BioBum

Hi all! My boyfriend is seriously considering FSU for grad school. I'm the overly prepared one of this outfit. Since we plan on getting married in the next couple of years we have agreed to make this decision together and living conditions are pretty high on my list. We would like some information on what neighborhoods are affordable on a grad student salary (he will be a first year PhD student and I'll be finishing up my masters, but can do that remotely from Tallahassee). We do have two dogs that love to run so we'd like a neighborhood with decent size yards. We're looking for a nice family friendly neighborhood with a minimal number of undergraduates. We love nature and would love a park or walking trails within walking distance. Bonus points for a neighborhood with lots of large trees. Where we currently are, students that stay for PhDs end up buying as it is more affordable in the long run. Is Tallahassee the same? We will likely start trying for a family white there as well so information on schools/school districts would also be helpful. Thank you in advance!

Don't expect a good or even mildly helpful review from all/any of your reviewers. I had one reviewer that gave me a glowing review but he/she also seemed to think the sun shone out of my ass (E/E and enthusiastically recommended me for funding) another reviewer gave me G/G and didn't include a single bit of original writing, he/she simply copy and pasted sections of my proposal into their "review". I understand that you cannot appeal appeal reviews to NSF but this seemed a little ridiculous. A third reviewer gave me VG/VG and a helpful review. It's a total crap shoot people. Good luck to everyone!

Finding it really hard to concentrate today ...

I applied for the GRF mainly for the prestige that comes along with being an NSF fellow. Secondarily, I applied for the raise. My boyfriend and I, both grad students, are trying to save for a house. That extra 14k-year would make for a killer down payment!

Anyone else forget about the GRFP recently and then realize that the announcement is still months away *quietly sobbing*.

I would like to chime in about the low GPA issue. I graduated in 2011 with a 2.79 GPA. I received E/E, VG/VG, and G/G. For what it's worth, 2 days after graduating I had a job in my field and have been employed steadily with 4 major research universities in that time. Additionally, I have one publication out and two more in prep. Only the G/G reviewer made any comment at all about the GPA. I suspect that the GPA ruled me out immediately in his/her eyes. I did have extenuating circumstances involved with my low GPA. Family issues, depression, death of a close friend, etc etc. it was one tragic event after another for the first 2.5 years of my college career. Finally, during my last semester and a half I pulled it together and raised my GPA from a 1.8 to a 2.79 at an academically rigorous university. While GPA for that one reviewer may have a been a deal breaker, clearly for the other two my actions since then have proven my abilities as a scientist. The E/E reviewer recommended me for funding. Don't focus too heavily on GPA. If you've got a story to back your low GPA and the science cred along with a kick ass proposal the GPA shouldn't be a huge issue. Anywho, that's my two cents. Good luck to all of those applying next year.

Reviewer 1: VG/VG Positive reviews Reviewer 2: E/E Sung my praises and recommended me for funding Reviewer 3: G/G NO ORIGINAL FEEDBACK - this reviewer literally copy and pasted sections of my proposal and put those in. How is that even considered to be feedback. Did write "Low GPA". I suspect this is what brought me way down in his/her eyes for the IM section. Didn't seem to bother actually reading my application. Oh well. That's not stopping me from applying again next year and the year after that if need be. Congrats to all those that won.

t-minus 2 hours!

I wish I would have had that option. 8 hours of field work today plus an unknown number for tomorrow. Sigh.

Central time here - but I've got to be up early for field work. Probably won't stop me from checking fastlane at 1 am here.

I think that depends on the institution and the field of study. Both my undergraduate and future graduate universities have hired recent grads for postdocs, faculty, and other research positions within the university.

Thank you! And here I thought I was being overly critical.

I don't know about the rest of you all, but my hope is dwindling.

HAHAHA! Thank you for that one. In a day full of paranoia your post actually made me laugh out loud!

Took a nap to try and take my mind off of the GRFP - woke up in the middle of a nightmare - I got an email from NSF saying that I would have won a fellowship spot but instead I'm being disqualified because my margins were off by .0001 inches. Anyone else having crazy GRFP induced nightmares?