waitinggggg

Hi again....Just a note to say that I sent you a private msg on here so check your inbox.

Hi there, That's really too bad - sounds like you've accomplished a lot that you have every reason to be proud of! I can imagine that it stings not to get it, knowing how hard you've worked, but don't take it personally! I'm not sure how true it is, but I've heard that SSHRC is a little stingy with offering awards to people who study in the US. Also, you just never know how the subcommittee will respond to your proposal. Hopefully there are other funding opportunities that you can apply for internally? I know it's futile to suggest but try not to be too bummed about it - given what you've said about what you HAVE achieved, you have a promising future and will get the recognition you deserve sooner or later.

I'm sorry to hear that. I also didn't get the award (I'm in Child Psych at the U of M); I'm just waiting for the letter and the tax refund that should not be too far behind (was mailed the day after)! Are you in Minneapolis? Maybe my mailman is slacking off. I think it may be harder to win the award in your first year, especially when you are outside of the US. Maybe the want to wait and see. I got US funding but no support from "my home and native land"...? Not sure what the deal is, but don't be discouraged. I think applying in first year is difficult (I'm in first year as well) and that next year it should be easier to put something better together.

once again, no mail in minnesota

no mail today in midwestern US...

Oh, I see...I was thinking subcommittee referred to one of the 5 areas and didn't realize that there were subcommittees within those (which you are randomly assigned to).

Just out of curiosity, can you explain the below a bit? I'm just wondering how this works. What do you mean about random assignment?

Thanks for your response and advice! What you say seems very sensible to me. Hopefully I will do better next year. Congrats again. Must feel good to finally get that recognition.

I'm in Minnesota - no letter for me either (I already know that I didn't get the award, but I still want the letter). Actually, what I'm really waiting for is my tax refund, and I know that the refund got mailed a day after the SSHRC letter!

At least you got your tax return!!

Hi, I'm just wondering what kind of psychology you are studying - is cognitive any component of it? The reason I ask is because my interest is in cognitive development but it has a social component. I don't think I'm NSERC material, but I worry about whether SSHRC "gets" my research, given that it's not applied or "about" social processes. I've been told that my research was deemed to fit within SSHRC's mandate, but still...I worry about being at a disadvantage. Also, I think it's pretty crazy that you didn't get passed your department the first two times you applied yet you wound up with a 23/30 this time around. Perhaps your department was a bit too strict in its forwarding criteria?? Anyway, good that you persevered! Congratulations!

Don't be shy about this! I think you need to get comfortable asking these kinds of questions. I'm surprised they claw back your tuition. Do you still get a funding package from the school? You should find out if TAing or RAing for at least some hours per week will be enough to get your tuition fully covered. This is all very important stuff to know - don't hesitate to talk to your grad coordinator - that's what he's/she's there for! I think part of the incentive for getting an external award is that you will come out better off than if you were just funded on your department's stipend. Otherwise, I think it's a bit greedy of the department. For example, in my case, if I had won the SSHRC, my tuition would still be covered and the money would be mine - the department wins anyway because they don't have to fund me with the stipend. With SSHRC, in my department, you would still have to work 10 hrs per week because of SSHRC rules (i.e., it's counted as less than a 20 hr appointment, and we need to have a 20 hr appointment in order get a full tuition remission and health benefits). With the other award I got (internal) I have the option of TAing or RAing on top in order to increase my income. I can see why some departments wouldn't want you to work if you have a fellowship - a fellowship is supposed to free up time for research, and TAing is a time-eater. But that said, if it's the only way to top up your funds (as it is in my case), then I would do it (but only 5-10 hrs, and an RAship preferably). In my case, I will get teaching experience down.

That sounds like a pretty decent score - you should contact SSHRC to find out where you are on the waitlist and what your chances are - don't lose hope yet!!

Does anyone know if NSERCs doctoral awards are taxed? I know that SSHRCs aren't.

Honestly, I think you should contact your program officer and get some more feedback on this, if possible. Your stats are quite impressive. Perhaps the fact that you had an MA award raises the bar - they might want to see that you used this funding well and were more productive than you would be otherwise? I'm just grasping at straws here. I can't understand where that score would have come from. It really makes you wonder. I did much worse than I expected as well, yet they say my app was ranked highly enough to be put on a list of applicants recommended for an award. This leads me to think that there may be quite a bit of variability and non-normality in the distribution of the scores - so a '12' may not be particularly meaningful. Well, who knows. Maybe half or more of those who didn't get awards are on the waitlist. Anyway, I really wish the process was less opaque because when you get a score like that you don't know what went wrong. My guess is that it has a lot to do with the particular people reviewing your application and their quirks and biases, and also their lack of knowledge about your field. For example, I am at one of the best programs for my field right now, but I doubt this was meaningful to them. Also, I worked with some excellent people in my field, who again, probably were not known to my reviewers. I am also a US citizen and applied for the NSF and was also unsuccessful (a much more fierce competition than SSHRC) but they provided the reviewers brief comments. From that you can see that these people often don't have any clue about the importance of your topic and can even be dismissive. I didn't realize it so much before, but next time I will make a much greater effort to make my proposal accessible to someone not in my field. That said, I'm still worried I submitted it to the wrong place - NSERC might be a better way to go. Anyway, try not to feel too bad about yourself. Get some answers and work on putting together something stellar for next year!

I sent my inquiry here (fellowships at sshrc-crsh.gc.ca) and got an initial response within 12 hours (fwd'd to program officer) and then a final response the next morning.

You are wise beyond your years! (For better, or worse. )

Congratulations. It's pretty crazy that what seemed like a rejection can turn around like that. And I'm surprised at how much info some of us can get out of them... Anyway, hope you hear good news sooner rather than later. I've been feeling a little concerned that I applied to the wrong place and that I'd be better off applying for an NSERC. Not sure though. I could argue my case either way (I'm in Psych), but I feel my score was rather low (13) and yet I've been waitlisted as well (??). I'm going to email them to find out how I should make sense of all this for next time. Anyone here have thoughts about whether it's easier to get a SSHRC vs an NSERC?

Well, I hope you get it. Yep, rejection is a bit humbling. Also, I think "success/failure" can't be measured by individual wins/losses, but rather the overall trajectory, which no doubt will be influenced by your persistence...

Didn't get it. Not sure what happened - I think it may be at least partially due to the fact that my application might have been better suited to NSERC (I'm a Psych student). My score was 13 but they say I'm on a wait list, which to me sounds preposterous. Is this just a way of making people feel better? Oh, I was able to get SSHRC to give me my letter via email because I have another funding source that has been waiting for me to give them an answer for two months and they were getting impatient with me and asked me to see if I could get the answer asap. I think it's at the program officer's discretion whether they think your situation is urgent. Mine was and I'm glad I've been able to finally let people know where things stand. Anyway, congrats again to all who were successful, and for those who weren't, don't feel too bad! Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and look to the future. Being able to handle rejection is an important part of being successful and well adjusted! Just keep doing good work and taking risks and sooner or later you will prevail!

Yep, me too.

Whereabouts are you in the US? I'm in the midwest and have no idea when to expect the letter. Also, I don't think any of the posters today received a letter in the mail. (And I think you are right to say that it's no small amount of money and that "small" SSHRC is a bit of a misnomer.)

congrats to you!

I think it's safe to assume that most of these people found out from their school/program via email or phone call. I don't think a single person today mentioned receiving a letter. I think we'll get a few of those tomorrow though! (Not me though )

Nope. I called my fellowships office today and they said that they will not be notified. I have to wait for the letter. :S