everygirl Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 Calling all Canadians! I've seen a few of you around the board and wanted to give us a place to gather. Any Canada specific stories out there? I know a lot of us are still waiting because the April 15th deadline doesn't apply to us (I think) or because Canadian schools just take longer. I don't know why. (Does anybody? Because I'm about to blow my brains out.) Who applied for the OGS, and got it? Or the CGS, and got it? What's the scoop out there about Canadian schools? From rumor and lore, I hear U of T doesn't give much funding to MAs, they call it 'Rye High' for some reason, UBC is awesome except for that incredibly expensive rent, Western is geared to the 18 year old purple wearing frat boy/girl in Ugg boots, and there is/was actually a bar called Jim Bobs there. Queens is where the prison is, and UofA is pushing its way up there in the rankings. McGill? One time a little French girl beat me up for asking what that sign 'sortie' meant. (Side note: I love all of the above schools. Please let me go to at least one of them.) Tell me your Canadian stories while we wait it out! For the record, I have been a Molson cold shot drinker since high school. Small but strong. Lymrance 1
PrettyVacant Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 Calling all Canadians! Queens is where the prison is You got that right. I'm always amazed at the fact that Kingston has 13 federal prisons. Isn't that over-kill? I'm not Canadian, but I've been living here since 2007, so you can say I'm fairly Canadianized. I'm currently awaiting permanent residence so I'm very excited. I haven't heard back from my school (York U) either, so I can totally relate. Why do Canadian schools take so long!? Molson cold shots remind me of my younger, wilder days...
everygirl Posted March 16, 2011 Author Posted March 16, 2011 You got that right. I'm always amazed at the fact that Kingston has 13 federal prisons. Isn't that over-kill? I'm not Canadian, but I've been living here since 2007, so you can say I'm fairly Canadianized. I'm currently awaiting permanent residence so I'm very excited. I haven't heard back from my school (York U) either, so I can totally relate. Why do Canadian schools take so long!? Molson cold shots remind me of my younger, wilder days... Kingston has 13 prisons? Wow. I only remember one from my field trip in the 8th grade. And remember nothing from my visits to Homecoming weekend first and second year! Good luck on York. Killer school.
SLS Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Fellow Canadians, I heard back a week ago from Queens (accepted) and this week from Ottawa and U of T (also accepted). There is a strict deadline to accept the offer or decline---im assuming that is when they will open up the waiting lists. Im still waiting on a few schools from the UK...they take forever. Good Luck to all of you, i hope you receive the offers that you were waiting for!
cndngrl21 Posted March 19, 2011 Posted March 19, 2011 Fellow Canadians, I heard back a week ago from Queens (accepted) and this week from Ottawa and U of T (also accepted). There is a strict deadline to accept the offer or decline---im assuming that is when they will open up the waiting lists. Im still waiting on a few schools from the UK...they take forever. Good Luck to all of you, i hope you receive the offers that you were waiting for! I'm in at Ottawa as well, but my UofT program is saying they won't be releasing any info until April, after my deadline to respond to Ottawa.
everygirl Posted March 19, 2011 Author Posted March 19, 2011 I'm in at Ottawa as well, but my UofT program is saying they won't be releasing any info until April, after my deadline to respond to Ottawa. I wonder if you can get the DGS on the phone to explain the situation. I've heard about this problem happening, and it seems unfair. Why don't adcomms collectively agree on a date so people aren't in this situation? They do in the States, don't they? Also, I'm surprised people are hearing from Ottawa, because I just got confirmation that I won't be notified with a decision until April. I wrote this in another thread, but this seems incredibly late. (Doesn't appear that I'm on a waitlist.)
brollyparagus Posted March 19, 2011 Posted March 19, 2011 UofT is not that bad with funding, depending on the department. My program (Stats) offers the same amount of funding to MSc students as they do to PhD students. I've heard something similar for PoliSci students who are fortunate enough to acquire funding as Masters students. Anyone planning on going to UofT for grad work?
cndngrl21 Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 I wonder if you can get the DGS on the phone to explain the situation. I've heard about this problem happening, and it seems unfair. Why don't adcomms collectively agree on a date so people aren't in this situation? They do in the States, don't they? Also, I'm surprised people are hearing from Ottawa, because I just got confirmation that I won't be notified with a decision until April. I wrote this in another thread, but this seems incredibly late. (Doesn't appear that I'm on a waitlist.) For Everygirl, I wonder if it is maybe a faculty thing. I'm in an Education PhD program. When it comes to UofT my humanities friends have already heard back, but Education is waiting until the beginning of April. I do wish that we had the same agreement procedure here in Canada as in the US. It would make the whole process a little less stressful.
SLS Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 U of T political science department does not give any funding for master's students However, Queen's and Ottawa are very generous. What are you guys deciding on? will it be based on reputation or the amount of funding you are able to secure? TA-positions etc.
Henry Hudson Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 The non-standardized deadlines is a pain. My SFU deadline was Feb 28; UAlberta is tomorrow. SLS, I chose SFU primarily on my supervisor (1st), funding (2nd), overall program (History) (3rd), interdisciplinary potential (with Native Studies) (4th) and location (5th). Reputation and work of supervisors was more important to me in even selecting schools to apply to. like PV, I'm not Canadian, but have been living up here for most of the past 4 years. Nowhere near permanent, though... yet.
Kurlee Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 I applied to U of T and York, but am nervous because U of T doesn't offer any funding for their programs in my area and assistantships appear to given to the funded students (like 10% of grad admits), where as York is generous, but my second choice. Decisions, decisions.
illu Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 UofT is not that bad with funding, depending on the department. My program (Stats) offers the same amount of funding to MSc students as they do to PhD students. I've heard something similar for PoliSci students who are fortunate enough to acquire funding as Masters students. Anyone planning on going to UofT for grad work? Congrats.
Groulxsome Posted March 20, 2011 Posted March 20, 2011 I applied to U of T and York, but am nervous because U of T doesn't offer any funding for their programs in my area and assistantships appear to given to the funded students (like 10% of grad admits), where as York is generous, but my second choice. Decisions, decisions. What area are you studying? I applied (and was accepted) to both York and uToronto this year, so I'm wondering about the comparable programs.
bags Posted March 21, 2011 Posted March 21, 2011 I got accepted into the MA for U of T, but yeah, they don't fund history students at the master's level. McGill apparently won't give you a funding package until you've accepted their offer and paid the deposit, so... I have no idea there. I might end up staying in Calgary for my Master's to keep the debt down and try my luck with funding at the PHD level. Still waiting on UBC though....
magisterludi Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hello Canadians! I've heard lots about Toronto, McGill, Queen's, etc. There seems to be less about McMaster. I'm considering it for a PhD. Just wondering what the general perception is about McMaster as a research university? I know of course the advisor is much more important but just curious why talk about McMaster seems to be lacking. Thanks!
Kurlee Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 What area are you studying? I applied (and was accepted) to both York and uToronto this year, so I'm wondering about the comparable programs. education?
everygirl Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 UofT for the win!!!! mad excited Congrats!! You're going to love Toronto, even though the rest of Canada seems to hate it. Andsowego 1
Lymrance Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 (edited) I applied to U of T and York, but am nervous because U of T doesn't offer any funding for their programs in my area and assistantships appear to given to the funded students (like 10% of grad admits), where as York is generous, but my second choice. Decisions, decisions. The U of T is traditionally thought of as the better school, but I've noticed York is really starting to come into its own! I applied last year and got into their MA program with decent funding (but then decided to stay in my home province). Adjectives I've heard people (including faculty) use to describe York include: "leftist", "liberal" and "cutting-edge." Not bad adjectives, if you ask me. If York is offering you good funding and Toronto is offering you nothing, then I'd seriously consider York. Everygirl, thanks for the thread! Edited March 22, 2011 by Lymrance
aselfmadewinter Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hello Canadians! I've heard lots about Toronto, McGill, Queen's, etc. There seems to be less about McMaster. I'm considering it for a PhD. Just wondering what the general perception is about McMaster as a research university? I know of course the advisor is much more important but just curious why talk about McMaster seems to be lacking. Thanks! I'm thinking about going to McMaster for my PhD, even though I've been accepted at UofT, UBC and McGill. McMaster is definitely one of Canada's top schools, but it seems like it gets discussed more in some fields than others. My own field, Religious Studies, is one in which it has some clout, whereas UBC, for example, might be a bit greener. Mac's a great school. I've had a lot of people acting surprised when I told them I was considering Mac even though I had acceptances to the big three, but most people outisde of your field don't know much at all about the specifics of your discipline, whereas you should (by the time you get to a PhD at least!) know a lot about it. According to the THE rankings, it's fourth in Canada, although rankings really don't matter too much in the long run anyhow.
Lymrance Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hello Canadians! I've heard lots about Toronto, McGill, Queen's, etc. There seems to be less about McMaster. I'm considering it for a PhD. Just wondering what the general perception is about McMaster as a research university? I know of course the advisor is much more important but just curious why talk about McMaster seems to be lacking. Thanks! My perception of McMaster is that it's a really good undergraduate school. I've heard good things about it, but no one suggested it to me as a school for PhD work. But again, I am probably in a totally different discipline than you are. In general, I would say it has a good reputation in Canada. I don't think many outside of Canada are familiar with it (based on my survey, Americans are generally only aware of the U of T, McGill, and UBC).
champange dame Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hello Canadians! I've heard lots about Toronto, McGill, Queen's, etc. There seems to be less about McMaster. I'm considering it for a PhD. Just wondering what the general perception is about McMaster as a research university? I know of course the advisor is much more important but just curious why talk about McMaster seems to be lacking. Thanks! I completed my Bachelor of Science at McMaster in Psychology, and I think it's a great school. I can't for certain explain why you haven't heard much about it for your PhD, but I'll tell you what I know. McMaster has won several research university of the year awards, so it ranks highly as a school for research. Even in the psychology department research is heavily emphasized and not clinical or counselling skills. I can't speak for your program of interest, but I know that McMaster is well known for it's medical school and the sciences, so graduate studies in life sciences, health sciences and similar programs are strong. From my experience talking to friends who studies humanities at McMaster, something that deterred them from continuing with graduate studies there was because of the specific research interests of the professors, but I'm assuming that could happen at any school. Overall, from my experience McMaster is a great school with an inviting environment and it's highly respected among the top schools in Canada.
magisterludi Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Thanks for the comments about McMaster. They've been very helpful and I'm excited to attend! (pending immigration issues of course..)
jblsmith Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 I AM CANADIAN. Sucks to be you , nerd. Haha, jk. PrettyVacant and Andsowego 1 1
very_cool_orangutang Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 On a related note to Canadian universities, what's your opinion about University of Ottawa? Peace.
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