dalamplighter

Hi all! I was recently accepted for both the NSF GRFP and the DoD NDSEG Fellowships. However, as many of you may know, I can only accept one. Most of my peers don't really know what the NDSEG is, so I haven't been able to get much help so far and I feel like I'm flying blind. I did see a thread on this subject from 2013 on here, but there weren't many responses and it seemed out of date. I was wondering what the pros and cons of each were, and if you would recommend taking one or the other. If it helps at all, I am a second-year PhD student in neuroscience hoping to eventually become a professor (God willing), and I honestly care mostly about how it helps me get to that point, though money is pretty nice too. NSF GRFP: Pros: people know it better, is more flexible Cons: pays less to me and my lab NDSEG: Pros: pays $4000 more per month, $5000 travel budget, completely pays stipend and fees Cons: not flexible at all, seems like less people know about it (despite being more selective), maybe some PIs dislike DoD(?) What do you guys think? Which one is best, and what pros and cons am I overlooking? Thanks a bunch!

Undergrad Institution: Ivy League (non-HYP) Major(s): Neuroscience (expected w/ honors) Minor(s): Cell Biology GPA in Major: 3.9 Overall GPA: 3.7 Position in Class: Top third Type of Student: Domestic, white male, current senior GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 170 V: 168 W: 5.5 B: nope Research Experience: 3 years in neurogenesis lab, working autonomously on project as essentially a grad student. 1st Author paper submitted, currently revising 6 months at UCLA in big name research lab for summer internship, 1st Author on systematic review currently in preparation 3 years in high school working in cancer biology lab, 2 publications (one 1st author, one 4th, both in low-prestige journals) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors List (equivalent to Dean's List), 2 undergraduate research grants from my institution Pertinent Activities or Jobs: President of undergraduate science journal, TA in introductory genetics class, EMT Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Siemens competition finalist in high school (don't know if I should include or not) Special Bonus Points: My summer research PI was a big name connected to everyone who matters in the field, will receive LoR from him and have a paper coauthored with him Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Currently on the executive board of my fraternity, nothing else interesting LoRs from two most recent PIs, one from professor I served under as a TA Applying to Where: (trying to work under PIs studying learning and memory at all institutions) MIT Columbia UCSD Harvard Rockefeller NYU UCLA UPenn Johns Hopkins Am I aiming too high? I feel like my list is a bit top-heavy, but I cannot think of many other programs in the field with many professors doing interesting research right now. Are there any good learning and memory programs in neuroscience flying under the radar I may not know about? Any other school recommendations? Thanks!