coffee_grad

Great! So glad to hear that you had a similar positive experience.

Got my rejection (B3) yesterday as well. Good luck to everyone still in the running!

I just got my rejection for B1. Good luck everyone! Clearly I have some things to work on but the motivation for the day is gone. 
I wish you all the best and thanks for your help!

Songbird, 
If you can't find an example online, try looking at last years recipients in your field and emailing a few directly. Perhaps explain what you're doing and ask them to share as little or as much as they wish. In my experience, people are more than happy to share something. 
 

Hey Cee15 - I received a similar email this morning directly from a review officer at EPA (not the grants.gov website).  Hope this helps & I hope the rest of you hear back soon as well!  

Just got notification that my application did not pass peer review and received "very good" rating in C1 category. Good luck to everyone still in!

Not really- I asked if we were going to hear before September so we'd have the chance to decline teaching assistantships, and was just told it was highly unlikely we would hear before September.

My advisor (who's signed up as a reviewer) got word that they have to get through all their assigned applications by Sept. 2, after which there are a few days of web-conferencing to discuss the merits of each application. After that, I think the apps have to go back to the EPA for further evaluation. I would guess that means we wont here back until late September. 
 
Based on the delays, I'm hoping that they allow us to defer the start of the fellowship until the following fall. I have to make arrangements for other sources of funding before we hear back about the STAR, and I assume other people are in the same boat. Given that the acceptance rate is going to be 3-4%, it would be crazy not to!

I just received this response from the email I sent yesterday!
 
"Your application submitted in response to the 2015 Fellowship Program has been received and assigned the above ID number. Please keep this notification for verification of submission. Review and evaluation will take approximately 6 months. You will be notified when a decision has been made on your application.
Most questions regarding your application can be answered by viewing the announcement at
http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2015/2015_star_gradfellow.html. For questions not covered in the announcement, please submit your question to 2015FellowshipsRFA@epa.gov and someone will get back with you.

Anticipated award timeline:
We understand how important this funding is for you as you engage in your pursuit of a graduate degree. Unfortunately, due to delays receiving the Congressional Fiscal Year 2015 budget and internal process delays, the Fellowship award process and timeline was impacted. At this time, we anticipated 2015 Fellows to be selected and notified of their award recommendation by September and receive grant funding by late October."
 
Only a month off not too bad as long as there are no more delays..

Womp womp. Thanks for the news coyote_wrangler.

Also note that EPA's FY ends Sept 30, so if we don't hear in Sept, then that would be bad news. Seems like they're pushing the boundary based on that email.

So I got word from my advisor, who is signed up as a potential reviewer of STAR fellowship apps, that the process might be delayed a bit. She received the following in an email from the EPA a little over a week ago:
 
"Thank you for registering as a potential reviewer for the EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship Program.  Please note that the schedule for the review period has changed.  The review period is now expected to begin in mid- to late August and continue through September.  Depending on the number of applications to be reviewed per research topic, you will have 2-3 weeks to complete your individual evaluations prior to the virtual panel meetings (web meetings)."
 
Looks like we won't be hearing back until after September...

All applicants should be getting the email in question, not just those who applied under alternative methods.

I managed to get in contact with NCER and they said they are aware of the issue and are working to solve it. No further instructions.

All applicants should be getting the email in question, not just those who applied under alternative methods.

I managed to get in contact with NCER and they said they are aware of the issue and are working to solve it. No further instructions.

Yup it was kicked back

Yeah. I submitted last week and it's total email overload. This is what I've received so far (in order, all from grants.gov):
 
1. application received and is being validated
2. application received and validated, prepared for agency retrieval
3. received by grantor agency
4. grantor agency assigned tracking number (with no where to check status using that new tracking no.)
 
I suppose that means it's fine, but the whole thing is kind of convoluted. Emails 3&4 took about a day to show up for me just FYI

I love these stories. 
 
I couldn't sleep one night when I heard an email alert on my phone. I tilted up the phone, and my heart rate probably sky-rocketed when seeing the sender was a faculty member at my top-choice school. It was an email regarding travel funds to visit, which didn't initially mean I was accepted, but after some digging online at 3 AM local time, I figured out that only accepted students were offered travel funds. So, it was exciting but also strange to find out I got in before I was extended an offer. I didn't end up attending this university, because the funding package at another great university couldn't be matched. I got that call in a research meeting with my faculty mentor. I had to keep it together until the meeting was over and everyone left.

Yeah. I submitted last week and it's total email overload. This is what I've received so far (in order, all from grants.gov):
 
1. application received and is being validated
2. application received and validated, prepared for agency retrieval
3. received by grantor agency
4. grantor agency assigned tracking number (with no where to check status using that new tracking no.)
 
I suppose that means it's fine, but the whole thing is kind of convoluted. Emails 3&4 took about a day to show up for me just FYI