QTPIE

I got my results last night after midnight. I am doing a PhD and applied through the Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology stream. I will be turning down the award so hopefully one of you guys pick it up! My labmate did not receive her results yet either, she is doing an MSc and applied through biochemistry/biophysics. Good luck everybody! -Q

I would contact NSERC directly to see whether or not they delivered it to your current address. I just got my results sent to my permanent address so I had to call to confirm. My graduate school informed me that I had received the award, but since a few of you guys had mentioned you got a different result by mail, I got anxious. I hope that they would award the next set of applicants in line for the award and that this is not based on which university you're applying from. But I suppose they can only give the next in-line applicant within the same research category. For example, if an awardee declines their award in the cell biology stream, the next applicant in that field would receive the award? I'm guessing here... Anyways, hope the good luck keeps rolling in -Q

you should sue the university for emotional trauma... I'd bet you would win too

So do they automatically bump you up if you're next in line for a PGS/CGS?

That's weird that the school would do that. One would think they would let you keep your scholarship until the bitter end, since that means less $$$ out of their pockets? I don't know, maybe something else is at play here...

Yes, I agree. I think you get the worst feeling when your colleagues receive an award and they don't have any real research accomplishments (i.e. publications and conference abstracts). You'd think this would be the strongest indicator for scholarly work and therefore should be funded since you've proven yourself in the academic community. However, as we've all seen, especially this year, it all depends on what the reviewer(s) perceives in your application and how much competition you have that year. I've heard many stories how political NSERC applications can become at the university level and maybe even more so at the national level. I don't think any of us really know/understand how the process really works unless we sit on one of these scholarship committees and rank applications ourselves. All the information that NSERC gives us makes it seem like there's a logical and precise method of how they go about assessing applications when really there is something more going on. I remember one story where a student had a 98% average (undergrad) and several publications but the one letter of recommendation had a few "Above averages" and not "excellent" or "top 1%" and it was rejected. I like your attitude on how you deal with rejection. The rates of rejection are only going to increase as one goes on to higher and higher levels of academia. You'll be competing with a much smaller and a much more competitive group. However, I think it is our scholarly duty to keep applying for these scholarships regardless of the results and hope for the best. I think it's the ones who never give up who end up being the most successful later on (At least that's what I'm telling myself.) Good luck to all and hope your other scholarships pan out. -Q

I was in the same situation last year. I was going to leave the paperwork until September but then my supervisor quickly reminded me that he wanted me to start the award earlier (so he would start paying less into my stipend). If you get another NSERC award for a PhD you can start it on May 2011 or save that for the coming September. Best bet though is to ask your graduate supervisor. Good luck! -Q

Perhaps it was a really competitive year for you PDFs... I don't know what the average number of papers that you should have out by the end of your PhD. I know our department has the unwritten rule that you should have 3 first-author papers done by then, but I think that's the gold standard. Or perhaps it wasn't your publication record, maybe another part of your application wasn't as strong? I don't know if you can write them for any feedback on your application? I just got an email from the scholarship coordinator here at UWO and I was fortunate to be rewarded with a PGSD3! Good luck to the rest of you guys, the results are just around the corner! -Q

*crossing fingers* Last year I got confirmation in the mail before grad studies released the results.

Nope, still nothing here...

This is from the NSERC website: http://www.nserc-crs...tions/200/e.asp "Personal Identification Number (PIN) All NSERC applicants have received, or will receive, an NSERC PIN. Refer to your PIN each time you apply for an award and in future correspondence with NSERC. If you have not previously applied to NSERC, or if you cannot remember your PIN, leave the field blank." I didn't receive a PIN number when I applied last year for the first time. I only have a PIN number now (automatically put on my application in the fall) after applying for an award. I don't think you can conclude anything from the PIN number. It's just a number they assign to you so that they can easily correspond to you. If you applied for something through NSERC, they will give you a PIN number regardless if you got an award. Hope this helps. I'm waiting for the results and I'm at UWO. Good luck to all! Q