MTL18

My letter arrived in MTL. A no go for the second straight year, so I'm out! Didn't even get alternate, which I did last year. Oh well, still have a chance at internals! Best of luck all.

If your current mailing address expires before they mail the letter, it goes to permanent. Top ups are at the discretion of the supervisor, department and/or school. You will not make less money than someone without funding.

I haven't heard anything either, and it is after 5pm in Montreal. Bad sign for today!

Oh they do! Common sense would say that they'd just issue more PGS awards (or scrap the CGS/Vanier all together) but they do not! Keeps them more prestigious by offering less? Who knows! I'm in Montreal and I'll update later today when the mail comes.

I emailed GPS at McGill and unsurprisingly got no response. See you all after the long weekend!

No chance!

I checked with my grad secretary and department head, they have received nothing from GPS at McGill. I was also warned though that the new administrative system is extremely slow so I shouldn't expect anything (the grad secretary had a mini rant on how frustrating it is to work with them).

I hear you. I wouldn't expect much from McGill. They are a nightmare with organization haha. I check my mail daily. Montreal will get the letters in a day or 2 once they are released. Edit: My mail already came. Nothinggggggggg!

Nope! Was close enough that I'd give it another shot.

That was me last year. I would recommend that you email NSERC asking for your score breakdown. You can see what your position is in your committee. From there, you can see exactly how many in your committee were funded when they publish the stats in April/May. Subtract your number from the total number of awardees in your committee and that's your wait-list number. I do not believe the waitlists are by school, but by committee.

Okay, here is how the scores break down: There are 4 quadrants (0-25, 26-50, 51-75, 76-100) for each category (academic, research, leadership). Based on how you stack up to the competition, you are placed in a quadrant and given a number in that quadrant that indicates your strength of weakness. That is how there becomes variability. Your scores per reviewer are then averaged (there are 2 reviewers). That score is then multiplied by the percentage net worth it is. All 3 sections are added and your total score is calculated. It is there that you are ranked in your entire committee. If the 2 reviewers disagree heavily on your position in the quadrants, that is where your file is reviewed in February and the entire panel votes on where you rank. Each CGS/PGS application gets around 5 minutes of time. It is not as intense as you seem to believe. If you disagree with any of this, feel free to contact NSERC - I did last summer when I thought my score was low (especially in academics). A 51 means you were above half of the population, but you are still far away from the top, and that can sink you. However, if the 2 people reviewing your file like your prof or believe you are in a good lab, your research component can get a great ranking even if you are not the strongest candidate. So, yes, bias can easily influence this. And matters that are outside of your control (school, prof, tools), can become very powerful. Best of luck. Edit: That article does contain everything I wrote (except for the quadrants).

Think: meaning your opinion vs. mine (and the many that followed). Subjectivity: Any system that compares 1 proposal to another will always be susceptible to corruption and bias. Welcome to the real world!

At that Master's level, that seems unrealistic. Just remember though, a large chunk of this is proposal, environment, and politics - fail any of those 3 and you could easily not get an award. That being said, getting an award doesn't always mean you are the best either. Just as those 3 above can torch your award, they can also over-inflate it as well. There is a ton of subjectivity in deciding these. Take your result either way with a grain of salt and carry on.

I was told that my Department has nothing, and even if they did, NSERC asks them not to report. I am at McGill. If your departments follow this, you will be mail-waiting!

No, the CGS/PGS pool is the same pot. Top PGS applicants are automatically CGS until that quota is filled. The Vanier is a separate application and can be applied for along with a CGS/PGS. You may only accept one however, that's where people will decline the PGS/CGS as the Vanier is way more prestigious and worth lots more money.