canadiangirl Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 hey all... Apparently "spring 2009" means late march... I just got my notification for the Master's SSHRC competition. Was a bit earlier than I was expecting! I'm assuming they got mailed out this week (I'm in Ottawa, so it didn't have far to go). So you should be expecting them soon... On the wait list. dog-gone it.
jackassjim Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 On the wait list. dog-gone it. Wow, a waitlist is really annoying (but better than an outright rejection). I hope you move up and get the money. Best of luck!
thepoorstockinger Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Well this will make for a stressful weekend...
jackassjim Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Well this will make for a stressful weekend... I know someone who got a rejection letter a few weeks ago from SSHRC. Timing might depend on the result (reject, waitlist, yay!). Don't be too stressed.
dramanda Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Was the rejection letter for master's or doctoral SSHRC? Here I was asking schools for extensions on my deadline to respond. *Fingers crossed* that I don't actually need to take them up on that offer.....
dramanda Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 hey all... On the wait list. dog-gone it. Btw, I wouldn't worry too much about the waitlist. Some applicants will turn down their offers because of financial packages from the school they choose to attend or because they will attend school outside of the country. I know more about this in the context of the doc competition, but someone I know was offered the lower SSHRC fellowship initially ($20,000/year) and had it upgraded to a CGS ($35,000/year) over the summer. I hope it all works out for you!
jackassjim Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Btw, I wouldn't worry too much about the waitlist. Some applicants will turn down their offers because of financial packages from the school they choose to attend or because they will attend school outside of the country. I know more about this in the context of the doc competition, but someone I know was offered the lower SSHRC fellowship initially ($20,000/year) and had it upgraded to a CGS ($35,000/year) over the summer. My understanding was that you don't normally decline the SSHRC to use your school's money instead. Rather, the school would reduce your stipend up to the point where the money you get is equal to their original offer. For example, if the stipend is 22K and your SSHRC 20K, they'll tell you to take the SSHRC and will only give you 2K of their own money. Of course, they also reduce whatever work obligations there were attached to the package (less TA/RAships). People get upgraded from the 20K to the 35K when candidates decline the latter. This is particularly likely to happen because you can't take the 35K one outside Canada. For instance, I have accepted an offer of admission to a US university for the fall. If I get the big one, I will have to decline it, and SSHRC will give me the 20K instead. Another candidate will then get bumped up. I think this must be the main mechanism that allows people to move up in the list. I don't think you can make the same type of reasoning for M.A. waitlist.
jasper.milvain Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 Yipes! Guess it's time to start obsessively checking mailboxes. I have two friends who were waitlisted for MA SSHRCS and ended up getting them. Don't give up hope!
Firled Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 Does anyone know what your chances are of winning a SSHRC doctoral fellowship if you apply from outside Canada? I have an MA from Canada and am currently attending a U.S. institution for my Ph.D.. I called the program folks at SSHRC and they said that I was eligible. I received a rejection letter saying that I did not make one of the 255 finalists. Has anyone hear of someone receiving a SSHRC to study in the U.S.?
ogopogo Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 I do know people studying in the states who have the SSHRC doctoral awards, but I think a few of them got the award before they started their studies, and I don't know what they wrote on the application about where they planned to go. I would think since you applied from outside of a Canadian university you would probably have the same chance as all the other 'external' applicants in the first round though. I know someone who got a rejection letter a few weeks ago from SSHRC. Are you serious jackassjim? You know someone who made it to the national competition and then got a rejection letter from SSHRC? Already? It's not even April! And here I've been trying so hard not to even think about waiting for the mail. I hope you aren't just teasing us hopeful SSHRCers, we're wound pretty tight this time of year so that would really be living up to your moniker.
jasper.milvain Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 I have. There are a lot of people who take the small SSHRC to other countries. People studying in the US probably get lumped in with the non-affiliated folk who are applying through Ottawa. I don't know what percentage make it to the 'final 250'. From looking at the SSHRC competition statistics linked to upthread, I think that 250 finalists figure you were quoted represents the quota for both A and B lists. 79 were A-listed in 2008, and only 41 were successful. All of which is to say I'm really sorry that you didn't get through. I know amazing researchers who never got a drop of SSHRC funding. I don't think it has to do with studying in the US, I think it's just the craziness of the process. ETA: Are you serious jackassjim? You know someone who made it to the national competition and then got a rejection letter from SSHRC? Already? It's not even April! And here I've been trying so hard not to even think about waiting for the mail. I hope you aren't just teasing us hopeful SSHRCers, we're wound pretty tight this time of your so that would really be living up to your moniker. This doesn't sound right to me, either. I'm betting it was a late notification that they weren't FORWARDED, not a rejection at the national level.
ogopogo Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 813 people applied to SSHRC directly this year, according to the letter they sent me, so the 255 that made it into the 2nd round would represent about 30% of applicants. So yeah, a lot of people weren't lucky this year. hmmm...I wonder what percentage of applications were forwarded on to SSHRC by each of the big schools this year...
dramanda Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 My understanding was that you don't normally decline the SSHRC to use your school's money instead. Rather, the school would reduce your stipend up to the point where the money you get is equal to their original offer. For example, if the stipend is 22K and your SSHRC 20K, they'll tell you to take the SSHRC and will only give you 2K of their own money. Of course, they also reduce whatever work obligations there were attached to the package (less TA/RAships). People get upgraded from the 20K to the 35K when candidates decline the latter. This is particularly likely to happen because you can't take the 35K one outside Canada. For instance, I have accepted an offer of admission to a US university for the fall. If I get the big one, I will have to decline it, and SSHRC will give me the 20K instead. Another candidate will then get bumped up. I think this must be the main mechanism that allows people to move up in the list. I don't think you can make the same type of reasoning for M.A. waitlist. I meant people who choose to study outside of Canada for their MA. If I got a financial offer from a US school that amounted to more than $17500 (and the school was an equal or better fit), then I'd surely take that option. Since Master's SSHRC can only be held at a Canadian university, you'd have to decline the award. So there is a definite possibility that people will decline Master's SSHRC offers and someone could be moved from the waitlist. There are other possibilities as well. Someone might have applied to both MA and PhD programs, and if they choose a doc program, obviously won't be able to take and Master's SSHRC with them. I was in this situation this year and it was troubling to have to decide which level of SSHRC to apply to.
dramanda Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 Does anyone know what your chances are of winning a SSHRC doctoral fellowship if you apply from outside Canada? I have an MA from Canada and am currently attending a U.S. institution for my Ph.D.. I called the program folks at SSHRC and they said that I was eligible. I received a rejection letter saying that I did not make one of the 255 finalists. Has anyone hear of someone receiving a SSHRC to study in the U.S.? In the table that everyone keeps linking to: http://www.sshrc.ca/site/winning-recher ... s_2008.xls Under tab #1, there are two relevant sections. "No institutional affiliation" and "Foreign". If you applied from within Canada with no institutional affiliation, it seems that the success rate (if you make it to List A) is 51.9%. If, on the other hand, you applied through your American university, the odds after being placed on List A are 71.1%. Since the overall success rate for Canadian students (with or without institutional affiliation) is only 60.7%, it doesn't seem that applying from outside of Canada through your foreign institution is really that bad at all.
jackassjim Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 This doesn't sound right to me, either. I'm betting it was a late notification that they weren't FORWARDED, not a rejection at the national level. She was not affiliated to a university, so she did not really "make it to the national level". She applied directly to SSHRC, not through a school. It still means they are evaluating files. But I admit it might be an exceptional case.
jackassjim Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 I meant people who choose to study outside of Canada for their MA. If I got a financial offer from a US school that amounted to more than $17500 (and the school was an equal or better fit), then I'd surely take that option. Since Master's SSHRC can only be held at a Canadian university, you'd have to decline the award. So there is a definite possibility that people will decline Master's SSHRC offers and someone could be moved from the waitlist. There are other possibilities as well. Someone might have applied to both MA and PhD programs, and if they choose a doc program, obviously won't be able to take and Master's SSHRC with them. I was in this situation this year and it was troubling to have to decide which level of SSHRC to apply to. Sorry. I had misunderstood your post. Thanks for clarifying
jasper.milvain Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 She was not affiliated to a university, so she did not really "make it to the national level". She applied directly to SSHRC, not through a school. It still means they are evaluating files. But I admit it might be an exceptional case. Fair enough.
geogguy Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 I recieved my notification from SSHRC on Thursday of this past week. I applied directly to the ministry because I am currently in the states. It was for the Master's CGS.... ohh ya- and I was successful!!
thepoorstockinger Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 Canadian Girl, did you apply directly or through your school?
jferreir Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I immediately regret reading this thread... now I know I won't sleep! In my case, I was nominated for a SSHRC CGS Masters by my home institution, but I had no idea the success rate was so high! Speaking of which, does anyone know what percentage of graduate students presently hold SSHRC funding? I think I read somewhere that it's around 5%, but that number always struck me as quite low (for no particular reason). On a separate note, if we receive SSHRC funding (knock on wood), how do schools go about adjusting their internal funding package? That is, how does a school determine what amount of internal funding is proportionate to SSHRC funding? Obviously, this will change based on school/department, but I'm curious to know what the general methodology is. Best of luck to you all!
jasper.milvain Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I immediately regret reading this thread... now I know I won't sleep! Seriously! I was congratulating myself on being all zen about waiting this year, and now that's all out the window! In my case, I was nominated for a SSHRC CGS Masters by my home institution, but I had no idea the success rate was so high! Speaking of which, does anyone know what percentage of graduate students presently hold SSHRC funding? I think I read somewhere that it's around 5%, but that number always struck me as quite low (for no particular reason). If you were passed along for an MA by your school, you can count on getting it. Not that I was able to take my own advice when I was waiting on my MA SSHRC letter, but you're almost certainly in. As for success rates, that's an interesting question. You mean students in SSHRC-eligible programs, yes? At my MA school, about 4 or 5 of the 20 MA students each year got SSHRC over the course of their degrees. We tend to do really well generally... I know 3 out of the 6 incoming PhD students came in with SSHRCs, and one more of that cohort got forwarded this year. 5% certainly sounds too low based on my own department. On a separate note, if we receive SSHRC funding (knock on wood), how do schools go about adjusting their internal funding package? That is, how does a school determine what amount of internal funding is proportionate to SSHRC funding? Obviously, this will change based on school/department, but I'm curious to know what the general methodology is. Best of luck to you all! At both of the schools whose funding I'm familiar with (the one I came from and the one I'm going to) SSHRC completely wipes out any internal funding except for any SSHRC top-up they may offer. In my case, this means I'm in the very weird position of getting LESS money if I get the small SSHRC, since $20 000 plus the $10 000 top-up is less than the recruitment money they offered me.
thepoorstockinger Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 Most schools seem to reduce most of the funding package except for the TA position. My offer from SFU was $23.5k in year one without a sshrc (including a $10.5k TAship) but they would have taken $9k of that away if I got a SSHRC. Trent take $4k away ($15k becomes $11k). So it really depends on the department and the individual offer. The way the funding offer changes was one of the things I made sure to ask before deciding what offer to accept. I gave my parent's address as my mailing address on the SSHRC application since I thought I'd be moving, so now I will have to call them twice a day to see if a letter arrived. Fantastic.
jasper.milvain Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 Ah- I wasn't thinking about TA work, just awards. Many awards specifically state that they can't be held by someone with a "major award" (ie SSHRC). The terms of reference will usually say. Seems like teaching positions are still offered, just fewer and possibly beginning later. The SSHRC-holders in my school teach one term a year instead of two. Now I need to force myself to leave the house and go to campus, instead of waiting around for the mail to arrive first. Leaving now. No really. Getting up and leaving.
jferreir Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I've been waiting all morning for the mailman... alas, no SSHRC letter, but I did receive yet another visa bill... :evil:
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