ogopogo

McGill isn't that far from Saskatchewan (alphabetically, I mean)...maybe soon...incidentally jackassjim, who will you be contacting at McGill? I was just trying to figure that out...

Someone who knows their contact needs to call before we'll get confirmation...so if that's you, please don't wait for confirmation. Anyone else at University of Saskatchewan? Seems like they might have the best chance of finding out.

So sorry you got bad news this year brewer, but thank you very much for sharing. Incidentally, would people mind saying which schools do and do not tell students about results as you find out? It would be really helpful in minimizing annoying calls to people who won't tell anyway.

We in BC are in elections. I'm going to vote soon too. As it is, I haven't called anyone about results, even once, but only because I can check here.

Perhaps it is as I feared...we've waited so long we have run out of things to speculate about...

Friday is still open in the pool...and beyond.

nope, nothing to do about it now. maybe it was a current phd student applying for a postdoc?

If anyone here had heard you would know. We would be all atwitter. There must be confusion about which level they applied at OR someone has a contact on the inside.

I was just hoping they would release the stats. That felt sort of realistic and would show us that they were actually done. But yeah, it sure would have been nice to not spend another weekend waiting. We're doing a pretty good job of growing this thread, in spite of a complete and utter lack of any news for phds, but sooner or later we're going to run out of things to talk about while we're waiting.

If they are going to be screwing around with the system I'm definitely happy that I will be applying from a school next year if I'm not successful this year. I just don't see how else they could do it - i mean, how much longer do you think it would take them if they had to organize two different committees to look at the files? And it would be way less fair to have independents apply through a school (either former or prospective) that would almost certainly prefer their more closely associated students win the awards.

That's interesting, but I don't think that part of the process actually advantages anyone that much. Whether you get reviewed twice or once to get onto the A-list, they are both based on absolute quotas (that are meant to be fair) and there is some pretty harsh weeding out going on in both situations. Plus, if you look at last year's stats, people who applied independently have one of the lower success rates in Canada, whether they made it to the A list or not.

I think sometimes membership to a professional association can be something you want to mention, depending on your audience. It doesn't just say 'i got in because I'm good' (which obviously isn't the case in fee-based ones anyway), it can also say 'i support the institutions that support my field, and I am up to date with the activities of other professionals in my field'. I think that's why some people put it on their CV, particularly if they have been a member for a long time - shows commitment. Or if the person reviewing your CV is heavily involved in the association they might wonder why you are not if you don't list it.

Thanks dramanda - it was the discover vancouver one I was thinking of. Kinda annoying to see all those posts dated in April for 2007, and not even the end of April...

It has been suggested (by SSHRC) that they score on a curve, in which case it might make sense to re-score, given that your application is now being compared to a different set than it was in the first round. There's a discussion on another forum somewhere (discover vancouver? test magic? not sure but search for SSHRC results) where people talk about the changes in their scores from round to round. On the other hand, the info they included with the original letter is pretty unclear about this part of the process when it says Which sort of seems to imply that the score would only change if it is marginal or people disagree about it. So I don't know really. I applied independently too, and am keeping my fingers crossed that my score doesn't change much as well.

Somewhere, way way back in the early pages of this thread someone mentioned that SSHRC told them that they score on a curve, so it might not be the case that the applications are divided into thirds - this is unconfirmed though, since they don't mention that elsewhere. And a question...they don't say anything about this, but if another applicant submits a proposal that is very very similar to yours and you are both excellent candidates who would otherwise receive funding, do you figure they would they only award it to one of the two? And could this account for some of the apparent randomness of decisions?

But think about how many other applications people from big research-intensive universities are competing against in the first round - they probably don't have much better odds than people from smaller places. Plus the quotas are based on the uni's past results in the competition, so if you have 8 this year and they all win (because they are just that good) then you will have a higher quota next year. I agree on the optimism front though.

There might be some 'rich get richer' going on, but you also have to consider that most selection committees use similar criteria for judging applications and, generally speaking, you will have similar qualifications from application to application, as will the other people you are competing against. The size of the pool and the appeal of different proposals to different audiences will vary, but still, if you have strong grades and experience, you are always more likely to win than someone who doesn't have those things. I figure that this could mostly explain why some people win lots, and others not so much. That is, unless one of the criteria is having won awards and distinctions in the past (like SSHRC's "excellence in past academic results as demonstrated by transcript, awards and distinctions"), then obviously having already won an award or two will help.

Some of my favourite things: - go to the beach, either at UBC (if you don't mind naked people) or nearby in Kits - visit squamish and go hiking (or rock-climbing) in the surrounding area - kayak at deep cove/indian arm - go skiing at grouse, especially in the evening or on a clear day. Take a camera. (avoid the grind like the plague though) - go to granville island sometime when you are hungry (hint, it's not an island). - visit China in your own back yard at one of the asian malls in Richmond (yaohan, aberdeen, etc.) - spend a rainy day at the museum of anthropology - this is on your doorstep and free for UBC students I believe. - lighthouse park in West Vancouver (not the same as the west part of Vancouver) is a good place to gain perspective for frustrated UBC students - SUSHI!!! Other advice: - invest in a good umbrella, then try not to forget it on the bus - Koener's is a library. There is a pub by the same name. This ambiguity can work in your favour.

Sorry, I thought that was clear when i said 'PhD notifications to grad departments'. What I meant, and I thought you all were saying/betting on, was when you thought SSHRC would tell the universities (so that we could find out from them).

Okay...a new date to hope for news, time for a new pool. Let's see if Snasser can win again. PhD notifications to grad departments on: May 11th - Cree8tiveGyal & jasper.milvain May 12th - Dramanda, canadiangirl78 & LyndaD May 13th - ogopogo May 14th - Snasser May 15th - And, for those who learn from experience: May 18th - May 19th - May 20th - May 21st - May 22nd - And for the real pessimist: May 25th - After May 25th - Let me know if I missed anyone...

UBC is actually in Point Grey, so that's the closest, Kits and Dunbar are next, and then Kerrisdale is east of Dunbar, and Main and Commercial (the younger hipper part of town) are even farther east. Actually, if you can find something near Broadway or 41st Ave, those are the main bus routes out to campus, which is probably more important than being in any particular area. The only place to avoid if you are concerned with safety is the 'downtown eastside', which seems to collect most of the addicts and prostitutes of the city.

Pretty much anywhere close to UBC is relatively safe (well, we did have a murder a few weeks back in the running trails, but that was very shocking because stuff like that just doesn't happen here). Campus is fairly accessibly by transit, and you get a pass included with your tuition so it is inexpensive. I would use the ams rentsline website (http://www.amsrentsline.com/) and check out Point Grey, Kitsilano, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, and maybe even Marpole. If you are into a bit less safe and a whole lot more interesting then look in the Main or Commercial Drive areas. More places will probably be available if you wait a little longer though, since people only need to give 1 month notice when they are moving out. Also, I'm not sure how likely it is that this would be a problem, but some people are saying that it's best to sign a 1 year lease when you find a place so that less-than-scrupulous landlords can't kick people out in order to make a fortune on olympic accommodation. Honestly, I have my doubts that this would happen, but then you never know...

Are you planning on going to a Canadian school? I applied independently and fully intend to start harassing grad studies at my future school as soon as I know for sure they have the list. This may not work if they only send info to grad studies about those who applied through the school, but it seems somewhat unlikely that they would do that when they could just send the same list of successful candidates to every school.

I have no idea if that means what it seems to mean, but if it does, CONGRATS! I bet the guys over in the SSHRC thread would be interested in knowing that there is some movement over at our favourite granting council...even if it's not exactly a notice of award...yet.

Oh, and it looks like we can all congratulate Snasser - the winner of our pool! I guess we should have seen that one coming, but damnit I had it in writing, direct from SSHRC (albeit in February) that The result of this next phase will be communicated to you in mid April. I didn't get to take an extra two weeks to submit my application because there were some changes in my plans...