margarets

You are making all kinds of assumptions about how I have approached my classmates - in particular, that I'm doing it wrong, when I haven't actually said anything about my approach. What I actually asked for was advice on how to deal with the prof who thinks going to other students is an option when it's actually a crap-shoot. Do you have advice for that? Also, why would you think that people who respond negatively to a direct request would somehow be interested in taking time out of their schedule to meet in a group and give help that way? That's like an hour or two out of their life, when they've already shown a disinclination to give two minutes. I'm interested in your opinion on this: Let's say I turn out to be one of the stars of the course, and people come to me for help. Should I rebuff those who previously rebuffed me, who are only coming to me now because they know that I have the info? How would you handle that situation?

Thanks. I'll see if an opportunity to say something like that comes up. We haven't gotten any assignments back yet, so I don't know if I'm bombing the course or doing well or what. Or, for that matter, who in the class is worth asking for help. I guess we'll see who the "stars" are and perhaps the dynamic of the class will change then.

This isn't a whole program; this is one 12-week 12-class course, and we've only had five classes so far. So I don't know how many friendships could really be formed in that time, or will be by the time the course is over. I've been friendly with everyone and helped all who asked when I could, without requiring them to pretend to be interested in me as a person first (real friendship takes time). What advice do you have for a short-term situation like mine, with a prof who thinks we're all helping each other when we aren't?

So I'm in this course where the lecturer keeps suggesting that we work together on assignments and learn from each other. (These are not group assignments though.) In fact I emailed him to ask a question about an assignment and he suggested I show my work to other students and get their opinion. Besides the whole blind-leading-the-blind potential, this suggestion seems really out of touch with the competition amongst students that I've observed. Some will flat-out tell you that they won't help, others are just really weird about being spoken to at all (extreme introverts, I guess), and since we've only had like 5 classes, most of us don't know each other anyway, although a few cliques have already formed. One student who I have already helped quite a bit totally blew me off when I asked him for a small bit of help. The prof seems to think it's some merry we're-all-in-the-same-boat scenario when it's a bit more like every-man-for-himself. So, at times, I'm going to need HIS help, but I how can I get it without being the whiner who says "no one will help me?" (As a side note, I think this is a symptom of the whole issue of grads having so much difficulty finding work. They don't want to lose any possible competitive edge they might have.)

This remark: I am Portuguese so maybe I could also play the international/diversity card hehe. gave me the impression that you don't know much about the communities you are thinking of joining - at least as far as Toronto is concerned (I don't know about the cities/towns where the other universities are located). A quick look at wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia....hics_of_Toronto) would make it pretty clear that the city is already extremely diverse. Then this comment: a big Portuguese community in Toronto can be an advantage to my work as they are the perfect sample for many of my possible research projects. You didn't say anything in your original post about your research projects. What would make Toronto's Portuguese population "perfect"? If your research requires a large population of Portuguese, why are you interested in the other universities, whose communities may not have such a population? Your posts give the impression that you are considering all these schools and communities in a very superficial way. But since you asked for advice, I'm giving it. Remember, I LIVE in the Portuguese-Canadian community. I can even tell you which local bars used to be more Portuguese and now tend to have more Brazilians, what time of day the bakery runs out of pada, what flowers the Portuguese plant in their front gardens, which butcher has the best prices and so on. So when someone breezily says "great, they'll be perfect for my research", I have an idea of how easy or not that will really be.

I'll just go ahead and be Debbie Downer here. There is a massive oversupply of law grads out there. Many of them have blogs describing their experiences. Subprime JD is a good one, and it has links to many others. Look into those before committing yourself to all that debt. From what I understand, journalism is contracting too. Newspapers are dying and there are only so many TV network jobs to go around - and the networks are losing market share. Hardly anyone under 40 watches TV news anymore. So I don't think the prospects for a network news job are all that great. Last but not least, MBAs are pretty common these days. It doesn't offer the competitive edge that it used to. I personally know people with over a decade of work experience, who then got an MBA, and they STILL had to hustle for a decent job. You need to really think through your plans and consider your other options. Especially if you will take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt for those degrees.

Keep in mind that they are Portuguese-Canadians, mostly immigrants (and their children and grandchildren) who came here in the 1950s-70s, so their perspectives are different from the Portuguese in Portugal. I dated a Portuguese-from-Portugal guy who spent a few years here, and he always called his cousins "Canadians" because they were born and grew up here, had different beliefs, styles, etc. If you do end up coming to Toronto to do sociological research here, I highly recommend you read up on the multicultural and immigrant issues of Toronto and keep a very open mind. I happen to know a fair amount about this topic (long story); it's extremely complex.

I can tell you that being Portuguese will make no difference re: diversity here in Toronto. There are LOTS of Portuguese people here (I live in Little Portugal) and it is a very multicultural city anyway. I don't think most Canadian universities have specific policies about student diversity, or if they do, it's more likely to be about attracting First Nations applicants or applicants with disabilities or maybe applicants from developing countries. But an English-speaking (white?) European would not attract special notice. That said, your grades and references sound competitive.

Hmph! In early Jan 2012, I decided to get serious about applying to a particular grad program in my area. I assumed that it was too late for Fall 2012, but when I checked the program's website, it looked like I might still make it, if I really stepped on it. I spent about 6 weeks pulling things together, but realized I was rushing it. I wouldn't be able to submit the best application I am capable of in that timeframe (esp. re: my thesis topic; I wanted to do more reading before approaching POIs). So in mid-March I emailed the very nice program coordinator to thank her for her help and let her know I would apply next year. Today I checked the program's website again and JUST LAST FRIDAY they said they were finally closed to applications. (They are still reviewing a few, apparently.) Jeez Louise, if I'd known I could have MORE THAN TWO MONTHS to keep working on my application, I would have. I would have been ready by THEN, but I thought even the end of March was pushing it. It's not the end of the world, but I hope someone else gets the value of this lesson: Just go ahead and apply and know that deadlines can be remarkably flexible.

No, but I'm in Toronto, so I'm checking out all the programs here and keeping a close eye on the results page.

gzajay, thanks for posting. A late application - that makes sense. But with your qualifications you should be a shoo-in for next year.

Someone just posted this in the results survey, re: Ryerson's PhD Policy Studies: Canadian, 3.77/4 GPA Masters, gov't work experience. Told to consider other offers at this point. I hope whoever wrote that replies to this thread, because I would love to know more about their application. It sounds very strong, and I assume their LoRs were strong, so the only reason for the rejection (that I can think of) would be the fit re: research interests. Because otherwise I really don't understand it.

And I think you should back off. You didn't read the theses, you don't know the program or even the university. Or me, for that matter. "impart" "wisdom" Please.

As part of my due diligence for the program I've got my eye on for 2013, I've looked at some of the theses of past grads from the program. And they were....OK. I didn't look at them all, just ones that interested me or appeared to have something in common with my thesis topic. Of course I have no idea if I was looking at the best or worst ones, though the sample was pretty random, so it should have been a mix. Anyway, like I said, they were OK. I wasn't blown away by the brilliance of any of them and in some cases I was definitely unimpressed. No disrespect re: the time and effort it took to do them though. I've shifted my thinking from "I can probably do this" to "I can TOTALLY do this". It will be a lot of work but well within my intellectual capabilities. I don't know... perhaps my idea of what graduate work is all about was too high? Like only the super-smarties can do it and their work is always staggeringly original? Maybe all you need is a good brain, a decent idea and a fair chunk of self-discipline?

I doubt the coordinator is authorized to inform you of the decision either way. That, plus the office is probably busy right now, and students/applicants are often not the top priority of admin staff.

Remember that universities are massively bureaucratic. If they can add more useless, illogical steps to a straightforward process, they will. And the last thing they concern themselves with is the emotional wear and tear on the student. Hang in there.

The school I am applying to has an online application system that lets you apply to a whole bunch at one time, if you want to. And I think you only have to submit one set of transcripts. You pay for each application though but the system will total it up for you so it's only one charge on your credit card. So there's one school that doesn't have a problem with multiple applications.

Thanks Business2Biology Actually what I was getting at was being taken seriously in the work world, not academia. My last stint at university was pretty successful. It's more about what has happened since. E.g. a question was raised recently about my "email skils", i.e. my ability to draft an appropriate email requesting some info from some colleagues. I wish I were kidding, but this actually happened. I've got other examples like that, where someone is concerned that I will massively screw up some simple task, despite having NEVER screwed up such a task before. I honestly don't know where this doubt about my abilities is coming from. Well, it may partly have to do with some of my work experience overseas. As in: Oh, that's OK for over there, but not here, so it doesn't count. (Even though "over there" is a perfectly fine country very similar to this one.) Anyway, I think I'm in danger of hijacking this thread. Sorry!

Your qualifications certainly sound good to me. Another thing... I'm not so sure that the LSE is, uh, all it's cracked up to be. I personally know three people who went to the LSE for their master's. Two are definitely strong at academic stuff, but not superstars. The other... well, it's very surprising that this person has a master's degree in anything because they do not come across AT ALL as particularly smart, academic, or intellectually curious or gifted. I mean I literally cannot imagine this person putting in the long hours of reading and thinking that would be required. Something doesn't quite add up there, but they got the degree, so. So just go for it!

Hey, I belong in this club! I'm 44, but single, no kids, actually about as footloose as your typical undergrad. However, having lived overseas (changed cities three times in 4.5 years), I have no desire to quit my job, pick up and move my whole life to yet another place. Plus I really, really like my apartment and don't want to give it up. So, I'm staying here and applying to programs in this city, for Fall 2013. I had a mini-freakout on another thread about having an up-and-down academic history going back 20 years, but other posters were very reassuring on that front. Is anyone else going through this: Researching programs and career paths seems to inevitably lead to comparing myself to other people at my stage of life and it's .... making me feel bad. Like I haven't lived up to my potential or kept pace with my peers. Yet I'm comparing myself to other people's surface (e.g. their LinkedIn profile) and don't really know the truth of their situation. I know that's a bad idea, but it's hard to switch off in the midst of career planning. A year ago this wasn't really on my mind and now that it is, it's taking its toll. Do any of you have these feelings and what do you do about them? I'll add that a chronic problem for me is getting other people to see me as intelligent and competent, with something to contribute. (Interestingly, I did not have this problem in university, it's only in the work world.) It's really strange, because it's not like I don't have accomplishments on my resume, or never initiate anything or make suggestions or successfully complete a project. And I'm VERY certain that my manner, dress, demeanor, etc are professional. At 44, I'm not a kid, and it's obvious. So I don't know what it is. Part of my reason for getting a master's is the idea that I'll be taken more seriously once I have it.

What I meant was: is this person's request and response in writing? Because if something dodgy was going on, you could at least prove that you had received this unusual request when escalating it. Had it all been verbal, you'd be SOL. It looks like it's a matter of reading the fine print, in this case.

But is any of this in writing? If you can get this odd request in writing, you can take it up the food chain and get the fee properly waived, per the policy.

There must be somewhere on the university's website that says fees are waived for domestic applicants. Send the school an email with a link to that page, and ask for clarification. You're right, it's VERY odd to request a fee and then reimburse it later. It just makes more paperwork for them, with no financial gain. Makes no sense.

UnlikelyGrad, I'm only applying to one school, in this city, because I plan to continue working full-time. I don't think admissions for this particular program are insanely competitive. Maybe the 0.01 GPA thing matters when choosing between candidates who are equal in every other respect, and a hard decision must be made? Also, I checked out your blog and it's EXCELLENT. I'll definitely go back to read the whole thing.

Until I seriously looked into grad school I had this idea that the main things they looked for were: 1) an aptitude for academic work of high quality (obviously grades are a big part of this) 2) a commitment to the program (it screws up their funding and planning, not to mention reputation, if too many students drop out) and 3) a good fit between your research interests and the available supervisors. I still think that is true, but you see so many people freaking out about a 0.01 difference in their GPA, it started to freak me out too!