yellowtulip

Not that I applied for Banting... I didn't... but I read on the site (for NSERC Banting award holders) that NSERC will send the cheque to whatever currency of address you give 'em (so if you want Canadian funds... ask 'em to send it to a Canadian address). In either case however, from what I understand, no matter the currency, I will be issued a T4A. I thought Canadian currency might be easier though as I won't have to re-convert everything to Canadian once I move back in a year. My fingers are crossed that this uni doesn't have any issues (I've read posts in the past about bad stories.... not sure what universities though).... more so however, my figures are just crossed for the award (all of this is needless worry if I don't get it). Anyway, thanks for the offer to message if I have more questions! Good luck!!!

I did my BSc/PhD in Canada, and I am now down in the US. What I meant by getting it to all work out at a US university is that the Canadian ones are completely familiar with NSERC, and who cares if money comes in late - they'll know how to deal with the paperwork. For a US university however, as far as they know, they're supposed to be paying me out of a particular grant (and pay day isn't far around the corner). Anyway, I'm just not sure how they'll retroactively deal with the money, particularly since the US funds I get paid from the university are just that... US, whereas NSERC pays (from what I understand) the applicant directly, so that would be Canadian funds. Anyway - I'm just hoping this all gets sorted out prior to pay day cut-off. I've also heard of some PDFs running into trouble by accepting an NSERC, because some universities end up then considering them part-time (so they consequently lose their benefits). I haven't looked into this yet (since I don't even know if I got an award), but I'm sure it might take a couple days to get a clear answer on that. Anyway... hoping mail comes soon!!!

Any other PDFs out there still holing up hopes of (assuming successful) starting the award April 1st? I have no clue how this is going to work being at a foreign university.

Lol... I guess we'll just have to wait and see about that I wish you the best!!

Feel free to think what you'd like. While you seem to have an objection to experiment, I think theory and experiment go hand in hand. While a theorist might come up with an incredible theory... take string theory example... as you asked me before... "Do I believe in string theory?", as though it is some mysterious unprovable entity. Oh wait.... maybe it can be proven... but I think some experiments might be required for that! Anyway, IMHO, experiments are guided by theory, and theory is guided by experiments, so really, I'd say, one isn't of any use without the other. Theories are awesome, but discoveries are pretty sweet too. I certainly have no objections to those string theorists out there. Maybe I'm just naive Wow... is this really getting off topic!

Apparently I'm arrogant... so it's certainly nothing to do with string theory ... I suppose you can call me one of those experimental sorts!

... and crackers too

Other than calling me arrogant, which I really don't think I was, no, no one offended me. I actually think many others have been emotional on here and take things way too seriously. It's out of our hands and there is nothing we can do other than be hopeful. All I was doing was trying to state the facts. We should be grateful to NSERC for even having the opportunity to apply for an award - yeah it sucks finding out late, but better than there not even being a competition at all.

FYI - I completely understood. I was suggesting that instead of going there to celebrate (as chances are we won't get the letters on Monday), that you might be there chillin and enjoying one of their brews as several people have suggested throughout these ongoing discussions.

Ah... 3 brasseurs... a great little pub... do they still do the free peanuts? Anyway - you headed there to celebrate or perhaps to relax and stop thinking about getting the letter as some have suggested!

Lol... I prefer dudette

I wasn't trying to be arrogant - I was trying to defend NSERC. Everyone is complaining that they're late... and I'm saying that their own rules state when a deadline falls on a weekend, it gets pushed to the Monday. Fine, it might not explicitly state this for the decision notification, but get real, do you really expect the government to be dropping letters in the mail on a Saturday??? I think not! Yeah, it does suck to not find out since the timing (at least for me) is critical, however in reality, I suspect the timing really isn't that critical for most (sure you're anxious... but does a couple of days matter? probably not for most applicants). Anyway, I'd rather it be late than never. That said, it would have been nice for NSERC to write something online (since only the people that harass them with emails find out extra info that us non-email sending folk aren't privy to). I'm sure if they could have sent the letters out, they would have. There is nothing we can do other than wait and be hopeful!

In talking about deadlines and noting when the applications are due and that we're stuck adhering to those deadlines, don't forget, NSERC does state, " If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, your application must reach NSERC by the following working day." Assuming a March 31st deadline for sending out the letters (i.e. ignoring the 23 week thing), if they're sticking to their own rules, then technically they don't need to send the letters 'til Monday.

Yes, and no. It has stated the 31st in some locations, but it also has always stated 23 weeks from the application (http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/StudentDeadlines-EtudiantDatelimites_eng.asp) as a notification date for those applying directly to NSERC. Working it out, 23 weeks from October 15th is March 24th.

When you guys talk about the department releasing the PDF results, are you talking about your former university, or the new one? It is unclear to me how the new one will know if you got the award (since you only need to suggest places on the application - nothing is official). Just trying to figure out if there is any way I can find out sooner about the PDF (rather than waiting for my letter to arrive to me in the US - west coast at that!).

Hmm... I'm just looking at the award holder's guide for banting too, and that one also lists April 1st. http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/Guides-Guides/BantingIntro-BantingIntro_eng.asp

But if you read the PDF award holders guide on NSERC's website, it says the awards can start April 1st. That's what I mean... it makes sense to have a May 1st date (and give plenty of time for notifications). Having an April 1st start doesn't make sense at all since I certainly won't know 'til after April 1st whether or not I got a PDF.

Eliasg - at least the ResearchNet start date is well AFTER the date of notification. Doesn't seem to be the case for the normal PDFs (can theoretically start 'em April 1st). At least the Canadian universities presumably know how to handle this - doing a post-doc in the US is going to confuse the heck out of my employer if I can have an Apr 1st start.

While these numbers aren't directly comparable due to the introduction of Banting/Vanier, and the change in length for holding the P/CGS-M, the number of awards offered divided by the number that applied from 2008 through 2011 are*: P/CGS-M: 74%, 74%, 75%, 50% P/CGS-D: 66%, 68%, 67%, 52% PDF: 21%, 21%, 21%, 9% ... and possibly another drop with the upcoming budget? Yikes... my fingers are crossed they don't cut the PDFs so drastically again!!! *Numbers calculated from data on: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/FundingDecisions-DecisionsFinancement/ScholarshipsAndFellowships-ConcoursDeBourses/index_eng.asp

I am still unsure how/why the results depend on the budget. The PGS-D I received a couple of years ago was dated some time mid-march, and I think (I'd have to look back at the previous posts), someone had mentioned a March 18th or so dating on their letter last year. Maybe the budgets were done crazily earlier in previous years, but why would they cut it so close this year and tell everyone notification letters will be sent out by March 31st with the ability to start the award April 1st? I doubt there is any way they'll be able to print out/distribute the letters for at least another couple of weeks, unless they maybe already have both positive and negative letters printed and ranked for everyone, and they just pick the top X number of letters depending on what the budget allows? I don't know. Seems strange.

Lol... These timelines (from NSERC's PDF policy guide) make me laugh!! Not that I'm complaining... it would still be pretty sweet to get an award! I just find it amusing since presumably none of us will get letters 'til into April (especially the ones that are doing PDFs out of country)! "You can take up your award at any time between April 1 of the year in which you are awarded the fellowship..." "To activate your award, complete a Request for First Instalment and submit it to NSERC's Scholarships and Fellowships Division between four and six weeks prior to the date on which you intend to take up your award.."

Everyone is so quiet today!!! The anxiety is building

A bit of a random thought... I've had a PGS-D for a bit, so it was my first time applying to NSERC in a couple of years (just defended at the end of '11). It was new to me that the PDF submission was now performed electronically. From what I recall in the past, the PGS was submitted via the university. Has anyone in the past applied for a PDF? Was it always electronic, or is that a new thing this year? If new, it makes me wonder if perhaps the results might also be electronic (that would sure be great!). So far however, no updates to my submission on the online system. Hmmm... I should really stop contemplating/guessing! It is what it is - in a week or two, we should all know

Agreed with ktel. Completely unnecessary to contact them yet.

Hi Wallace, To find that info, I went to the NSERC Awards Search Engine: http://www.outil.ost.uqam.ca/CRSNG/Outil.aspx?Langue=Anglais Type in competition year '97-'02 (just to avoid a million hits) Program --> Postdoctoral Fellowships Minimum award amount = 40,000, And voila! As I said in my earlier post, there certainly aren't tons of awards in '99, so it makes me wonder if those might have been perhaps special ones. If you set the minimum value to 35k, there are about 20-fold more hits that show up (suggesting maybe 35 was the minimum?) I don't know.