Humulus_lupulus

Same! They emailed me back earlier today.

Mine says the same thing... I sent them an email. Let's hope it was a mistake (and that we might have the opportunity to decline because we all get an offer!).

I have a "proposals funded" section on my CV because I received over $22,000 of funding from various sources as an undergrad for my research (one being a $10,000 grant my senior year). In this case, I like to include these awards because it shows my ability to write proposals for significant amounts of money at a time where most students do not. Other awards, like scholarships and whatnot, I do not include dollar amounts. Generally, the well-known fellowships don't need it, and smaller departmental/university stuff tends to be $2,000 or less. Unless it is not a well-known award for a significant amount of money that you had to go through a rigorous application process for, I'd say dollar amounts don't say as much as the award name and maybe a brief description.

It's that time of year again! I applied to the NDSEG last December, and realized the other day that we are probably about a month out from the release of the names of recipients. Anyone had success with this one? I think I remember seeing that the funding rate is lower than NSF, which scares me a little.

Good luck to everyone! Last year was my last year of eligibility, and unfortunately, I was never a winner. However, I can't help but check back to this thread to see all of the excitement and suspense! (Fingers are crossed for NDSEG!)

Did you put in a budget for this project? Reason I ask is that I got some undergrad grants for projects that were over $1,000 total, but I could only ask for $1,000. So while I might have asked for the money to travel, I could have technically used it for any part of the budget.

I had a really weird thing happen regarding insurance. I was dropped off my assistantship after I defended, but I am still employed part-time in my lab. No assistantship means no paid-for insurance. I signed up for one credit hour as an "undergraduate or lifelong learner," and paid for health insurance under that student status. I ended up dropping the course because of financial reasons, but I am still allowed to stay on the insurance because I already bought it. So, I'm signing up for a class again next semester, so I can buy student insurance, then I will drop the class. Maybe something like this could help you?

I haven't had any real experience with this specific issue, but I am hoping I can help. I knew I wanted to go into engineering, and I knew where I wanted to get my degree. I also knew that I needed my degree for a better job, and that the research and coursework was something that I could be excited about. Some days I do second guess uprooting my life to come somewhere unfamiliar when I could be out making more money living somewhere more exciting, but it was a price I was willing to pay. Will this degree help you get a job you want? Is it worth the sacrifice? It is sounding like maybe you would be happier staying where you are now, and going to a better program in the near future. Grad school is something that you have to want to do, because even if you really want to do it and love what you do, it is stressful, and you're going to second guess your decision. However, if you delay going to school, you need to also consider the reasons for why you were not admitted, and think about doing something that will get you in. Another year of work under your belt isn't going to do the trick! Good luck!

For sure! Posters are meant to communicate information quickly to the readers. Block text is a major turn-off (for me, anyway) so I've always used bullets.

Get a job or co-op for at least a year so you have some real-world experience! Jumping into grad school right after undergrad is generally fine for people who have been working in research in undergrad and taking internships, but your time is so short, that I feel like you'll miss out on some of those "critical" experiences. Quite frankly, if I were a PI, I'd have to ask you to defer so you can have one of those experiences under your belt. But, that's not to say you're not prepared. You sound like a high-achiever. And--bonus!--you'll have some money in the bank if you spend some time in the real world.

I don't know exactly what kind of experiment you are doing, but in my lab, it is not uncommon that people who have collected massive amounts of data have done it wrong (scary!). The best advice I have is to think through the method and see if there is anything at all that doesn't add up in the materials you are using or the protocol that was given. Can you compare to published literature to see which set of results seems more accurate? Or see if a colleague can run the experiment? If you think it is wrong, there must be a way to justify that.

That's a great piece of advice, and something that hadn't crossed my mind!

Hey, everyone! GREAT feedback, and all very helpful advice. So, what I'm getting is that it won't be the end of the world if I can't be "co-author" and have it listed under grants on my CV, because it will come through in letters. Unfortunately, I don't know of any graduate students in my lab, or even my department, who have pursued their own ideas, so I don't really have a model to go by. It's great to get advice from everyone here who might have been in the same boat. Everyone has typically just been funded off an idea that my PI has had (including myself for my MS project, which I don't claim as my "own" on my CV with regard to funding). I plan to discuss this with my advisor this week to see what his take is on it, but I appreciate all of the feedback!

Hi, everyone! I am a second-year MS student in biological engineering. I've been unsuccessful in my applications to all the national graduate fellowships, and now that my eligibility has run out for all of them (unless you know of one that I can still apply for!), I am in the process of looking at other sources of funding. In my field, and in my lab specifically, it is incredibly common for us to get funding from the USDA and smaller agricultural commodity groups. So, I'm not really at a loss for sources, and one of these commodity groups is pretty well-funded and is happy with our current work. I'm probably going to target them for PhD funding as well. I already have an idea of what I want to do for my project, and my advisor is 100% supportive of me heading in that direction. My question is how this grant could be added to my CV, as it is not possible for a grad student to be listed as a PI (or co-PI). I want to do most, if not all, of the writing on this grant, since it's my own idea, and it would look really great for me to have that on my CV (~$250K) when I'm looking at faculty positions. Anyone ever been in this situation before, where you've written the majority of a grant but couldn't be listed as PI? Does that even matter? I wrote several grants in my undergrad days, but they were not "formal" funding agencies, so my advisor had me list myself as first author on my CV entries. I assume the same could be done here, or my advisor could vouch for me in recommendations that it was all my writing. My only other thought is that I am planning on taking some time off between MS/PhD, so I could technically be a name on the grant as an "industry collaborator" or "consultant." Any insight is very much appreciated!

It's still only some trains, not all of them. Just clarifying so nobody gets stuck when trying to get on a train!

Curious about where you saw this--I have seen a couple of routes in Illinois (maybe? somewhere midwest...) running pilot programs to allow pets, but I have not actually seen a system-wide reform on this matter.

This will be me in the future. Sarcastic humor will probably be taken more lightly than angry cursing.

Yassssssss!!! I appreciate the time suck. I really do feel bad for everyone who was in the position of having a horribly inconsistent reviewer, particularly those with E/E for two. That just blows. Mine were fairly consistent at least... I guess your science isn't "sexy" enough for #3.

Great job to everyone who got it! I got some excellent feedback and if it were not for a slightly vague methods section in my proposal, I think I might have had a fighting chance. One reviewer commented that my research area isn't innovative enough (food safety modeling). If we had all the answers in that area, there would be no foodborne illness in the world! Live and learn, I suppose. I am just glad to have done this and to have some positive feedback on my work--it's a nice ego boost! If anyone is resubmitting again and wants to have a look at my application materials, I am happy to send them to you along with my feedback sheet. I applied as a second year grad student this year, so I'm out of the race. Rejected proposals can be more helpful than accepted ones at times.

I'm feeling pretty good after my beer. I wish the results would come out right now.

Last time I looked at the clock, there were still ~12 more hours. Now there are only ~11 hours!

Welcome to the 3.4 GPA club! I had a 3.4 coming out of undergrad and the first year I applied, I got honorable mention. Don't let the GPA get you down, and remember, you've got a lot more life experience than we do, so you're already a winner!

I'd like to statistically support your claim. P<0.05

I'm trying to decide what beer to have tonight to calm myself down enough to get to sleep!!

Good luck sleeping...