Phyllis Stein

Not so sure about that. I know a lot of people in different circumstances in my program and although I'm sure some of us wish we had the money that others were getting, I don't think there's much animosity. I think part of the reason that person's post was "voted down" is because it just seems like pointless bragging. The topic is how do you live on a grad stipend, which I think should be obvious to everyone refers to a meager income. Why would any of us care how that guy manages to live on 35k/year or how you live on your parents' dime? That's useless info.

I really love your very no-nonsense, organized approach to budgeting. Living on a budget doesn't mean not living reasonably well, so long as you plan for it! And I too have a moka maker and I actually prefer my coffees to the $4 lattes you get at the coffee shops. I have to admit that I've fallen off the wagon a few times this year in terms of budgeting, and it really hurts! Stressing about money while in grad school is NOT fun, especially when it's your own damned fault for being to free with the spending. My biggest weakness is buying lattes (even though I love what I make at home, I find myself wanting another hit at school, hence the daily latte runs). This is going to stop asap. I'm also going to make more of an effort to stick to my actual budget (I have a budget but lately I just buy groceries as needed, hoping things balance out - not a good approach). I've been able to get away with deviating from my budget because I'm expecting a lump sum soon (tax refund), which I think is also a really big mistake. The more you stick to the budget, the easier it gets. I really like your idea of taking out $100 in cash at the beginning of each month. Anyway, to answer the original question, I've kept my expenses reasonably low by not owning a car, renting a studio, not having cable. I've splurged on internet, a semi decent cell phone plan. I don't go out that much either, which suits me fine at this point. When my sig other comes to live with me I will be a little more flexible on this. People might find this strange, but I think living this way may be good for the soul. I know many people who work and have a decent income who are quite wasteful and don't think too much about what they purchase, and tend to soothe themselves with unnecessary big ticket items, and also have more expensive "needs" (like two cars, bigger-than-necessary houses, etc). I used to waste a lot of money (before grad school, when I was working for a while) and I know I wasn't happy. So while I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm "happy" living like this, I feel like it's good for me for now. There are many things I like about living simply and frugally. Good luck to you all!

Uggh..I think the best thing we can all do is find some project to keep us very, very busy for the next month and the be pleasantly surprised when you check the mail one day and there is an envelope that says "SSHRC" on it. Okay, I'm going to do something drastic now and remove the link to this thread from my bookmarks. I will find out about SSHRC when the letter arrives. What's the point of trying to anticipate it? The letter will come when it does! No amount of anticipation will change the outcome, so why spend precious mental resources thinking about it before then? On that note, bye bye and good luck to all!

I think you are right... :S I heard a funny joke the other day about statistics and I think we can substitute "on this thread" for "in my statistics class": If I had only one day left to live, I would live it in my statistics class; it would seem so much longer. By the way, I'm doomed to suffer longer than most because I'm in the US and will have to wait for the mail. Is there any chance that SSHRC will send out electronic notifications? Or perhaps once I know the results are out, I can email them and expect an informative response, or do you think that's too much to ask?

That's forever from now!!!

Haha, me too actually. But seriously, NSERC already got back to people a loooong time ago (last week, I believe) and in the US, people expect to hear about NSF this week! (I know these things are not related, but still.) Like, how much time do they need?

Does anyone think we'll hear back this week?

I think she's frustrated because she was given misinformation in the first place, not because she doesn't agree with their policy. I didn't know that about mat leave. Nice to know.

Wow, really? That's pretty nice. I get taxed on my meager stipend so this is one more reason I want a fellowship.

Are fellowships like the SSHRC taxed by the Canadian government?

Sounds very frustrating. Well, I hope things work out somehow. It doesn't seem like it should effect your doctoral SSHRC eligibility, but I don't know for sure. Good luck!

Oh yes, I'm also quite tired of classes at the moment, so I know where you're coming from. But try not to feel too bad - you're doing a PhD!! That's nothing to sneeze at. Maybe you should consider other awards that may be available at your institution, so that in the event that you don't get this one, you can apply to other things. Don't let your lack of confidence dictate what you do...best to just apply, try your best and sooner or later you will succeed! I hear you re: grad school doing a number on your self-esteem. A major goal of mine is to not let my self esteem be too contingent on the successes and failures along the way. Failure is bound to happen. And as people here have said, getting a SSHRC doesn't mean you are a great researcher - nor does not getting one mean that you are a crap researcher. Hmm, is the SSHRC really considered that prestigious? Not sure what the perception is. I think it would look nice on the CV, but I'm not sure it's really going to wow anyone? Maybe I'm wrong though. I agree with you regarding the financial benefit. That's why I think it's important to apply for anything you are eligible for and just keep applying until you get something. Good luck!

What if you delayed your graduation date but got all the work wrapped up well before, so that there is minimal interference with your PhD work? Would delaying your graduation affect your official PhD start date? If not, then why not delay? Sounds worth it (financially).

I don't get this...on the form I put September as the start date because I wanted to make sure that I was funded through the summer on year 3 of funding (which will be year 4 of my degree). I will still have another year of grad school after that. Did I make the wrong choice? I hope making that selection doesn't mean I forfeited funding for the 3rd summer?

Thanks. To clarify, I will be going into year 2 PhD in Fall 2010. I would hope that they would take into consideration the fact that I haven't done an MA yet and judge me accordingly. I think they might expect more productivity from someone who has completed an MA, so just having an MA and having done some research shouldn't necessarily make them more competitive than me. I've done a fair bit, considering the fact that I haven't done an MA and am in my first year. I think that's partially why they've modified their evaluation criteria to be more holistic. But we shall see what happens. I think having potential as an academic researcher is what is key, and the advantage that people who have completed an MA have is more time to demonstrate this potential.

Hi Amuna, You made it to the second round, that should make you feel good! I am in a similar situation in that I never applied for any awards in the past. By the way, I'm curious about everyone out there who is waiting and why they really want the award? Are people relying on this as their sole means of funding themselves? Or is it the prestige? Both? I have funding at my school, but with the SSRHC I could have a bit more - would definitely change my quality of life!

Yeah, I think the not-approved envelopes have a big red 'X' on them. Just kidding! Seriously, I doubt there is a difference. But I'm with you and the compulsive board checking. I need to stop! :S

Just to clarify, I didn't mean to imply that I didn't think grades mattered. I was referring more specifically to the poster who had indicated his/her grades were not impressive. When people are talking about having a single B+ at the grad level....that kind of thing isn't important.

Basically for the PhD award they used to specify a different breakdown from the MA award, with less emphasis on grades and more on research (for obvious reasons: PhD students were assumed to have more experience). However, now they evaluate solely on "academic merit" which includes research potential, grades, etc. That is, academic merit, broadly construed. This must be at least in part because some of us are in PhD programs but do not have master's degrees. So they are looking at the whole picture and evaluating you in terms of your potential to be an academic researcher. Not to say that grades don't matter, but it certainly does not seem to me that they are the most important factor, especially at this stage in the game. We have to be able to do a lot more than sit in a classroom and get good marks to succeed. There are many people out there who have gotten good grades all their lives but are not cut out to be researchers or to thrive in graduate school. Anyway, this is from the website (under SSHRC doctoral award): Evaluation Criteria Multidisciplinary selection committees evaluate applicants solely on academic merit, measured by: past academic results, as demonstrated by transcripts, awards and distinctions;the program of study and its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge;relevant professional and academic experience, including research training, as demonstrated by conference presentations and scholarly publications;two written evaluations from referees; andthe departmental appraisal (for those registered at Canadian universities).

I don't think your grades are that big of a deal. My guess is that other things will matter more. You have to think about what they are trying to do with these awards - they want to give them to people they can feel confident are going to go on to be productive researchers in their field. Being able to get good marks in a classroom setting is not important (although failing classes at the grad level is a red flag). Often students think that they just need to keep getting good marks and they will be successful, just like undergrad. Being able to mobilize yourself to be productive in research and engage in professional activities is hugely important to your future success. Whatever indicators of this ability you have in your application will work in your favor. Think about it holistically rather than trying to peg yourself against past winners in terms of specific accomplishments.

This may be true for your program and your field, but I can assure you it is not the case in general. I think there are many factors that may determine whether or not an age gap will be felt: age variability (70% younger than 35 years is not too bad; I'm in my early thirties and I'm several years older than all but one person in my class; the year before didn't have anyone older than 25; the incoming class may have one 30 year old, everyone else is under 24); field (I think things might be different if you are in psychology versus the humanities), gender breakdown (I think it's worse when most students in your department are female), program reputation (this is more speculative, but I think when it's a very competitive environment, more cattiness and immature tendencies prevail), and whether the department offers MAs or just PhDs (my department doesn't have an MA stream and I think maybe this changes things). I find that in my department, there is not that much diversity in terms of age, gender, life experience, background...Not to say that it's totally homogeneous, but I can imagine that other departments might be a bit more diverse. I'm in my first year and so far I have found that gossip (about other students, faculty, the department itself) is rampant. I like to talk about other things and having been away from school for a while, I find that what people are talking about doesn't matter as much as they think it does. Rampant gossip is also a sign of competitiveness and insecurity, which everyone has but for me I know that gossip isn't the answer. Anyway, that's been my experience but I am not sure that this is representative of what others will face at all. I was hoping to connect more with the older students, but because they are at a more advanced stage in their grad work, they aren't around as often and it's more difficult to connect. It may just take time though.

Yeah, I tried to make my statement as free of jargon as possible, but it's a real challenge. I would think that one's referees will toot their own horns a bit in order to indicate to the reviewers that they are a big name or are faculty at a reputable program, just in case the reviewers all happen to be pretty ignorant about the field. I know that one of my referees has been funded by SSHRC and has had many students funded by SSHRC. I wonder if that gets factored into the equation... I totally agree with your outlook - ultimately luck will have something to do with it so it's best to keep your hopes up but not be too traumatized if it doesn't work out. Is this your first time applying? It is for me.

I can relate - I'm in my first year and I do feel a bit ashamed at times...Rationally, I know it makes no sense - because my circumstances were such that going direct to grad school from undergrad wasn't an option. I didn't have a supportive family and I wasn't that academically inclined. But after growing up a little I learned to motivate myself to pursue my interests and ended up taking a lot of additional courses as a non-degree student. I also worked. I'm proud of my achievements and happy that I have this background. It's tough being older at times because you do feel like it would be nice to be doing this when you are younger in some ways, but then you wouldn't be the same person... I also find that the younger students have a lot of time to kill and I don't - I don't have a family but the last thing I want to do is burn time! I don't mind socializing sometimes, but I really am serious about school and when I'm not doing coursework I like to think about and work on research. My peers don't seem to have realized that this is why we are here yet. They seem to focus more on fulfilling "requirements" than setting their own goals and pursuing things for the sake of their own interests. Haha, I agree: I think people should try to be mature students, at least by taking off a couple of years between undergrad and grad school. A couple of years may not be enough, but for many students one year off is already "crazy" - they're in such a rush to get ahead.

Well, if this is the case, I might do okay. We will see. I can't remember reading it anywhere, are our applications reviewed be people in our field? That certainly would help in terms of ensuring that they know that you are at a good institution, etc. This is especially an issue when you are in the US and need to convince them you went there for a good reason (and not just to escape Canada lol).

No problem. I hope things work out for you!