Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC) MA 2018-19

[Xenia2191]

Hey everyone! 

I saw one for the doctoral level but not one for the  MA level. Didn't know whether to include the other agencies (CIHR and NSERC)? Feel free to join in or start your own thread.

Let's all wait it out together

 

 

[PsychBoy]

I don't know about NSERC, but CIHR results are out.

[Papaya]

I have a question, I was told by the graduate awards office that OGS is harder than SSHRC due to a higher number of applicants. Could anyone help me understand why do students prefer to apply for OGS rather than SSHRC? Which one is more prestigious? Last but not least,... I applied for SSHRC, and I am still debating to apply for the OGS or not. What's the pro and cons (regarding the results, the rate of approval, and I heard that each institution has its own allocation on the number of awards given, how will this affect the decision if I apply for both? 

Edited February 16, 2018 by CH OISE

[PsycUndergrad]

SSHRC decisions have been made at my institution, but students obviously won’t get official notification until April 1st.

For anyone who is already in a program, you can ask try asking someone in your department or school of grad studies if you’re curious- the faculty usually find out the results much earlier than the applicants. 

[PsycUndergrad]

53 minutes ago, CH OISE said:

I have a question, I was told by the graduate awards office that OGS is harder than SSHRC due to a higher number of applicants. Could anyone help me understand why do students prefer to apply for OGS rather than SSHRC? Which one is more prestigious? Last but not least,... I applied for SSHRC, and I am still debating to apply for the OGS or not. What's the pro and cons (regarding the results, the rate of approval, and I heard that each institution has its own allocation on the number of awards given, how will this affect the decision if I apply for both? 

That seems strange to me... the tri-council awards are usually considered more prestigious and are worth slightly more. I thought that OGS was easier to get at most schools. Maybe it’s more competitive since people from all disciplines can apply instead of just social sciences/humanities? Or people just apply to OGS because they think it’s less competitive? 

I would for sure apply for OGS. You never know how funding decisions will turn out, and applying for more awards increases your chances of getting some funding. As far as I know, the decisions are separate for the awards so applying to both doesn’t affect your chances. 

Edited February 16, 2018 by PsycUndergrad

[aeneids]

I've been told by a couple of schools that they will have the results sometime in early March - it's up to them whether or not they want to release that to you early (i.e. before the official April 1 announcement date). 

[Papaya]

The last time I heard was in mid-February was when they notified me that my application passed the departmental level and is competing at the university level. I emailed and asked the awards office early this month, but no response since (though they replied to my other emails). Wondering if they don't want to break the bad news to me  Oh, this wait.... wishing someone could tell me the result already so I could move on  

[Papaya]

On 2018-03-03 at 11:42 AM, aeneids said:

I've been told by a couple of schools that they will have the results sometime in early March - it's up to them whether or not they want to release that to you early (i.e. before the official April 1 announcement date). 

Which school are you in? Did you try and ask the awards office regarding the result? 

[Papaya]

Has anyone received any news from the awards office yet? 

[CrazyPugLady]

On 2/16/2018 at 11:07 AM, CH OISE said:

I have a question, I was told by the graduate awards office that OGS is harder than SSHRC due to a higher number of applicants. Could anyone help me understand why do students prefer to apply for OGS rather than SSHRC? Which one is more prestigious? Last but not least,... I applied for SSHRC, and I am still debating to apply for the OGS or not. What's the pro and cons (regarding the results, the rate of approval, and I heard that each institution has its own allocation on the number of awards given, how will this affect the decision if I apply for both? 

OGS is not more prestigious, but it is correct that it is harder to win than SSHRC due to higher number of applicants. At our school OGS is by department I think, a specific quota per department. At the MA level, within your department, you are also competing with PhD students. OGS is also harder due to limited space in writing your proposal so you need to keep it short and sweet, but also incorporate citations.

SSHRC is more prestigious because it has more money reward. I do think there's stricter quotas for SSHRC at the institution level. You are competing with other MAs from other departments applying for the award. 

You should try to apply for both if possible. If you win both, you can decline the lower value one.  

[aeneids]

On 16/03/2018 at 10:59 AM, CH OISE said:

Which school are you in? Did you try and ask the awards office regarding the result? 

As of right now I haven't heard back regarding SSHRC from any of the schools I got into. I've been in contact with the departments I applied to specifically, not the institution's award office. One school said they had passed it on to the next level of the decision process a few days ago, complete silence from the two other schools. Not sure if that's a bad sign or if things are moving a little slower than expected. Good luck! At least we'll all know for sure by April 1st. 

[orange turtle]

Hi. Previous recipient here.

Some of you probably remember that you can apply for the CGS-M and state up to 5 schools where you wanted to be considered. As such, there will be some of the recipients who would be competitive enough such that they would receive offers from all the schools they applied to. 

I would wait till April 1, or whatever the deadline is. There is not a very high chance (I'm not saying they won't, but the probability is low) a school would release the results earlier as it won't be fair to the other schools an applicant might have applied to and will be seriously considering. For many students, funding is an important consideration in whether we accept or reject an offer of admission and a school that releases their results ahead of others will likely not be receiving friendly looks from others.

If it helps, there are way more SSHRC spots nationwide (1300) compared to NSERC (800) and CIHR (400), which means your chances are probably higher for most schools.

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/CGSAllocations-QuotasBESC_eng.asp

Good luck, guys! I am waiting for the doctoral award competition results, so I know how agonising the wait is.

[Adelaide9216]

Hello everyone,

Yeah, by experience, the school won't release the results before April 1st. Don't lose hope. Last year, on April 1st, I learned that two universities out of three funded me with SSHRC and I was SO surprised. I was so sure I wouldn't get it. I'm hopeful for each and everyone of you and can't wait to hear about your (positive) decision letters. And for those who won't be funded, there is always next year. Next year you'll have a stronger, better application. <3 

[healthpsych]

To my knowledge, schools will only let you know before April 1st if you are applying for the CGS-M as a first year masters student and are already in the program. Even then, there’s a high chance you won’t hear back before April 1 because it’s dependent on the school/department.

[PsychBoy]

6 hours ago, healthpsych said:

To my knowledge, schools will only let you know before April 1st if you are applying for the CGS-M as a first year masters student and are already in the program. Even then, there’s a high chance you won’t hear back before April 1 because it’s dependent on the school/department.

exactly--my colleague who heard back is an MA 1 student.

[aeneids]

Just got an automated email from SSHRC saying the status of my application has changed and that of April 1st I will see the result. No changes on the website. Nearly gave me a heart attack! 

[PsychBoy]

23 minutes ago, aeneids said:

Just got an automated email from SSHRC saying the status of my application has changed and that of April 1st I will see the result. No changes on the website. Nearly gave me a heart attack! 

yup that's the normal process!

[i/olover]

5 hours ago, PsychBoy said:

yup that's the normal process!

Is it bad if you haven't gotten one of these emails? I applied for SSHRC at 5 different schools and haven't received a single email about a change in the status of my application. 

[Papaya]

I didn't receive any emails from SSHRC  Does this means bad?

... Or perhaps they do it by school? Any Toronto applicants?

Edited March 23, 2018 by CH OISE

[PsychBoy]

3 hours ago, i/olover said:

Is it bad if you haven't gotten one of these emails? I applied for SSHRC at 5 different schools and haven't received a single email about a change in the status of my application. 

I'm pretty sure they don't send all emails at the same time 

you'll get an email/status change even if you don't get the award so it doesn't mean anything!

@CH OISE

Edited March 23, 2018 by PsychBoy

[venuswithabook]

Long time lurker, first time posting. I'm glad I found this thread.

I applied for CGS-M for THREE schools and I got the same e-mail as noted above TWICE. I already received acceptance letters from 2/3 schools and a rejection from 1/3 schools. Coincidence? I know this probably doesn't mean anything...I could just as easily (and very likely) have been rejected a CGS-M for both schools, but I was definitely freaking out when I got the e-mail. Why send out this e-mail 10 days before the results?? 

[Sasha_Grad]

26 minutes ago, venuswithabook said:

Long time lurker, first time posting. I'm glad I found this thread.

I applied for CGS-M for THREE schools and I got the same e-mail as noted above TWICE. I already received acceptance letters from 2/3 schools and a rejection from 1/3 schools. Coincidence? I know this probably doesn't mean anything...I could just as easily (and very likely) have been rejected a CGS-M for both schools, but I was definitely freaking out when I got the e-mail. Why send out this e-mail 10 days before the results?? 

It really doesn't mean anything. They will all get updated by the 1st. Sometimes declines come in faster because you didn't make it past the departmental competition, the change can also mean that you have either got the award or are on the waiting list (yes, there is a waiting list), sometimes schools wait until the entire competition is done so they can update all the profiles at once. There are many factors.

For example, I got an email saying my application was ranked very highly on the departmental and school level and that I should check for results on April 1st. The school has still not updated it's status in the research portal.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Sasha_Grad

[Papaya]

11 minutes ago, venuswithabook said:

Long time lurker, first time posting. I'm glad I found this thread.

I applied for CGS-M for THREE schools and I got the same e-mail as noted above TWICE. I already received acceptance letters from 2/3 schools and a rejection from 1/3 schools. Coincidence? I know this probably doesn't mean anything...I could just as easily (and very likely) have been rejected a CGS-M for both schools, but I was definitely freaking out when I got the e-mail. Why send out this e-mail 10 days before the results?? 

@venuswithabook Are there any changes in your research portal? I read from previous years' forums, some wrote that they find i.e., "ineligible (first class average)" mentioned on the application site even before April 1st. I read this from the 2017/2018 forum posted on March 22nd. Some also say, if you don't see anything, it's either you are being offered or being placed as an alternate, --or the school hasn't updated the result yet, in this case, you have to wait till April 1st. 

[venuswithabook]

25 minutes ago, Sasha_Grad said:

It really doesn't mean anything. They will all get updated by the 1st. Sometimes declines come in faster because you didn't make it past the departmental competition, the change can also mean that you have either got the award or are on the waiting list (yes, there is a waiting list), sometimes schools wait until the entire competition is done so they can update all the profiles at once. There are many factors.

Oh so many factors...At this point, i'm just trying to be patient and not worry since there are so many variables. I'm setting myself up for rejection, since it's really difficult to get one. 

 

P.S. it' interesting that you got an e-mail from the school. Which school is that? 

Edited March 23, 2018 by venuswithabook

[venuswithabook]

20 minutes ago, CH OISE said:

@venuswithabook Are there any changes in your research portal? I read from previous years' forums, some wrote that they find i.e., "ineligible (first class average)" mentioned on the application site even before April 1st. I read this from the 2017/2018 forum posted on March 22nd. Some also say, if you don't see anything, it's either you are being offered or being placed as an alternate, --or the school hasn't updated the result yet, in this case, you have to wait till April 1st. 

That's interesting. Thanks for the info! Mine just says "Received by Administrator." I'm really glad I found this page since my guess is the it can mean absolutely anything, and that seems to be what's happening. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by venuswithabook