sukipower

Ah, okay. I'm PhD, so the process is different. I also forgot that they changed it for the MA this year. It sounds like you may be in luck, then. Surely, a program wouldn't send you a congratulations for that and then not accept you and give you the award! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Milarepa, SSHRCs are adjudicated at the departmental, university, and national level. The congratulations you received means that you were highly ranked at the second level of assessment. It's out of their hands after that. It's a big accomplishment, but in no way reveals whether or not you'll get one. I'll keep my fingers crossed of you though!

If you want something additional to consider, I would also look into cost of living at each of these schools. If money is one of your deciding criteria, then you need to consider how far that money will go in each of the locations of these schools. I can only speak to Canadian schools, but I think either would be a good choice. The cost of living for UBC, however, would be significantly higher than in Montreal. So, if I were choosing, I would seriously consider that as well. Both UBC and McGill have great reputations both within and outside of the academic world, regardless of your major. I think it needs to be stated that just because you go to a certain school, doesn't mean you have to stay in that city to work. Job prospects in Montreal may not be great, but Canada is a pretty big place to look for a job and your work permit will allow you to work anywhere in the country. Also, your alma matter isn't going to be what gets or doesn't get you a job in the future. It is important, but not going to be what makes them choose you over someone else. The difference when you are looking at choosing between excellent schools is going to be negligible. Good luck deciding!

Rj16, glad to be of service! And I agree. It's a horrible commute. But I choose to live downtown, close to all the wonderful things the others were mentioning (minus bars, I also don't care about that), so it's my price to pay. It is also, seriously, just the reality of going to school at York. They give great funding, but they need to to keep students' interest. I love the university; it's a great school, but whoever thought that the location was a good idea was completely out to lunch. If I'd have decided to stay at York next year for PhD, one of my conditions was moving closer to the subway. It will get a little better when the subway extension opens, but they keep postponing it. If affordability is #1, set yourself a limit and don't go over it unless it's for something perfect. Based on these three criteria, I'd say St. Clair West or thereabouts is probably the fairest to both of you without one of you getting the unfair deal. I have a friend who lives on Vaughan like 5 bus stops/a short walk from the station and it's a great place. I think they pay $1300, which is (imo) too much, as I know you can get cheaper in the same neighbourhood. If you set your budget around $1000-1100 you should be able to get something really nice. It'll all just depend on size, etc. Craigslist and Kijiji will be your friends in this process. Start searching now, so you can get a feel for what exists so you're prepared once the hunt really begins. Happy apartment hunting! (Also, just to clarify, it seems like I'm trying to sell this neighbourhood, but it's really coming from a place of experience. I love everything about Toronto, except for commuting to York from downtown. I used to believe that I wanted to live IN the heart of the city and wouldn't compromise that for my school life or commute, etc. Needless to say, that has changed.)

I agree with the above posters with regard to Queen West/Trinity Bellwoods, as well as Roncesvales, but I will qualify that I didn't recommend them initially for precisely the reason of commute. I personally love both of these neighbourhoods, but as I currently commute to York daily and my husband has done so for the past three years, I cannot (in good faith) recommend them for you. The quality of life that we have is greatly diminished by the commute and the more time spent commuting, the more we resent it. I am not lying when I tell to you I spend up to 4 hours a day commuting. Based upon the TTC Trip planner or Google maps, my commute on paper is only supposed to be about 50 min. In reality, with the unreliability of timing for the streetcar and the 196 York bus, I need to give 1.5-2 hours each direction in order to ensure I'm on time for things. The time spent in cramped quarters for such long periods of time starts off well, as you can get a lot of reading done, but with time, it gets really old. Especially in winter. As such, I cannot stress enough the importance of being reasonably close to a subway on the University side of the YUS line. Or near a place that has a direct bus to York (like Keele Stn). As Kaitri said though, living near York is pretty much a horrible idea. All of the international students in my program initially lived in the graduate residence or near to campus and almost immediately looked for places elsewhere. And I'll respectfully disagree about the Annex. There are a lot of undergrads in the neighbourhood due to the proximity to U of T, but I do have a lot of friends in their 30s who live on the side streets and in no way feel out of place or that it's overrun with undergrads. It is way expensive, though. All things considered, I am sure you will do what's best for you. With regard to actually looking for an apartment, I'd start looking for an apartment around the time that people are going to be moving this spring/early summer. We found our current place in a February and we rented it for May. That being said, if you do wait until August I'm sure you'll find something, you'll just have fewer options. There are always places for rent. Also, be advised that getting places in Toronto require two months rent up front (first and last) and that they often go quite quickly. As such, do your research in advance for what you want, prices, locations you'd consider renting, etc. so that when you do find something good, you can jump on it. Good luck! We'll be moving to Montreal this fall, so I'm in the same situation and understand how stressful it is.

No worries. I am glad it was useful to you! I wouldn't say you ever really lose the city feel unless your really out in the boonies. The reason I don't suggest it be further north is merely commute time and access to the city in terms of quality of life. It's the best compromise and a very large number of York students live in that neighbourhood for this very reason. Just as an example, I never go north of Bloor except to see friend in St. Clair West or to go to school. I just prefer to be in the heart of the city (even though I'm from a town of less than 10K in Sask!). One thing that's impossible to know about without living here is the subway ride. The distance between the stops up to about Dupont are approximate 2 city blocks apart. As such a ride from say Queens Park to St George (2 stops away) is less than 5 min.; very much a walkable distance. The distance between Dupont and St. Clair West is much further. Like maybe a 5 min train ride. Likewise, the distance from St. Clair West to Eglinton West is even further than that. So, though EW is a fine neighbourhood with all the amenities, you are just looking at being quite a bit further from downtown. I wouldn't say it feels all that different from say SCW, but up there you're going to have a lot more people with cars. On the map is doesn't seem like that much further, but in reality it's enough that I personally wouldn't even consider it. If you're worried about the "city feel," I think SCW is a good compromise. It is definitely not downtown by any stretch, but is close enough that you can get there in 20 min or so, yet it still feels like it's own little world. You wouldn't need to leave if you didn't want to, in terms of amenities available. The streetcar is also a plus, as I am sure you know that trains stop around 1 on the weekend. Thus, being near a bus route that is 24hrs and having access to the 24hr streetcar is a benefit if you like to go out at all. If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

As a former UofT student and current student at York, I feel I am qualified to answer your question due to the similar commutes they have to your situation. I live downtown and love it, but the up to 4hr a day commute is killing me (streetcar, subway, bus). If your husband is at Ryerson and you are going to York I really only see two or three options for you. 1) St. Clair West - it's as "in the middle" as you'd want to get and maintain a certain quality of 'living in Toronto,' that I would assume is part of the appeal of coming here. It's reasonably priced (for Toronto), has lots of shops, cafés, etc. that make for a good day to day lifestyle. It's right near St. Clair West station, so your husband would have about a 20-30 min commute and you'd have about 45min. It's close enough to York to make the commute more bearable and close enough to downtown by train to make a citydweller feel better. It also has a streetcar route, which is a bonus. 2) The Annex - Anywhere around Dupont, Spadina, or St.George Stations. It's a great place to live and hang out, but could be prohibitively expensive depending on your budget and preferences in place to live. If you were close to Dupont it would add about 5 min to your and remove about 5 min from your husband's commute. The further south you go, the farther your commute will be. That being said, if your husband bikes at all, any of these would be a great option for him to commute that way. 3) The Junction - This would be around Keele Station. This is much further west than you'd think is reasonable based on a map, but it's got a lot going on (in a good way) and the 41 express from Keele Stn. goes directly to York. It's a good option if you're looking for something nice, but not in the "downtown" region. This option would make your commutes about equal, around 40-45 min depending on traffic, etc. Note: all of the above assumes that you'd live right near the station. That being said, all of these are great neighbourhoods, so being several blocks from the station would be safe and potentially favourable depending on amenities and what have you. Also, a must know thing about Toronto, basement apartments are very common and some are fantastic, so don't just categorically discount them. Hope that was in some way helpful.

I am not sure if UBC decided PhD and MA decisions at the same time or not, but I would assume they would. If so, they decided on Monday, and will be sending out notifications in the coming weeks. If you have a looming deadline for McGill like I do (March 17), then I recommend emailing the Graduate Chair. He responded to me within a couple hours with a decision. Good luck!

Just thought I would let you all know that I was in contact with the Graduate Chair at UBC last night as my acceptance date for McGill is fast-approaching and I could not wait any longer. He informed me that the committee met to confirm the final list of acceptances on Monday night. As such, notices should be going out very soon. Good luck everyone! Also, although I was not accepted to UBC, the GC gave me a very detailed and complimentary response. Essentially he explained that they all wanted to work with me, but those who could supervise a project like mine were maxed out and not taking new students. The fit was just not there for the 2014 school year. I tell you this because if you are blanket rejected and want to know why, they may be offer feedback if you contact them.

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Thanks. I hope they hurry up! I have a good offer from McGill, but need to hear back from the others before making a decision. If I haven't heard by next week, I'll have to contact them.

I'm new and I know it's a few days since you asked, but I will claim one of them. What details are you looking for?

I'm new to the conversation, but did Jason Wu happen to give any hint as to when they'd be notifying applicants? I don't want to have to send the, "I need to know by X date" email if I don't have to!