NSERC USRA help!

[Schen]

Hi, I am a third year undergraduate student. My gpa is pretty good (>3.9) and I'm looking to do some research during the school year. I was just wondering if someone could just clarify the NSERC application process. So I have to first fill out form 202 part I on the nserc website. Then find a professor willing to supervise me and have him/her fill out form 202 part II. And then I have to wait to see if I am granted NSERC?

 

If someone is able to guide me through the application process that would be great.

 

Thanks

[Raiya]

Hi, I am a third year undergraduate student. My gpa is pretty good (>3.9) and I'm looking to do some research during the school year. I was just wondering if someone could just clarify the NSERC application process. So I have to first fill out form 202 part I on the nserc website. Then find a professor willing to supervise me and have him/her fill out form 202 part II. And then I have to wait to see if I am granted NSERC?

 

If someone is able to guide me through the application process that would be great.

 

Thanks

 

If you are interested in doing research during school year, it's best to start to emailing professors as soon as possible. During your interview, you want to talk about your past research experiences, any publications, and as well as your career goals (i.e. grad school). Of course, GPA is one of the main deciding factors as well, and with your 3.9, it shouldn't be too big of a problem. I don't remember which forms exactly but yes there were two forms part I and II. I just remember that for part II you had to sit down with your professor to discuss about the project details and what you will contribute to in the lab. After completing of part I and II, you wait for department approval. The department had to accept the proposal, then NSERC should automatically approve and will confirm with you and your prof.

 

So best thing to do first, is to secure a professor who's got NSERC funding and is willing to support you!

 

Best of luck

[FrenchToast]

If you are interested in doing research during school year, it's best to start to emailing professors as soon as possible. During your interview, you want to talk about your past research experiences, any publications, and as well as your career goals (i.e. grad school). Of course, GPA is one of the main deciding factors as well, and with your 3.9, it shouldn't be too big of a problem. I don't remember which forms exactly but yes there were two forms part I and II. I just remember that for part II you had to sit down with your professor to discuss about the project details and what you will contribute to in the lab. After completing of part I and II, you wait for department approval. The department had to accept the proposal, then NSERC should automatically approve and will confirm with you and your prof.

 

So best thing to do first, is to secure a professor who's got NSERC funding and is willing to support you!

 

Best of luck

 

Hate to be discouraging, but I have a 4.0 and I didn't get an NSERC this past year. I think there must be more to it than GPA, at least for some departments/schools.

[Raiya]

Hate to be discouraging, but I have a 4.0 and I didn't get an NSERC this past year. I think there must be more to it than GPA, at least for some departments/schools.

 

Yeah, in my school GPA seemed to be a big factor. But of course, it's gonna vary.

 

But daym, nice gpa brah.

[NutritionRunner]

Hate to be discouraging, but I have a 4.0 and I didn't get an NSERC this past year. I think there must be more to it than GPA, at least for some departments/schools.

 

Definitely! I had an NSERC USRA this summer, and the prof I'm working with told me that they were looking for individuals who demonstrated an ability to work independently. Once a certain GPA threshold had been reached, they were more interested in whether or not the students they were hiring had clearly demonstrated the ability to work without supervision. I guess in the past they had students with very high GPAs who needed a lot of supervision and direction, and they were more interested in finding someone who could go into the lab and work without direct supervision, once they were shown where everything was and how the equipment worked.

[FrenchToast]

Definitely! I had an NSERC USRA this summer, and the prof I'm working with told me that they were looking for individuals who demonstrated an ability to work independently. Once a certain GPA threshold had been reached, they were more interested in whether or not the students they were hiring had clearly demonstrated the ability to work without supervision. I guess in the past they had students with very high GPAs who needed a lot of supervision and direction, and they were more interested in finding someone who could go into the lab and work without direct supervision, once they were shown where everything was and how the equipment worked.

 

That's actually so interesting! How do you think they assessed that, though? It seems like it would be a bit tricky to do.

 

I was also applying for an award at a university that I do not attend. The undergraduate secretary said that students from other universities are eligible, but I am a little bit suspicious that there was a bias. Do you think this is possible?

[NutritionRunner]

That's actually so interesting! How do you think they assessed that, though? It seems like it would be a bit tricky to do.

 

I was also applying for an award at a university that I do not attend. The undergraduate secretary said that students from other universities are eligible, but I am a little bit suspicious that there was a bias. Do you think this is possible?

 

I have heard of students holding an NSERC at a university other than the one where they were studying, so clearly it is possible. I just have no idea how common that may or may not be.

 

When I applied for my NSERC USRA, I included a resume, plus there was a face-to-face interview. No doubt they were able to deduce from my resume, plus from the interview, that I had a lot of experience working independently, and also had plenty of experience managing others. Of course, I'm a non-trad, so I had more actual work experience on my resume than a "typical" undergrad would have. However, one of the other students I was working with for the summer is a "typical" undergrad, also hoping to attend medical school. Her extracurricular activities included several leadership positions, so those probably demonstrated an ability to work independently, or at least an ability to take the lead when given a certain amount of direction.

 

I do know that some departments only looked at students within their department (I received some lovely "thanks and I'm sure you are disappointed") emails from those departments. Other programs interviewed students who met a certain GPA threshold. Others (the department I did research with for the summer) looked at transcripts along with resumes and an interview. But I have no idea how they decided who to interview (I assume it was GPA + resume) - I just know that the prof I worked with told me that they were looking for individuals who didn't need "hand holding" - who had demonstrated, through previous experience - the ability to work with a minimum amount of supervision.

 

I've also heard, through the grapevine, that some USRA postings already had students in mind for those awards, but they "had" to post them on the USRA website for the university in order to follow the university's protocols. But they really already knew who they were hiring, and posting it on the USRA website was a formality. But I don't know if that's really the case or not - it's just what I've heard from other undergrads.

 

I had a great experience this summer, and I've been telling everyone this: it doesn't cost you anything but a bit of time to apply, so go ahead and apply! I almost didn't apply to any NSERC USRAs because "everyone" knew that the students had already been chosen for the positions, and my home faculty didn't have any NSERC USRA openings. I'm glad I ignored the conventional advice and applied, since I had a great experience this summer doing some very cool research. And while the department where I did the research isn't my home faculty, it is in a related discipline, and will certainly help with both my medical school and dietetic internship applications.

[FrenchToast]

I have heard of students holding an NSERC at a university other than the one where they were studying, so clearly it is possible. I just have no idea how common that may or may not be.

 

When I applied for my NSERC USRA, I included a resume, plus there was a face-to-face interview. No doubt they were able to deduce from my resume, plus from the interview, that I had a lot of experience working independently, and also had plenty of experience managing others. Of course, I'm a non-trad, so I had more actual work experience on my resume than a "typical" undergrad would have. However, one of the other students I was working with for the summer is a "typical" undergrad, also hoping to attend medical school. Her extracurricular activities included several leadership positions, so those probably demonstrated an ability to work independently, or at least an ability to take the lead when given a certain amount of direction.

 

I do know that some departments only looked at students within their department (I received some lovely "thanks and I'm sure you are disappointed") emails from those departments. Other programs interviewed students who met a certain GPA threshold. Others (the department I did research with for the summer) looked at transcripts along with resumes and an interview. But I have no idea how they decided who to interview (I assume it was GPA + resume) - I just know that the prof I worked with told me that they were looking for individuals who didn't need "hand holding" - who had demonstrated, through previous experience - the ability to work with a minimum amount of supervision.

 

I've also heard, through the grapevine, that some USRA postings already had students in mind for those awards, but they "had" to post them on the USRA website for the university in order to follow the university's protocols. But they really already knew who they were hiring, and posting it on the USRA website was a formality. But I don't know if that's really the case or not - it's just what I've heard from other undergrads.

 

I had a great experience this summer, and I've been telling everyone this: it doesn't cost you anything but a bit of time to apply, so go ahead and apply! I almost didn't apply to any NSERC USRAs because "everyone" knew that the students had already been chosen for the positions, and my home faculty didn't have any NSERC USRA openings. I'm glad I ignored the conventional advice and applied, since I had a great experience this summer doing some very cool research. And while the department where I did the research isn't my home faculty, it is in a related discipline, and will certainly help with both my medical school and dietetic internship applications.

 

Wow cool! I'm glad you had such a great experience . That's honestly so nice to hear!

 

At your university, do you need to submit a resume to apply for an NSERC award? I gave my resume to my supervisor when I applied to work with him, and that was all well and good, but when I actually applied for the award through the department/the NSERC website, you were only supposed to submit your transcript and awards that you've held. There would've been no way for them to know anything about work experience, ECs, etc. I've just been assuming that both of the 2 departmental awards were given to people with higher cumulative averages than me. I had a 96.5, which is why I cautioned against the OP being too optimistic.

[NutritionRunner]

Wow cool! I'm glad you had such a great experience . That's honestly so nice to hear!

 

At your university, do you need to submit a resume to apply for an NSERC award? I gave my resume to my supervisor when I applied to work with him, and that was all well and good, but when I actually applied for the award through the department/the NSERC website, you were only supposed to submit your transcript and awards that you've held. There would've been no way for them to know anything about work experience, ECs, etc. I've just been assuming that both of the 2 departmental awards were given to people with higher cumulative averages than me. I had a 96.5, which is why I cautioned against the OP being too optimistic.

 

Here, we had to fill out the NSERC application on the NSERC site, but then there was a separate form to fill out for the university. The form had to be submitted via email to the profs who had USRA positions open. In that form, you indicated why you were interested in their particular project, and what skills you could bring to the project. You could also include a resume along with your unofficial transcript as email attachments.

 

Then, when I was invited for the interview, there were a lot of questions about any previous lab experience, whether I had used certain pieces of equipment before, run electrophoresis gels, etc. There were also a lot of questions about my ability to work independently, without supervision.

 

Final decisions about who received the USRAs were only made after the interviews.

 

That said, the two of us who did receive the USRAs in the end are very strong academically. But so were the other students who were invited for the interviews. As I said, over the course of the summer I've had some discussions with the prof who hired me, and she mentioned that one of the reasons she chose me was the fact that she felt I would be able to work independently, without a lot of oversight or supervision. So here, it's not just about marks. But I guess each university is different!

[FrenchToast]

Here, we had to fill out the NSERC application on the NSERC site, but then there was a separate form to fill out for the university. The form had to be submitted via email to the profs who had USRA positions open. In that form, you indicated why you were interested in their particular project, and what skills you could bring to the project. You could also include a resume along with your unofficial transcript as email attachments.

 

Then, when I was invited for the interview, there were a lot of questions about any previous lab experience, whether I had used certain pieces of equipment before, run electrophoresis gels, etc. There were also a lot of questions about my ability to work independently, without supervision.

 

Final decisions about who received the USRAs were only made after the interviews.

 

That said, the two of us who did receive the USRAs in the end are very strong academically. But so were the other students who were invited for the interviews. As I said, over the course of the summer I've had some discussions with the prof who hired me, and she mentioned that one of the reasons she chose me was the fact that she felt I would be able to work independently, without a lot of oversight or supervision. So here, it's not just about marks. But I guess each university is different!

 

That's actually a really smart process. It sounds so well organized! Good for them - I'm impressed . Mind me asking which university this is?

 

I know at both UWO and U of T it's kind of a free-for-all where students just get in touch with profs, and a bunch of prof + student pairs apply for the department's NSERCs.

[NutritionRunner]

That's actually a really smart process. It sounds so well organized! Good for them - I'm impressed . Mind me asking which university this is?

 

I know at both UWO and U of T it's kind of a free-for-all where students just get in touch with profs, and a bunch of prof + student pairs apply for the department's NSERCs.

 

I'm at the University of Guelph. I have to say the process worked well for me. All the profs who advertise that they have USRA positions available are profs who already hold grants from NSERC, so it seems to work out well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was told by some people that certain profs already have certain students in mind for the USRAs, but have to post them up because the university requires it, but hey, at least some do seem to be a real, open competition! It certainly was in the department where I ended up, since both myself and the other USRA student are not based out of this department, and hadn't taken any courses from the profs holding the NSERC grants. I'm told in other departments it's not like that at all, and they do favour their own students, or already have individuals in mind.