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surefire

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Everything posted by surefire

  1. Congrats Nerd_For_Life! I also recieved some informal intel yesterday that my app is getting out of the university and on to the next stage! I was told that the official e-mail would be going out next week! It's going to be a long-ass wait until the spring, and I'll still have to do the OGS dance in the meantime! Prayers for luck and favour from the fickle academic deities commence now!
  2. You've gotten great advice so far! As is the case with meowth, I'm not in your field but have experience applying to two departments at the same school (though I did have to pay the extra app fee!). I would add, regarding your statement: do a little bit of extra recon, if you're thinking about naming a prospective supervisor. For me, the two potential supervisors I was interested in working with were BOTH cross-appointed between the two departments, so I thought I could reference them similarly in both SOPs. However, in talking with them, I found out that one of these prospective supervisors could supervise me in one of the departments but not the other. I didn't anticipate this, but it was great to find out, so that I could invoke prospective supervisors accordingly in the SOPs! Just something to think about! Good luck!
  3. I don't think this is a good idea. If, at some point, the professor had acknowledged your request and AGREED to write you a letter, I'd give you a green-light to step up your pestering game, but that's not the case here. A lot of what the you, OP, describes above is a self-assessment presuming the prof's support: you say that there was good interaction and that you were memorably motivated in class. You mention a meeting pertaining to your grad school aspirations. Don't get me wrong, those are encouraging signs. However, not once do you say that the prof himself told you that he thought you were a good candidate, and that coupled with the fact that he was not responsive to your request does not bode well for you. This doesn't mean that you aren't a good student, or that the prof doesn't think that you have potential to be a good grad student, but there hasn't been any affirmation on the prof's part that they are able to support you in this pursuit by providing a letter. Let me preface this by saying: he should have addressed the request and told you "no", it's bad form to leave you hanging and I appreciate that that sucks. That being said, profs do not "owe" you letters because you are a good and keen student. Most profs I know set aside a full day or two in the semester to write all of their letters and they try to only commit to the number that they can accomplish in those days. This is time that they are taking away from other tasks. The lack of response isn't necessarily about you. They could have over-committed to letters already. There could be other factors at work (when applying to grad school, I had a prof whom I thought would be PERFECT as a letter writer because her course was emblematic of the program I was applying for and I did quite well in it; but she initially dodged my request and then admitted that she had an ongoing professional dispute with someone who was probably going to be on the admissions committee for the program I was interested in, so it might be in my interests to pursue someone else). So think of it this way, even though you're feeling a little desperate becuase your research rec letter couldn't commit, you don't want someone to write for you who is not keen to do so. I would cease pursuing this prof as a prospective letter-writer. If you absolutely must try for some closure, you could contact his secretary just to see what she says; if (s)he mentions that the prof has already committed to a full stable of students for letters, or if (s)he says that he usually responds quickly in the affirmative for letter requests, then you might want to drop it. His secretary will know how he works, so it's possible that you may find out that he is TYPICALLY evasive about letter requests, in which case you can ask the secretary how (s)he thinks you should proceed (does the prof respond better to phone calls, for example? or does the secretary think that he will just find this irritating?). Depending on your deadline, I would recommend touching base with your research prof who could not commit (if they are still in a space where they can respond to e-mails) and talk through some of your options with them. They know your work and they know their colleagues, so they should be able to help you identify some potential candidates. As well, I'm getting the impression that you're a bit keen, so I'm assuming that you may have some acquaintence with your departmental chair or coordinator. You might consider sending them an e-mail or making a phone call to ask what they might recommend. Good luck.
  4. Hey neuropathlover, Breath! This kind of stuff is stressful, I know! In my experience with admission committees, there's usually a "grace period" for third party stuff that can sometimes be beyond your control (transcripts, LORS, for example). I would never advise someone to EXPECT that grace and, you know, PLAN to submit after the deadline, but hopefully that knowledge makes you feel a bit better! The badgering people thing can be tough. One thing that I've found if helpful it to actually ask a grad admin. The grad administrator in your prof's department will be familiar with their working style and can give you advice on how they best respond to badgering and deadlines and the like. They can probably tell you if it's very unusual for your letter-writer to lapse with contact or submit right at the eleventh hour, then you can act accordingly. After speaking with the grad admin, you can contact the letter writer again and say something like, "I was talking to (grad administrator) who said that (the department is really hectic this time of year and it's not uncommon for e-mails to vanish under the heap OR that it might be easier to get you on the phone OR something similar) so I thought I'd touch base again to yadda yadda..." I mean, it's not cool to agree to write a letter and then fall off the map. But stuff happens and you account for that in your OP, so if you contact them again but reference the grad admin, then she'll know that you aren't contacting her willy nilly and it will feel less like badgering! Hopefully that strategy helps! Good luck!
  5. First, welcome! And best of luck on the SSHRC app front! I'm not sure that I get your question. Why would one take a year off to write the GRE is they didn't get SSHRC? The GRE is kind of a US thing, no? Also, I didn't get a SSHRC for my first year of the PhD but was funded through the departmental/university fellowship (plus TA-ing/RA-ing) instead. I mean, I'm in a funded program/cohort. If I were to get a SSHRC, it's bonny for the prestige element, but it doesn't result in much more money as the university just takes their own fellowship off the table (so I would switch from being internally to externally-funded). Getting a SSHRC would be lovely, but NOT getting a SSHRC never threatened my plans to enter a program, provided that I was made a part of an internally-funded cohort (no funding at all would certainly be a deal-breaker for me). Perhaps I've misunderstood you or your context is somehow much different than my own? I've heard of a few Canadian MA programs that are unfunded, but I rarely hear of PhD programs that provide nothing at all!
  6. My department deadline was Oct. 21. I just heard that my department is forwarding my app to SGS (School of Graduate Studies); I really needed that boost this week, so it's nice to hear! I'm a 2nd-year PhD student and I guess, including my MA SSHRC app, this is my fourth time applying (though only my 2nd time applying through a department)! This round, the SSHRC app went through 7 major drafts, two seminars, one writing centre consult and 3 major sit-downs with my supervisor, I'm SO happy that it's at least getting out of the department! Good luck all!
  7. Congrats Pol! My internal dept. deadline was this past Monday (21st). Committe hasn't met yet. I put this years draft through the ringer with workshops and the like, so I'm hoping for good things! I don't even care about the monies, I just really don't want to have to do this again next year! Good luck guys!
  8. I saw one here here: Though no one's really posted in it (I'm totally guilty cuz I just clicked "follow" and then didn't contribute!) We should revive it!
  9. +1 MsDarjeeling gave you some great advice here. I would not allow your SOP to be guided by the Georgetown anecdote. Adcomms structure the process so that everyone gets a fair shake. When you go over, you are flouting that attempt at fairness and demanding more time from the committee. This also goes for messing wih the margins, font, or punctuation size. When I was on an adcomm, we didn't toss people that grossly exceeded word limits, but it was irritating. Why would you want someone to be irritated whilst reading your app? A colleague referred to these applicants as FAFSIs (Fail At Following Simple Instructions). Don't be a FAFSI. Your academic life will include lots of performing in tiny spaces that you feel won't do justice to your ideas (abstracts, grant apps ect;). It's not a bad strategy to hone persuasive and concise academic writing now. Good luck!
  10. Hi StatsNerd, Oh my goodness! So much self-doubt shoulder gremlin! IMO, you have not botched anything! You made great contact with a POI and you're well positioned for a follow-up. A month is not too long (a month is nothing!). Sure you could have sent an e-mail back right away to thank her for the detailed reply, but now that you've taken some time to refelect and re-evaluate, you have much better questions for the POI than you would have had at that time. I reckon that she will be pleased that you took the detailed content of her reply to heart and that you used it to hone your interests. FemaleScienceProfessor has a great blog with a piece that I frequently recommend for POI contact: http://science-professor.blogspot.ca/2011/10/writing-to-me-reprise.html This will give you insight on what profs "typically" do with the annual fall avalanche of prospective student e-mails (the detailed reply is probably not as common as you think - it takes time to "personalize it a little"!). While this post deals mostly with first-time contact, I think it also applies to follow-up. I think that you are well-positioned now to write a variation of the "Type 3" letter with a "follow-up" twist! Reply directly to her last e-mail (so she can easily see/recall what she wrote to you), and reference specific details that she gave that excite you as a potential researcher and talk about how your interests are developing (and, with that development, how your interests are increasingly converging with hers!). I'm so excited for you! Congrats on the solid contact and good luck going forward with this POI and your applications!
  11. The advice you have gotten so far is great. I would really try to get someone else to read it. Try to find a peer who is also trying to get something written and offer to swap. If asking around is really unappealing, use your department's LISTSERV to put a call out. I know that this sounds awkward, but I've seen a lot of great collaboration/reading/writing/studying partnerships and groups get started this way!
  12. LeventeL, I'm missing a bit of your context here. I'm going to assume that you're an upper-year undergrad. I don't know much about the particular dynamics of your discipline: I'm in a different discipline and, to boot (ha!), I'm Canadian, so when you say "Antebellum US History", I don't know what that means. I'm going to assume that it differs from the other sub-disciplines that you mention but that it is not antagonistic towards them. You seemed to have secured three letter writers, I'm not sure why you're gunning for a fourth. Again, missing context. I would think that three is sufficient; when you get letter-writers on deck they'll usually agree to re-purpose a letter for the different schools you are applying for. I've never seen an app that asked for more than 3 letter-writers. Anyway, all that disclosure aside, the short answer to your question of WHO, in terms of disciplinary, (in MY experience) is "not really". If you wrote an undergrad thesis, or you're an MA student who wrote an MRP, then you would typically get someone who supervised that research, even if your sub-disciplines don't exactly match. You should be picking people that can speak to your past work and furture potential (the "multiple-class" prof, for example, is a good one). Having to ask a prof that you've only known for a short period is not always preferable, given their capacity to get familiar with your work in that time, but as I mentioned to Kibble, application timeframes sometimes force your hand and profs usually recognize that and can be receptive to requests. As to distinguished profs: that is helpful but not as important as the imperative that the letter-writer is able to speak to your strengths. The adcomm that I was on was comprised of faculty/students from the discipline but not always IN the specific program, so they may recognize a distinguished name or they may not. They will recognize if the prof is a full professor and/or tenured, so it's good to get profs thst are established in that sense. I would recommend, if you are looking to secure another letter-writer, that you speak to one of the profs that has already agreed to write you one. Run the name of the prospective letter writer past the secured letter-writer and see what their reaction is. And just be frank with requests: don't just ask if the person will write you a letter, ask whether they are equipped to write you a strong letter. Profs can write a general all-purpose LOR in no time, so many are "willing", but if you have a couple of choices, don't just settle for profs that are willing to write you a letter, focus on those that can speak specifically to your potential (and be sure to send them grades and a CV and your research proposals for your apps and maybe an essay that you wrote for them, to ensure that you can get them to speak to specifics). Good luck.
  13. Hi Kibble, If you have a search through the forums, you will probably see different variations on this question. Here's one: I wouldn't endorse the strategy you propose. Adcomms frequently shift in composition every year, so you're not going to be able to peg down who is on it. When I was on an adcomm, I agreed to the post in like, November, with the understanding that the committee would start meeting in February. Further, I know that some profs on the adcomm who did write letters for applicants in the pool RECUSED themselves from weighing in on the applicants fate as a committee member. The committee takes measures to ensure that everyone gets a fair shake, it wouldn't be fair if you could get "in" with an adcomm member and leverage that, you know? That wouldn't be fair to qualified external applicants and the like. You should focus on the things you can control. Your best best is to secure references that are from strong profs that fit your profile and can speak to your strengths. In that sense, you want profs that are "known" to the adcomm, but "known" in the sense that they are "known" to be in your area of interest and leaders in the sub-discipline. You should pick courses that apply to your interests and research goals and cultivate a relationship with the prof therein. Ask around to find out which profs work in your sub-area of interest and pursue; but don't frame it like a letter-hunt, frame it like a pursuit of your growth as an academic. Profs recognize that you need letters, and you'd be surprised how early in a relationship they'll be receptive to a discussion about serving as references (they get the onerousness of the app timeframes). However, it is short-sighted to view these connections as a means to an end for letters. There's a difference between self-advocacy and scheming. Good luck!
  14. Hi kimber, I'm not in your field, but would recommend that you check out the results search for a straight read of the stats of those accepted to the schools that you are interested in. It's a good place to start on this forum! Then you lurk through old posts through the search function or pose some more specific questions here! I can briefly speak to your question as someone who is a Canadian grad student and has been on an addcomm (again, not in your field, but hopefully this is still helpful): That GPA is rough. Most schools will cite minimum entrance requirements for GPAs and will speak to cut-offs of 3.0. It IS entirely possible to get in with a sub-3.0 GPA if you have something compelling to accompany it (like interesting experience, which you seem to have). HOWEVER, bumps in your GPA are hopefully explained by a "rough start" to undergrad or some kind of jarring event or some ill-strategized course selections. What you are describing is a general DOWNWARD trend, which is a big red flag for addcomms. It would be difficult to ameliorate if you don't have higher marks yanking you upwards that you can display at the time of application (will you have some higher marks by then? I think I understand that you are applying for entrance into the Fall 2014 session right?). Waiting another year to yank up the GPA, and more importantly reverse the trend, might be best. I don't say the above to discourage you, I just think that you should know that it is not necessarily the GPA as a strict number that will put adcomms off, it's the trend that it suggests. I think that you should touch base with some of your potential letter writers and gaugue their reactions. Best of luck!
  15. Hi shaboomshaboom! If you search the forums, you'll see that this has been discussed quite a bit and you can get a sense of what other people have done! For myself, I'd say go for it! I sent each of my letter writers a hand-written note and a mug/pint glass from the institution I chose to attend. I've seen posts from other gradcafers who sent stuff from the PhD comics store: http://www.phdcomics.com/store/mojostore.php
  16. I agree with ohgoodness that the process of parsing out your research interests largely becomes refined while IN grad school. There are a couple of mechanisms in place that will, in a way, force you to keep (re) articulating until you arrive in an area that both interests you and has identifiable gaps that you can address with your research - grant applications, research assistantships, classes, and talks with prospective supervisors are just a few of these. That being said, my experience as both an applicant and adcomm member has been that refencing specific people in the programs helps to aid adcomms in picturing you, and your place, in their program (my context is Canadian, for reference, but I think that the sentiment generally stands). I think that you can work with what you have though by looking at some faculty pages and figuring out which profs in the program (1) work in one of your areas of interest AND (2) works predominately in quant sociology. For example, there are several very talented faculty members working in ethnic stratification in my department, but there is a big difference between the ones doing quant work and the others that do, say, ethnographic work. Once you have that list, you can whittle it down further by contacting faculty members to see who is in a position to take students. There's some good advice on how to, as an applicant, contact profs here: http://science-professor.blogspot.ca/2011/10/writing-to-me-reprise.html Many people work at "intersections" of particular areas (like gender/immigration, for example), so different areas of interests don't necessarily indicate a lack of direction, and you don't have to pick "just one area" at a given school. But, I always tell people, "fit" is largely about why you want to do your studies, not just in a particular discipline, but AT a particular institution. This means sussing out BOTH how you will contribute to a department AND what resources you will draw upon from said department in order to thrive as an academic. Specific institutions want to get excited about the prospect of having you, and they want you to do well there (and, you know, finish, someday), and that's what the "fit" discussion ideally accomplishes. If you haven't already, I would suggest having a sit-down meeting with a former professor (one who will be one of your letter-writers, perhaps) and talk through some of your interests. You may find that they can help you arrive at a "for now" articulation of your interests that is broad enough to allow some movement but specific enough to allow you to pinpoint areas and faculty in programs. Also, if you are still within proximity of your undergrad/MA school, you can look into whether or not they offer workshops on SOP-writing or grad school applications. My previous institution offered this type of support to alumni up to two years post-convocation. Good luck!
  17. Hi there danieleWrites, You and I and everyone here at Gradcafe feel like that sometimes! You know this! So I'm going to skip to some pragmatic advice that has, in the past, helped me to feel more capable and empowered. The context is Canadian and is steeped in a large, well-resourced institution, but hopefully some of this will work for you: - You should have a binder/file/shoebox that is used for positive comments/reviews/evaluations, both solicited and unsolicited. These materials can be reflected upon to boost your mood/help you pinpoint what you do that works AND when it comes time to put together a teaching dossier, you will have a bunch of resources all in one place to draw upon. I call this my "warm fuzzies folder". All the positive stuff goes in there, even the random "you're the best teacher ever!" e-mails (unsolicited positive feedback is some of the best kind!). Don't be afriad to ASK for stuff that will bulk up the warm fuzzies folder; this doesn't equate to asking people to generate disingenuous feedback, you just need to ask them to put already positively-formed opinions into writing (so, for example, if a student or faculty member positively comments verbally on your teaching, tell them that you're building a dossier and ask if they'd mind putting that sentiment in an e-mail and sending it to you). This will feel awkward at first, but once you make this self-advocacy a habit, it gets easier and yields great results! - I'm not entirely sure from your post if you're a grad student. Regardless, you should search the resources at your institution to see if there are any seminar/workshop series or consultations available to help TAs/instructors/lab leaders craft/improve their technique. At my school, we have a Centre for Teaching Support and Information which offers workshops on things like giving feedback, generating discussion, and helping students get "the most" from your material. These are helpful for both your students' learning and also your own efficiency. They also provide In-class observations where they'll come in and watch/tape you teaching and then consult with you later on about it. I KNOW that this sounds like the most awkward thing ever and why would you put yourself through that, but it's helpful to see yourself through the eyes of both your own students and an expert to parse out what you are communicating, or not communicating, in the way that you teach. Finally, my centre offers programs for certification/workshop credit; so in addition to helping your own students and your technique, you can garner a certificate that can go on your CV which points to your dedication to your craft! These types of resources are often free of charge, so go and get them! Best of luck!
  18. Hi katiegud, You've been given some great advice above! I just have a few points (full disclosure: I'm a second year PhD student in Soci at U of T) - The above posters are absolutely right to suggest going where your interests will be supported. That is fundamental. It certainly IS worth considering that more prestigious departments will often have great general resources that will impact your experience and opportunities (for example: libraries, astounding colleagues, money for things like conference attendance...). But the interest thing is foundational to you being able to thrive as an academic. - That being said: I think that this is an issue that you can work out during the application process. The individual applications will prompt you to parse out and articulate why you want to do your studies at THAT specific institution. Admission committees want to know that you will contribute and also that you will thrive and finish, and you can only give that impression is you can point to "fit". While I admit that the apps are time/energy/money-consuming so you want to dedicate yourself to ones that you want, you can start looking into what each school requires now and start researching faculty pages and drafting SOPs. It's a good test to see if you can articulate "fit"; if you can't convince yourself, you won't be able to convince an adcomm, so it's a good exercise. I also applied to the Centre of Crim here at U of T and realized during the process that the fit wasn't there, but I don't consider the exercise a waste. - Your interests may very well change. You need people in your sub-area of interest, but you don't need a POI that maps on to your interests exactly. That's why, as I said above, conduct an exercise where you articulate interest but also your potential contributions/resources regarding specific departments. Grad school will test your topic, but it will also test you in many other fundamental ways, so you should be aware of the more general strengths that you have and the resources that you will need to become the type of scholar you want to be (balanced in tandem with the type of scholar that the department likes to produce). - Feel free to PM me if you want to talk specifically about U of T.
  19. An abbreviated rubric! I love that idea! I might have found it difficult to implement in my first year of TA-ing, as it can be difficult to predict the ways in which students will go astray; but now that I'm TA-ing some courses for the second time, I might go back and reverse-engineer some abbreviated rubrics, based on the common feedback I gave on assignments LAST year that will be given out to a new batch THIS year! Great idea! Setting aside "admin" time is also a great consideration! I initially tried to allot every paid hour that I had to being attentive to student's work, but there will always be some kind of "time suck" like spreadsheets or e-mails or plagerism reports, so it is definitely good to plan for Murphy's law! I would add to the advice provided by multiple awesome posters by saying that it is OKAY to ask senior students who may have TA-ed the class before you if they could share a rubric. I typically always make my own (unless the prof has one she is committed to), because I find the process of making one helps me to be very knowledgeable/accountable/consistent when doling out marks. This is helpful when students show up to ask for elaboration on a mark and you KNOW what standards you had in mind, because you built them yourself. That being said, I have asked for rubrics from previous TAs so that these can serve as a starting point. This, of course, all depends on what kind of prof you are TA-ing for, or if you are instucting the course yourself OR if there are multiple TAs in the course; in these cases, you may well be using an existing rubric, or co-building it with the prof/other TAs or you might build it yourself but have to submit it somewhere for approval before implementing it. If you're not sure, just ASK, it will save time! A note on marking when the course has multiple TAs: I have found that an early marking meeting is helpful, ideally within a few days of the due date, when some assignments are still trickling in. In my experience, before these meetings, each of the TAs mark a handful of assignments based on the agreed-upon rubric - I usually mark until I have one or two high-scoring assignments, one or two low-scoring ones, and a handful of middling ones. I issue these marks on the rubric, not on the actual assignments. Then we meet, pass the assignments out to each other - keeping the marked rubrics to ourselves - and then we re-mark to see if different TAs come up with the same-ish mark. Usually, we fall in the same range. If we don't, it's an opportunity to parse out and come to an understanding on descrepencies. Finally, I am really diligent about tracking my TA hours. Spreadsheet it. If you can't seem to get through the assignments adequately in the time allocated for each (and you don't hit a good stride after the first dozen), this does not mean that YOU are the problem. Any number of factors could be at work. Last year, I had a class of 60 and found that I was going over on assignment time. It turned out that, while the class was capped at 60, my hours were allocated based on my department's assumption that a few people would drop and that the class size would re-adjust to around 50. I substantiated the need to make a change with the prof by providing my spreadsheets, and she got someone else to do the invigilations so that I wasn't going over my time. My institution has union stewards that are willing to help negotiate strategies to help with this, so it's worth looking into and staying on top of! Not all the advice on this thread will work for you, but you'll cobble together a strategy!
  20. Hi there Yams! Welcome to the Cafe (and preemptive welcome to Canada!) A few qualifiers: I'm a domestic PhD student in Sociology at U of T. So, I can't quite speak to the bent of your field/international status/specific institution, I can speak to the experience of doing a PhD in Canada and whether or not the TA allocation is "enough". One of the great distinctions re: PhD programs in Canada is that many many many of them are at least partially funded with fellowships and TA/RA duties. From what I understand, this scenario is very different in the US, for example. Now, in my experience, these funding arrangements apply to both domestic and international students; however, because international student fees are quite a bit higher than domestic, international spots are competitive (international students typically make up between 10-30% of a cohort, admission committees for programs are given directives by the institution's school of graduate studies re: how many international students they can take in a given year). All that being said, each institution is different. I had a quick look at UBC's site: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/international-students/funding-international-students It looks like there are some good funding opportunities for international students here, though of course you need to check the dynamics of the program you are considering. Also worth considering: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/international-students/fees-costs Those international student fees for UBC are actually quite low! I actually pay more than that as a domestic at U of T! In any case, it looks like a lot of the funding will be ascertained automatically and the info conveyed in your admission offer, so you should be able to make an informed decision, should you be admitted, as to whether or not you will accept. A few general points: - It is possible that you will have opportunities to both TA and RA. In my experience, the former pays more than the latter ($40+/hour vs. $20-$30/hour). It is possible that you may have some control in these allocations. For example, you may apply for TA positions and receive several offers that you can chose from, or you may just be assigned a post. You might also be able to apply for additional TA positions DEPENDING on the rules/opportunities of your program/admission offer/union. My specialization is in demand, and my funding arrangement permits it, so I applied for an additional post this year and got it. The RA opportunities will depend on many things, like whether or not faculty members are at a place in their own research where they are hiring RAs, whether or not they have funding enough to do so, and whether or not your own interests align. You can start trawling faculty pages to see what projects profs are actively working on and whether or not they are holding external awards (like SSHRC). The bottom line is: you will get an offer, but you may have wiggle room within it. - In order to investigate the "wiggle room" potential, and also the experiences of international students in the program, I would recommend that you contact the grad admin for your program and ask POLITELY if s/he might refer you to a current international student in the program so that you can ask some questions. This has the benefit of being put in touch with someone who is willing to talk to you (no "cold call" ickiness and better potential for a response) AND you are more likely to be able to have a free and open exchange about some of these details with someone who is living it. The money discussion can be awkward with formal directors of the department/program who will tell you that "fit" should be your primary concern (this is true, but it doesn't change the fact that money is a quality of life thing and you're looking at a multi-year investment with a PhD program). The money discussion can also be weird with faculty members who, honestly, might not have a clue re: grad student funding arrangements (they have their own funding to worry about). So, research the UBC funding pages and ask for the ear of a current international student to get the scoop re: what "living with" the international student funding arrangement/opportunities are like. Do more of your own research first, so that you can ask informed questions; and just, yeah, be brief and polite; PhD students can be a busy and frantic bunch, but we also like to help each other out, ask a few specific (but not too invasive) questions followed with a "what do you wish that someone had told you" inquiry and you may get some great insights! - I'm not entirely sure what you mean by a "proper" part-time job, but I wouldn't bank on being able to have one of those, for two reasons. (1) Your student visa/funding arrangement/institutional parameters may prohibit any (paid) work external to UBC. (2) I can't imagine having 20 hours per week to spare. Now, I know many students who are able to pick up extra stuff within the parameters of the institution. You can tutor, or proctor exams, or work paid positions with your union. These, in my experience, are tiny commitments that you can pick up on the fly (when they're available), that pay a decent hourly rate, so things like that can help you through thin patches. In my program, such opportunities are advertised on our departmental listserv. - The bursaries/awards ect; that come up through the year are totally worth applying for and are a great supplement, but you need to be on top of them or the deadlines will just slip out from under you. No one will nag you to do them, so you have to be organized, but yeah, I want to stress that as a strategy. - The summer CAN be sparse. In my department, there are TA/RA opportunities in the summer, but spots can be competitive. I applied for a TA post and didn't get one. I'm doing a tiny RA post and am supplementing with a bursary I received in May and some money I squirreled away from the earlier extra TA post. I get the impression that my next summer will be less of a scramble because the prof I'm working with on the RA post, after testing me out this summer, will expand my duties and hours on her project next year (I also heard that summer TA posts are easier for upper-year students to secure). So yeah, you have to hustle but you can make it work. - Vancouver and Toronto are the most expensive cities in Canada. I get by just fine in Toronto, but my cost of living IS high, and yours will be too. - UBC is gorgeous; so is Vancouver! I hope that some of that is helpful! Let me know if I can elaborate on any of the above! Best of luck!
  21. Hi there Thales! First, congrats on your academic stamina; those are certainly a lot of degrees to have at your disposal, to say nothing of your desire to possibly pursue another! However, I feel like I'm missing some info here... - Do you not WANT to work in academia, or do you just want to keep your options open? - If not academia, what ARE you interested in doing? (Not to priviledge academia or to imply that that's all there is, but you're right to be concerned that an arsenal of advanced degrees posits someone for that route). Why do you seemingly not want to practice? I'm in a Sociology PhD program now, with an emphasis in law, and my MA is in Socio-Legal studies. I can't really speak to the post-degree employment arena as I'm still in the thick of the degree, though I can tell you that I did some policy emphasis in my MA that allowed me to hold a couple of posts in NGO policy development between finishing my MA and starting the PhD. The socio-legal program that I was in was at York, and I know that there is one at Carleton. These are new and burgeoning programs, which is possibly a positive indicatory re: your concern about the veracity of Canadian legal academia; although, the downside of being new is that there are few placement statistics (ie where people end up as far as employment). An interesting point about my program, is that it was rife with faculty who had both social science PhDs and JDs. While I'm familiar with the disparaging commentary - and it cuts both ways, honestly - this program showcased a lot of law school and graduate-level faculty collegiality, the blended expertise can be welcome. That being said, I guess the major consequence might be that it's not an optimal expenditure of your time. If it doesn't contribute to an employment field that you want, and if you're sitting on some foreboding student debt, pursuit of another degree may not give you enough to justify the investment. This forum doesn't appear really active on the law school front. Lawstudents.ca is an active forum, though I find people there to be a little more high-strung. Anyway, I hope some of that commentary is helpful! Let me know if there's something I can elaborate on! Good luck!
  22. Many offers of admissions to programs are accompanied by full funding (though there are some MA programs, I can think of 4 at U of T, that are getting "Americanized" and not offering funding, which is pretty dire when having an MA in hand is not optional for PhD admission like it is in the states). Anyway, you should know that the caveat re: full-ish funding is that international spots are hyper-competitive, because international student fees are much MUCH higher, so departments are often limited in how many they can admit. You mention the humanities and social sciences... I'm in Sociology and most departments that I'm familiar with take two-ish students every cohort (we had 3 in a cohort of 15; the incoming cohort for September, of a comparable size, has only admitted ONE). There are supplemental bursary and scholarship opportunities through institution-specific departments and school of graduate studies. As well, 25%-ish of the Trudeau scholarships go to international students. Honestly though, you need to garner a bit more admit info to get a better sense of how to manage your expectations. My Sociology buddies at U of A really enjoy it. Check out the ISS, it should be helpful for you: http://www.iss.ualberta.ca/ Good luck!
  23. I've plugged this book recently, but it's a good one! The first couple of chapters deal with the application process and the author poses questions to think on thoroughly and deeply before and while pursuing grad school applications. I think that allotting time for such thinking exercises is worth doing, as it helps to develop a self-reflexive awareness/maturity that will come through in your apps: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93455 Know thyself! (And know what you're getting into...) I found this blog to be helpful: http://science-professor.blogspot.ca/ She has whole sections on things like reference letters and grad school apps. Even though it's got a STEM bent, much of the advice is transferable. The most useful components, for me, highlight issues of etiquette. There is great insight here regarding how prospective students can be effective and considerate in their communication and requests (which, of course, bolsters one's rep and increases the likelihood that you will get responses/support/info from POIs) This post, in particular, is a great example: http://science-professor.blogspot.ca/2011/10/writing-to-me-reprise.html
  24. I did an extra TA post this year, so I squirreled some of that away. The rest of my summer monies is from a small RA-ship and the 3rd installment of my fellowship. Other people in a similar stage as me are doing similar things, including TA-ing, RA-ing and tutoring. There are, however, a lot of school-related expectations during the first two summers of my program. This is my first summer: - I'm presenting at a conference next week - I have to get all of my literature/ethics approval/data requests in before my practicuum starts in the fall - I'm doing a tiny RA project - I'm studying for a comprehensive exam in August - I'm envying anyone who is not studying for a comprehensive exam in August
  25. I found this to be very fruitful summer reading before I started: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93455 And it's only $2!
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