[OGS - Any word?]

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

You may want to contact NSERC directly to make sure they were sending the letter to your current address.

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

Last Wednesday I asked to the graduate studies whether I got the PGS-D or not, and they told me I got it and they congratulated me. And today, the latter finally arrived, and it says I couldn't get it. I talked to the grad studies to understand what is going on and apparently they made a mistake... This is so frustrating...

Anyways, about this waiting lists: is it possible to learn whether we are on a waiting list or not? In addition, I have heard about this privacy act, and I should be able learn why I was rejected. Does anybody know how to check that?

I am sorry if these questions were asked and answered before, I scanned most of the forum but couldn't find information about it.

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

Congratulations to everyone that got a PGS or CGS and to those that didn't. Hold your head up. There are still university fellowships or you could get bumped up in a month or two.

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

My GF had an issue simmilar to this she was graduating in October last fall. The graduate school told her she had to retuirn all of the funding she recieved after September (even though she was registered). However she thought the school was being a bit weird in their behaviour and asked NSERC directly what the policies were. Essentially they told her the finances are based until you graduate. So you are entitled to funding right up until the point where your officially graduated for the calender yaera where you were rewarded the scholarship. Make sure though you get clarification from your grad school on their policies. Otherwise theres red tape to deal with down the road. They often have different satnces than nserc.

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...

[NSERC 2010-2011]

I remember last year with my NSERC rejection being quite bitter that a colleague got a PGS-D and didnt even publish a single paper prior to submitting her ap. I had at least 2 at the time. But what Ive come to realize and especially from others experinces is that there are many issues that can come into play in the selection process.

Heck even the criteria for getting your app outside of the university is vague university to university. Some universities have a criteria of grades only and do not look at all at any of your other accomplishments. So if the cut off was 92% regardless of your publications an 85 or 86 would get you a rejection in November at some Universities without the pleasure of a rejection letter from nserc. I know alot of guys doing research right now who have 70~80% averages that are far more canny at research and publishing than people with 95s but they cant break the university screen. I dont know why your app didnt go through at NSERC. But some years i would have relished the oppertunity just for my ap to have gone through the university screen. Could be a number of things why it didnt pan out. There is no exact sceince to scholarship acceptances/rejections its subjective based on some 30/50/20 scale for the reviewer who has multiple apps to go through and little time to do so based on many reasons listed here. I know of people with multiple publications and 99% averages still being rejected for scholarships (and being quite upset over it too).

The key is, rejection happens, and you need to make them make you stronger. Take it from somone whose been rejected 3x by Nserc, 2x by OGS, 1x by commonwealth, multiplex by some pretstigious University scholarship that i cant remeber and use this motivation; Prove to them why they made a mistake by publishing even more and excelling in your research. Theres other scholarships out there that are more prestigious go for them. But always keep in mind that no matter how great you are or think you are. Scholarships and grants are hit and misses. You win some, you lose some, and you keep at it;) Thats academia. BTW my grammar and typing is atrocious here, but this is not an app for nserc thankfully

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

Here's a quick question for everyone...

I was awarded a CGS-M, but I'm not sure when I should start it (either May or September). I'd prefer to start in September 2010 and have it go to September 2011, but I'll be graduating (knock on wood) in May 2011. I'll be moving somewhere in August '11 for my Ph.D, so having the NSERC funding over the summer would be great. Will the NSERC funding stop as soon as I graduate, or will it keep going regardless for the entire year? If it's going to stop as soon as I graduate, I might as well start it in May of this year.

Thanks for your input!

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

I received my letter today and didn't get NSERC PDF , so disappointing! I had an accepted paper and two submitted papers for my PhD studies at the time of application. I'm wondering what are their expectations at NSERC?!

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

From UWO, gradoffice received the list and is trying to release by today

*crossing fingers*

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

[NSERC 2010-2011]

Nope, still nothing here...

[NSERC 2010-2011]

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