ZoSo 4

Adjudication Completed - Successful Candidate Will be declining for SSHRC CGS,,, which means +1 for the waitlist! Best of luck to those waiting/applying next year, and congrats to recipients.

Hi all, Congrats and condolences to those who were lucky enough to win an award or unlucky enough not to in this crapshoot! Here's my info for the records: CGS 21.7/30 English lit No pubs or conferences Direct applicant Best to everyone!

Does anybody know what the relative breakdown is between number of CGS super-SSHRCs ($35k) awarded vs the number of Doctoral Fellowships ($20k) awarded in the doctoral competition? I checked the competition statistics section on the SSHRC website, and it provides stats only for the number of doctoral awards that are handed out without specifying which kind, I'd be elated with either award, but I'm just curious if anyone knows how much more difficult it is to get the super-SSHRC.

Frozenroses -- how did it go? Any updates?

Hi all, As the title suggests, I'm wondering if there's anybody out there who, either this season or in previous years, has had experience negotiating for a higher funding package from their institution of choice. I know that there's a few threads around the forums that touch on this topic, but I'm hoping to catch someone with experience specific to English PhD programs in Canada. I understand that having a choice between programs is something to be very thankful for, and that the topic of enhancing one's financial position can come across as boastful at a time when so many are waiting anxiously for responses, so please don't take this thread to be self-congratulatory on my part. I'm simply a bit lost for advice, and this is one of the best resources available. If anybody out there has had experience, please shoot me a PM if you're willing to share, and I'd be happy to remove this thread. All the very best to everyone during this period of waiting and deciding!

I would say you should absolutely let them know. If you do it politely in the way that anthroDork noted, there's really no harm at all that can be done (the worst they will do is ignore the email). It shows you're still interested, and could potentially help your case. I notified the grad coordinator at a program I applied to about something similar to this, and I believe it helped with the admission offer that I received.

Hey everyone. Just FYI I live in Toronto and received the same notification as raccoonface yesterday (Feb 27) in the mail -- one of the lucky 246/773, thank goodness! I guess it's a location thing as we're both in T.O., so I'm sure everyone else will be hearing back shortly. Good luck everyone!

Hey -- I'm the same. The last I heard from them was this one, not long after the application deadline: "The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council acknowledges receipt of your application to the Doctoral Awards Program. Your application number is: XXXXX. Please use it in all communications with SSHRC. ... The result of this competition will be sent by mail to the correspondence address provided in your application. Please provide us with any changes to your address by sending an email to fellowships@sshrc.ca." So, you're not alone! Hopefully soon...

Thanks for the advice, svh. Were the responses you received informative? Or did you feel as though they may have prompted a quicker response from the schools? Or were they fairly standard responses you feel they probably gave to all the other applicants who were emailing them.

Hey. I'm in something of a similar situation myself, actually, though I don't know that I've experienced the tidal wave of heavy pursuit from programs that you have. In my case, I will likely have to turn down the school I did my M.A. at, where my potential supervisors are actually fairly good friends, and have done a lot for my applications in terms of vetting statements of intent and writing recommendation letters, along with generally being very supportive resources throughout the application process. My old graduate supervisor, who deals with the acceptance/rejection thing every year, explained it to me like this: There are any number of good reasons why somebody would decline a very strong offer from a program. Even an amazing school with tough admissions standards, great supervisors, etc. that is willing to bend over backwards for you as an applicant (read: funding) may not be the best "fit" for you personally or academically. Moreover, administrative faculty get "rejected" all the time, so to speak, so it would never be a huge shock for them. They understand that if you're a strong, sought-after candidate, there are likely a number of options available to you, and you've likely applied to several programs and received equally great offers. All of these faculty were once applicants themselves -- they understand the process. Basically, don't feel like you will be offending anybody. You might be #1 on their list, but that's not to say #2 isn't a great candidate as well, and nobody will hold it against you down the road for taking a position at another school. Actually, as much as it would be great for people on the wait list if you declined, it would help the program, as they could make an offer to another student who may be considering his/her options somewhere else currently. Two caveats to this: 1) Though it goes without saying, be as tactful as possible in declining, for all the reasons you mentioned in your post. 2) While you may feel guilty about holding a spot at a school you won't be attending, don't let that force you into declining prematurely. You never know how your envious position as a sought-after applicant might be levered into improving your offer from your ideal school. While it's great that you're thinking of others, you've obviously earned your current position as an applicant receiving an abundance of offers with a lot of hard work and success, so take advantage of it, if possible. Spending half an hour a day writing brief but cordial emails wouldn't be a bad trade for a few years of increased funding, or the like. Hope this helps, my humble opinion as it may be.

Hi everyone. I'm struggling with a situation that I'm hoping others might be able to provide some guidance on. I haven't seen anything in the forums about this, so apologies if a similar post exists in another thread. I have applied for PhD positions at 4 schools for a course of study in the Humanities. School "A" is my top choice. Thus far, I have received (very) early acceptance calls from graduate supervisors at schools B, C and D, which have all been very encouraging; my application was highly regarded, and I have been nominated for a few entrance prizes, and informed of my standing before the decision-making process is complete at these schools. However, I have yet to hear anything from school A, and I'm wondering whether it would be at all beneficial to email school A to let them know the position I'm in. My motivation for this would be twofold: (1) trying to get some information as to when they plan to make decisions, as I am now "on the clock" so to speak at schools B, C an D; and (2) perhaps to let the AdCom at school A know that I am being pursued by other programs, which could potentially help my case for admission (maybe?). This email would, of course, be tactfully written -- i.e. not boastful, and not implying that I am trying to put "pressure" on school A. I would simply be trying to let them know that I'm extremely interested in their program, but that I have already received some great offers from other highly-ranked programs that will become time-sensitive, and am curious about when I might expect to hear from them. For reference, the department indicated in its letter confirming the receipt of my application that decisions would be made "before April", although this is similar to the other programs I applied to, which I've heard back from already. Would this email be worthwhile/boost my standing at school A? Or could it rub the program the wrong way, so to speak. If anybody out there has had a similar experience, or is in the same boat and can offer some advice, I would be greatly appreciative of your opinion! Best of luck to all who are waiting for responses and trying to make decisions.

Hi everyone, I just logged in to the SSHRC application website to check my status; to my surprise, my application form has been removed, and instead it reads "Nothing to display" in the space where my form used to be available for viewing. My profile still exists, but my 2012 SSHRC application form has been removed. I'm wondering if (a) this has happened to anybody else, and/or (be) whether anyone knows if this is normal? Perhaps once the competition has been "closed" the form is no longer available for viewing? Or, it could be that my application has been disqualified, and I'll be getting a disappointing letter in the mail very shortly! Thanks for any help! ps. I'm a direct applicant -- last I heard was confirmation of receipt of my complete application in November.