Doctoral scholarship CRSH/SSHRC 2012

[ltam]

I found the online pdf cathaea cited to be pretty obvious in its advice, but it's nice to see it written out so simply as a guide for future applicants and also affirming for those of us who used the strategies mentioned.

[NeedFunds]

It's quiet here this morning, so I thought I would get the ball rolling. Will SSHRC let us (or our respective schools) know when the results have been sent out?

[wheatGrass]

Along those lines, I've heard that the institutions find out who got an award before the applicants. Anyone know if this is true? Has anyone either gotten 'unofficial' news from their departments or know of anyone who has?

I wonder if it is the 'target' institutions who hear, or the home institutions. I'm not actually going to go to the target institution I wrote about in my SOP.

[cathaea]

Along those lines, I've heard that the institutions find out who got an award before the applicants. Anyone know if this is true? Has anyone either gotten 'unofficial' news from their departments or know of anyone who has?

I wonder if it is the 'target' institutions who hear, or the home institutions. I'm not actually going to go to the target institution I wrote about in my SOP.

From what I know, none of the grad chairs have received the actual results yet although it seems like they've been told when to expect them, which is consistent so far with what has been cited here. End of April/Early May for Doctoral, Mid/End of May for Master's. I asked my grad chair yesterday and he just said he had been told to expect them within this time-frame. (Which is consistent with the McGill email, too.)

[Dakon]

i've heard of a lot of people having unofficial news from an inside source for the ma competition (it happened to me!), but not for the doctoral one. i mean, i guess if someone has a spy on the committee, it's not out of the question!

[CassandraC]

Along those lines, I've heard that the institutions find out who got an award before the applicants. Anyone know if this is true? Has anyone either gotten 'unofficial' news from their departments or know of anyone who has?

I wonder if it is the 'target' institutions who hear, or the home institutions. I'm not actually going to go to the target institution I wrote about in my SOP.

Yes, schools are informed before applicants - at least this is true of my department at McGill so I would assume others as well. Two years ago (when applicants only received letters in mid/late May) our department coordinator had the results in hand about a week before we received letters, but was not allowed to announce them.

[cathaea]

i've heard of a lot of people having unofficial news from an inside source for the ma competition (it happened to me!), but not for the doctoral one. i mean, i guess if someone has a spy on the committee, it's not out of the question!

Yeah, I've heard of people getting unofficial news from supervisors who are either on the committee themselves or have friends on the committee but that seems extremely unprofessional, imho. Particularly because those lists can change slightly pending on final budget approval, etc. I understand grad chairs who quietly whisper results as they did 2 years ago when letters were so abominably late because those lists are at least confirmed results. However, when I hear about students who get word in March about their results, it seems to me to be a breach of academic integrity. Again, I totally get why it happens at this point in the competition if the grad chairs have the official lists (and would wish someone in my department would spill the beans if they already knew!) so I mean to direct this comment towards the towards the committee members who blab, not the grad chairs/secretaries.

And my understanding is that schools are not always informed before applicants. Last year, for instance, when results when somewhat early (or less late than normal), my grad chair told me he received the list the same day that students received their letters. So while I think that departments are supposed to know in advance, I don't think it always happens that way.

[Dakon]

i bet they even e-mail them the results....

[NeedFunds]

It's ridiculous that they do not email us the results - if they intend to mail out the results next week, then they obviously have already made their decisions and could save us a lot of anxiety and themselves a ton of inquiries if they emailed results prior to sending letters via snail mail.

[cathaea]

It's ridiculous that they do not email us the results - if they intend to mail out the results next week, then they obviously have already made their decisions and could save us a lot of anxiety and themselves a ton of inquiries if they emailed results prior to sending letters via snail mail.

Agreed, it makes no sense in a time of fiscal austerity to waste the money on envelopes, stamps, etc. It would be way cheaper and more efficient to develop an online system a la OGS.

[Compoe]

Agreed, it makes no sense in a time of fiscal austerity to waste the money on envelopes, stamps, etc. It would be way cheaper and more efficient to develop an online system a la OGS.

All of your logic, be silenced! For ye now dwelleth in the pits of bureaucracy, and Lo, no light of reason shall penetrate this chasm.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Compoe

[DMMS18]

Any thoughts as to when next week the letters will be mailed?

Getting wait-listed for FQRSC makes me more anxious to get the SSHRC results!!

[NeedFunds]

If you look on page 11, checkered blanket mentioned that SSHRC said results would be mailed out next week - at the end of April; this suggests to me that they expect to mail results out at the end of next week and we should receive them the first few days of May.

[Compoe]

Any thoughts as to when next week the letters will be mailed?

Getting wait-listed for FQRSC makes me more anxious to get the SSHRC results!!

That makes two of us, FQRSC wait list buddy.

[Smitten Pears]

Stress... stress...

I second everyone's frustration with SSHRC's antiquated ways. For what it's worth (which isn't much, I know!)

Good luck to all!!

[Smitten Pears]

...actually, I do want to add that it's equally ridiculous that they haven't established some kind of online upload system for application materials. This became painfully obvious to me this SSHRC application cycle: I've been living in London, UK, applying directly for the PhD scholarships. One of my letter writers is in Dallas, TX, and sent the letter to me in London in very good time, so I could package it up with the rest of my materials and send it to Ottawa (you guys know the drill).

Well, the week before November 7 came and no letter. It didn't come and it didn't come. I realised around the Wednesday that if I didn't get him to send a new letter that very day, super expensive priority mail, AND his original letter didn't show up, I would be out of luck with an incomplete application and the deadline past.

So I called him around 10am Dallas time and gave him my sob story. He said the only problems with helping me were a) he had an audition student on campus that day from Germany who he of course couldn't blow off; and he had written his letter of support directly into that stupid form-fillable pdf, printed it, and not saved a copy. So, he had to rewrite the whole thing (somehow between taking this student around campus), and get to UPS or whatever before 4pm. I of course felt like a total jerk for imposing on him that way.

Happily, he pulled it off and the letter got to me by lunchtime on Friday (I think it cost just less than $50 - ouch). So I got everything sent off okay. And then weirdly, his original letter showed up I think some time in January........ having travelled by way of the Bermuda Triangle??

Anyways, moral of this story - that was a lot of anxiety and awkward machinations that could have been avoided by a simple online upload portal. You know, like we've had since the nineties.

Sigh...

SP

[Dakon]

Sorry to hear about that story.

Reference letters and university transcripts can be sent directly to SSHRC either by the professor or university in question. Not only am I currently studying in Toulouse, but I have a BA and MA from Canada and studied at Belgium and Germany at different universities recently - and on top of that, one of my letters came from a Canadian professor. Because I had pre-saw a problem getting some of the documents on time, I asked if I needed to send all of them in one package, and they said it was absolutely no problem if they were sent directly to SSHRC. Naturally, the problem with that is you are not allowed to ask them if they have received certain documents - they will only answer if they have received your application as such.

Either way, there should be an online upload system for the letters of reference!

[NeedFunds]

Here is to hoping that SSHRC results are actually mailed out this week and if it isn't too much to ask, early enough this week that we receive them by the end of the week!

Edited April 23, 2012 by NeedFunds

[elknight]

Here is to hoping that SSHRC results are actually mailed out this week and if it isn't too much to ask, early enough this week that we receive them by the end of the week!

My god i hope so!!!!

[Ziz]

Me too - I'm in the UK so whenver you guys get yours I have to add at least 3 more days to the wait .

[avsilver]

So, who wants to bite the bullet and e-mail SSHRC for an update?

[cathaea]

So, who wants to bite the bullet and e-mail SSHRC for an update?

Yes, this! I'm dying for some updates on a timeframe.

[NeedFunds]

I know that the decisions have already been made and that it will have no effect on my results but I'm still a chicken, so I'll let someone else take the initiative. Sorry! I am going into the department today, so I will ask around and see if anyone knows when we should expect the results.

[canukulhead]

Seeking tao of SSHRC through meditation ...

Aummmmm ... aummmmm ... I see SSHRC letters being mailed today .... aummmmm ... I see letters arriving in BC on Friday .... aummmmm ... I see a letter which says “you are waitlisted, again” ... doh! Last year I got the letter on April 26^th. Telepathic reasoning indicates that this is the week. Good luck all you hard-working scholars. Group hug!

[avsilver]

My friend just informed me that he received the following e-mail from SSHRC:

"The doctoral awards competition is still in process. The results of the competition will be in mail by the beginning of next week. If your mailing address has changed, please inform us as soon as possible so that we may keep your file up to date"

So it looks as though SSHRC is sticking to their original claim to have the results in the mail by late April. Now here's to hoping that someone in the grad studies department will have mercy on me and e-mail me the results before the letter arrives by snail mail!