Ignignokt

I also received a reject from NSERC for a PDF (chemistry). Although they do add a glimmer of hope in saying "Your application was considered meritorious, however it is ranked below our capacity to fund. Should sufficient funds become available, you will be notified by June 1st." Has anyone else received a PDF reject letter with this on it? Is it just a form letter, or should I actually be somewhat hopeful that once the Banting winners decline their 'normal' PDFs I could get bumped up? My record was also quite good: 8 papers from PhD, 5 in top journals, 4 first authors (2 from top journals), several conferences including international, and CGS M and D during my PhD. My PhD supervisor and current postdoc supervisor were shocked that I didn't get one - competition must be fierce. I know people last year who managed to obtain a PDF with half as many papers.