Goobles

I highly recommend that everyone (who is comfortable with it) post their scores /12, success or no success, and also their committee #'s here. SSHRC lacks transparency in this regard and it is really helpful for next year's applicants to have access to as much information as possible.

Okay before I say anything else, I want to say that I am so sorry for anyone who did not win this year. This competition can be a black box of bullsh*t. You all had amazing applications and are equally deserving of this award, do not be too hard on yourself. I did not get it my first time, but I did get CGS-D today. Here are some details of how I did, and what changed: Last year I scored 4.7 in research potential and 4.55 in relevant experience for a total of 9.25/12 in committee 3D. I was heartbroken because I was nowhere near the cutoff (which was around 10.5). But, I was also still a master's student who had just finished my first year. This year I told myself that there was no way I would miss this opportunity again. So I took an entire month to prepare my application. My application this year improved with the addition of one published first authored peer-reviewed paper, one first authored paper in review (both of these in Q1 journals), and a few community products (presentations, posters etc.). I also added new funded research (SSHRC partnership engage grant, Pew charitable trusts), and I changed my writing tone to sound much more confident. There was also no single space of blank document left unused in my application. Lastly, I had at least 5 academics proof-read the entirety of my application (including applicant statement). This year I scored 5.38 in research potential and 5.18 in relevant experience, for a total of 10.56/12 (which was actually lower than I thought it would be considering the improvements I made). Anyway, I hope this provides context for some people who are feeling left in the dark by the whole process. I also hope it provides some of you with hope for next year. I'm happy to share some of my application docs with anyone who would appreciate an example. This is probably particularly relevant for committee 3, because I have seen VERY different applications for other committees.