DustSNK

Apply to a Canadian school. Great departments around here, and as an international student (I am American) I am in a fully funded MA program. For Can (and most of europe I think?) you don't apply directly into a PhD program. You get your MA first THEN apply to PhD. And depending on your case you can get fully funding and a stipend for both your MA and PhD.

Uni of Toronto has a great Soc ED degree program. Great funding and support. The "Harvard" of Canada If you have the grades and background to get in I would seriously look into it.

A pure Ed degree is a route lots of high school/ middle school teachers take. In NY, normally you get your job (if you are lucky) and have a few years to get your MA. You can get your PhD after on your own dime, and I have a close friend who is doing this (Got MA, then job, now working towards PhD in Ed) and he tells me the average increase in pay from MA to PhD is 7000$ a year. Now if you want to teach in a Uni, you have A LOT to consider. Ed departments on average are disgustingly small at uni. It will be very difficult to find work. More so, and interdisciplinary degree is usually cautioned against if you want to teach at uni, because it is hard to find work (again small departments, and most of the time the interdisciplinary dept is just a structure made up of the pure discipline professors like a Social Science or Urban Studies dept will staff Sociologist,psychologist,geographers, so on). Keeping that in mind, getting an interdisciplinary ed degree will put you in SUCH a small small small niche I would say you are going to have the most difficult time finding work. The degrees are good, you have to be intelligent and a scholar to get them and that is for sure, but you got to know lots of uni's make these degrees to draw in people who want a higher degree.... it is most often than not a way for the uni to make money. Read up on it, it has been a very popular topic in the past decade that of universities making programs that really don't translate into any work. NOW I am not saying this all to discourage you, just you should know what you have in front of you in order to deal with the decisions. Personally I would stay with a pure PhD in Ed if you want to teach in HS/MS, and if you want to do non teaching work, an Urban or Soc ed degree is very attractive to government and business.

I don't know about this waitlist business, I have heard it described as being a person who is put off until the next year of admits to the department emailing you that you have in fact been waitlisted. So from my POV if you are waitlisted it is something the department tells you, otherwise you are just behind some of the people they felt would fit the best for them at that time but are still very attractive. But I have only really got into the process with one school asking them questions. When I did, they didn't say waitlisted like everyone else says the department told them. They just said you are still under consideration :/

If you know your program has sent out both rejections and admission offers, and you haven't gotten either, I would say you are in the "2nd wave" of apps. That deff happened to me. Last year I applied to the McMaster Soc MA and got a rejection on March 11th. This year I heard people on here in mid-march getting offers, while I had not a peep. Then April 12th an offer. I asked the admin about this a few weeks ago after I saw some people here getting in, and they said that I was still under consideration. So prob waiting for the 1st round to accept or decline their offers before they asked me.

Just got an Acceptance from McMaster for the Sociology MA. Won't be accepting (kills me a little deep inside it was my dream school), had to accept my other offer very early on and got 9k$ more than McMaster's offer >__< Ohhhhh the inner turmoil! So 1 more slot open (maybe for an international student because I am one).

I would say that if you haven't heard back yet you prob are in the 2nd wave of apps. Meaning they are waiting till mid April for their first offers to be declined or accepted, then they will contact you on a decision. I was rejected across all schools last year and heard from them mid-march. This year I fared better, but still am in the backup category for a few schools. I checked with them and this was confirmed. Just email the program coordinator and ask about your status to put your mind at ease.

Yea I just dealt with this the past few days. I have perfect American credit, didn't tie over. You are basically a credit baby once you come into Canada. You will not get a "credit" card as you are used to it in the USA or anywhere, your credit doesn't exist here. BUT that doesn't mean you can't get a card. Canadian banks call them "secured" credit cards. You put down a deposit, then have a credit line. They keep the deposit for x amount of years until you build a history, get your deposit back, and are left with an "unsecured" credit card like most normal citizens have. Works out like this, you deposit 1000$ as a security.You get 1000$ credit. But it is NOT a prepaid card. It is normal credit, but just that you have a deposit in the banks holding until you are deemed "safe" as an immigrant. People who shot their credit in Canada do this too to build it up. I recommend you go through the major banks like TD if you plan on staying in Canada for good, agencies like credit from the big guys. If you have no plans for a future in Canada and only school, go get a capital one card they are easy but such a predatory company. In the end you get your deposit back, and the ease of credit cards. I did this wholeheartedly because the foreign transaction fees and conversion rates add up, and it is a pain in the ass to have to always walk into the gas station with my American card and not be able to scan at the pump (you have to scan in person for non-can credit cards). Also CAN cards all use the chip on the card and don't slide (but have a magnetic slider).

There area a number of factors that go into the process for Americans being unbelievably easy. Incredible inter-governmental relationship between CAN & USA. Trade, defense.. right down to records and insurance. When I was getting my permit, there was this band who was waiting to get into CAN but one of their members was having issues with getting in. Apparently he had a police record in the USA (he was American) and was denied entry before into CAN because of it. When I went up to get my physical permit during the whole process. The guy who was talking care of his case came out also and was talking to another officer about the guys history. The officer had basically the guys entire life printed out. From the most minor local police issues, to parole records, everything. Their record system is basically about as integrated into the USA's as much as state records are integrated between each other. Also car insurance is North American wide. Moving to Canada for an American is basically moving to another state in terms of ease.

I forgot to say that while you don't need to declare your goods, I was hinted by the CIC that it is still a good idea to have in hand just for image. I'm moving a 2bdr amount worth of things so that makes sense, showing them I have everything in order. Hopefully less box gutting and broken items :/

About the calls.... You can;t call directly because you need to be in Canada for this. It is a toll free number, but they block calls from outside Canada. So you have to deal with e-mail,consulate, whatever. There is a way around this. There is a number you can call, then you get transferred to CIC officials from within that call menu. I did this. But really if you are American the process is so disgustingly easy you don't need to do ANYTHING. Telling you all, got my permit 3 days ago, and I just got back last night getting all the paperwork from the apartment I'm moving to/ seeing the apt in person. Of course I am right next to the boarder right now so it is very easy. If you are near a boarder, moving is literally as easy as going to another state. And they answer questions in person at point of entry. I have been asking questions to them in person the past year. And a week before I got my permit I stopped in and went over what I needed before I brought all my paper work.

Calling CIC is nuts, not the most helpful. I JUST got my study permit 3 days ago... and they gave me 3 1/2 years too for an MA program because I needed to move quicker. I'm American though, and a very very unknown lil secret about Americans getting the permit is that you can do it at the boarder. Only Americans, Greenlanders and someone else can do this. It is SOOOOOO much easier to do this than the regular process. Let me tell you what I did. Went to boarder Showed 4 months of bank statements,acceptance letter,passport,paid 125$. 30 mins later I had my permit, no joke! As an American you don't have to even fill out an application if you do it at the boarder. Also, my max program length was written as 3 years. I told them I want to move in early because I really want to get out of NY, my lease is ending here this month, and I want to settle in/ save money because the place in Canada I'm going to is cheaper than here. They were very nice to me, and gave my a 1/2 year addition to the permit to do this. All in 30 mins! They told me I actually over prepared. I didn't even need to fill out a declared goods form, or the form to give them all my auto info like insurance/registration/license. Literally banks statements,passport,letter,money....30 mins later permit. Do the boarder way if you are American it is worth it. You can go there, apply,then go back to your place. You don't have to move in that day or whatever. If you have any questions PM me. I've been researching this the past year, and called everyone,so if you are an American I can help out alot since I just did this.

Good points, forgot about eastbound trafic if its early on in the day. Yea man it is MUCH better to just live near the campus. They have an amazing apt complex in St.James near the mall, built in the 90's, for like 1500$ a month. Really nice get up. My friend in slope is paying right now 1800 a month to share a 2bdr pre-war with someone. Insane. Not to mention having to move your car ever Thursday or whatever for street cleaning, or never finding parking close to a 5 block radius near your place :/ THAT would be fun to deal with after doing grad work and driving 3 hours a day when you come home ha!

Yeaaaa I'm all in on Brock. It is a young program but I really like the idea of being at the top of the departments focus. No competing for funding/resources/attention from faculty with the PhD students like other schools cause no PhD there. I haven't even heard from the other schools at all yet! But the funding is AMAZING, Great POI, and lots of support and small family vibe cohort. I would do both programs if I could split myself in half! I REALLY want to do the Globalization program, because it's my focus and I have to go out of the way in Sociology to get into it, but it wont help getting into a Soc PhD all that much :/

Where my Brock U people at? Doing MA in Critical Sociology, anyone here been involved with the department? Or doing another MA at Brock?