margarets

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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?