KinoCat

@starshiphistory Damn!! Wtf!!! American trying to get to Canada here - University of Toronto haven't said anything about this, and are continuing to proceed with the TA process regardless of if I can make it to Canada or not. Do you have a Grad Union at UBC? You should reach out to them about this if not. Are they not offering you that funding because of this?

Anyone else having website problems filling out the student visa application on the Canadian Government website? I filled out part of the application last week, and then have been getting error messages ever since, saying "Our Online Services Are Currently Down."

Hi @flatwhiteplease @anxietypersonified ! That's great to year about TA compensation. I'm starting the Cinema Studies PhD! Excited to start, but also anxious about if/when everything will start. The department said they "hope to have more information by May" so we'll see. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, it's all out of my control, etc, but it's hard not to jump to worst case scenario. I'm coming from the U.S., so visas and border crossing is also a sense of uncertainty too. I applied for "student family housing" since housing searching will likely be harder than it already would have been. So fingers crossed! Anyone in a similar boat?

Anyone familiar with the Student Family Housing? Looking at their website, it seems like a very good price, in a good proximity to campus, and maybe not the most beautiful apartment in the world. Moving from the U.S. with my partner during this very uncertain time, it seems like a very good option for at least the first year. Any advice? Thanks!

Lived in Chicago for 4 years and did my masters at UChicago. I agree with all of the advice above, but I'll lightly argue pro-car here. The CTA is good, but getting out of Hyde Park to the rest of the city can be harder. Friends who lived in Hyde Park pretty much stay in the neighborhood. Parking near campus can be a pain, but is doable (and free) if you know where to look (not on the Midway). The biggest argument for pro-car, I think, is that it gives you flexibility of where you live. You can find cheaper housing not necessarily in Hyde Park or off of a CTA line. When I did my masters, I lived about ~20 minute drive away in Tri-Taylor, but the CTA would take over an hour, and I lived in a nice $1000/month 2bd apartment with my partner with very easy street parking (I think we got a very good deal on this apartment, but just letting you know what's out there).

@ToffeeCoffee I just got waitlisted, or "selected as an alternate" at UCLA. I turned it down, because I accepted University of Toronto's offer a few days ago. Best of luck to you!!

Thank you!!! Best of luck on your choices!

I just accepted the offer to University of Toronto today! They told me they "hope to have more information in May," so we'll see.

I'm in the same boat! I'm pretty close to accepting their offer, but I haven't heard anything from them about border closures, etc. I'm definitely nervous about how moving would work during all of this, and if the start of the program would be delayed and/or start online. Reading some news about this, it looks like the Canadian government is working on exemptions for international students with Visas, so we'll see how it works out in the fall? Everything seems so up the in the air right now, but I'm glad you made this thread for others in a similar position!

Got rejected from NYU, and a POI at UCLA told me last week that they should have their decisions done by the end of this current week (don't know if that's been effected by COVID-19, or if that means they are planning to inform next week. Has anyone heard from USC? It looks like people posted rejections a few weeks ago, and I wonder if the one posted PhD acceptance meant to post for the Masters? I haven't heard anything. Emailed a POI and received no response.

If you're not planning to already, make plans to talk on the phone/skype with professors! And students if they're open to it! I managed to have two visit days just before all of this started, and even though in person meeting is definitely invaluable, I feel like I had most of my questions answered and information given on phone calls. Questions: - Could you describe the structure of the program? Classes? Timeline? Basically just asking them to give you their spiel. Getting multiple professors to do this can also be revealing. - What makes students successful in the program? - What's the department social atmosphere like? - What makes this program unique? - Could you go into more detail about the funding package? When would I get paid (by semester? every few months?)? How negotiable is funding? (especially if you have other offers) - How live-able is the city with the stipend (better question to asks students) - How does teaching and research assistantships work? What kinds of classes would I be TAing? Are they all in my field, or would some of them be less related? - Any additional paid work opportunities outside of the funding package? - What kind of funding is available for conference and research travel? - What's the job market like? (This question also reveals how optimistic/realistic/helpful their advising might be) - Would you be able to provide financial assistance for moving costs? - How would the department be able to support [your specific research interest] (This also gives you a chance to talk about your topic/interests and see how knowledgeable/helpful they are. Basically, how does it feel to talk about your ideas with them?) - If your doing Art History, is there a good art scene in X city? (Gives you a chance to learn more about the place.) FOR STUDENTS (in addition to the above questions): - How is the faculty? Any to avoid? Ask students who are working with your POIs how they are as advisors/supervisors. - Are there any politically oblivious faculty? ( a way of asking if there are any profs who are racist/sexist/oppressive to avoid) - How livable is the place with the stipend? Where do you live? With roommates or partner or alone? Do they have financial support outside of the stipend (ie family, partners, etc)? - Hows the social atmosphere with your cohort? With faculty? - How is TAing? Did you get to choose the classes you TA for? - Talk about your work and their work. (Gets a sense of how you might fit socially/intellectually there) - How did you make your decision to come here? DEFINITELY ask this to multiple students if you can - is this a place people go because they want to be there? Or because they were accepted? Again, I would really stress trying to have a phone call or a skype call to talk to people! A big part of visiting is just getting the vibe, which is very hard over text! You can tell a lot in a phone call! And in their willingness to correspond with you too! Hope this helps!