: Munk School MGA (Toronto) Fall 2015   
    Great discussion folks! 
    Personally I am an international student studying in a top-notch US university, and will be applying for Munk and Munk only next year. Coming from an IR background, I always wanted to break into Mckinsey and used it as a stepping stone to greater role in international business and politics, preferably international organizations or development banks. MGA as a rising professional IR program with tonnes of resources will definitely be my first choice, not to mention Mckinsey Toronto is right on campus! 
    I always have a thing for Canada. All my Canadian friends are chiller than American ones. Plus, they say Canadian girls are easy
  19. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to b39 in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    I think that was a wait-list situation, someone on the forum got accepted from wait-list in August last year too. However, I've never heard of UofT not sending initial decisions later than April they are usually good on their word 
  20. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to nugget in Canada vs. US   
    Have you considered that not all Canadians are interested in living in the US? This could partially account for low numbers. Some people don't make all of their life decisions based on money and prestige and may favour others things like quality of life, free healthcare, and proximity to family and friends over status and $$$.   
  21. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to Buffalofan4255 in Canada vs. US   
    You know, it's kinda dumb that you're equating job opportunities with academic University affiliation. I'd say this is a case where a statistical relationship doesn't equal causation. Let me explain...

    U of T has about 500 American students total between grad and undergrad. Yes, it's an incredibly small amount. Fact of the matter is McGill is the only Canadian school that actively recruits in the US. Doesn't mean that if you get a PhD from a Canadian school, you're doomed for American academic jobs. Instead of judging that a PhD from Toronto will be sub-par towards PhD from Illinois, perhaps it's better to judge how academics view a university's prestige instead. Because with only 500 American students, PhDs vying to get an American academic post is rare and hard to come by. Perhaps that's the reason why Canada hasn't sent as many academics into US schools as the average US school does. Perhaps Canadian PhDs want to stay and continue to live in Canada.

    Back to my proposition to best judge whether a degree from a particular institution is worth it from a reputational stand-point. Look at the THE 2015 rankings, they survey academics from around the world, and is one of the best measures. And with that said, U of T was ranked #16 by academics. Case closed.
  22. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to Rox in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    EDIT: thank you B39 for clarifying.

     
    Also, I really don't have the energy to properly contribute to this conversation, but I'm incredibly disappointed in some posters' attitudes towards marginalized folks. I'm disabled. I'm mentally ill. I'm a survivor of multiple forms of violence. I'm bisexual/queer. I've accessed social work services throughout my youth. Trust me when I say that hostility toward efforts to value lived experience as real, valid knowledge will only hurt your clients/patients and your career, if social work is headed in any good direction as a profession.
  23. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to aay in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    I generally dislike getting involved in these conversations on the internet, but I fear I must shake off my hesitation to address this particular comment: “...that professor you described is an anti-oppression expert because he knows more than any putatively "oppressed" people about their oppression...”
     
    I am still reeling from disbelief at your statement, so I apologize in advance for any lack of tact this may induce on my part.

    First of all, you cannot be so deluded as to say that a proclaimed expert could know more about an individual’s oppression. I cannot even agree with that as a proposed generalization, so I am hoping that you were being slightly facetious with your perspective. If not - what? Seriously, what? Ever heard of the power of lived experience? Granted, this professor has certain credentials after his name that indicate his cognitive superiority (perhaps) and critical thinking skills (again, perhaps). However, by no means do those credentials discredit an oppressed person’s ability to completely comprehend the systemic and structural barriers that hinder their growth (educated or not; trained or not).

    Secondly, I personally know this professor, and I know that a solid potion of his knowledge is derived from the people who experience oppression everyday; essentially, his heightened understanding is achieved through a two-way COLLABORATION over anything else (even meticulous studying).   

    Lastly, for a group who is considered the “minority” in social work, many of the white boys sure do take up a lot of space in the higher echelons of leadership. The difference, you see, is that your minority status still does not take away your unadulterated source of societal power.
     
  24. Upvote
    RunnerGrad reacted to cheesecake in Canadian Universities MSW. The waiting game 2015 admissions   
    oh dear - 
    I am not equating oppression with currency. I am saying that there are barriers for marginalized peoples within the social work profession. This is important when you consider the damage the profession has done and continues to do (overrepresentation of Native and Black kids in child welfare, institutionalization of disabled people) – social workers were and continue to be complicit in this. The key word in social work is SOCIAL, not clinical, or psychological, or medical. If the people from communities impacted by social issues are not adequately represented in the profession and in schools, this means that a lot of important knowledge that could inform clinical practice is being excluded. These issues will also impact your experiences as a grad student as well.
     
    PS while males are underrepresented in social work, take a wild guess about what the gender and colour of those in upper level management are in social work?  
  25. Downvote
    RunnerGrad got a reaction from pooner in Popular Stuff You Have Never Done   
    I've never:
    gotten sick or passed out from drinking too much alcohol read the Harry Potter books seen the Harry Potter movies eaten ramen or other instant noodles used textspeak (even when I text I use proper English, and I don't text often) crammed for an exam pulled an all-nighter
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