Poppet

I received notice of my SSHRC award for my MA yesterday too. I will be declining it though, so I just wanted to let waitlisted users know that there's at least one place empty now. Good luck to everyone.

Seeking, on 06 May 2011 - 10:52 PM, said: Excuse me? What an arrogant thing to respond. Do not presume that because someone asks questions about the reputation of a program this means that they haven't had the sense to so much as look at the program's website. Your previous response was reassuring but offered no new information because, as a perfectly reasonable applicant yes, of course - I looked at the school's webpage! But the fact that a program has its own institute doesn't necessarily make that program a good one, and it doesn't provide me with an answer to my question at all. I also studied the course list, the available professors and the optional courses intently, and had done considerable review of the program prior to applying to the program. This is precisely why I knew that debates on the legitimacy of the program even existed in the first place! I should think that questioning whether those arguments had substance or not was the sign of someone who had clearly DONE some research instead of blindly applying to programs without conducting even minimal examination of their content. With the existence of a human rights concentration in the very competitive SIPA program, I don't see why it could be considered remotely unreasonable (or "unusual") to question whether this degree would be viewed as a poor substitute for the more competitive program. On top of everything, in my admission letter from the school itself, I was informed that I have "been admitted to the Liberal Studies Master of Arts degree program in Liberal Studies - Human Rights Studies." This simply justifies for me even further the legitimacy of my concerns. So do not suggest to me that my concerns about what this meant were the product of laziness. And for the record, my other admissions or scholarships are only relevant to the discussion in the respect that I would be turning down funding to attend Columbia. It is not appropriate for you to bring them into the discussion as a means of gauging whether I am an intelligent (or at least mildly diligent) applicant. Your original posts were respectful and reassuring despite being unhelpful. Try and keep the condescending presumptions to a minimum in the future, thank you.

I received the OGS but I will not be accepting it. I don't remember the numeral that goes along with my studies, but it was in the field of Law/Legal Studies/Criminal Justice, so if anyone in those fields were waitlisted, I just want you to know that there is still hope. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

Thanks for your advice Seeking. I guess I should have been more clear - This is actually my third degree and I have a very targeted career path with quite a clear specialization in human rights - I'm just seeking to further it at the masters level for my own personal and professional reasons. I'm not confused about what I want to do with the rest of my life. I'm concerned about whether the LSMA is considered a legitimate degree, or whether it is considered inferior to an MA, and whether a student pursuing an LSMA is considered a less valuable candidate for a PhD. It's really the program that I am seeking advice about, not what my other options are. Those I can find lots of information on, it's the LSMA that I can't! My funding offer at LSE is very generous and it's very likely that I'll end up there, but if the program at Columbia is not actually a joke of a program then I think it warrants some consideration. I just want to know if the Human Rights LSMA is going to be laughed at in comparison to an MA or an MSc in Human Rights, for example.

I don't get it. Doesn't OSAP email you anytime anything new is updated on your account? Do we even really need to be refreshing the website?

Here's a better example of the kind of discussions about the legitimacy of the LSMA that really scare me. I would love so much to have Columbia on my CV, but not if everyone is going to think I didn't have to work hard to get there.

Thanks for your responses. So do either of you have concerns about how some people consider the LSMA to be an inferior degree? I have read that it's often not considered a "real" masters and should be avoided if you ever intend to pursue a PhD. I am not sure that I will do that but definitely don't want to rule out the possibility. In the meantime I am concerned about possibly investing the money in Columbia only to find out that people will be laughing at me for bothering. Does anyone else have any concerns about this?

Just wondering if anyone has heard from the Columbia LSMA program for an admit/reject. Also, I was hoping to open up discussion (again) about the plausibility that this program might be badly regarded, and not considered a "real" masters program. What's the real scoop here - if I get an LSMA in Human Rights from Columbia, am I going to be damaging my career instead of improving it?

Absolutely. My high-stress and low-motivation was so bad that I dropped half my courses this semester and went part-time, figuring I'd finish my program during the summer, in the sunshine, where I write the best. But of course, now I've suffered a severe injury to my shoulder and have developed chronic-pain disorders caused by the repetitive movements and stress of sitting at a computer. So now that I have my thesis due and have already delayed graduation until the summer semester, I'm in so much pain that I can't sit at my computer for mre than 5-10 minutes at a time and typing hurts. How do you write 100+ pages when you can't type?!! And since I suffered from senioritis already, I already moved everything to the summer and can't write this then instead. It's a disaster and a painful one. So yeah, all that excess-information and ranting to say: Don't push things off. Don't tell yourself that you can "do it later" and push your work farther away, because if something happens to you, you might find yourself short on options right when you are supposed to be graduating and going off to your dream school. God help me if I have to defer a year my graduate program next year (which would make me lose my scholarship) because I spent this summer getting surgery instead of finishing the courses I pushed to the summer semester instead..

Personally, I would say "absolutely," but a lot of people seem to think it's sufficient. I don't. LOR's take a lot of time to write and the professors are investing their time and energy into your future, risking their reputation, and investing in you. I think at the very least, it is worth a hand-written card -- ESPECIALLY if you plan to ask them for references in the future!

Well, it's true, that's how long it takes. The good thing about Montreal is that two and a half hours (or two hours if you drive fast) really isn't that long a time. I used to have a long-distance relationship and would take the 4pm bus to Ottawa every Friday afternoon, arriving at 6:30pm just in time for dinner, and would leave on Monday afternoon to make my evening classes in Ottawa. When you are a student, the bus ticket is only $20 (+ tax) each way. You can do your readings on the bus and spend the whole weekend in Montreal. Also, it's not a very common option, but I have driven to Montreal in the morning, arrived for lunch and and dinner with friends, and driven back in the evening. It is doable. As for Toronto, yes, that is a longer trip. I still regularly go to Toronto for long weekends though, driving or taking the train up there on the Thursday or Friday, and coming back Sunday or Monday. If you're interested in visiting either city, it is definitely feasible and you can have a good time taking a weekend off to go.

Yup, same for me, and I know that last month my application was still there. I assume this just means that the decisions have been made, so the submitted application isn't of any use anymore. I would not immediately assume that it's been lost or that it's been declined. I think it means that the process is complete. Letters coming soon?

Hugs to everyone who is feeling pain right now. I've been there and I know it hurts. My solution: Pizza and a bottle of wine. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

So that it be clear, I never said that people who are not funded are lazy! I don't think that's true at all. I have known many hard-working, wonderful people who did not receive funding and I know that receiving funding or not is not a reflection of a person's ability or their character. I didn't receive funding at all the schools I applied to either. But where I did receive funding, I feel that I deserve to keep it. A lot of people who don't get the very top marks might not get them because they are busy working full-time while also being students full-time, are taking care of dependents (sometimes ill dependents), and/or are ill themselves etc. There are all kinds of things that happen in life which can negatively affect a person's ability to achieve the very top marks, and yes, I do think they should be rewarded for going through all those things and still getting marks good enough for grad school. But I am also one of those people, so I honestly feel bitter that people who made the (very wise) decision to live a well-rounded existence with equal parts hard work and play, who were blessed with good health for themselves and their family and who actually lived life the way they should be living it (enjoying it! living it!) should be rewarded funding that was originally given to me because I received too many rewards. I didn't receive them because other people are lazy, I received them because I worked abnormally, miserably hard for three years, in a life situation that just happened to be wrought with a lot of draining and difficult circumstances. It's not that I am in any way superior, it's that my particular path for the last few years wasn't an easy one and I accomplished a lot of things despite it. I received a lot of funding for being able to push through difficulties with good marks and good work experience, and I think I deserved it. I can see why this would be very valuable for students who want to pursue doctoral studies afterwards, or who just want to reduce their workload... But if you are not one of those people, then this is not a positive thing. If we were to assume that I won the SSHRC, the higher award, not only would the TAship that I would enjoy doing be reduced, but my overall funding would be cut by almost 40%. I just don't see how it can be fair to tell someone, "We are going to reduce your work hours to 25% of what we promised and we are going to lower your overall funding to 40% of what you've been promised because we think that you've won too many accolades for your hard work so we are going to give that money to someone else." If funding was given arbitrarily or through a lottery system I would agree with the need for equal distribution, but that's not where these funding awards are coming from. Yes, the poor get poorer, in this case.. Again, I really need to stress that I am not making a judgment about people who didn't receive funding or who need more. It would obviously be ideal if everyone could get some (or lots!) and if there were more needs-based awards provided, or if schooling was simply less expensive in the first place. But I just don't think it is equitable to allot merit-based awards and then revoke them on the premise that "we didn't know other people would also think you merited awards, so we're taking them back, sorry."

Your referees should have access to your transcripts anyway and they will usually make the call to decide whether to address your earlier low marks or not. In my experience, my referees addressed any and all extenuating circumstances without my even asking them to do so. You should definitely give copies of your transcripts to your referees if they don't have access for some reason. It seems only fair to provide them with copies of your transcript, CV and SOP (if possible) so that they know who they are providing references for, because this will encourage a more honest relationship between the two of you. That will help will ensure that referees write letters that are detailed and unique to your situation. If they know as much as possible about you, then you can ask them these very questions that are plaguing you - Should they mention your lower grades? Should they emphasize your work experience instead? What do they think are your most compelling characteristics as a grad applicant?

I would not mention it in my SOP either, there's no reason to call attention to it. And in my experience, adcoms know that your late teens are a period of growth for students and that students make all kinds of decisions at that time which won't necessarily reflect who they are fundamentally as academics. If you take a grad-level course when you haven't completed even your first year of university studies, it's seems extremely understandable that you would struggle with it. (And frankly I'd be quite furious with any graduate school which allowed you to take the course when you were clearly unprepared for it. It looks like they stole your money as far as I'm concerned.) So don't worry about this too much. What is important is that your grades demonstrate an upward trend and that you show consistent improvement. Making mistakes ("mistakes," since I agree it just looks like you were ambitious, which is not a bad thing) is fine, you just need to show them that you have the capacity for advanced research.

But they're not doing the same work. Much of the funding that is offered is in scholarship form as a reward for having previous results that the school finds more impressive than other students. Frankly it would anger me if the scholarships which I feel I won very legitimately (for spending the last three years in poor health with no social life, no hobbies, and doing nothing but working myself into the ground to get these scholarships in the first place) were reduced because it "wasn't fair" to other students who didn't win as much. I won my scholarships because I've lived for nothing else and made sacrifices for three years that substantially reduced my quality of life, just so that I could get the grades and the credentials that I do have. Why is it "equitable" for someone else to be rewarded for that? I'm sorry for the rant, I know this is no one else's fault or problem, and I know some people think it's unfair that there is a discrepancy between funding given to students. But I just know that I'm going to be crushed when my scholarships are reduced to make someone who didn't work as hard feel better about themselves. I want to feel better about myself too, finally.

Wow. Foreign Guy, I feel like you've been waiting for a response forever. I hope you get a favourable response soon. I'm rooting for you.

You have asked them early for a reference letter and that is a good thing - now you won't have to start scrambling later when you need one. But definitely don't ask them to send them now or to write them now. Logistically, the likelihood of them being able to send them anywhere now is very low and it's way too early in the process anyway. Since your applications will likely start opening up in September-November (depending on where you are applying) you can send a follow-up email in August to confirm their availability and willingness to act on your behalf. Most professors have a lot of references to write and can get swamped when they're due, so confirming that they will still be teaching, that they're still willing, that they haven't decided to go on sabbatical, etc, is a good idea. It also gives you an opportunity to touch base with them in a friendly way and to update them on what you worked on during the summer, how your research interests have changed, ask them what they're up to, what they're researching, etc. Once they've confirmed their willingness and you know when your applications are even open for submission, you can send your references a copy of your CV and recent work to remind them of what you submitted to their classes, and you can feel confident that at very least they will not have forgotten you or your work because you will have maintained contact with them.

So jealous that "NSERC is out of the way." I'm going crazy waiting for the SSHRC results, and they apparently aren't going to be out for a while. No change in OGS... And I really don't expect one until sometime after the 15th. Usually when the government has a deadline they wait until at least that deadline to produce the results.

If you receive any outside awards (whether from your school or from the government) over $10,000, you will forfeit your OGS - but not your SSHRC. You can conceivably be awarded $100,000+ in scholarships from your school and other sources and still combine it with your SSHRC - they don't care. But if you win more than $10,000 you are no longer eligible for the OGS.

May? Sooo... After I'm supposed to have accepted/declined all my Canadian offers, right? Ugh, that is so upsetting. Irrespective of all the explanations above about who is in charge of making this decision and why they take so long, this is a time-sensitive manner. I don't understand why it seems reasonable to anyone for the results to come out months after universities are expected to have made their first decisions. If you're in the first batch, what are you supposed to do? Accept everywhere? It's very frustrating.

I love this! Posts like this are always so much fun to read. Congrats on being proactive about your decision and moving on towards a life of fulfillment. The house-shopping sounds way more fun than any other option.

That's a really healthy attitude. I've only applied for masters degree programs because I was terrified of the idea of being, like you said, CONSUMED by a Phd program for years and feeling like I had to give up on so many little pleasures in life. But spending this year doing my applications and then coming on forums I've started to feel, "Oh god, why didn't I write the GRE? Why didn't I apply to PhD programs? Why didn't I reach higher? I feel like such a failure..." I have to keep reminding myself that a PhD is NOT the be-all-end-all, it's NOT what would make me happiest, and it's NOT what I actually want in life. Maybe it'll be worth it several years from now, but it is definitely not what I want for myself at the moment. It's very easy to get caught up in the discussions on PhDs, to fall for the allure of prestigious schools and opportunities, or frankly, get caught up in the competitive nature of admissions itself. I have to keep reminding myself not to beat myself up for not applying for programs that I don't even WANT. You seem to have a really great perspective on things, and it was refreshing to be reminded of how important acceptance itself is in living a fulfilling life.

Wow. This thread is fascinating. Now I wish I'd written the GRE. Congrats to all of you, sounds like a really impressive bunch.