SSHRC 2011

[dramanda]

Just heard that my friend (Carleton U) received her rejection letter last week for PhD sshrc. Just wondering if anyone else has heard anything.

I don't think this can be right. In the past, acceptance and rejection letters have been sent out at the same time, and no one else has heard anything.

[ottawag]

Hmm strange. She said it came in the mail either last Thur or Fri

[lewin]

Just heard that my friend (Carleton U) received her rejection letter last week for PhD sshrc. Just wondering if anyone else has heard anything.

Might it have been a really late rejection letter from her university? People who didn't get passed on to national competition have been rejected already.

[Ludwig von Dracula]

Might it have been a really late rejection letter from her university? People who didn't get passed on to national competition have been rejected already.

This would be my guess too. Unfortunately, we can't assume that they have made their decisions early this year (unless more people start hearing back soon...)

[catwoman_80]

My letter from the university said April. But I suppose that's standard practice. And my email from SSHRC simply says the results will be sent by mail - pretty vague. Hopefully they will be more on top of things this year.

This would be my guess too. Unfortunately, we can't assume that they have made their decisions early this year (unless more people start hearing back soon...)

[linggirl]

Just heard that my friend (Carleton U) received her rejection letter last week for PhD sshrc. Just wondering if anyone else has heard anything.

[linggirl]

Yes, I think it's more likely that your friend received an internal rejection letter, although it seems odd that Carleton would be sending one so late. Hmmmm.

[ottawag]

Nope I spoke to her again and she said this was the actual rejection letter from sshrc. Also heard through someone else that Ottawa u students have been receiving their rejection letters from sshrc as well as of this week!

[ottawag]

And I should add that the person from Carleton was passed on to the national competition way back in Jan and was already informed about this.

[catwoman_80]

Ottawag, are you referring to MA or PhD??? I am waiting for MA through Ottawa. Well, I applied through Ottawa anyway. Please let me know!

Nope I spoke to her again and she said this was the actual rejection letter from sshrc. Also heard through someone else that Ottawa u students have been receiving their rejection letters from sshrc as well as of this week!

[Lymrance]

And I should add that the person from Carleton was passed on to the national competition way back in Jan and was already informed about this.

Yeah, in Ottawag's defense -- I was talking to some fellow grad students today. One of them applied directly to SSHRC for the doctoral awards (she is not currently affiliated with a university and so she applied as an independent). She said that she called SSHRC last week to ask when to expect the results and was told that they were being sent out by mail after April 15.

I am actually starting to wonder if -- miraculously -- they are going to be releasing them in a timelier manner this year...

One of us could actually call or email SSHRC and inquire y'know.

I might do that tomorrow. I just got back from a conference and need a nap.

[ottawag]

She is a 2nd yr MA who applied for 1st year Ph.D funding.

[linggirl]

Crazy! I haven't heard anything yet. Maybe that's a good sign. Ugh! I thought I had a month or so before obsessively checking the mailbox. Good luck all!

[raise cain]

The wait is too intense, even though I know I have, like, .000005% of getting it because I've heard that MA's applying for the PhD SSHRC that have never held a SSHRC rarely ever get them.

[Wannabe Dr.]

I called SSHRC this morning to see if they have started sending out rejection letters yet - they said they haven't sent any letters at all - positive or negative and don't expect to until the end of April. What discipline is your friend in? What was her score? Anyone else heard about rejection letters arriving?

She is a 2nd yr MA who applied for 1st year Ph.D funding.

[Wannabe Dr.]

In another forum there is someone from Toronto who posted today about getting a rejection letter from SSHRC this morning...

I called SSHRC this morning to see if they have started sending out rejection letters yet - they said they haven't sent any letters at all - positive or negative and don't expect to until the end of April. What discipline is your friend in? What was her score? Anyone else heard about rejection letters arriving?

[Wannabe Dr.]

Okay guys - I think this is a false alarm! The person from U of T got a rejection letter for SSHRC Vanier, which is a different scholarship administered by SSHRC. For the person who posted about his Carleton and U of O friends- can you verify if it was for Vanier that they got a rejection letter? Thanks!

[catwoman_80]

I was going to say... There are several different scholarships and/or fellowships, so while one may be sending out rejections, it's entirely possible that they have not started on the others.

Has anyone heard applied for or heard anything about MA (Joseph-Bombardier) or FQRSC MA?

Thanks!

Okay guys - I think this is a false alarm! The person from U of T got a rejection letter for SSHRC Vanier, which is a different scholarship administered by SSHRC. For the person who posted about his Carleton and U of O friends- can you verify if it was for Vanier that they got a rejection letter? Thanks!

[Lymrance]

Okay guys - I think this is a false alarm! The person from U of T got a rejection letter for SSHRC Vanier, which is a different scholarship administered by SSHRC. For the person who posted about his Carleton and U of O friends- can you verify if it was for Vanier that they got a rejection letter? Thanks!

Wannabe Dr.,

Awesome! Good for you for proactively checking the facts by actually calling SSHRC. Thanks for doing so and and for telling us what you found out. Very much appreciated.

[Wannabe Dr.]

Other useful tidbit of information: Committees have already met and decisions have been made, and they are in the process of inputting those into the computer system. They said that as soon as all the information is entered, rejection and acceptance letters will be sent out. They don't know which batch will go out first - MA or PhD - it depends on which ones are done inputting first in the computer system. The guy also checked my file to see if the decision had been recorded in the computer system for me yet, but it wasn't.

Next time, maybe in a week, its someone else's turn to call to get a status update!

Wannabe Dr.,

Awesome! Good for you for proactively checking the facts by actually calling SSHRC. Thanks for doing so and and for telling us what you found out. Very much appreciated.

[Lymrance]

Other useful tidbit of information: Committees have already met and decisions have been made, and they are in the process of inputting those into the computer system. They said that as soon as all the information is entered, rejection and acceptance letters will be sent out. They don't know which batch will go out first - MA or PhD - it depends on which ones are done inputting first in the computer system. The guy also checked my file to see if the decision had been recorded in the computer system for me yet, but it wasn't.

Next time, maybe in a week, its someone else's turn to call to get a status update!

Nice. It would be great to hear by the end of April this year, instead of the end of May like last year.

And re. calling again -- Agreed! I will try to remember to call in a week.

[catwoman_80]

Wow - thanks for all of the info. It looks like we may actually hear something soon! Now I'm even more anxious, as I thought it was standard practice to do Phd's first. If that's not necessarily the case, that means anything could happen in the next couple of weeks...

Other useful tidbit of information: Committees have already met and decisions have been made, and they are in the process of inputting those into the computer system. They said that as soon as all the information is entered, rejection and acceptance letters will be sent out. They don't know which batch will go out first - MA or PhD - it depends on which ones are done inputting first in the computer system. The guy also checked my file to see if the decision had been recorded in the computer system for me yet, but it wasn't.

Next time, maybe in a week, its someone else's turn to call to get a status update!

[lemonpepper]

Just fyi if you're waiting for an MA SSHRC: I got one a couple of years ago, and was told by my university that if you got forwarded to Ottawa, it's pretty much just a rubber stamp. This applies only to the MA SSHRCs, not the PhD. I was pretty nervous waiting, but was told to relax, because it was essentially a sure thing. The PhD process is different and they do re-examine all proposals at the national level. At least, so I've been told by our SSHRC facilitators.

One more thing--the year I got an MA SSHRC (2009), MAs were informed before PhDs. It was in May. For what it's worth.

[catwoman_80]

Good god, I hope that's true! I guess I will find out soon enough, although this makes the wait almost worse! It's not what I was told by a former committee member, who said they review from scratch and actually said quite the opposite when I asked if it was merely a rubber stamp. But the conversation was brief and perhaps she was referring to PhD.

Just fyi if you're waiting for an MA SSHRC: I got one a couple of years ago, and was told by my university that if you got forwarded to Ottawa, it's pretty much just a rubber stamp. This applies only to the MA SSHRCs, not the PhD. I was pretty nervous waiting, but was told to relax, because it was essentially a sure thing. The PhD process is different and they do re-examine all proposals at the national level. At least, so I've been told by our SSHRC facilitators.

One more thing--the year I got an MA SSHRC (2009), MAs were informed before PhDs. It was in May. For what it's worth.

[lemonpepper]

Well, this is what I was told in 2009 by our SSHRC facilitators. I think they are pretty credible--but then again, I was still nervous until I got the official word from my department. I guess the question to ask would be, does anyone know of any MA applicants who've been forwarded to Ottawa in past years who didn't end up getting it? I don't. I think your chances are extremely good.