Ludwig von Dracula

oh my goodness, folks, if you don't have to teach and TA don't do it!! you are overworked enough already - focus on getting your PhD done and be grateful that you have been granted the opportunity to work on it without the distraction of teaching and TA-ing! I have to teach (fully teach, not TA, and without a TA) two courses per term while taking a full course load in my PhD program - I would kill to have the time to put into writing things for publication, which is what actually matters in this whole game ... sheesh! take the opportunity you've been granted, and research and write. it is a luxury you will likely never have again.

On the other hand, you might encounter an International Student Office where everyone is expressly FORBIDDEN to give you any tax advice. This was my experience (also with administrative workers in my home department). They must have given some bad information in the past and gotten sued or something. They just bought us a licence for a Turbo-Tax-esque program and basically said "you're on your own." I still shake my head when I think about this.

Applicant, Status, Score, Subject area
Cancomm, Offered CGS, 18.5, Communications
bedalia, Offered CGS / Will decline (good!), 21.15, ?
Deezkneezm Offered CGS / downgrade to fellowship, 26.6, History of Christianity
CassandraC, Offered fellowship, 25.8, Sociology
electrochoc, Offered CGS, 18.7, Political Science
Andsowego, Not successful, ?, ?
ducon_lajoie, Not successful, ?, ?
soimpossible618, Offered Fellowship, 22.95, English Literature
Blurry, Waitlisted, 18.5, Philosophy
DMMS18, Waitlisted, 16.7, Psychology
Howmuchlonger, Not successful, 16.9, Urban and Region Studies
avsilver, Offered CGS, 27.7, MES in Geography
ZoSo 4, Offered CGS, 21.7, English Lit
Andsowego, Not Successful, ?, ?
mimiuchi, Offered CGS / Downgrade to fellowship, 20.1, Islamic thought
cathaea, Waitlisted, 15.3, English
wippen, Waitlisted, 16.2, English
joechip, Waitlisted, 16.2, Religion
sarahjane, Waitlisted, 16.2, English

For all of you sitting alone without drinking companions

All of your logic, be silenced! For ye now dwelleth in the pits of bureaucracy, and Lo, no light of reason shall penetrate this chasm.

Wow, my heart was pounding for a second there when I saw that more than 20 responses were posted today...next week; it's gotta be.

It begiiiiiiiiiiiins!

(Sorry, just having a bit of fun. And, no, I haven't called.)

This is a combination rant/call for advice/warning.

It will probably not apply to the majority of readers, but tax laws are very punishing for Canadians studying abroad long-term who also own (and rent out) property in Canada. We're not real-estate speculators or anything like that, but my wife and I did want to keep our house (maintaining the delusion that I may be lucky enough to find a tenure-track position in our home town). So we found a tenant to rent it, and her payments are mostly covering our mortgage, insurance, property taxes, and the like. We're not making any money, but at least we were almost breaking even.

Until...discovering that we are now required to pay 25% of our gross "income" in taxes since we are classed as non-residents of Canada. You can claim some deductions, like the property taxes, but not the mortgage payments. End result will be a bill of almost $2500 a year. Just thinking about this right now gives me chills...it's hard enough to scrape by on a TA salary, and I don't know how we're going to manage it. It's also too late to easily transfer ownership of the house to a family member in Canada, which would have been more attainable while we were still classed as residents.

So, any ideas?

Are you sure you entered it in the correct box? I recently started working on my taxes, and I think that even though it showed up in one of my income subtotals, the same amount was subtracted later on, leaving my scholarship out of the picture. Try using turbotax or whatever it's called now...you don't have to pay to use the program until it comes time to file, so you can use it to doublecheck your results.

I went through this last year. I managed to get a J-2 for my wife just by asking for it (which I did pretty soon after receiving the offer). She got her work permit without any trouble after writing the letter of application, showing that her income would not be required for our living expenses, and the permit arrived faster than expected (they estimate 3 months). Still, you have to pay quite a bit to apply ($380!).

In my understanding, you need to show that with the school's financial package and your own savings you will have enough money to cover the entire cost of the program. So I'm not sure if the caveat about it not being "personal" funds applies in every situation. I showed my TA offer (which I guess they projected over five years, although technically it was only for the first year with renewal conditional on performance), my savings/chequing balance, as well as a bank statement from my grandmother and her signature stating that she would support us if need be, although I have no intention of ever actually asking her for money. It worked out OK for us.

I understood that Canadians ARE subject to the home return requirement, though I could be wrong on this. I know it varies by discipline as well.

From what I've heard in the past, a spousal visa only works if you're actually married, though (I'm not sure where they draw the line between cohabiting and common-law in the quote above). Quick ceremony with the justice of the peace, and then a more formal celebration at some point in the future, perhaps?

I went through this last year. I managed to get a J-2 for my wife just by asking for it (which I did pretty soon after receiving the offer). She got her work permit without any trouble after writing the letter of application, showing that her income would not be required for our living expenses, and the permit arrived faster than expected (they estimate 3 months). Still, you have to pay quite a bit to apply ($380!).

In my understanding, you need to show that with the school's financial package and your own savings you will have enough money to cover the entire cost of the program. So I'm not sure if the caveat about it not being "personal" funds applies in every situation. I showed my TA offer (which I guess they projected over five years, although technically it was only for the first year with renewal conditional on performance), my savings/chequing balance, as well as a bank statement from my grandmother and her signature stating that she would support us if need be, although I have no intention of ever actually asking her for money. It worked out OK for us.

I understood that Canadians ARE subject to the home return requirement, though I could be wrong on this. I know it varies by discipline as well.

From what I've heard in the past, a spousal visa only works if you're actually married, though (I'm not sure where they draw the line between cohabiting and common-law in the quote above). Quick ceremony with the justice of the peace, and then a more formal celebration at some point in the future, perhaps?

Or one of those brown tweed jackets with elbow patches.

Ah, good metaphor. I worried for a moment that we might have to start an all-out-war for the title of Vampire Overlord of Gradcafe.

At one point I was trying to write a mock bio for a fake industrial-goth-electronica-metal band that I put up on myspace. I decided that "Ludwig von Dracula" was a cool name that encompassed the cheesetastic, overblown evil pomposity of those musical genres and would serve as an excellent name for a frontman. Basically I still use it because it makes me laugh. Then I had to make a picture to go along with it, of course.

I know this is a few months ahead of time, but I might not remember to post this if I wait until April/May or whenever they decide to send out the awards this year.

In the event that you receive a Master's SSHRC and you are hoping to graduate in spring of 2012, it is in your best interest to start the award in May rather than September of this year. If you start the award in September 2011 and graduate in May 2012, you will NOT get your funding for the summer months after you graduate. The $17500 will be split into 12 equal segments of about $1430, and you will only receive 9 of them (what happens to the leftover money? Don't know. Probably goes back to the government). On the other hand, if you start the award in May, you will receive one payment per month until you graduate 12 months later, receiving your full award. Especially advantageous if you're doing research or fieldwork over the summer and aren't working.

I thought I'd post this just in case; my university made this woefully unclear (really-- they didn't mention it even once) and I thought it might spare some headaches down the road. Plus it distracts me from thinking about application results...

Or one of those brown tweed jackets with elbow patches.

Ah, good metaphor. I worried for a moment that we might have to start an all-out-war for the title of Vampire Overlord of Gradcafe.

At one point I was trying to write a mock bio for a fake industrial-goth-electronica-metal band that I put up on myspace. I decided that "Ludwig von Dracula" was a cool name that encompassed the cheesetastic, overblown evil pomposity of those musical genres and would serve as an excellent name for a frontman. Basically I still use it because it makes me laugh. Then I had to make a picture to go along with it, of course.

I could have written pretty much the same article, only it would have said "Holding Down a Job," or "Being Unemployed," or "Working Part Time."

Hmm, well. I'm not a fan. I guess it's good to hear negatives so you can be prepared, but I propose this.

1. Back Trouble - You will develop back trouble. But then, you will take five minute breaks from hunching and you will start stretching and you will be fine.

2. Weight gain - this might not even happen. You will be stressed, but you will find that exercise will counteract that.

3, Mental Health Problems - you will have moments where you are depressed and anxious. But that will happen no matter what you do with your life. You'll exercise (see #2) and you will be fine.

4. Relationship trouble - maybe. But if it's meant to be, then it will work out. And, again, you will be fine.

5. No more hobbies - ok, yeah, that's just insane. Of course you will still have hobbies.

6. Acute bitterness - if this happens and persists, then you have more things to worry about than grad school. It's not going to happen to most of us.

I know this might have been posted as a devils-advocate situation, but I'm not eager to entertain things that are unrealistically negative. Sure, there will be negative things, but I'm pretty certain that grad school isn't the hell that this blog made it seem. If it was, nobody would do it and it would have disappeared a long time ago.

I'm also sure that a LARGE majority of the people on this site know what they are getting into. And guess what? They are still doing it.

I just hope everyone is successful at getting their scholarships, I'm sure everyone has worked super hard towards them. Happy Easter, and good luck everyone! (Unless you take an award that I could have gotten, then I don't like you anymore. ) Just kidding, good luck, and keep everyone informed if you hear anything pertinent.

My advice to first year Graduate Students: Change your mind and turn around. Don't go to grad school!

That's a good question.

And yet you were!

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