surefire

Congrats DustSNK! Don't apologize for being excited, EBRACE THE GLEE!! Good work!

Yeah, I'm a day late and a dollar short in Toronto. Not a good day for direct applicants. Bah! Although, I have to say that removing the SSHRC log-in screen from my bookmarks felt pretty good. It was like, "You dreadful screen and obtuse process, forget you, I'll see you in hell!" Or, you know, September, whichever comes first Chins up jeenyus! We regroup and, next time, we shall fare/fail better! And congrats to all those still in the mix, if the monies gotta go somewhere, I'd happily see them go to some people in the awesome gradcafe community!

You're welcome! It's nice to get props! Congrats on your engagement; funny enough, I'm in a similar situation. My partner in crime in from the U.K., and I'm Canadian. The citizenship/broke student issues have caused us to ruminate on possibly eloping (ha!, we'll see). I know that this is not the advice that you came for, but I hope that you make the wedding-related decision that best represents YOU TWO, together. I think that the pragmatics of your musings doesn't kill the romance, I think that it illustrates your dedication to each others' goals (shot gun weddings and eloping or tiny ceremonies can be romantic; check out: http://offbeatbride.com/ for some ideas). ANYWAY, my partner's predicament is a little different as he has lived in Canada long enough to duck international student fees (he falls into the "permanent resident" category). However, because he is not a citizen, his eligibility for the major scholarships is weak. This is good news for YOU, DustSNK, because I've got an arsenal of International Student resources lodged in my frugal little mind. Most major Canadian government scholarships are a no-go for you, with the notable exception of the Trudeau Scholarships http://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/program/scholarships 25% of these puppies are awarded annually to international students. Government of Canada International Scholarship listing is here: http://www.scholarships-bourses.gc.ca/scholarships-bourses/index.aspx?view=d Composition of quicklinks at Study Canada, also developed by the government: http://www.studycanada.ca/english/index.htm Finally, this fun guide from the Canadian Association of Grad Studies has a nice comprehensive resource list in the appendix A: http://www.gradschool.utoronto.ca/Assets/GradSchool+Digital+Assets/Graduate+School/PDFs/CAGS+Handbook.pdf I'm not sure which of those have international student eligibility, but it's worth a perusal (the rest of the guide is good too!). Good luck, I hope that you get what you want this cycle!

DustSNK! I feel as though this is a teaching moment! My MA institution took good care of me on the funding package front, no argument there! I want to emphasize the difference that the bursary-snagging made, and the effort involved therein. This uni ranked very well nationally for provision of scholarships/bursaries; this is information that you can find out before you accept an offer, if you do some research. I never EXPECTED (i.e. budgeted with the assumption of) bursary windfall outside of my guarnteed funding (and I would advise others to do the same), BUT, I figured that these funding provisions were indicative of strong student support and this factored into my decision to attend. The thing about the scholarships is, that while many are merit-based and context-specific, the BEST thing that you can do for yourself is get bloody organized and apply to everything! There are bursaries and scholarships for BOTH your department and for grad students in general and you need to be your own advocate to find out about them, and then apply for them right away! I think that students underutilize these because it is difficult to by hyper-aware of these opportunities and to feel WORTHY of them when they are in the midst of one of the more stressful, time-consuming and humbling periods, entrance into grad school! So, yeah, three things then, if you'd like to replicate my experience: - The timelines can be sucky, adjust and act accordingly. Some deadlines for apps are in September, when maybe you are only a week or two into your studies... some are in the summer, before classes even start! No one will prod you to remember, figure out the timelines, write it all down and don't let them slip by! Also, many bursary applications take MONTHS to process and get back to you, don't be discouraged by that. I found that it was helpful to my mindset if I always had at least one bursary app that was "out there" and "under review". - Any amount of money is worth it! That 6K I told you about? It was comprised of about dozen awards, most in the $200 range (some merit, some financial need, some just general). Grad school can kind of put your fiscal perspective out of whack. This is extra discouraging for applicantions that seem to want a lot, when you're feeling like you don't have a lot to give ("This bursary wants 2 hours of my life AND and essay for a shot at $150, F that noise, $150 MIGHT get me a textbook and a pizza..."). Don't fall for it! It's still worth it! As you do more apps, you become more adept at it. It takes less time overall and your essays become more persuasive (and your success rate climbs)! As well, you can start tacking merit-based stuff on your CV! Grant writing is a required skill for long-term stays or careers in academia, here you have a chance to cultivate it! - Use bursary/scholarship money to get more bursary/scholarship money! Here's a winning strategy that I found while entrenched in these applications: Apply to all of the bursaries/scholarships -> get one -> use money to buy nice blouse and attend academic conference -> get re-imbursed for conference by Department/Graduate Association -> apply anything extra to living expenses -> incorporate conference experience into current CV and bursary/scholarship app -> apply to all of the bursaries/scholarships... and repeat! HTH! There's money out there, go and get it!

Ooohhhh, I recognize this one! Succinct and aloof... I empathize! *hugs*

Ditto on the "no funding = dealbreaker" front. I got my MA in the Social Science field and pulled down a similar deal as you two (tuition plus 14K for the year); plus I received an additional 6K in bursaries/scholarships. I managed to live contently in Toronto on that amount. I am a Canadian citizen, however, and couldn't speak to offers for international students.

bellefast, I'm sending positive thoughts to everyone in the GC Forums, but you get extra well-wishing because your icon pic makes me UNREASONABLY HAPPY! I hope that all things Milhouse-friendly come forth for you this week!

Hey history_reader! I was accepted to U of T on Friday sans interview! The acceptance was the first and only thing that I've heard from them since submitting my app! Keep the faith; there is no abandon-all-hope-ye-who-enter-late-February-with-no-correspondence rule! xxoo

bentharbour, I read this and thought that you meant U of T Crim and had just really failed at the acronym... I was momentarily gripped by neurosis and was like "WTH?! The deadline for those was like a week ago! How is it that they're making offers... and why isn't bentharbour more excited?!" And then I realized that my anxiety was purporting as the acronym fail. What I'm trying to say is: congrats! and I apparently need to get away from myself for a bit. xxoo

TakeruK really nailed most of your concerns, so I'll just chime in with a couple. I'm a Canadian, planning to attend grad school here in Ontario. I have experience acquiring a live/work visa when I've been in the States for stretches of time. I was able to do ALL of my visa stuff on line and via the post and the process was STILL incredibly stressful; I can't imagine trying to "just pick up" the visa at the border! If at all possible, I would arrange to have it all in hand prior to arriving in the States; this means a lot of processing and wait times, but for me it would be worth it, if it's possible. With regards to criss-crossing the U.S. border prior to settling, my advice is ensure that you have your letter of admission and return tickets in hand so that the people at the border can confirm your plans. It appears to me that the border employees are encouraged to assume that you will stay/squat in a given country unless you can indicate otherwise; again, just my experience. As TakeruK suggested, I would affirm that you should check-in with your international student centre. I imagine that they will be familiar with the perils of your situation and/or they will be able to refer you accordingly. I think that it will make a large difference if you can talk to someone who can tell you what typical obstacles have emerged for other students, so that you can navigate accordingly and not have to find out the hard way! For banking: I'm with Royal Bank of Canada. They gave me a great rate for a Student line of credit, as I wasn't eligible for Government loans. I have all my accounts with them and they reward me for that loyalty (I even opened an RRSP with them when I was 22, which made me feel like a super-adult!). However, I live in Toronto, so you can find most banks within reach around here. I would probably go with JElliot's advice and go with TD, if you are in fact headed to U Windsor. For phone: I have been with Telus for some time and find that their coverage across Ontario is quite good (@JElliot, I'm also from Northern Ontario originally - needed to get a phone that would work up there so I can get work done when I visit!). However, my phone is treated like the house land line, so it has lots of minutes and long-distance frills which amount to more than $50/month. My partner has a President's Choice phone to supplement. He picks up a $25 phone card every 2 months (however, be warned: you can't get these cards just anywhere, luckily, we live near a grocery store that carries a lot of PC products). For renting: I know that craig's list and kijiji are kind of go-to, but I HATED using them when I was cross-city apartment-hunting. I prefer viewit.ca, they have lots of customizable options and pictures and I've never seen anything "scammy". Also, inquire about services through your university, some institutions have programs to hook up students. As far as living in Canada goes, for practical advice, I would encourage you to buy ANY electronics/books that you will need BEFORE moving here. The price difference between Canada and the US for these consumer goods is ridiculous and frustrating. As well, booze and food is pricer; you will likely have to adjust your budget. On the plus side, our beer and chocolates are better, and we have ketchup chips! Welcome eh? Also, Go Leafs Go!

I want to take a second and plug Trent! plugplugplugplugplug! I did my undergrad there and it was an amazing experience! I know that they do not have oodles of grad-level offerings, and I'm not entirely sure what your discipline is, but the faculty and student supports are amazing! As well, the community of Peterborough is way hip and has an exceptional artist/activist community, especially considering its size. Here's a peek: http://fuckyeahpeterborough.tumblr.com/ Good luck with your apps and figuring out the best option for your interests! Hi DustSNK! I did in fact do an MA (at York) before applying for the PhD. Having an MA in hand is mostly par for the course with Canadian PhD endeavours. From what I can ascertain, this scenario is different in the US (I'm constantly surprised when people discuss the prospect of getting an MA with hesitation or even contempt, I guess it plays a different role over there... but I digress!) My undergrad GPA was the same as my graduate one: 3.9 I was on a scholarship that was renewed annually, contingent upon the maintainence of an "A" average. Thus, my undergrad performance is almost freaky in its unwavering consistency. As well, I held a full-time job for 3 of the 4 years of my undergrad, in order to pay for it. I remember this being a huge selling point on my MA SoPs: "Lookit me! I had full-time studies and a scholarship and a full-time job and a bunch of extracurriculars; I am a well balanced human being who is accustomed to being accountable to my obligations and who thrives on having too much going on! BRING IT GRAD SCHOOL!" That being said, I didn't do any formal publishing or conference attendance at the undergrad level. As I articulated above, I did my undergrad at Trent, which was tiny and lefty. The downside to this is that there wasn't a lot of formal, prestigious opportunities around. I was, however, hyper-involved in a lot of school groups, social justice projects and department-specific service and membership (including serving as the go-to Stats tutor). As well, because Trent was small, the profs who supported me and eventually wrote me LoRs knew me REALLY well and in LOTS of different capacities. Someone else PMed me about "what it takes" to get into U of T and, I have to confess that, I was actually rejected by not one, but two MA programs at U of T in 2009. At the time, I didn't think that we were a good fit. Trent was tiny and U of T wasn't sure what to make of my experience/performance there and I had had such a great time at Trent that I was frustrated by their apparent refusal to acknowledge/validate it. The program that I did at York really stressed the holistic approach in its admissions and, honestly, they were a great fit! Since my last app cycle with U of T, I've gotten an MA from a "name" institution under well known advisors and have gone on to work for some prestigious NGOs conducting relevant research; this time round, I think that U of T responded well to this display of my "range" (that is, performance at a small independant level as well as a large, competitive level). I still have one app pending with U of T, and two with York, so I've got some thinking to do! My advice then, from my experience, is probably frustrating as it is repeated in this forum constantly: it's all about fit. What people do not tell you about fit, however, is that it is equal parts achievement (shown via transcripts and LoRs), applicant research into programs, crafting a sensible/exciting/articulate research proposal and, well, timing/luck. You need to not only have the factors in place, but you need to have a prospective POI in place who is AVAILABLE as well as ENTHUSIATIC towards and RECEPTIVE to/SUPPORTIVE of your academic and research aims. As well, YOU need to be available, enthusiastic and receptive to the obligations of the program. To achieve this level of fit, on both sides, there needs to be a bit of planetary alignment. The first time U of T and I encountered each other, we were not enthused by nor receptive to one another. I have since had experiences at the MA level that have prompted me to appreciate what U of T offers, and, for its part, the program had come to recognize the validity of my backround and the potential that this suggests. This relationship is enhanced by the fact that I have an AMAZING POI in this department with UNDENIABLE fit, and this is a product not only of our research alignment, but also of timing. It's not all about numbers (I had GREAT numbers from Trent, but U of T wasn't into them initially: if you want to compare for your own back round, go to the portal here: http://portal.sgs.utoronto.ca/current/admission/intdegequiv.asp). It is, however, about recognizing what the program will positively respond to. For competitive programs, I think, having an established POI who has agreed to supervise you (even on a preliminary basis) makes a huge difference. Good luck!

Hey allhands! Thanks! The beginning of the e-mail says as follows: "Dear [surefire] I am delighted to tell you that the Graduate Admissions Committee of the Department of Sociology is recommending that you be admitted as a full time student to our doctoral program beginning in September 2012. The Committee met Wednesday to choose among more than 200 applicants. We enthusiastically endorsed your application. Congratulations!" So, It says that the committee met on Wednesday, but it's unclear whether or not the decision making (or, indeed, the 200+ applicants) is applicable to/including the MA. The letter goes on to encourage me to contact them promptly if I have already accepted elsewhere, which gives insight as to why I maybe got the e-mail so quickly. I CAN tell you that I was rejected from their MA program a few years ago, and I heard about that at the end of April. Hang in there and good luck!

*Posted to a few other threads, just want to make sure that anyone tracking this school/department can see the info* Okay, so even though I did not expect to hear for some time yet, I just got an acceptance offer from the University of Toronto for the PhD program in Sociology! Just thought I'd let the gradcafers know! Wow, my head is spinning! App was due Jan. 23rd. I got the e-mail on Friday evening, but was out of town and beyond wifi reach (I self-imposed a 48 break for the sake of my sanity - ha!) so I just saw the e-mail now! Official letter to follow, but the e-mail (from the Associate Chair of the Department) stated that they wanted to let me know right away! Lemme see, 3.9 GPA, some conferences, a few years in the NGO sector conducting relevant research and a POI who guaranteed supervision and an RA-ship (my impression is that she fought hard for me). Shout at me if there are any pertinent details that you want that I've neglected! U of T... holy smokes! Good luck all!

*Posted to a few other threads, just want to make sure that anyone tracking this school/department can see the info* Okay, so even though I did not expect to hear for some time yet, I just got an acceptance offer from U of T for the PhD program in Sociology! Just thought I'd let the gradcafers know! Wow, my head is spinning! App was due Jan. 23rd. I got the e-mail on Friday evening, but was out of town and beyond wifi reach (I self-imposed a 48 break for the sake of my sanity - ha!) so I just saw the e-mail now! Official letter to follow, but the e-mail (from the Associate Chair of the Department) stated that they wanted to let me know right away! Lemme see, 3.9 GPA, some conferences, a few years in the NGO sector conducting relevant research and a POI who guaranteed supervision and an RA-ship (my impression is that she fought hard for me). Shout at me if there are any pertinent details that you want that I've neglected! U of T... holy smokes! Good luck all!

Okay, so even though I did not expect to hear for some time yet, I just got an acceptance offer from U of T for the PhD program in Sociology! Just thought I'd let the gradcafers know! Wow, my head is spinning! App was due Jan. 23rd. I got the e-mail on Friday evening, but was out of town and beyond wifi reach (I self-imposed a 48 break for the sake of my sanity - ha!) so I just saw the e-mail now! Official letter to follow, but the e-mail (from the Associate Chair of the Department) stated that they wanted to let me know right away! Lemme see, 3.9 GPA, some conferences, a few years in the NGO sector conducting relevant research and a POI who guaranteed supervision and an RA-ship (my impression is that she fought hard for me). Shout at me if there are any pertinent details that you want that I've neglected! U of T... holy smokes! Good luck all!

I just used my last one to up-vote this ^ Now I have to eat reputation ramen for the rest of the day. Worth it.

Fail not applications, full of anxiety, our thoughts are with you Blessed art thou among other applicants and blessed is the fruit of thy labours, acceptance. Holy graduate co-ordinators, gatekeepers of decisions, pray for us refreshers now, and at the conclusion of the work week. Amen.

Excellent! A few from some Law and Society courses (note: Canadian court system context). - "Juries act as fact-fighters" (I think that the student meant "fact-finders") - "This illustrates the redundancy of preliminary herrings" - "...and anyway, the only reason that lawyers like plea bargaining is because it speeds up their day so they can leave early and go golfing with the judges". And, the example that I continuously cite for new TAs, when they wonder if they are getting through to the students. This one is a "laugh to keep from crying" type of response... - "Personally, I think the 6% wrongful conviction rate is an acceptable statistic. If 100 people are convicted, and 94 of them actually do it, then in the grand scheme of things, the other 6 have to take one for the team, so to speak. Yes, I do realize I would be singing a different tune if it were myself or a family member in that 6%, but let's hope it never happens, right?" Take one for the team...*shudders* It wouldn't be so bad if the majority of these students weren't going on to BECOME LAWYERS! Anyway, I try to keep that example in mind when I'm trying to cultivate critical thinking with the undergraduates.

First, congrats. Second, every life decision of mine gets a pro/con list! I love knowing that others segment their life in this manner as well! I would say, if the funding pans out, option 2 - hands down! The academic incest thing is a big no-no, from what I gather. It is worth considering, however, that most of the scorn that I have been party to with regards to this course reverbates within and around academic circles. That is, I can't say whether or not it would be considered disadvantageous "out there", in a non-academic employment setting. Thus, you might find yourself in a bit of a conundrum with option 1: you say you would have to go into academia, but the academic sector is where you are most likely to encounter the stigma attached to those that do undergrad and grad school at the same uni. So, your options may not only be limited as far as WHAT sector (academia) but also WHICH institutions in that sector (i.e. the ones that don't get hung up on your unilateral backround). With this in mind, I maintain that doing grad school away from your undergrad uni helps you to 1) grow as a person AND academic (you mention the narrow research thing, that would put me off...) and 2) keep your opportunities open (non-academic options remain open and academic options are more promising... hey, maybe you WILL want an academic career down the line, 5-ish years is a long time to get comfy). Also, I would not be discouraged if the supervisor role is undetermined/untested. These alignments are always a risk. You just have to remember that the prof. is in your employ, as you are in theirs. If the relationship doesn't work, there are ways to renegotiate or switch supervisors entirely. One of my thesis committee members didn't even have her PhD finalized when I started working with her. She is now swamped with students and I'm known as one of the first in her "brood". She's kind of an upstart and is producing interesting research NOW, and I appreciated what that dynamic did for my work and opportunites. This, for me, was preferable than having an extremely established tenured prof., one that is distinguished but producing less. Because this committee member of mine had so much going on, the students that she had had ample opportunity to get in on pub authorships. Sure, she had less funding than a tenured prof, but she spread the funding around to a boatload of different projects. She was like Oprah with the publications and conferences (YOU get a first authorship! YOU get a first authorship!...) That, however, is my experience. You may require an additional list for "Priorities"; break it down into "must have", "would ideally have" and "could live without" columns and see which option best fufills these. Good luck!

Yeah! Fun thread! I just finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Headhunter by Timothy Findley; both were great get under your skin type stories, for very different reasons. I just started Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and am conquering The World Without Us by Alan Weisman in fits and starts (it's a great read, but I find I can only handle it in incriminental doses). I'm also supplementing with graphic novels. Y the Last Man and Transmetropolitan and Sandman are probably my favourite series, so I pick them off the shelf for a re-read every now and again (or to lend 'em out!). I've been a little stuck since I'm all caught up with The Walking Dead and The Boys. I'm currently carrying Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic around (everything by Gaiman is amazing, and this series is kind of young-boy-outcast-who's-really-a-wizard-before-Harry-Potter-made-it-cool; hell, the protagonist even has an owl!) I did The Game of Thrones Series back-to-back last year, and am pretty evangelical about it, so it's nice to people (re)discovering it, prompted by the TV series or otherwise! While you might not deconstruct or invoke Lacan whilst reading it, I bet you could pull some interesting observations with a Barthes' Mythologies lens! Not to tempt the Lit. majors or anything!

While it's true that the utility of this approach is mitigated by the decision timelines of other graduate programs, I can appreciate the move on the admission committee's part. When I was part of an adcomm, we had prospective students who were not only applying to other grad programs, but also law school, wherein the timelines are different. I think that we extended two offers that resulted in the response: "Oh yeah, I accepted a law school admission offer last month, sorry, the PhD was kind of Plan B". Offers are crafted, not just based on the individual merit of applicants, but also with consideration to how the cohort will get on together. The adcomm kind of builds a little dream team and when offers are stilted (and were really never prioritized to begin with, to the contradiction of fervently-phrased SoPs), it kind of throws a wrench into things... That being said, it is appreciated and respected that students are trying to make the best possible decision (that is, informed and well-suited to their interests/goals). Adcomms don't take it personally if you don't prioritize/accept their program and, really, they would ideally want people who WANT to be there and are EXCITED by the offer. Think of it this way, adcomms are just trying to make the best decision as well; that is, informed and well-suited to their interests/goals. This e-mail strategy appears to be contributive to their efforts to this end. Good luck!

I got the good message too! At 10:06 p.m. last night! Sheesh, late enough to ensure that I went to bed before seeing the message and sulked covetously! Good luck to all of us! Unfortunately, hall1k, your stipend will likely take a hit if you are awarded an OGS. The award is comprised of two-thirds government money, and one third funding from the institution at which the award is held. As U of T will be obliged to shell out money for the OGS, they will likely re-negotiate/ding your purposed stipend to even it out on their end. In my experience, colleagues who have held an OGS see their acceptance funding package reduced by about 5K; considering that OGS is paid out at a rate of 5K a term for up to 3 terms (for a total of 15K), it would make sense that the institution paying a third of the award (or, 5K) would scale back their initial funding offer by that same amount. The ONLY exception to this, that I've heard of, is U of Ottawa, where apparently you can stack your funding. If anyone has had a different experience/understanding, feel free to speak up! Congrats on the U of T acceptance, and so early in the season! *Covets* Also, congrats/good luck prspective OGS-ers! Hurry up and wait!

I've got two apps pending with U of T. Expecting to wait a few more weeks before hearing anything. Thanks for the thread, this is the first school-specific topic for this cycle that is relevant to my apps!

I would echo the above advice (yes, contact), with one caveat: HOW you execute communication will affect the utility of the responses you get (and what, if any, type of reputation/connections you begin to cultivate). I'm not the first one to post this, but I always find it helpful: http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2007/12/writing-to-me.html Good luck!

When I started job hunting (with a social science MA) I was mostly after Program Administrator-type positions (government and non-profit sector, my preference over private). It took a while to get called back for anything. The catlyst was a 4 month non-profit internship that I secured... I was a researcher. I then went on to snag a researcher gig with an international non-profit on a 3 month contract. Towards the end of that, I turned over an epic report that the supervisors enjoyed, so they invited me back for a new contract. I'm now doing policy development with the occasional research assignment. It was actually a kind of "AH-HA!" moment for me when I realized that the research capacity was a good angle. It was like, "oh yeah, I just finished an MA, of COURSE I'm well-suited to research!" After some work and opportunities to show my worth, I was able to segue over/stretch out to other realm. Don't shy away from research opportunities, it's a good "in"! As well, it's worth pursuing places that recognize the skills that you were able to build during an MA and appreciate that they are transferable to a world outside of academia. These opportunities are worth chasing and are comforting in the face of other places that harp on the "you're over educated and under experienced" line. This stuff is tricky. If you can, I'd recommend touching base with your school's career centre. Mine offerred a litany of support systems and seminars for students, with special workshops for those who had recently convocated. I was hesitant at first to go (I didn't want to sit in on a class to learn how to shake hands), but I found the resources to be quite useful (and it's always good for the ego to know that you're not the only one having a hard time negotiating the terrain)! Good luck!