dramanda

This post is for people to post resources that they think will help others deciding between or looking to learn more about particular places.
BankRate's Cost of Living Calculator is a good one: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

The official website is Immigration Canada (gov't website). I've linked to the "Study in Canada" section below. If the information you need is not available online, please call the 1-800 number. You can also check out the Canadian consulate or embassy in your home country, if you live close enough.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/index.asp

Generally though, the school takes care of much of the paperwork for you. You should contact the international student centre at your potential university to find out what you need to do vs. what the school will do.

Welcome to my beautiful country!

First off - congratulations. These are both excellent schools!

I'd say Michigan. I think the funding issue is pivotal, especially if you intend to go directly into a faculty/research position after graduation. Second, the fact that the Michigan program is jointly run by the School of Education and the Department of Psychology leaves more options open post-graduation IMO. You could apply for positions in both sorts of departments after graduation, which is a huge plus given the current academic job market. Also, although Harvard is obviously a well-recognized name, I have a problem with EdD degrees. Perhaps the "Harvard" bit will negate this, but EdD degrees do not seem to be as highly regarded as PhDs, even within the field of education. Again, if your ultimate goal is a faculty position, think carefully about this.

In any event, I'm sure you'll enjoy your time at either institution. Good luck!

First off - congratulations. These are both excellent schools!

I'd say Michigan. I think the funding issue is pivotal, especially if you intend to go directly into a faculty/research position after graduation. Second, the fact that the Michigan program is jointly run by the School of Education and the Department of Psychology leaves more options open post-graduation IMO. You could apply for positions in both sorts of departments after graduation, which is a huge plus given the current academic job market. Also, although Harvard is obviously a well-recognized name, I have a problem with EdD degrees. Perhaps the "Harvard" bit will negate this, but EdD degrees do not seem to be as highly regarded as PhDs, even within the field of education. Again, if your ultimate goal is a faculty position, think carefully about this.

In any event, I'm sure you'll enjoy your time at either institution. Good luck!

About stars. If don't feel like a star going into your PhD, you should reconsider. If you feel like a star during of after your first year, you should seek psychological help.

There is so much contradictory information involved with this process. I've heard that decisions are made over reading break, that decisions are made up to and including the middle of April, and that decisions are made from January to March. I realize that it is year-specific, but would it be so hard to provide a rough guideline under the FAQ page to prevent all of this needless anxiety?

I swear, someone somewhere must have gotten SSHRC grant to study human behavior under extreme duress and this was their proposed methodology.

I don't think this can be right. In the past, acceptance and rejection letters have been sent out at the same time, and no one else has heard anything.

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...