Eigen

Yup, no options for already married/already have kids leaves out a surprising number of people.

Directly ask. Faculty will take rotation students even if they don't have room, as rotations serve a dual purpose: they expose you to a different lab, and give you a chance to learn techniques as well as letting you see if you fit in the lab. If you're interested in the 3rd lab (I assume you are), especially if it's your first choice, now is a good time to sit down with the PI and inquire about joining the lab permanently, and see if they have space.

I usually vary it depending on the situation. If we're sitting around chatting and drinking coffee/beer? First names or nicknames. If I'm dropping by their office to ask for a favor? If they're close, first names, if not, Dr X. I figure erring on the side of formality when asking for a favor/letting them know an undergrad broke one of their instruments can't hurt.

Of if there are either multiple departments with the same program (ie, interdisciplinary program, of which you are in a particular department or a program that can be located at several places) or, multiple programs within one department.

Looks like it's an ACS derivative. There's one that is commonly used that doesn't use titles.

It depends on the individual, so not something anyone else can answer for you, hence the point of the thread and tax calculators.

I'll check my essays tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I didn't do paragraph indents. Just a slight (1.2) line break between them.

Personally, even 8 sounds like a lot to me. Ideally, you should identify the schools that you most want to go to, along with the faculty at those schools you want to work with, and focus on making very good, specific, applications to those schools. Most of my cohort didn't apply more than 2 or 3 places. I know some that applied to a lot more, but it didn't really seem to help them- just increased the cost. Part of the reason you're probably getting conflicting recommendations on schools is that it's not just field specific (chemistry), but also very sub-field specific. Some schools have fantastic and cutting edge bioinorganic research, but very little in organic synthesis. For grad school in chemistry, it's *who* you work with that is really important, moreso than what school you go to. Accordingly, you should be looking for specific research groups (ideally, 1 primary and 2 backup groups at each school) that you want to go work in, not schools as a whole.

I'm curious from your definition of him as an administrator. Is he a faculty member with administrative duties? Or is he purely an administrator? You seem to be confusing the two, when they are very different things. IE, is this person a Dean/Provost, or are they a Vice President?

Graduate study (and the hours therein) are hours taken post- bachelors, or counted towards a graduate degree along with a bachelors (ie, 4+1 masters program). Taking graduate level courses as an undergraduate is not the same thing as graduate study, from NSF's point of view. Many schools (from a quick google) only count graduate level courses as graduate credit with special petition, and they are then shown separately on the transcript, and do not count towards your undergraduate degree.

Pretty sure they didn't count that against you as far back as 2010 when I applied, and I don't remember it being there in the 2009 solicitation either. On another note, I know that for the transfer of course credits, it doesn't really matter if it was a graduate level course or not- it matters if you took it as a graduate student or not. Taking a graduate course as an undergrad likely won't get you transfer credit, and it's not accruing graduate credit, as many schools specify that to get graduate credit, you have to be a graduate student. I know none of the "graduate" courses I took as an undergrad showed up on my transcript as graduate credits, I was simply an undergrad the professors allowed to take a graduate-level course. Small distinction, but it can be important.

Not knowing your field exactly, how much longer will the post-doc be there? In my field, 1-2 years is a typical post-doctoral rotation. Might be just worth ducking until the situation resolves itself that way. When I joined my lab, there was a huge amount of tension between our post-doc and our most senior grad student, and definitely made things awkward. I'll also advise, in general, that a thicker skin is beneficial times like this. Who cares if your post-doc things you're lazy? It's what you think of your work ethic and to a lesser extent, what your PI things, that matter. You'll always run into co-workers/cohort-mates that are snarky, abrasive, etc. Learning how to not let it bother you is very beneficial, especially if, as you say, your PI isn't the same. On the first year- what you've said doesn't make me want to fight for her. You don't mention any real positives (good attitude, great work ethic, talented, etc), just some things that make it seem like, at best, she's immature and clueless about a professional attitude (talking on the phone during group meeting?! Laughing when someone makes a mistake?).

It's always a hard line to draw. Ideally, I try to give the ones working with me a defined project that is related to my work, but isolated enough that (a) I don't require the results for my main focus, and (b)that allows them the flexibility to explore the project on their own. Usually, I have side projects that are ideal for this, depending on the students interest. Some of it also depends how long they will be working with you- I've had some BS students that will work with me for several years. In that case, they can become a much larger part of my main work, while developing a significant project on their own.

End result of NSF funding should be that you should *have* to pay the University nothing while you're on active status through the grant. No tuition, fees, or anything else. Note the emphasis on "have" in the above sentence- that's always where the issues come in. If it's not "required", they can get around it. You can probably fight it, but then you have to decide if it's worth fighting or not. I would definitely push on Tuition and all the normal fees, and see if you think the healthcare one is worth it to you, depending on how recalcitrant the University seems to be. Feel free to PM me if you want any more specific advice.

Yeah, we had group meetings during Fall Break. Not even a chance to sneak off subtly.

I was the first at my school, and it was a challenge. I took most of the summer leading up to starting the award to sit down and talk to my department admins, the grant office, the NSF CO, my deans, etc. Work through it slowly, make sure you know the documentation backwards and forwards, and have the relevant parts highlighted and ready to show. My school does not (and I suspect will not) cover health insurance as a required fee (it's been discussed here before). My friends at other schools in my field don't have it covered for them either. Since it's required coverage, but not a fee directly assessed by the University, to them it doesn't fall under "required fees" "assessed to all other graduate students of the same standing". Also do keep in mind that the school doesn't have to accept you with the fellowship. There was a case at MIT a few years back where they were turning away NSF fellows because they couldn't afford them. To note, the NSF GRFP doesn't cover anything over the COE. They do, however, require that the school waive the remaining tuition/fees in excess of the COE (see above case at MIT). Work through it slowly, carefully, and gently, is my advice.

I can't emphasize enough making sure that your current school knows you are thinking about moving before you contact other schools. Especially if it's a few hours away, there's a large chance the PIs know each other fairly well, and it will raise all kinds of flags if you say you're a student at your current school. If you decide your current school is a bad fit and will be leaving, that decision is made and you should (carefully) discuss that with your PI/DGS. Don't leave "dependent" on getting in somewhere else, or try to juggle the two, as that rarely works out well.

Not to nitpick, since this is a very good general description, but RA/TA is not a fellowship. A TA is a Teaching Assistantship, and an RA is a Research Assistantship. I clarify, because there are TF (Teaching Fellowships) and RF (Research Fellowships) out there. A fellowship is an award given without service requirements- it's given based on application, not as payment for services rendered. Assistantships are employment contracts that pay for services rendered, Fellowships are pay for you to do independent work.

Chance of backfiring is high in my experience. You always want to let your current advisor know you're leaving before you start talking to another school. I had a grad student at my school try it the under the radar way... PI at new school called old school, revoked their offer, and then things were really uncomfortable at old school.

Haha, lucky. Fall break is just for undergrads here. That said, it's a very peaceful time on campus.

I'd say low on the research experience, but you can counter balance by showing that you have a very defined interest, and showing how your research relates to what you want to do in grad school.

Really? The last conference I went to was the better part of a week, and was only about $500 total cost for me. Find grad students to share a room with and pack ramen! As to standing in for professors- the last couple of conferences I went to, each symposium had 2-3 grad students/postdocs standing in for the professor who was invited to give the talk, including some really big names.

Ah, gotcha. That sounds much more like the common "accepted pending major revisions" response in my field, which is much more common than an R&R.

Even for a revise and resubmit? That's considered a rejection with the offer to resubmit in my field.

On the one hand, it would be great if your advisor paid for it for you. On the other hand, this is a fantastic opportunity that your advisor is offering you. It's likely a higher profile invited talk, and is a great chance for you to get your work out there. I'd happily pay $300 for registration, as a personal investment. I doubt he's paid already, as this type of invitation is usually pre-registration (if it's similar to the norms in my fields).