Forgive the Torontonians... for they know not what they have done.

[Dracon II]

Greetings from the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto. Our PhD admissions committee has just met and a decision was made to offer you a position in our PhD program beginning September 2008. CONGRATULATIONS!! I am more than happy to bring you this news and hope that you will consider joining us in the fall. The offer comes with a guaranteed funding package of $13,000 plus tuition. Details related to the funding package and your admission will be communicated to you shortly. My apologies for not emailing individually but this email is simply to give you the good news and to welcome you to our PhD program. If you have questions please feel free to contact either myself or our Graduate Director, Professor Simone Chambers.

I'm on some sort of waiting list at Michigan, still waiting to hear from Chicago, but Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Notre Dame had given me the cold shoulder. I was beginning to think you north americans didn't like me... but it seems the Canadians don't mind a bit of Dracon, eh?

[C0ckney]

nice one for getting the offer.

$13,000 to live on, what's that in real money?

[Wezil]

$13K might pay the rent on a cheap place.

Congrats Dracon.

(except for the TO bit - for that you have my sympathies)

[Krill]

Is it tax free? (it would be over here)

But Dracon, I had you pegged down as a hard scientist...

gj getting on a Ph.D course though ;b:

[Lancer]

Get a job, screw the debt.

[Dracon II]

I'll have to see the details re: the aid package... but I'd say that 13k isn't exactly a living. I will have to see what kinds of RA or TA work I can get on campus... shouldn't be too hard given that I've already been doing it for a year at my current university. I'm glad they granted me direct entry to a ph.d... I think its standard to do an m.a first, in Canada at least (not in Australia, which perhaps they considered).

Will have to hear back from UMich and Chicago soon. Michigan have put me on some waiting list from which they draw applicants in a way that balances student intake according to their chosen major.

Krill... haven't done a hard science since high school, but its good that I give that impression

Wezil - Toronto not a good city? I've heard its the size of Sydney or Melbourne. Hopefully its more like Melbourne.

[Wezil]

Torontonians will tell you it is a good city. The rest of us know better.

In all fairness it will beat most major US cities hands down but in relation to other cities in Ontario and Canada it needs much work. Population of Toronto is 2-3M but the greater Toronto area would be more like 4M.

It is very unlikely you can live on $13K in Toronto even if you go the "starving student" route. It is an expensive city.

[Thoth]

Congrats Dracon!

Toronto is the city that the rest of Canada likes to poke fun at. Largely due to the "Toronto is the centre of the known universe" attitude of the inhabitants.

It's an ok city, but nowhere near as good as Torontonians would like you to believe.

[LordShiva]

Re: Forgive the Torontonians... for they know not what they have done.

Congrats

Originally posted by Dracon II
still waiting to hear from Chicago

Good luck

[Asher]

Note that UofT is the same university that accepted Agathon as a doctoral candidate. Maybe you should wait for your other offers...

Just sayin...

[GePap]

I assume that is $13,000 Canadian, or what is it now, $40,000 US?

[Asher]

13 000 Canadian dollars = 12 694.071 U.S. dollars

[GePap]

Sad, the days of Canadian dollar supremecy are already over?

[Asher]

It goes back and forth almost daily.

[Starchild]

Toronto's a fun city and the rest of Canada makes fun of it mostly out of jealousy. The downside is that it tends to think its on the same scale as world cities like New York or London.

But $13K? Ouch. I'm getting £12,000 tax free for my Ph.D. here in the UK. That's near enough to $24,000. Dunno how you're meant to survive on less.