SensLu

Agreed, I recently had to make the same decision, chose R because I found it to be referenced more by professors in environmental studies and it's a free program, so after my class I can still use it.

I received the email too, I thought it was interesting. I would definitely consider crowdsource funding but I'd likely try to do it independently rather through Microryza...only because I thought the website wasn't detailed enough for me on the process but I need to do more reading about them.

so the "subject to the availability of funds" parts means funding could possibly be reduced? I'm just curious.

I plan to drive my cat longer than 12hrs to grad school next Fall. I also don't feel comfortable flying them to the new state because of some statistics I read a few years ago. But who knows, maybe airlines have gotten better. From my experience, I drove my cat last summer (6+hrs) to the university I worked at. It was his first time driving long distances (at the time he was less than a year old). He seemed to be more calm when playing classical and later, Christmas music. People will likely have different responses but my cat was better behaved when I let him out the cage. However the way my car is, the cat was unable to get under seats and I was driving on country roads where driving isn't that "involved" as opposed to city driving. So I would do what's best for the situation you're in, and how comfortable you are driving safely with your cat out of the cage. Then again, no matter what you do, you'll likely have to put up with hours of meowing until the cat get's tired. Also, I always took frequent breaks from driving, so I would definitely consider that. I kept a disposable kitty litter bin on the floor of my car just in case. He only used it when I stopped at rest stops. Either way, put a pad at the bottom of his carrier as well.

My reference writers were very important. You need people can be passionate in their writing. And because I had a poor acedemic record, it was much needed and two reviewer mentioned my letter writers being significant in their decision. I had the same type of writers as you. One a professor I did all my undergrad research with, one from an internship and I had another professor who knows the type of research I did but our relationship was mostly built in the classroom. Honestly, I didn't even do that good in my 3rd letter writer's classes and he never let me see what he wrote like the other letter writers, so it was a gamble for me. Another piece of advice is if you know what professor you'll work under if you get the NSF GRFP then have them write a letter. I didn't do this for the NSF but I did it for the EPA fellowship. He barely knew me and wrote a letter the day after I asked about it. Weird, but my EPA reviewers mentioned his letter and them having confidence in the resources available at the university to complete my project if I got the award.

Mine was in B2, rejection letter dated may 3rd but postage date was May 7th. Oh and I got E, VG, F

Got mine, in MI. Good reviews, even though I decided I wasn't going to accept the award is awesome to finally know what the reviewers thought. I'm happy.

OMG this was awesome, I have been asking people about this lately and got nothing. I already started selling things and I'll do everything else on your list. I also have to move my pets.

do they update the award list to mention the current institution? My field and I noticed others are still blank.

I sent you a message. The building was still under construction and it's a lot of student housing over there, so it depends on your preference. I believe many of the graduate students live in other areas, like over in Urbana.

Lol well I haven't decided yet, I'm constantly looking to see if any new properties become available Fort Collins.

Thank you! 30 minutes isn't bad at all actually.

I went to school here for 6 freggin years. It was really fun. A lot of canadians go there so you'll never feel out of place or feel like you can't relate. Because the school is one of the top 3 research schools and it's more affordable compared to UM and MSU, the student population is growing each year. The school gets quite a bit of funding however they also provide a lot of support to students. The school is constantly upgrading, every university president that's been there when I was there have been good. e. The english department in my opinion has always been good. They offer a lot of help to people like me who was a horrible writer. I liked all my teachers, the key is to be down to earth. They have a lot of different English classes with a lot of sections. So you shouldn't have a hard time finding a TA position. From my experience, as an outsider looking in I can say English majors here take their craft seriously and because it's a more diverse international community, you'll have different perspectives. There are also many venues like museums and independent book stores that promote up literary work from students. Don't worry about safety, though I must tell you whether you're in Detroit, Chicago, LA, or New York, you need to be aware that all major cities are dangerous compared to suburbs. They have good and bad areas. People come to Detroit acting like they're in the suburbs and then complain about the city when something goes wrong. Use street smarts and be nice to everyone. I've lived in the city for 15 years before actually going to WSU for 6 years. Nothing bad has ever happened to me considering I have done a lot of partying til 3am. Especially considering a lot of the parties were in the old warehouses. Additionally, WSU has the one of the best and well known campus police departments. If something ever goes wrong around campus, you called WSU police instead of 911, Detroit police take too long to respond sometimes. WSU is mostly a commutor school with a grow population of on campus students. A big hipster community and growing biking community. People who come to Detroit always tell me that they didn't realize how big techno is there. I don't see why you wouldn't like Detroit, as an English major Detroit has one of the biggest art and literary communities. There is so much inspiration and these people move into the city because there's more freedom to express yourself and your craft here compared to major cities that are more regulated and expensive. Lots of cool new unique and small businesses are popping up. Eastern Market is still held as one of the best European style farmers markets in America. Downtown and Midtown Detroit doesn't have too many grocery markets so Eastern Market is where you want to do most your grocery shopping. You also will not have a shortage of events to go to year round, and the surrounding cities Royal Oak and Ferndale are really fun. Additionally, micro breweries are big her I think anyone would like WSU if they take advantage of what the community offers but I have seen so many that just stay on campus, do homework, and stay home. Good luck!

I'm trying to find places that aren't expensive without roommates and allows pets. Based on my current search, those places aren't available in Fort Collins. And I went to a school where most people commute so I don't have an issue with commuting. And I already stated I'm not much of a biker, especially not in crowded cities. I'm not the type of person that needs to live where all the action is.

haha, thanks for your straight and to the point response. So I'm guessing Loveland is a dump?

below a 2.7 GPA undergrad, won the NSF fellow and accepted to my top choice program. There is hope you guys LOL Also I have below 50% rankings on all sections of the GRE. Such is life, I barely studied. I was rejected by a lot of professors. One professor even questioned my intelligence despite the fact that I had way more research and presentation experience than most coming out of undergrad, then after explaining my situation, he never emailed me back! I told my teachers and they all labeled him a jerk and told me some professors are full of themselves...so I felt better. Lol I went with the 1 professor that agreed to take me on one there was funding despite my low GPA and before I even applied for the GRFP. Plus it was my first choice school. One thing I recommend is if you are like me and you see your GPA decreasing fast during your undergrad then get as much experience in a lab, volunteer if you have to, do a few technician and summer jobs. Stick with doing jobs at universities so you can Build up your connections that matter the most. Remember you're trying to get into grad school, so it's just smarter to keep working with professors or university owned organizations.

That's reasonable, so $1250 bi-weekly like a normal paycheck. I wouldn't be surprised if my university does the same...it makes sense.

Bumping because I'm also moving there. I have over 2000 stipend but I have bills to pay so I want something reasonable from 600-800. Right now I can't find anything that's available. All the online listings from realtors have places already leased. I did see some nice places in Loveland. I was wondering if anyone has any opinion about living or commuting to Loveland? I'm a walker and I would own a bike but I don't have experience riding bikes in populated areas so I've concluded I'll be using my car to get around anyways. My issue is finding a 1 bedroom place that allows pets and I just see more affordable options in Loveland. I definitely don't want to be near the college kids because I need a quiet place, I have been known to report noise violations on neighbors before. I get mixed reviews about the Old Town area, that some areas are more quiet and famiy oriented and some aren't. My department is in the northern part of campus but I'm only finding good places south of campus. Being from a big city, I'm assuming I'm not going to have as much fun or options to choose from, but I love the outdoors and hiking (I don't do any outdoor sports). I was curious how accessible the nature areas are? Are people actually able to explore the mountains off the beaten path? I hope that wasn't a stupid question but I do have a photography hobby and love nature shots. However I also know this may be difficult, I'm a bit of loner and I understand it may not be safe to hike alone here. I do a lot of solo traveling and exploring however, I never found enough information about solo traveling in Fort Collins.

I can say from live and working at UofI last summer it was a big change being from a big city and liking a big city atmosphere. The place is really boring and everyone seems to care about their sports team. However, if you love the college town atmosphere then it's great. I really like the infrastructure they had in place. I loved working for the university, they are very organized and everyone is humble and nice. I live in a sublet but from apartment searching the prices range from the $400s to the $600s if you're staying off campus and living in a house with others. You can find single person apartments starting at a little over $600. I prefer a quite atmosphere and you don't want to live within 3 blocks of campus. Don't let the area fool you, crime is an issue. They actually had an increase of crimes by campus the summer I lived there. The crimes in my opinion are typical of public campuses but some people I talked too seemed to make a big deal about it. But I do find it trouble within blocks of campus someone bashed in a bunch of car windows in one street. While I was looking at apartments, I asked the guy I lived with that I heard it on the radio and he seemed to brush it off as no big. I ended up working longer at the university and moving further away from campus, the area that's considered "worse". The area was actually nicer and quiet. No crime reports in that area in a year. So I guess it's prospective on what people consider to be safe. Looks aren't everything. The other parts are Champaign-Urbana are nice too. They have really nice houses. If you want to live in a quiet place I recommend staying a little further from campus, don't live too close to Lincoln street. Too much noise and partying for me. I'm young, but I never digged that party in college all the time thing. The area is really what you make it, I just personally prefer to live somewhere, where I have the option to do a lot of activities other than go to the same bars or interpretive dance concerts. With that said, the actual university is top-notch in my opinion as far as quality, organization, services and community. OMG and an orchard in a neighboring city sells the best apple cider slushee I've ever had

yea I just visited my account the time was 12AM EST. I was actually able to get the coordinator to approve me before officially getting accepted. I just needed proof the department accepted me. The university accepted me like today before the deadline anyways so I got lucky and still glad I took precautions to ask the coordinator about approving me. Yay graduate school! Does anyone know if fellows stipends are paid at the beginning or end of each month?

so last year they gave out the awards and rejection letters between April and June. Either they are so far behind that we will find out between May and July or could it be that all of us who visit this thread are still being considered for the award and thus this is good news? I really hope the latter, though I've already determined looking back on it, my proposal was way too ambitious for a masters student so I probably didn't get the award.

how do you even find this information out? Does the university tell you after you've accepted the award or do you ask the school's coordinating officer? Or do you talk to the graduate department you're enrolled in?

From my research you can still have a part time or side gig or did a teaching assistantship with the NSF GRFP. I don't know if that will help your decision or if you already knew that. I think they just don't want your other jobs to interfere with completing your research project. I've have several professors tell me the NSF GRFP was the most prestigious out of the government agencies that provide graduate school funding. If you're already accepted into a graduate program, I don't see why you can't wait til the NSF GRFP May 1st deadline. I don't know your situation but if you're already accepted and can begin research this summer, maybe that's why your professor wants you to accept funding quickly.

I'm curious if anyone else has not accepted their award yet because they're waiting on a university to accept them? Or maybe hoping a university will reverse their decision.

He's a professor, he doesn't need to feel anymore important than he already is you need to send an email fast, worst thing is that he prepares a letter for this scholarship before you tell him you don't actually need his letter. I would write an email along the lines of, "Hello, I wanted to let you know that I no longer need a letter of rec for the scholarship I'm applying to. I just realize they only require 2 letter of recommendations and not 3. I was wondering if you'd be okay not writing me a letter of rec because it'd cost me $200 to mail the envelopes to you with return postage. I'm really sorry for any inconvenience and I really appreciate your willingness to write me a letter and hope you will write me a letter in the future...blah blah blah" Obviously, you want to polish this up a lot, but hopefully you get the idea. You don't have to mention that the scholarship only requires 2 letter. However, if the professor recommends emailing you his letter and you don't send it in, there's a chance he may find out. I don't think it's a big deal to just say the scholarship only needed 2 letters. I've even asked a professor to write me a letter as a backup in case another professor didn't send his letter. I ended up having to use his letter and I got the grant I applied for and they cited his letter of rec as being a reason why I got the grant. So don't be afraid to just be honest! Honestly, if he's working abroad, he'll probably be relieved that he doesn't have to worry or remember to send a letter of rec on time.