DoubleA Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 So I applied for an NSERC USRA at UWO, and got a reply saying that I was waitlisted. Has anyone been in a similar position? I'm applying with a 91% average - 3.99 GPA; based on my marks, should I expect the waitlist to move enough for me to get an award? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LeCreuset Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 This is all dependent on what department you applied for.. clarify? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 This is all dependent on what department you applied for.. clarify? What else can they use to rank applicants apart from their gpa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It will move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benge88 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I got one off the waitlist, although i was not at uwo. Someone in my lab got off the waitlist as late as the end of may! Don't give up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LeCreuset Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 What else can they use to rank applicants apart from their gpa? Some fields such as physiology have more scholarships available such as through CIHR which directly competes with NSERC. Many students will decline an NSERC award for a CIHR one. Edit: How is end of May even possible? NSERC is conditional on completing 16 weeks full-time.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted February 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 This is all dependent on what department you applied for.. clarify? I applied to the department of physiology, but I believe the waitlist encompasses all of the medical sciences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 So just wanted to add something interesting I learned today- apparently the cut off for a NSERC award at Schulich was 96% , with a total of 17 awards. I was applying with the expectation that the cutoff floated around the high 80s...wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 So just wanted to add something interesting I learned today- apparently the cut off for a NSERC award at Schulich was 96% , with a total of 17 awards. I was applying with the expectation that the cutoff floated around the high 80s...wow. How do you know what the cutoffs are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 How do you know what the cutoffs are? My supervisor met with someone who was on the committee for the awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdincale Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 So just wanted to add something interesting I learned today- apparently the cut off for a NSERC award at Schulich was 96% , with a total of 17 awards. I was applying with the expectation that the cutoff floated around the high 80s...wow. I don't think the average is correct. I asked Vicki Vanstrien ( the contact person) and she also told me only 17 awards were handed out this year but when I asked for the average she said she couldn't tell me. Also my average was < 96% but I got an award, however I do believe the cut off is around 91-93 as a lot of people I know with those didn't get an award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I don't think the average is correct. I asked Vicki Vanstrien ( the contact person) and she also told me only 17 awards were handed out this year but when I asked for the average she said she couldn't tell me. Also my average was < 96% but I got an award, however I do believe the cut off is around 91-93 as a lot of people I know with those didn't get an award. Maybe there was confusion between average and cutoff then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LeCreuset Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I don't think the average is correct. I asked Vicki Vanstrien ( the contact person) and she also told me only 17 awards were handed out this year but when I asked for the average she said she couldn't tell me. Also my average was < 96% but I got an award, however I do believe the cut off is around 91-93 as a lot of people I know with those didn't get an award. I got an offer with < 96% as well. The average may seem inflated due to the extremely small amount of positions available, 17 for 1000+ eligible students. Edit: I declined so I hope you get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paloma22 Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Some fields such as physiology have more scholarships available such as through CIHR which directly competes with NSERC. Many students will decline an NSERC award for a CIHR one. Edit: How is end of May even possible? NSERC is conditional on completing 16 weeks full-time.. Can someone please post the CIHR awards information? I cannot seem to find it. What is competitiveness like for the CIHR vs. NSERC, and why would the CIHR funding be more preferable (more competitive?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brainz Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 CIHR is pretty much impossible to get unless you are curing cancer in your lab, so don't worry too much about CIHR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleA Posted April 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 I got an offer with < 96% as well. The average may seem inflated due to the extremely small amount of positions available, 17 for 1000+ eligible students. Edit: I declined so I hope you get it! Did 1000+ people actually apply for it? And the waitlist didn't get to me, but I have a backup so w/e. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 Did 1000+ people actually apply for it? And the waitlist didn't get to me, but I have a backup so w/e. No way 1000+ people applied for it. I think what was meant is that 1000+ (science students) COULD have applied. I applied to with numerous professors at different universities (I believe that NSERC officer at UWO is Vicki). She told me there were about 60 applications. I'm sorry to hear that the waitlist didn't get to you . It's great that you have a back up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stack444 Posted May 1, 2012 Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 Hey folks, I thought NSERC considers your GPA, not the avg in percent?? could someone clarify? If I apply during second year, which marks will be considered? first year and then the first half of second year? Are all of those courses evenly weighted? Thanks in advance for helping me out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 Hey folks, I thought NSERC considers your GPA, not the avg in percent?? could someone clarify? If I apply during second year, which marks will be considered? first year and then the first half of second year? Are all of those courses evenly weighted? Thanks in advance for helping me out Hi stack444, In terms of how NSERC-USRA is granted to applicants, this varies from university to university and from faculty to faculty. Consequently, the only way to be certain of how NSERC-USRA is given at your institution is to ask the NSERC officer at your institution. For instance, UWO uses percentages to grant NSERC USRA. On the other hand, I know some of my friends at other universities who had their GPA used, instead of percentages, as part of the grant process. Furthermore, whether 1st and 2nd year courses are given different weights - it depends on your university once again . UWO science/schulich doesn't care about courses and which year you took them in, but this can vary from school to school. The only way to be certain is to ask someone at your institution. HTH, Tesla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stack444 Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 Hi stack444, In terms of how NSERC-USRA is granted to applicants, this varies from university to university and from faculty to faculty. Consequently, the only way to be certain of how NSERC-USRA is given at your institution is to ask the NSERC officer at your institution. For instance, UWO uses percentages to grant NSERC USRA. On the other hand, I know some of my friends at other universities who had their GPA used, instead of percentages, as part of the grant process. Furthermore, whether 1st and 2nd year courses are given different weights - it depends on your university once again . UWO science/schulich doesn't care about courses and which year you took them in, but this can vary from school to school. The only way to be certain is to ask someone at your institution. HTH, Tesla thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojjanhorse Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 A friend of mine (a secretary at UofT) is on the committee and I've met him from getting 2 NSERCs myself and became good friends afterwards. I asked him few questions and here is what I know about the NSERC and how they decide. Each year a secretary in charge will email all the proffs in the department asking if anyone wants to be on the committee (usually 3 ppl are on it). Once they have 3, they go through the applications. Each year, the new committee will create their own criteria on how they will sieve through the applicants. Here are some of the guidelines made by the committee at different years: -If you were a higher year student, you were more preferred. -If you had an NSERC before, they are more inclined to award you with another. -If you have not received an NSERC before, you were more likely to get it. -Obviously GPA is considered each year but with different weightings. They literally have a printout of all your grades with percentages and GPA scores for each course. It really depends on the committee and whoever is the most senior from the three members because everyone will listen to him/her. If you're wait listed, it means that the offers to the applicants have already been sent off and their response is awaited. Some students decide to not do it (this happens quite often as many don't realize that it requires an entire term of full time dedication and they just apply because of its prestige and monetary value). As soon as someone declines an offer, the next person on the list is contacted. Depending on the funding that the uni has for awards, some years are more fruitful than others. I remember when I was in 1st year uni, the university found a s*** load of funding lying around and they gave NSERCs to about 25 applicants (even students with low 3.0 GPAs IN BIOLOGY!). Most of the years they have the norm. UTSC is putting too much money on infrastructure so they are constantly shaving off the awards and the # of awards decrease every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.