brusselsprouted

I think you can actually accept both, since NSF allows you to defer funding for two years (it gives three years of funding over five years). Just defer the NSF for a year or two, depending on whether you're an undergraduate or first-year graduate student and use the NDSEG for your first year or two. Then start your NSF funding. Obviously you should check with your program director at your graduate institution to make sure everything's okay, but I'm pretty sure you can work it out. Congrats! Note that the NDSEG is non-deferrable. So you have to use the NDSEG first.

I received both the DAAD and Fulbright for 2012-2013. I ended up going with Fulbright. The stipends were the same for me, Fulbright provided me a 6-week language course before the grant started, and there's obviously the name recognition. I'm so glad I did- being part of the Fulbright community in Germany made a hugely positive impact on my experience (there's a midyear conference in Berlin, as well as the opportunity to make friends and connections across the country) and I've stayed in contact with fellow Fulbrighters after we left. I can confirm that you can enroll in classes at your affiliated university through the Fulbright. I had friends take both classes related to their research fields and "fun" classes (documentary films, Portuguese). In summary, I would take Fulbright unless you have a specific need for the DAAD. Edit: Forgot to add that I think the name recognition of Fulbright has definitely helped me after leaving the country, both with grad school acceptances and further fellowships (NSF)

My Fulbright year (Germany, last year) was really hard too. I had just graduated college and all my friends were thousands of miles away. Plus I was living in the "real world", away from the support of my undergraduate institution. Combine that with the longest winter Germany had faced in 43 years (the sun was only up from 8:30am-4pm) and you have a great recipe for a long and lonely winter. That being said, the last 4 months were the best. I traveled, made more friends, and finally began to feel comfortable with where I was living. I think it just takes a lot of time to settle in to living abroad and if you terminate your grant now you would never get to experience the amazing wonderful things about living abroad. Of course, you know yourself best and if you think it won't get better, it might not. But I think your experience is not unique and it will get better in the second half.

Fulbright definitely covers masters degrees- I know several people who have used Fulbright funding to cover the first year of their masters degrees. However, you still need to have a research project in mind that either motivates your masters or that you can do at the same time, since Fulbright is a research grant. [Edit: You'll need to find different funding for the second year of your masters, since Fulbright won't cover two years.] Also, I agree that you should apply through your school. The support (and application editing!) you receive is much better than doing it at-large.

The DAAD scholarship is administered by the German Academic Exchange Service and funds similar/identical projects to the Fulbright (I think 6-12 month research trips for post-graduate or dissertation work). Because they're both funded from a common source, you actually can't hold both fellowships simultaneously (I asked!). However, depending on funding sources, you can be receiving multiple grants during the same period. For example, it is possible to receive the Whitaker (for biomedical engineering) and the Fulbright at the same time. About traveling- my commission doesn't want me to leave Europe for more than 14 days during the year so a travel fellowship wouldn't really be practical.

When I called them on Tuesday they said I should "hear very soon". Still haven't heard anything though...

Has anyone heard from UCLA organic? They're the last program I'm waiting for and I need to buy plane tickets soon if I'm going to visit (international tickets are going up!)

When I was visiting schools last year (decided to work abroad for a year, now going through the application process again) people mostly dressed like this. I (female) wore gray cords, a nice shirt + cardigan and flats for the day spent meeting professors and jeans for the second day (normally spent on a campus/city tour). There were definitely people pushing the casual side that didn't look completely out of place but it's always better to look nicer than too sloppy, in my opinion.

Hey guys! I've been stalking for a while but heard good news from Germany yesterday so I wanted to update the spreadsheet! Full grant, no interview, notified Mar 13 via email, undergraduate, going to be working in a chemistry lab at the Universität Hamburg. I also got the DAAD but barring drastic stipend differences I'll probably be going with the Fulbright. Has anyone else written a proposal for a hard science project? I'd be interested to see what the proportion is / what people think it's going to be like working in an international laboratory full-time. Also is anyone else waiting to hear about the six-week language course?