ogopogo

hmm...this interests me. I figured that since I applied directly to SSHRC I would still be waiting around for the mailman while you all got news from your schools, but this would suggest that I could in fact start pestering grad studies at my new school once I know they have the results. So now I have to decide when and how I want to know...I mean, after all this waiting, how important is the 'ripping open the envelope while holding your breath and making sure to keep your fingers crossed' experience?

I'd go with option #2. Big Money, Big Money... My sanity is going to die in grad school anyway, so no great loss if it's a little early.

You are getting ahead of yourself ashleyv, today is *my* day to lose the pool...better luck tomorrow.

I know the feeling. For me it's definitely all about trying very hard not to get my hopes up too high. I didn't expect anything when I sent off my application, but then I got a 29.4/30 on the letter they sent in February (to ppl who didn't apply through their universities) so now i feel like I am waiting on good news, in spite of knowing that the first round score means nothing other than that my hopes may crash down harder. way way harder.

Oh don't say that...while I think you are most probably right, the idea of reaching next weekend's stretch of no-mail-days with no word is depressing. Plus, this week is their last chance to send letters in 'mid-april', like they promised, using a generous interpretation of 'mid' of course. I'm not sure that jasper.milvain can win the pool, since the letters would have had to have been sent already and I think there might be more rumblings if they had, but the rest of us can still dream for another day or so...

I think they are talking about the OGS (whatever that is) since SSHRC doesn't have an online status checker...they only like Canada Post.

yep, often you only get confirmation in August, sometimes only a week before classes start, once the departments know which sections are actually going to be taught, # of students enrolled, which (if any) profs have teaching releases, etc. Of course you never know, you might get hired with a different kind of appointment that has more security and advance warning on what you might be teaching - I haven't taught at a CC so I'm not totally sure how it works there. Either way, be prepared for a lot of prep in a short amount of time. There are also summer session classes starting that you might want to look into...

I'm sorry the apps. didn't work out for you this year, but this seems like a very good plan. I've actually heard that a lot more students are going to community colleges this year too, due to financial uncertainty, so that may be a good place to be looking for a job. Can't hurt to apply anyway. I've been teaching with an MA for a few years now and I think the experience has been really good for me. I teach a (very local) language at my university and also taught my subject to graduate students at a university abroad. I'm not sure if that is an option for you, but you might want to look into it if local places don't work out.

hmm...I'm a sessional at UBC and I don't remember getting an e-mail like that. I guess a lot of sessionals don't count on continued employment anyway though, especially people like me who are at the bottom of the seniority ladder. I also haven't heard much about potential TA strike, but I remember the last one being pretty nasty. Good luck future UBC TAs! If you want to get into the mountains (rather than just looking at them) you might want to check out the VOC (http://www.ubc-voc.com) when you arrive.

It is. Enjoy your two week winters

Sorry if that sounded snarky or wasn't what you wanted to hear, i was trying to be helpful, with maybe just a touch of humour. It really does depend on your program and their expectations of you - if they expect you to edit working papers, organize conferences, TA, RA, teach classes, run a lab while your supervisor is on sabbatical, and publish really good papers in really good journals (etc.) it's an awful lot harder to fit everything in than if they only ask you to do some of those things, particularly if you have a family or other obligations outside of school. Honestly, the people I know who completed in 4 years did basically burn out trying to do everything all at once, but your program may be quite different, and so might you be. There are obviously other people out there who could have finished faster if they worked harder too. I think you just need to wait and see, and not make any firm plans for your (potential) 5th year, but I wish you the best of luck and I'll cheer for you if you make it in 4.

I think 4 years is possible, if you don't have anything else going on, you are cool with working *all* the time, you have research experience, you already have a good idea what your thesis research will be, and you don't need a lot of sleep. Of course, it depends on the program and the faculty members you work with, and who will be hiring you after you finish. I have to take the full load of courses in my phd, despite doing an MA in the same subject from a roughly equivalent university (same country and similar ranking). I tried to bargain this down before I accepted, but the only courses they offered to let me skip were the one that I thought might be useful to revisit and the one I hadn't already taken. I'm a bit sad about duplicating previous efforts, but I guess in the end I'll learn more and better. I'm also hoping that research experience will help with finishing quickly, like 5 years instead of 7 (like some people I know), but ultimately I'm not in a huge hurry and my personality and priorities are not like the people I know who have done it in 4 years (a very few people).

Alright...so here's the list so far, betting on the day when we hear about the first letter arriving (assume phd unless otherwise stated)...the winner gets a SSHRC?? (ha ha...I wish) April 15th April 16th - thepoorstockinger (the optimist) April 17th April 20th - jasper.milvain + phreeduh April 21st - ogopogo April 22nd - ashleyv April 23rd - jackassjim April 24th - jferreir (MA) April 27th - Snasser April 28th April 29th April 30th May 1st

Nope. But I am leaving UBC for another Canadian university...McGill here I come!

When did you find out last year Snasser (and any others who applied)?

I'm not really sure about international students but, as far as I know, if you are an official resident of Canada you will pay taxes on TA or RA work, but not on scholarships. You will almost certainly fall into the lowest tax bracket (15% + provincial tax), and expenses such as moving to attend school, tuition, a certain amount of textbooks, etc. are deductions that most students can claim. More info for students can be found here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/sgmnts/stdnts/menu-eng.html, especially in the income and deductions sections, and the international students section.

The worst part is, like in the counting down thread, we know that the waiting probably won't actually be over on the 15th. I've been counting down to 'mid-April', but am also counting on being disappointed on the 15th when I (expectantly) go check the mailbox. Beyond which, even if they did send the letters on the 15th, the 15th is a Wednesday, so for those of us in western Canada, there would most likely be a loooooong weekend to get through following news from our more easterly counterparts. So I'm trying to set my sights on the 21st-ish. Actually, I've changed my mind, the worst part is that we're all waiting and waiting for what could be really bad news. sigh.

The best ways to get around campus are walking or biking. It's big, but most of the places you'll need to go aren't that far apart and it's a beautiful campus so I never minded walking, especially on nice days. Affordable is a relative term, rent is cheaper than some places, but by Canadian standards, quite pricey. There is a fair amount of student housing on campus (which is good if you are social) and lots of fairly cheap basement suites in surrounding neighbourhoods, the further out you go the cheaper it gets. You also get a transit pass included in your tuition so, while commuting can be a hassle, at least it's not an extra expense.

It probably is partly due to price range, and partly due to the particular areas you are looking in, since lots of areas in Vancouver are not very densely populated. If you look at the satellite view on google maps you will notice that the areas you mentioned are largely single family houses (which often have basement suites) and not apartment complexes. Plus basement suites are usually cheaper. If you want apartment buildings and you are going to UBC try closer to downtown (expensive), some parts of kitsilano (also expensive), marpole, or if you are going to SFU, try Burnaby near metrotown. Also, if you are willing to share with roommates, there are lot more above-ground options.

I'm also pretty close to 30 and going into a phd program in September. And apart from everyone asking about when the babies will happen, I've had a lot of support for my choice to do this at this point in my life. I honestly don't think admission committees worry too much about age, unless it's extremely far out of the normal range for some reason, and 30 is just not that old.

I went in person, since I was planning on visiting Montreal anyway, but I set up the meeting by just e-mailing the people to tell them that I was considering applying to their department (again), that I was interested in their research, and that I'd like to discuss potential projects with them. I really wanted to do that early in the summer because the big scholarship deadlines are in the fall and it helps your application to have already applied for funding independently. If you are cold calling/e-mailing, then it might be a good idea to include a small amount of background info about yourself, as well as something that demonstrates specific knowledge of their work. Let them know that you have already talked to the graduate advisor too, otherwise they'll probably try to just refer you to her - they are busy people, after all.

At least we won't be alone...?

Yeah, that's basically what I meant. I have a bunch of different research interests, they have a bunch of research going on, so I wanted to know which of the things I was considering proposing were things that they thought would complement their research programs. That makes it easy for the graduate admissions committee considering your application to figure out who would be your supervisor, find a good fit for RA work for you, and you can be more confident that that potential supervisor will give you the thumbs up if the committee asks (or if they are on the committee). If your proposal is good, but not related to the things that people are working on and know about, then it would be a lot harder for them to advise you.

Sorry, I was mostly joking about it being a 'bribe', unless you expect it to get you even better letters in future. :wink: I really just wanted to know if this was some kind of standard practice that I was in the dark about. If you have that kind of relationship with your referees then sure, gifts are always nice, especially if they put a lot of effort into sending out letters for you.

From the SSHRC site, regarding their policy on notification of competition results for CGS Master