Waiting it Out on Canadian Universities - 2012

[Rosie456]

Has anyone heard from UOttawa yet? I applied for an MA in history and the status of my application online("we are currently reviewing your application"...) has been the same since mid-February. I find it odd considering I heard back from the other schools weeks ago. I have already accepted another offer, but I am just curious since I have read they sometimes send out letters late. Plus I paid the $100 application fee, so it would be nice to hear SOMETHING at least!

[nadirv26]

I was rejected from the MA in criminology from U Ottawa late last week as I emailed the department and my online status changed just after. Try contacting them and see what they say.

Edited April 24, 2012 by nadirv26

[icarus99]

I heard from UOttawa on March 16, so I second Nadirv26's comment and suggest contacting the department directly, preferably the graduate coordinator. She/he should be able to give you more info on your app.

[RKS]

RKS - I was the one who said that the class size has gotten increased. From what I hear now, it hasn't been quite doubled, but is nonetheless significantly larger than last year. I know acceptances started rolling out the first week of March, and the rejections dates were end of March or early April for those accepted in the first round. They are notoriously slow. You should call Anita, her number is on the website. She will likely be able to help you. I know of quite a few people who got offers and rejected them, don't lose hope yet.

Thank you lexipedia--sorry I didnt get back to you sooner I didn't have internet for a while.I will definitely call Anita and ask.

@NeeNee, thank you for letting us know what she said!

[NeeNee]

I got rejected from U of T, I am not too bummed because I realized that I would much rather do an academic masters that would prepare me for a phD in urban sociology. Also I have deferred my acceptance to Cambridge for a semester, let us see how that works out! Congratulations to everyone who got in! something to be proud of. I definitely didn't have the experience in the field.

[Candina]

Hi everyone,

I have just discovered this nice forum. As I am very much concerned and worried I would like to hear from people who are having the same experience in applications to phds. Actually, I applied to UOttawa for the phd for the fall 2012. I waited about 9 weeks until I got a reply of rejection telling me that I didn't submit the right English exam since English is not my first language. I submitted the ielts general training instead of academic. So now I am reapplying and I submitted the academic ielts exam results, but I am very anxious to know about the process of evaluation of my application. Do you think that when I first applied, my file or application was successful except for the English that I have to submit or the committee didn't see my documents (transcripts, SoP, letters of recommendations, resume,..) and if it is the case, then why did they take that long time to tell me that I am rejected. How do you consider my chances to be accepted, I have a good GPA and I have a very long professional experience in my field.

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts

[Shelley Burian]

Thanks for the very through response ^__^ I like reading as much as I can about others opinions who have been through it all so I appreciate you taking the time. Yeaaa everyone in the states just goes into PhD. Personally I don't get that, and looking at how most of academia is outside the USA others don't get it also. Like you said, getting the MA is standard in CAN... I don't think I have ever seen a program that accepts anyone without an MA into PhD. I'm glad you like York, I REALLLY want to go there. I hear they have some faculty that are into the reflexive social theory thing which I would love to learn from. It was too bad their deadline was really early because I didn't have my "make up" semester grades posted yet. I'm also glad you like Trent. If I get rejected from everywhere I might see if they have spots open for the Canadian Studies MA.

I can't speak for sciences or social sciences but the reason the MA is being bypassed in the humanities is simple: money. The average American student is over $30,000 dollars in debt for their undergraduate education and there is NO funding for humanities masters. One at a decent school for my field (art history) will set you back at least $20,000 dollars in tuition alone. Couple that with the fact that the majority of the high paying jobs in museums and academia go to PhD holders makes the choice pretty clear. Only PhDs are fully funded, and very few people can afford to go to graduate school holding that kind of undegraduate debt for less. Most professors are advising students who want to enter careers which require the PhD in th long run not to go to gaduate school without that kind of funding as the job market is so insecure.

Personally, I like the Canadian system better but who listens to me...........

[Monchhichi]

Hi everyone,

I have just discovered this nice forum. As I am very much concerned and worried I would like to hear from people who are having the same experience in applications to phds. Actually, I applied to UOttawa for the phd for the fall 2012. I waited about 9 weeks until I got a reply of rejection telling me that I didn't submit the right English exam since English is not my first language. I submitted the ielts general training instead of academic. So now I am reapplying and I submitted the academic ielts exam results, but I am very anxious to know about the process of evaluation of my application. Do you think that when I first applied, my file or application was successful except for the English that I have to submit or the committee didn't see my documents (transcripts, SoP, letters of recommendations, resume,..) and if it is the case, then why did they take that long time to tell me that I am rejected. How do you consider my chances to be accepted, I have a good GPA and I have a very long professional experience in my field.

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts

I am not sure, but re-evaluation of an application usually does not have a very good chance I assume (just my assumption)... because most offers were already given out right? Unless they still have space.

Schools are sometimes quite horrible with this kind of thing. I have to from time to time check with my schools just to make sure they have everything from me, and I don't miss any steps.

Good luck, you still have a chance

[RKS]

For anyone who is waiting on u of T's MPP program, a friend of mine said she got rejected last week (I will double check this though with her and edit this post)... && on their website it says all successful applicants will be notified by tomorrow.

I was about to call Anita when I read this on their website last week, so I decided to hold-off.....I don't know if I should call tomorrow, however.

For anyone curious, my application status on their website is still under review!

[gopher47]

I'm also being paranoid about being under the Faculty of Graduate Studies review, after being recommended for admission by the department 2 weeks ago.

I graduated in December, but when I sent my transcript it didn't have my final grades for my last 8 credits and my degree posted. Do they contact you if they need a final copy? Or should I just send one?

I just want my "official" letter, so I can relax (a little).

[RKS]

For anyone who is waiting on u of T's MPP program, a friend of mine said she got rejected last week (I will double check this though with her and edit this post)... && on their website it says all successful applicants will be notified by tomorrow.

I was about to call Anita when I read this on their website last week, so I decided to hold-off.....I don't know if I should call tomorrow, however.

For anyone curious, my application status on their website is still under review!

It wouldn't let me edit my previous post, but I double-checked with my friend..She received her rejection email from u of T for the MPP program last wednesday on the 25 April.

@gopher47, I think generally they request for you to send your complete official transcript with all of your grades etc...But if you're really anxious, just call them and ask their procedure.

[cpashley11]

I am still waiting on a UOttawa application for the Masters of Education... I saw that someone got in for Educational Counselling (the most competitive concentration) but I was curious if anyone else had heard anything from them. I called a few weeks ago and the person said that because they had double the number of applicants that they had extended the date for decision making until late April/ early May... Any news would be appreciated!

[civicblade]

Does it mean that I am rejected if I have yet to receive any news from UBC, M.Eng (Mechanica) program regarding my admission status?

Does UBC mech eng graduate school send out admissions first then rejections? Anyone knows how the system works there?

I've email the grad school administrator and all I get was a one liner reply (seems to me like a template reply) that the admission decision is still ongoing.

Anyone with similar experience with UBC? Thanks.

[contiguous]

Anyone waiting on McGill's neuroscience program? Sig. other received email from professor expressing interest in taking him on as a student, although he's received nothing indicating acceptance

[civicblade]

The results survey section of this forum had quite a number of rejections from UBC mechanical engineering department.

I have not received any response from UBC (University of British Columbia) yet. Anyone else in similar situation?

[neilwereley]

I have a bit of a dilemma, I've applied for graduate program in both Western Ontario and University of Toronto.

I haven't heard back from Toronto yet, but last week I received an offer from Western. I have to make my decision for Western by next week. Is this common? It seems early to have to make my mind up. I think I'd prefer to go to Toronto if I received an offer from them - however I'd feel like an idiot if I turned down my offer from Western only to be rejected from Toronto. If anyone has any advice, it'd be great..

I'm in this same situation with Western and McMaster!

[ashtangan]

Anyone received notifications or know when admission notices for these programs go out? 

 

SFU - Master Resource Management

Dalhousie - Development Economics Masters

Memorial University - Masters Environmental Policy

 

Like everyone else, my nerves are kicking in! Thanks 

[crestfallen999]

I am still waiting on a UOttawa application for the Masters of Education... I saw that someone got in for Educational Counselling (the most competitive concentration) but I was curious if anyone else had heard anything from them. I called a few weeks ago and the person said that because they had double the number of applicants that they had extended the date for decision making until late April/ early May... Any news would be appreciated!

 

hey there,

so I got an email from the admissions officer saying that they did not admit me to the M.A (E.D) program but were however prepared to consider my application for the M.ED education counselling stream. Gotta call her tomorrow to confirm.

[thunderchunky]

Hello! My application status on my Carleton Central account has been updated to "Recommended for Assessment." Anyone know what this means, exactly?

[Nerd_For_Life]

Just received an acceptance email from York University, PhD program in Social Anthropology. Details of "a generous financial package" and official letter should arrive in the mail within two weeks! So stoked! Best possible supervision for me in all of North America XD

[Nerd_For_Life]

Oops, wrong thread!

[scotto123]

Hello! My application status on my Carleton Central account has been updated to "Recommended for Assessment." Anyone know what this means, exactly?

 

To my knowledge, it means you got in, and they're finalizing your offer of admission.

[DakotaLauree]

has anyone been interviewed for the OISE Master of Teaching program and been contact yet/know when we are supposed to be contacted with a decision??

or has anyone applied to any other teachers college programs and heard anything?

[Blake091]

I have a bit of a dilemma, I've applied for graduate program in both Western Ontario and University of Toronto.

I haven't heard back from Toronto yet, but last week I received an offer from Western. I have to make my decision for Western by next week. Is this common? It seems early to have to make my mind up. I think I'd prefer to go to Toronto if I received an offer from them - however I'd feel like an idiot if I turned down my offer from Western only to be rejected from Toronto. If anyone has any advice, it'd be great..

Western did the same thing to me (I ended up getting into a program higher on my preference list so I declined Western), but I think you can always accept and then decline if you get into UofT. Maybe E-mail western and ask what they would like you to do. The Poli Sci grad  administrator is quite approachable. 

[foucaultmania]

The reason that York does not review the files together is because the funding structure is different for the different pools. York guarantees funding for all of its graduate students, which is very different from say schools like UofT or McGill or most American schools who make a lot of money from international student fees. In order to fund every student York relies on funding from the government that is set aside for Canadian/perminant residents and they also only admit students who have possibilities of bringing in funding (most scholarships like SSHRC require you to be at least a permanent resident of Canada). The funding changes year to year and most programs at York only can offer admission to 6 Canadian/ permanent residents + 1-2 international students because they cover all the cost of tuition and provide employment through TA jobs. Most financial offers at the PHD level are at least $20,000 guaranteed funding for 6 years- $120,000 total, so it is a big financial commitment for the university to take on an international student who will most likely not provide much outside funding.

Considering York has one of the most multi-ethnic student bodies as it is ridiculous to say in is xenophobic based on the amount of international students admitted (and they do also admit a lot of international students at the undergraduate level). Canadian citizens and permanent residents are multi-ethinic and many perminant residents have been in Canada for a very short period of time and are in the same pool of candidates that have been in Canada for generations. Just because York does not let as many international students because they do not want to gouge graduate students out of money is not an indicator of xenephobia. Do you really think the universities that admit tons of international students and charge them $40,000-50,000 a year are doing it for altruistic purposes?

 

Wonderful information about the procedure. Thanks a lot for this post. Although this post was written as a response to someone else, it was my mistake to say xenophobia for York's attitude. I am so sorry for that, may be it was because of my silly frustration.

Edited March 10, 2013 by foucaultmania