Doctoral scholarship CRSH/SSHRC 2012

[Andsowego]

WaitingWaitingWaitingWaiting... Just needed to post *something* to keep from losing my already crazeh mind! What makes this waiting game even more annoying for me, is that I'm currently on the wrong side of the country until mid-May, so even when my letter does arrive, I won't be there to pick it up! Why won't SSHRC give up their old-skool ways and put the results online?!?! My only consolation is that I'm really looking forward to hearing other people's good news via this forum! (plus, then I'll know that my letter - for better or worse - is likely sitting in my home mailbox, ready for me when I return)

Edited April 17, 2012 by Andsowego

[checkeredBlanket]

For all external applicants or all those who know: I have read tthe SSHRC forums from pretty much all years and have a question which has not really been answered...there is much talk about how the scores seem to massively drop in the second, national round. Is that true also for those applying directly to SSHRC? How different (stricter, lenient) are the universities vs. SSHRC ppl. in their review of the applications in the first round? I assume the success rate is much higher for those applying through university than from outside of Canada?

[cathaea]

For all external applicants or all those who know: I have read tthe SSHRC forums from pretty much all years and have a question which has not really been answered...there is much talk about how the scores seem to massively drop in the second, national round. Is that true also for those applying directly to SSHRC? How different (stricter, lenient) are the universities vs. SSHRC ppl. in their review of the applications in the first round? I assume the success rate is much higher for those applying through university than from outside of Canada?

I think the only way you find out what your first score is if you're a direct applicant. If you go through the quota system, you only find out your final score rather than your interim one. So it'd be hard to know what kind of drop in scores to expect.

[Ziz]

As a direct applicant I don't think you are informed of your first score. All I got in my letter was that my file was being forwarded to the national competition...no info on scores, etc. was given.

[Dakon]

Yeah, I was given no score either (which is annoying). It just said I was one of however many people who were transfered along to the national competition. The head of my old department once told me that your chances are often higher if you do not have to go through your university, often because you just bypass a lot of interdepartmental politics. I'm not sure how true that may be in general.

[NeedFunds]

For all external applicants or all those who know: I have read tthe SSHRC forums from pretty much all years and have a question which has not really been answered...there is much talk about how the scores seem to massively drop in the second, national round. Is that true also for those applying directly to SSHRC? How different (stricter, lenient) are the universities vs. SSHRC ppl. in their review of the applications in the first round? I assume the success rate is much higher for those applying through university than from outside of Canada?

I think the only way you find out what your first score is if you're a direct applicant. If you go through the quota system, you only find out your final score rather than your interim one. So it'd be hard to know what kind of drop in scores to expect.

I'm not completely sure how the scoring system works, but it is reasonable to expect that your score would decrease in the National round. In the initial round, if you are ranked by a school with a quota, you are ranked amongst both A- and B-list applicants. Likewise, if you apply directly to SSHRC you are ranked amongst both A- and B-list applicants. Presumably the scores that a student receives are standardized - there relative to the other applicants in the pool. Thus, in the initial rankings one should have a higher score than he or she would in the National competition as the weaker B-list applications are also included in these rankings, increasing A-list applicants scores relative to the mean. In the National competition, these B-list students are no longer included, so relative to the mean, a students score should not be as high. Even if they do not officially use a standardization process, this is still likely a conceptual explanation of why it is reasonable to expect that one's score should decrease in the National competition.

[cathaea]

I would tend to disagree (theoretically, not dismissing the idea that it actually happens). It makes sense to me that the total score should remain similar but that the cut off would be lower than when you get to the a-list only group.

[NeedFunds]

I have only ever seen one score, so I would tend to agree with you that there is a cutoff; however, assuming there are two scores as previous posters have mentioned, this seems to me to be a reasonable explanation for why there would be a decrease in scores.

[cathaea]

I agree, I just meant to say that I don't fully understand why there would be a drop in scores. Theoretically, your references, transcripts, plan of study should be graded according to the same scale (keeping into account that different committees will adjudicate things slightly differently). Having a giant drop in scores seems silly since even successful applicants rarely (ever?) get 28/30. So I would tend to assume that the base score needed to get past the university quota system is probably quite a bit lower than the actual score required to get a SSHRC but that someone who got a 23/30 at the university level, shouldn't drop down to a 15/30 at SSHRC. That is to say, 15/30 at the university level might have been sufficient to get forwarded to SSHRC, but the application itself might not be competitive enough at SSHRC when the competition is higher. But it's SSHRC, so who knows? I haven't heard of either direct or internal applicants getting to find out what their first score is and I suspect that SSHRC likes to keep a lock down on the crap shoot criteria that will land you an award.

[NeedFunds]

I think it is unlikely that any ranking at the school level has much impact in the National competition (other than the A-list B-list decision of course). There are different success rates depending on the school you attend - so being ranked number 1 at UofT where the success rate is very high (like 80% or something like that) is not equivalent to being ranked number 1 at a school where the success rate is 30%. The quality of applications at schools with much higher success rates are better, so the top ranked individual at a school with a low success rate might only be ranked in the middle of the pack at a school like UofT (just to be clear, I do not go to UofT or anything).

[cathaea]

I might be wrong, but doesn't your interim score get deleted when you get to the A-list? I thought you were only ranked by departments/schooled as a means of measuring who gets forwarded under the quota. I was under the impression that your application is "re-set" by the time you get adjudicated by SSHRC. Ahh, fingers crossed either way. Last year the first applicants found out on April 26th -- so hopefully, not much longer to wait.

[NeedFunds]

I'm not 100% sure either way, but that is what I'm getting at - it does not make much sense to use the initial rankings because they are useless at the national level. I am not going to hold my breath or anything, but hopefully soon!

Best of luck!

[lemonbeans]

Some figures from last year's competition 2011-2012 that includes both SSHRC and Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS. http://www.sshrc-crs.../index-eng.aspx

402 direct submissions. 93 made the A list and 59 were awarded a scholarship.

4,567 university submissions. 1, 814 made the A list and 1,026 were awarded a scholarship

430 applicants for foreign study. 130 made the A list and 104 were awarded a scholarship.

Total applications 4,969. 1,907 made the A list and 1,085 or 57 percent were awarded a scholarship.

Regardless of one's specific category, the odds seem pretty good if you made the A list. There are of course other figures based on institution, province, discipline and year of doctoral studies etc, that can be accessed via the link above.

Good luck everyone!!!

Edited April 18, 2012 by lemonbeans

[cathaea]

Wow, the odds are really encouraging for direct applicants who got onto the a-list.

[checkeredBlanket]

I am spending more time here than on facebook..SSHRC should finally release the results so I and everyone else could continue with their lives..

[sugarcoatedsour]

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[DMMS18]

FQRSC released the Masters competition results today. I just want to hear from either, but it looks like an answer from FQRSC will come before SSHRC.

[Ziz]

I applied directly to SSHRC for foreign study but just out of curiosity...are the ca. 4500 university submissions the ones that actually made it through to SSHRC or the number of people who applied to their university?

Also soooo encouraged by the foreign study stats! But alas if you don't get one with those odds, it would be even more crushing.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Ziz

[cookery_as_literature]

A question about my situation came to mind while waiting for news of (hopefully) my doctoral SSHRC money

I am currently finishing my Masters and applied from a Canadian school. I got into a UK school that requires a financial guarantee. The program is only technically 3 years but I have to show that I can pay a continuation fee and living expenses in a fourth year because most people use it. Can I use the fourth year of 4X$20000 in the financial guarantee?

If anyone has experience with this or knows someone who does, please let me know and thanks in advance.

[checkeredBlanket]

A question about my situation came to mind while waiting for news of (hopefully) my doctoral SSHRC money

I am currently finishing my Masters and applied from a Canadian school. I got into a UK school that requires a financial guarantee. The program is only technically 3 years but I have to show that I can pay a continuation fee and living expenses in a fourth year because most people use it. Can I use the fourth year of 4X$20000 in the financial guarantee?

If anyone has experience with this or knows someone who does, please let me know and thanks in advance.

I am at a UK university now, started in 2011. The program is 3 years. Unfortunately, I have no answer to your question. I am wondering, however, whetherwe are even eligible for 2x20 000. As the program is officially only thre years and you are encouraged very strongly to finish it within the three years, I think we ight be eligible for only 3 and not 4 years of funding....should we be lucky to succeed in the competition. ...I might be wrong though.

[checkeredBlanket]

sorry, 4x 20, 000, not 2x 20,000

[cathaea]

I applied directly to SSHRC for foreign study but just out of curiosity...are the ca. 4500 university submissions the ones that actually made it through to SSHRC or the number of people who applied to their university?

According to the stats above, the total amount of applications that SSHRC received last year was (according to the stats above) just under 5000. Of that number, roughly 4500 of them were through a university. Only 1800 made it from the university onto the "A list" (forwarded by universities through the quota system to SSHRC) and of that number just over 1000 actually got a scholarship. Clearly, steep odds even getting onto the A List!

[wheatGrass]

I'm a little confused by those figures... my app. was forwarded from my school to SSHRC. Does that mean I'm automatically on the A list?

[Dakon]

Yes, I believe so. A list refers to those who are recommended for a scholarship, while B to those who are not recommended.

[Compoe]

FQRSC released the Masters competition results today. I just want to hear from either, but it looks like an answer from FQRSC will come before SSHRC.

Thanks for the heads up. I applied for a Doctoral FQRSC grant, too, so hopefully they'll release those soon.