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Received my letter today after an anguished wait.

Awarded CGS.

21 point something /30

waitlisted last year. Score increased by 4 whole points this year.

1 peer review pub

handful of conferences

just completed first year of PhD

What changed this year (from my application last year) was my proposal (entirely new topic) and a different referee.

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Head's still swimming, here. I was offered a CGS, and will be coming into the first year of my PhD this fall. Here are my stats:

Location: Montreal

SSHRC Committee: Humanities 1 - Literature and Fine Arts

Score: 22/30

Previous awards: MA SSHRC, bunch of departmental awards

Grad GPA: 4.0/4

Undergrad GPA: 11.68/12

Other 2012 applications: Waitlisted at FQRSC.

Bon courage, all. May your results come soon, and bear good news.

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Does anyone know if it is possible to move from a fellowship to a CGS based on some individuals rejecting them because they received Vanier or declined because they decided to accept an offer from an American school?

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Does anyone know if it is possible to move from a fellowship to a CGS based on some individuals rejecting them because they received Vanier or declined because they decided to accept an offer from an American school?

I believe that has happened in the past, yes.

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I had an MA SSHRC, and my application last year (for first year PhD) didn't even make it out of the university. I also have kids so I had to reconsider whether I could afford to go ahead with a PhD. I got OGS, but ended up declining it because with OGS's limits on additional funding, I would have ended up with the same amount as my program's package anyway, and with the limits on the number of years we can receive govt. funding, I wanted to keep three years available for a CGS or Vanier. Meanwhile, I told my program director about my financial concerns, noting that while the program's funding package is pretty generous, it doesn't go as far when you have dependents. It came up more as an observation in a casual discussion, not as part of negotiation, though I don't think there is harm in raising it as a point of negotiation, if necessary. He came back to me later and offered me a research assistant position in one of his projects (we aren't required to RA or TA as part of our funding package, so I could handle it time-wise). I was also nominated for and won some internal awards, which not only helped financially but improved my application profile. It turned out to be for the best that I didn't get SSHRC in my first year, though time and money were tight - I worked hard to improve my applications, and this year I got Vanier (and CGS, which I will decline) - waaaay better for me and my kids. I wouldn't have been able to accept the full three years had I received SSHRC last year.

See what your program can do to get you through the first year, consider whether it is in your best interests to accept OGS (depends on your funding package and other options for supporting yourself this year), and work on a kick-ass application for next year (and do apply for Vanier!). It sucks to have to go through the process again, and the uncertainty is brutal. I really feel your pain. Keep your hopes up and don't give up!

Wow, thank you so much. You have no idea how much you have lifted my spirits. Sometimes it just takes a little perspective. And a nice hot bath, both of which have made my evening a lot more bearable. Cheers, and a big congratulations on your success!

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Some superb scores here; great to see. Tri-council funding is one frustrating, angst-ridden process.

Applied to CIHR last year...complete clusterfuck...they mangled my application, fused it with sections of my supervisor's CV, didn't send my program of study to reviewers, etc. Got an apology and a meaningless reassessment after fighting like a dog to get some sort of corrective action.

My stats:

Committee 2

4.0 GPA BA/MPhil/MA

6 non-ref'd pubs

6 invited/remunerated guest lectures

Brace of international conference papers

Book contributions

6+ Years of RA/TA experience

Lots of small internal awards, gold medal undergrad

Student supervision (thesis & examiner)

10 years of relevant employment experience

Last kick at the can. Had a great, frank discussion with one of my supervisors today about the financial tenability of me staying in the program if a rejection arrives.

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I hear ya. It’s not easy to reconcile passion for scholarship with pragmatics of family life. I think Tri-Council processes are symptomatic of a paternalistic/patronizing attitude in the academy towards students generally, as if we’re all without responsibilities and willing to work for peanuts.

Yes! I concur. Paternalistic and infantilizing. Thanks for your kind words, stranger. Your comments really lifted my spirits this evening.

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One of the later letter recipients in the GTA.

I was successful :-)

19.1/30

No pubs and no conferences.

All in the grades (many awards for these), references, and the proposal! :)

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Thanks Interferenceviolet! That was very helpful of you. I'm in Australia atm so it's even harder not being able to check the mail box personally. That will help the folks at home figure out when to wait for the post-person. I'm wait-listed for Vanier (they cut 5-6 awards from the budget this year) and hoping this is an indicator for the application's potential in this competition. It's a shame about you not getting the SSHRC though. I hope you have better luck this year.

Actually, if you want a more accurate guage, look through last years forum. You'll be able to see when people started to get their letters, and several days when I got my rejection. :-(

Okay, I just went through last years posts, and it was about three days later that we got word in St. John's. Still, three days of hell, followed by disappointment.

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Qualified for C category award, which means that although I indicated in my application that I intended to pursue PhD abroad, I am still given the choice between A (CGS) or B (fellowship) in case I change my mind and stay in Canada.

Notified council I'll be accepting B.

Score: 21

Committee: 3 (sociology, communications, etc)

Number of years in PhD: 0

3.7 gpa (due to some low grades in the earlier half of my undergrad), 3 book chapters, 6 conference papers, other media (magazine articles, blog entries), one RAship, other professional experience (placement)

Field: interdisciplinary

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To anyone neurotic enough to wonder about envelope thickness: the thickness was different between the successful MA sshrc envelope from 2 years ago and the successful PhD envelope for this year. Both contained 3 pages but the MA one contained a page made of thick card stock with info on the foreign award supplement. PhD letter felt flimsier as a result. Misleading!

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To anyone neurotic enough to wonder about envelope thickness: the thickness was different between the successful MA sshrc envelope from 2 years ago and the successful PhD envelope for this year. Both contained 3 pages but the MA one contained a page made of thick card stock with info on the foreign award supplement. PhD letter felt flimsier as a result. Misleading!

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