Macavity

Drawing near the end of my MA at approx. 2 lbs lighter than when I started. An impressive weight loss rate of 1lb a year! If I can keep this up through the PhD, I'll be at my pre-university weight by the time I graduate. In all honesty, though, I've lost and regained the same 10lbs several times over the past 2 years. I gain weight when depressed and lose it when stressed. I'e experience my fair share of both.

Eek! Here's hoping that I won't be participating in next year's thread...

I've heard back from all my schools and we've made a decision about where we'll be going in the fall. My in-laws STILL don't know that I've applied. Maybe we can just move 4500km away without telling them? MIL is going to be heartbroken. It kind of sucks that the announcement I've been looking forward to making for years is going to come as such bad news to some.

I think about SSHRC every day. I'm trying to decide between two schools for my PhD, and whether I not I win the award will alter the balance of the two funding packages. School A has a better basic funding package, so much so that even winning CGS would be a downgrade without some kind of a top-up. Unfortunately the school's policy for supplementing external awards in unclear and it seems like they can only guarantee that they will make up the difference between the award and their original funding offer. School B, on the other hand, has a great guaranteed top-up policy. Holding an external award at School B would make a big difference in terms of quality of life. But I guess it's better to base my decision on guaranteed money rather than hypothetical money.

My favourites are all the variations of "This school sucks. Don't bother applying!"

20k from undergrad. I didn't need to take out loans for my MA, and will likely be able to live comfortably on my PhD funding with no additional loans. Might need to borrow a couple thousand from my parents when it's time to move, though.

Probably staying in the city where I did my MA, working some minimum wage summer job to save up for moving expenses. I'm going to try to visit my parents and friends from hometown a few times while they're still within driving distance.

I had to take a break from my laptop because I couldn't focus on anything other than refreshing my email. So I printed out a chapter to edit and headed over to a cafe. When I returned to my computer, I had an email waiting for me.

Jan 7. One of my letter writers was a few days late with her letter, too.

Just received word from UofA. Accepted into their English PhD program

relationship counselling

When I was applying for MA programs 2 years ago, I sent an empty envelope to one of my programs. I don't even remember what was supposed to be in it. Maybe my SOP. But the grad dept only got an empty, sealed envelope.

I struggled to find 2 schools that were a good fit for my research interests and had guaranteed funding. I really wanted to apply to 5, but it seemed like a waste of money to apply to schools without faculty in my area. I even had to expand my geographical range to find a second school.

Peer pressure

English PhD. I'll probably be waiting for a while

I really should have kept it a secret from everyone but my spouse, so that at least there will be less embarrassment if I don't get in anywhere. But whenever someone directly asks me what I'm planning on doing next year, I can't help sharing my tentative plans. Fortunately my in-laws have yet to show any curiosity about my hopes and dreams, so it'll be a shocker for them if their son ends up moving across the country with me next year.

Friends from undergrad: "So why aren't you applying to Oxford and other UK schools?" Me: "Because I would rather stay in Canada, where the top researchers in my field are located and where I'm more likely to receive generous funding." Friends from undergrad: "But it's OXFORD." Friends from high school: "So are you finished school yet?" Me: "Well, I applied to some PhD programs, so potentially not for another 4-5 years." Friends from high school: "Can you even get a job with that? Did you know that you don't need to go to university to get a job? I have a job!" Parents (every time the topic comes up): "Okay, just so we're clear. What exactly is a PhD?"

Received word yesterday that my app has been forwarded!

Ugh, so I made the mistake of re-reading my research proposal today. I realized that I repeat the same word twice in the same sentence ("____ and ____ feature some of the generic features of ____"). How could I have missed this through countless revisions? Guys -- don't make the mistake of analysing your proposal after it's too late to make changes!

I submitted my application yesterday. Already feeling panicked about the internal ranking after seeing the list of applicants within the deparment. First attempt at a doctoral sshrc (I currently hold an MA sshrc). This is going to be a long wait!

Received my letter in NB yesterday. 4.08 GPA A few small awards RAship That's it