Randall

I have a side job teaching french classes, where i make 60$ per week (cash). this is my "fun" money....i spend it on dinner out, coffee, bus fare, etc etc, and once it is gone for the week, no more spending. (which means walking where i need to go) For the 5 hours i spend in the week teaching, it gives me piece of mind knowing i have that to be able to go out, buy a coffee, etc without worrying. the money from my grant goes to rent/groceries (modest groceries)/utilities. It makes me track my purchases and think ahead. Plus, if i am really busy and dont go out for a week or 2, I have a nice bit of money saved and can splurge on nicer beer or something. I really recommend doing this....it keeps my bank card in my wallet and makes me save.

how much do you guys try to publish? Is it realistic to aim for 1-2 pubs per year? (looking at philosophy/ literature/ social and political thought people in general, because i know it varies a lot based on program of study)

so, i have what is probably a silly question about A list and B lists (my school is not that helpful with info about this stuff....) how do you know what list you are on? I got an email from sshrc at the end of jan saying they got my stuff, but my university does not answer my emails (grrr....)...I will go to the info session next year, but i am not sure what that email actually means) also, good luck to everyone. it is comforting to know that the stress is shared across the board.

thanks for the input i made myself crazy this year trying to improve on grades (that B+ killed my MA average), and while things went better this year i was nervous that those grades would haunt me forever. I took a peek at a thread from last year (stats on publications, conferences, grades etc) from winners and it also gave some good insight. good luck to everyone waiting for an answer from sshrc.

addendum: oops I am in the interdisciplinary category (womens studies) thanks guys

I am going to preface this by saying i am a first time applicant (I started my PhD in sept 2009 and applied for the first time in sept 2009). My sshrc application made it to the national contest....my grades are pretty average so i am not sure how that happened, and was wondering if it was publications? (I have 2, one in a collection of essays and another in a good peer reviewed journal, both published at the end of my MA. I am not well connected...lol....just did coursework so had a few ok papers floating around) anyway, I was wondering how many publications past winners have had under their belts, and how many conferences? (I have 2 small conferences that involved zero travel) Does that make up for average grades? (My MA overall is an 83.4%...and one grade of 78 so that probably looks kind of bad). How can i make up for average MA grades? what have people's experiences been like, specifically with professional development stuff like publishing? have you found it makes a difference? thanks for the insight:)