Saturday, January 10, 2004

My SSHRC application is in. Now all I have to do is start filling out actual application forms for the schools I'm applying to, and round up all my transcripts. I'm really not sure where I want to go. The three schools I'm applying to all have aspects of their programs that I really like...I have a feeling a big part of my decision will rest on who wants to pony up in terms of RA and TA positions and such. Of course, if I don't get an Ontario Graduate Scholarship or a SSHRC grant, I'll probably find myself in back at Nipissing for Teacher's College regardless....

+University of Guelph - Guelph is about sixty miles west of Toronto, so it's the closest to home for me, and it's a pretty good school. Their department has the focus on Canadian Lit and Postcolonial Studies that I want, they have some pretty famous names in the faculty (Thomas King, Donna Palmateer Pennee), and if i can get a TAship, it pays over $4200/term...which is nothing to sneeze at.
+University of Ottawa - More of a "big name" school, to be sure, but not as strong in the areas I want to cover (though they do have some good theory stuff) and I find their department very unresponsive to requests for help. If I get a TA position here I will be teaching undergrad grammar and technical writing classes, and that scares me. I do like the school, and it does have a PhD program as well as the MA, which could be useful.
+Carleton University - This school doesn't have the best department, but it is looking to improve its reputation in the field, which could be an excellent opportunity for me. It's also in Ottawa (or just outside it). They also have the CanLit connection and the PoCo, as well, and since they have no PhD program, all of the department's time and effort is focused on the MA students. An added advantage of both Ottawa and Carleton is that I'm allowed to take up to 1.0 credits from whichever school I'm not attending, and that I would have access to the libraries at both schools.

So that's kind of the thought for now...and I'm no closer to making a decision.

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