grilledcheese1

hahaha! I get the anxiety (I'm with you), but these conversations are starting to get a bit ridiculous.

This thread makes me feel like we are living in the Parks and Rec Zorp the Surveyor/End of the World episode. 

... if we're lucky

Same here.  I don't have to worry about funding and have other fellowships.  The reason i'm so desperate for even HM is because every single person in my lab who was eligible for the GRFP got Honorable Mention, including my advisor.  That means if I get nothing, i'm going to break the HM record and it's going to make me look horrible and objectively less intelligent than my labmates.  I'm also a Hispanic woman so if it really is easier for minorities to get it, it's going to look even worse if I get nothing.

Same here.  I don't have to worry about funding and have other fellowships.  The reason i'm so desperate for even HM is because every single person in my lab who was eligible for the GRFP got Honorable Mention, including my advisor.  That means if I get nothing, i'm going to break the HM record and it's going to make me look horrible and objectively less intelligent than my labmates.  I'm also a Hispanic woman so if it really is easier for minorities to get it, it's going to look even worse if I get nothing.

I’ll be another to add that funding “desperation” has nothing to do with why I applied for the NSF GRFP. I already have a pretty nice funding situation because the PIs in the lab I’m in are great at getting grants. I want it for the accomplishment and honor; it is a great honor, after all. And, of course, getting one fellowship tends to lead to success with future fellowships. Finally, if I get my own funding, then obviously it is icing on the cake for my advisors because the money that’s been set aside for me can go towards funding a future incoming student.  

I don't think the reasons behind applicant hopefulness are as complicated as all that (at least not for everyone). I only made waitlists, which tbh is still a pleasant surprise (high school drop out over here).  I'm crossing my fingers for a grf so that I can maybe actually turn one of those waitlists into an acceptance. A grfp award will open a lot of doors for a lot of people, and give them opportunities they may not have had otherwise. Seems pretty simple to me.
Also, does impatience necessarily suggest desperation? I don't think so. I think it's perfectly reasonable to be excited about something that could potentially have a pretty big impact on your career/life. 
Edit to add that the negativity popping up in this forum is pretty disappointing. As nsf grfp applicants, we each had to include statements on how we hope to improve diversity and retention in our respective fields; some of the comments being made here are just mean and seem to go against nsf's values of supporting fellow scientists. If you can't support the excitement of your peers, how can you expect to support and encourage the excitement of younger generations of scientists? But what do I know........I'll end this rant with some words of wisdom that I feel are applicable to this situation (and pretty much all situations): "be excellent to each other"
 

I'm still assuming that if there's no maintenance message by tomorrow at 9pm, it's not gonna be Tuesday - though this may just be a method for me to feel some control over the arbitrary release date, lol #relatablethoright? 

So the best thing I can think of to do right now is to figure out the processing time,  add 5 business days excluding holidays for the various delays (1 government shutdown,  2 weather closures,  and 2 days of extra processing of the hurricane-affected applications.  I don't think there were any major delays (at least not multiple ones) in 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017, but let me know if there is anything you know of.
I came up with two methods:  one assuming a linear relationship between number and processing time,  and another which is basically an average processing time.
2014:  100 business days of processing,  so 0.007 days per applicant
2015: 100 business days of processing,  so 0.006 days per applicant
2016: 104 business days of processing, so  0.006 days per applicant
2017: 98 business days of processing, some 0.007 days per applicant
Applicant Based:  So let's say 0.0065 days per applicant assume 14k applicants, which makes 91 days with no delays and 96 with delays which was March 11 so rounded to March 13,  but that didn't happen.
Pattern Based:  Let's assume it takes approximately 100 business days rounded to the nearest Tuesday/Friday to release winners, we get 105 days of processing after adjusting for the delays, giving a date of 3/26 which is a Monday so round to Tuesday and get 3/27, this Tuesday.  
So this indicates it is coming very soon but the error on this is probably plus or minus a week.  
 

"people like you" --- you mean people extremely enthusiastic about their work that they spent weeks to months on an application so that they can dedicate 3 years of full-time study to bettering themselves and the field? Who are anxiously awaiting the results and seeking solidarity in an online forum? Who are joyous to be around because their passion is oozing from their every facet? --- Yeah who would want to be around people like that. Not me. 
Also, how are "get a date" and "do something worthwhile" synonymous? For those as passionate as we are, we can simultaneously be in a successful relationship and be doing something extremely worthwhile to ourselves -- pursuing our passions. But you're right. I better go get a date from the bar scene around town and then go do something worthwhile like troll a Gradcafe forum.  
EDIT: For clarity, I am defending all of those who wish to vent and find solace here on this forum, NOT feeding the troll. 

Had a nightmare last night that I got rejected and my GRFP reviewers completely trashed me, saying my application was a joke and that I was too stupid for academia and should leave ASAP.  This anxiety is getting ridiculous

Had a nightmare last night that I got rejected and my GRFP reviewers completely trashed me, saying my application was a joke and that I was too stupid for academia and should leave ASAP.  This anxiety is getting ridiculous

I want to get off NSF's Wild Ride

fingers crossed for everyone. Please baby Jesus let us find out soon so that we can finally end the suffering and get on with it! I can’t do another week if this torture. I swear, several times a day I have an existential crisis because of this madness 

Also, good news: the Senate passed the omnibus spending bill. Here's hoping it isn't vetoed.

If gandalf says so you know it's gotta be true

Starting to feel like I'm Charlie Brown and the NSF notification people are Lucy pulling the football away every time! Fingers crossed that results will be out soon.
For what it's worth, I had also emailed NSF a few days ago and they responded with the exact same message about early April, word for word; I really believe it's their stock cut-and-paste response that they use every year, including past years when results have been posted mid-to-late March. 

Let me just say that regardless of what happens tomorrow morning, we have some excellent investigators in this thread. You guys are on it. 

I'd also just like to add to the discussion that once you get to the upper level of the competition pool, whether you get it or not can be basically a crap-shoot. It's very dependent on your reviewers, and one review can bring your entire application down to the "no" pile. I've had numerous friends who had glowing reviews from two of the three reviewers, but the third either didn't get their proposed project, didn't bother to read the entire application thoroughly, or picked and chose what criteria they were looking at. This is why I've gone through the waiting process as if I'm not going to be chosen. You can be an outstanding applicant and put your best application possible forward and still end up getting screwed. So for everyone waiting, temper your expectations. I know this is a potentially life-changing opportunity, but just remember that, win or lose, this competition does not define your career. Good luck everyone!

Looks like another day of constantly refreshing Fastlane between experiments! 

Oh, that's not too bad.  Maybe they try to evenly award them based on year.  Where did you find those numbers?

Another "NSF insider" on Reddit, lol.  If this is true (which it likely isn't), i'm expecting for the storm to push the date back further.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/84f5z3/anyone_else_waiting_on_nsf_grfp_results_theyre/dw0hm13/?context=0
 

Agreed! This all is helping calm my anxiety a bit! Just knowing that there are others out there that are freaking out about this as much as I am puts me a little more at ease.

You're asking grad students and future/potential grad students to quietly wait for something potentially life-altering. The level of anxiety in this thread is pretty damn high. We all just want the process to be over. This thread serves as an outlet for everyone's nerves and anxiety. I actually find it pretty therapeutic, and it's actually helping me get my work done (as opposed to just refreshing Fastlane over and over again).

No, but it helps pass the time. Even if I don't get it, the reviewer comments are helpful and I am looking forward to them.