Humulus_lupulus

GUYS IT'S GETTING REAL!!!

Hats off to all of us for even applying--don't listen to all the negativity. Just that says a lot about your motivation, credentials, and whatever support system encouraged you to apply. There were 16,000 applicants out of I don't even know how many eligible students who didn't even try. Yes, the majority of us will awfully disappointed, possibly even tired and angry if we stay up all night to see the results, but just think of what good things can come--feedback on making your future proposals better, showing you have the initiative to try for something big, possibly getting recognized as an honorable mention, and the big "pot of gold" of actually getting the grant!

I think one year the list was up between 12:30 and 1 and the emails generally go out around 3 or 4 in the morning.

My guess is Tuesday, but I did hear that on the day they are planning to put out the awards, Fastlane will be "down" from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. See threads from previous years. So once we see that, it is probably an indication that the results will be out around 3 a.m.!

I can imagine over the next two weeks that I'll be checking my email in the middle of the night if I happen to wake up...

I found out April 1 at 3:07 a.m. last year so that is my target. I'd be fine with it being announced earlier though... I don't see why not as I'm sure the decision has been made. Every email I receive these days makes me jump with anticipation!

I just got each of my parents a "mom" and a "dad" decal from the school and put each in an envelope and had them open it at the same time. They pretty much already knew where I was going (only applied to two and got one offer that was way better than the other).

I had a shift in my focus about halfway through my undergraduate degree and decided I wanted to be an engineer. Job prospects in my BS field were pretty bleak--either shift supervisor or QA/QC tech, which are jobs that I've had for internships and they bored me to death. I really love research and I want to eventually get a PhD and be in academia. Rather than change majors for my undergrad degree halfway through and extend it longer than necessary, I decided to transition into engineering for grad school and skip a job I'd probably hate for better prospects after a MS degree. I plan to take time off between my MS and PhD though. I am not planning to stay out for long since my passion is in research and I find industry to be horribly boring, but I feel as if working in a company for a couple of years at most will help me to be able to address relevant industry issues in my future research.

I've basically been jumping out of my skin every time I get an email. I keep hoping it is NSF! I've also been checking my spam folder which is something I never do. Last year, I threw my application together in about 2-3 weeks and got an honorable mention, so I was really motivated to beef it up this year based on reviewer comments and having more time to get edits (and experience!). Between that and slapping a bow on it with a little proposal-writing finesse, I feel like I have a solid shot. The anticipation is killing me...