jasper.milvain

It's true. If you look at the maps of elections results, Edmonton is this little island of Liberals in a sea of Conservatives. The area around the university is pretty engaged and tolerant. But I'm left wing in Edmonton, and somehow come across as centre-right in Vancouver. Edmonton hippies =/= Vancouver hippies.

* Report this post * Reply with quote Re: SSHRC/Vanier 2009 Results & Stats (MA & PhD) New postby victoria

Thanks, phreeduh. My initial reaction was that all of my stress had been for nothing... and then I realized that even if I had been successful, all the stress would have been for nothing. It wouldn't have changed the result, it just wasted my energy. I'm going to try to be more like the poster up-thread who had no idea what a CGS was-- do the app, let it go. And pigs might fly out my ass. But it's worth a try.

SFU English released their results, and I was unsuccessful. Even though I know it's a crapshoot I'm a bit shocked, since I know I was highly ranked out of the university and had nothing but positive feedback on my proposal from multiple professors. I'm such a huge SSHRC geek that I thought I had a good handle on what they want. Ah well, it's one more lesson about not being able to control everything. I'm very lucky to have strong internal funding, so I'm not as devastated as I could be. I did not cry in public today, nor am I currently drunk! Minor victories.

The 'Alberta Advantage' does not extend to non-CEOs, I'm afraid. I grew up in Alberta, and I'm going back there after spending seven years in Vancouver. I'm looking forward to it and I'm oh so very ready to leave the coast, but every once in a while I remember some of the ridiculous political stuff and wonder what I've signed up for. Like flashing back to the day they cut a quarter of my elementary school's teaching staff. Or how people used to complain that my GLBT-friendly high school was 'spoiling' people by not forcing them to stay in the closet, because they should just get used to the crappy treatment they'd get once high school ended. Seeing the sun again will be worth it, though. That and the lack of hippies.

I would try to get someone from your MFA. You've done graduate level work, and need someone who can speak to that. A scattered letter recording your graduate work sounds better to me than a solid letter saying you were great as a freshman. If you're worried about the quality of the letter, you can try politely steering the content towards what you need by giving the writer a bunch of information. "Thank you again for agreeing to write me a letter of reference. XYZ University asks specifically that you comment on my research potential, writing skills, and professionalism. There are a few of my accomplishments that I feel fit these categories that you may not be aware of: blah, blah blah. I enjoyed my time at MFA school very much. I came in to the program seeking X, and am very happy with my Y result." Good luck with your applications! Now that I'm on the other side, I wish that I had been calmer through the application process. It seemed like utter hellish misery at the time, but there IS a light at the other end of the tunnel. If you look for the Expectations and Results thread, you'll see that most people responding did as well as they thought they would or better. Here's hoping you're in that situation this time next year.

I've been pretty good at not freaking out this year, but now that everyone else has their results I WANT MINE! :evil: I just graduated from a non-communicative school and will start in September at a non-communicative school.

I'm not familiar with UK pay or your specific field, but your $100,000 salary estimate seems high to me. In Canada, there are a lot of assistant professorships going for $50,000 or so. According to government disclosure, a lot of the tenured profs in my department are making over $70,000. But to get close to $100,000, you need to make full professor, which may not happen for many years, if ever. Add in 2 or 3 years (or 4 or 5) on the job market, and it could be a long time before you're making the money necessary to pay off your debt. Your discipline/area may pay better. If you've done your homework, great, if you haven't yet, take a look and make sure. ETA a link that bears me out, but lacks specifics. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job ... ion/Salary

The application will usually require you to state ALL previous schools attended. It would be academic suicide to leave one out. It's a small world, you won't be able to hide it. I second the opinion above to try and explain what's going on, and to make sure that any potential supervisors understand your situation.

What drives me crazy is that in my application I said I wanted to stay at SFU, but I ended up accepting an offer from a more helpful school. I had an out and didn't take it, damnit!

I got pretty much the same answer. They said that they would give word to the departments as soon as they could, and that we could check with our grad secretaries sometime in the next couple of days.

I'm so sorry, Snasser! Little cliche, but bears repeating-- a lot of the smartest students and professors I know never got SSHRC. I hope that your funding works out in some other form.

Depends on CGS vs. Normal.

The CGS is what we call "A KATRILLION TONS OF MONEY". It's the big one- $35 000 / year for three years. Regular Doctoral SSHRCs are $20 000 / year for four years. You got the big money! Congrats!

If anyone is waiting for news at Simon Fraser, the dean of grad studies' office says they still haven't heard (seems unlikely, but whatever), but that they will forward the news to our home departments as soon as they get it, which should be in the next day or so.

I can't help but notice that the RESULTS THREAD isn't getting any love, despite the news....

Congratulations everyone! See? All it took was me leaving the computer to make shit happen. Now I'm extra itchy for my results. ARGH!

I finished weeks ago and am unemployed and bored. Don't know if that's better or worse... :? I am turning off the computer and going to vote! and then to buy delicious chocolate! and then to read a George Eliot novel and stop slacking! and there will be no obsessive forum checking for.... oooh.... at LEAST an hour and a half.

I think (hope) that the language of 'pestering' and 'harrassing' is exaggerated on the forum for comic effect. All I'm planning on doing is sending one or maybe two e-mails to an admin worker who I know and have a good relationship with. Having worked in a university office, I know exactly how over-worked and harrassed most of these people are, and exactly how easily they can turn a simple hurdle into a nightmare if you piss them off. Which is just to say that I absolutely agree that you should bend over backwards being nice to admins (because they're human beings and because it will make your life easier) but I don't see tons of evidence on this thread of people doing anything out of line.

I'll try the U of A tomorrow, as well.

Just make sure you bring them cookies and/or chocolate after. They're crunched by budget cuts as much as any of us.

I think part of the confusion about who gets word when comes from the difference between Dean of Grad Studies/Faculty of Grad Studies workers and department secretaries. It's entirely possible that SSHRC never tells the departments, but they always tell the central grad studies office. It's up to grad studies to tell the departments.

Thanks for updating the list, dramanda. I agree that a "SSHRC Results Stats 2009" thread would be great, and would likely be an awesome resource for next years' applicants. ETA- Remember that ~70% of us will have great news (hopefully) by this time next week!

I was thinking along the lines of "I know my LORs were super strong, but I have a sub-par GPA". We could add "Level/Form of Departmental Support" to the list, though.

That is pretty good! Read through the admissions results posts, and you'll see lots of $13-$17 000 funding packages. Anything over twenty is worth celebrating with hard liquor, IMO. The results on this thread are probably skewed towards the high end, since swollen headed assholes like me jump on any chance to brag about good results. Congrats on your money.