a_elizabeth

Thanks for all the replies - super helpful. Especially hearing that a student was on leave at the time of award. To clarify - this is my situation too. I think that quote from NSF (from Cup of Joe) refers to those who are already on the fellowship - in other words - they have already started their fellowship in the Fall therefore there cannot be an interruption. I should only be on leave in April, but by the time the money is distributed in the Fall I will be at another institution. In case anyone is wondering about transferring programs on NSF: I met a girl in my current program who won the award in April and then transferred to another school in the Fall - so, it's definitely plausible to transfer and still keep the award. That's good to know!!! A side question - who is CO? and how do I find them at my institution? Thanks!

That means they want you in their program! LOL! All students until admitted are called "prospective" What it means is GREAT news for you.

Is anybody else pursuing a PhD degree at Brown and really hates it here??? I just want to meet people who think alike, perhaps? I'm facing a decision to leave. Let's talk about this together, and encourage support each other! Thanks.

Hi all you science PhDs. I have a dilemma. I applied as a first year graduate student for National Science Foundation Fellowship. I really hate it in this program and will most likely be transferring next year. I stuck it out for one semester and chose to go on leave for second semester. Are there any conditions in the NSF guidelines that might prevent you from getting the funding in case I do end up winning this fellowship? In other words - can I be on academic leave during the time of award? Given that such award doesn't start until Fall 2015 anyways, I am wondering if the NSF will look negatively on my academic leave for second semester, even though at the time of application I wasn't yet on academic leave. I hope this is not overly confusing. Please let me know if you ever dealt with something similar.

Hi all you science PhDs. I have a dilemma. I applied as a first year graduate student for National Science Foundation Fellowship. I really hate it in this program and will most likely be transferring next year. I stuck it out for one semester and chose to go on leave for second semester. Are there any conditions in the NSF guidelines that might prevent you from getting the funding in case I do end up winning this fellowship? In other words - can I be on academic leave during the time of award? Given that such award doesn't start until Fall 2015 anyways, I am wondering if the NSF will look negatively on my academic leave for second semester, even though at the time of application I wasn't yet on academic leave. I hope this is not overly confusing. Please let me know if you ever dealt with something similar.

Totally! I'm in this situation too. I hated my program the minute I arrived. I put up with it for three months, and finished my first semester. THEre were several reasons for it: I wanted to apply for the NSF fellowship and those who are on leave cannot apply. Second reason, I wanted to have a transcript of at least one semester because I wanted to transfer to another school and show them that I completed one semester with good grades. I just felt like going on leave would be a bad decision in the very beginning. So, I finished the semester and am now leaving the program since I already got some interviews. I just can't stand being miserable another month. I'm hoping that going on leave will not have an impact on my NSF or transferring schools. If you know anything about that, I would appreciate to hear. Also, did you end up filling out applications for 2015?

Hi guys, i have a question. I'm currently enrolled in a graduate program in an ivy league school. Went for the name of the school and don't like it very much in this program, so in addition to working hard in my courses first semester and applying for fellowships, I was also applying to other grad schools cuz I knew I wouldn't want to stay here. So, here's my dilemma. I have already gotten interviews to my other schools. I am looking to leave my current school upon completion of first semester and sort of go on academic leave for second semester since I really don't like it here. Would my other schools which will be interviewing me look negatively on such a situation? That I went on academic leave? If you have any answer for this situation please let me know. I don't want to negatively impact my application to other programs by going on leave, but I kind of don't want to stay here for another semester. Help! Thanks!