TheTreePrince

Alright so I’m an incoming masters student with interviews for two research assistant positions both dealing with urban planning. Problem is I’m not sure what to look out for with research positions and what questions to ask during my interviews. It seems I would be fairly qualified for both but what do masters students typically look for/get out of doing an RAship? Should RAs expect credit on a paper/publication? Or is it invisible behind the scenes work? Should I ask about this? Do I go for the research on a topic I am more interested in or the one with a potential supervisor in my program? I really don’t know what I’m looking out for so any help would go a long way!! Thanks

Just declined an offer at Ryerson so hoping that helps someone on the waitlist! Also, when you accept, did anyone else have 3 dates in a dropdown menu? I'm assuming these are start dates because they were 2022-05-01, 2022-09-01, and 2023-01-01. I was a little impatient, clicked the one in September since that's when my course starts, and accepted it... but now just want to confirm!

Now that lots of schools have released decisions (or their first batch, at least), anyone else struggling to choose where they want to attend? Personally I'm still stuck between the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. They're in the same city, cost the same, are giving me the same amount of funding, but are very different programs (more theory-based with practical electives vs more practice-based)... but I'm not sure which one suits me more.

Right? Part of me wants to leave and come back in 30 minutes but the other part wants to non-stop refresh until I make it in

Good luck to everyone today!

Received an official offer from UofT! The wait is over! Now comes the hard but fortunate issue of making a decision... Mostly deciding between Ryerson and UofT (with UBC as a third option). Not sure about balancing the practical program at Ryerson with the international reputation at UofT. Ideally, I'd be working someplace warmer in the future (US or Australia) and so I assume UofT would help based on name recognition, but Ryerson seems like a program that would better equip me for the workplace and field overall...

Yup, I see an invited status on Acorn at UofT but don’t have an offer or anything official. I sent an email to the department on Saturday but haven’t heard back yet. Will update here when I do!

No, no reservations really. I’ve only done the bare minimum of research though so I don’t know much about the Queen’s program. I just didn’t apply because I only graduated from my undergrad at Queen’s last year and, though I absolutely loved my time there, I’d like to live someplace other than Kingston for a while

Not sure if I'm reading this right, but I just checked my University of Toronto ACORN account (acorn.utoronto.ca) and it says "Invited" for the Master of Science in Planning. Haven't heard anything by email so I'll wait for official confirmation, but I'd recommend anyone waiting for UofT to check ACORN.

Master of Community and Regional Planning

Completed my UBC application on Jan 6th, heard back Mar 21st

Thanks so much! I think I'll send an email tomorrow asking if I should expect anything regarding funding, since that's a big factor for me. But definitely going to consider UBC and reject to open up the spot if not

Just received a rather generic acceptance email from UBC. No mention of any funding or personalization at all really, but the portal says I have an offer. They’re giving a month for my decision which is more than some other Canadian programs

Has anyone heard yet from Rutgers about funding? Hoping to make a decision soon but funding’s a pretty big factor to consider

Waitlisted at McGill! Good to know offers are being sent out regardless

This! Desperately waiting but I haven’t come across anyone who’s gotten a decision yet. Some Canadian unis seem to be sending decisions later than last year based on my quick check of last year’s results pages so not sure when to expect to hear back.

Congrats, @planningapplicant!!! ?

Nope, haven't received anything yet and haven't heard of anyone who has.

Checked the Rutgers portal and saw a decision was made! "Admission will be offered after submission of the following document(s): Financial Documentation" Still no email decision or information on funding.

Congratulations to everyone who's heard back and gotten in so far! Excited for all of us! Still waiting to hear back at UofT, UBC, McGill, Dal, and Rutgers. Surprised it seems no one's heard back from any of these programs yet.

Thanks so much! Yeah it was my earliest deadline and for funding it was with the admission offer – didn't apply for it. Still waiting on all my other programs: UofT, McGill, UBC, Dalhousie, and Rutgers... Really hoping to hear back sooner than later!

I got in at Ryerson! Still waiting for the official funding letter, but yeah it definitely is much earlier. Interested to hear back from my other options as well though...