math123

When has the NSF ever done anything logical? They could have rejected 75 percent of us right off the bat in Feb. Don't play these mind games with yourself. The fact that the budget (as they claim) is so iffy, should lead you to have no confidence they will actually secure more money.

As far as I know, no waitlist is maintained. The money will just be used the following year.

me too. but if it's any consolation, 99 per cent of these people will end up with HM. Same as you and I...no money. Does that make you feel less crappy?

it doesn't work that way. all the files were reviewed mid-feb. The top 7 percent get the awards automatically. The next 13 percent may get awards up to the discretion of the NSF (for geographical concerns, or whatnot). People will not be re-reviewing anything. It's simply a numbers game. Just hope you are lucky.

I don't think you have to worry about being rejected. I think it's been established that limbo = HM in all likelihood. You may end up with cash.

Those are not real numbers. Just what was requested. That's how they figured 1600.

perhaps a bit tacky, but a line on your CV? You also have access to their supercomputer, if that floats your boat.

NSF does this all the time. 1600 was considered a max given what they REQUESTED in the 2009 budget. Suffice it to say, they didn't get all the money the asked for. Also, forget about the stimulus money. It has been perpetuated in this forum that NSF will get 3b yada yada yada. Yes, but if you look in the actual bill, no where does it say it will/must be spent on GRFP. The money is being used for other programs.

Those numbers are old. Long before the economy died. There has already been an increase of 4 percent on the number awards from last year. In the eyes of NSF, I'm sure that's a victory.

I think PSi_light you are right. I would imagine that those in limbo--as people like to call it--will get HM. There may be a select few that will get an award, but I think people are fooling themselves if they think they have a significant chance at this stage of seeing money. That having been said, don't take this entire process very seriously. At a success rate of 10 per cent, a lot of luck is involved.

Nope. Mathematicians are as elitist as they come--something, as a mathematician, I find very off-putting.

I agree, these people are biased toward the top schools. In my field, 60 per cent of the awards went to people from top schools. Although I managed to get into three of the top schools, despite nay-sayers who said it wasn't possible because I went to a "second-rate" school, I'm still quite bitter. Mathematicians, and especially those who sit on these panels, are elitist assholes.

vannik, your writing is borderline nonsense. I didn't manage to digest one bit, except for The best way to pay back a large loan is to spread out the payment to as long as you can and pay the minimum. You couldn't be further from the truth. That's the worst way to pay off a loan!

Maybe, maybe not. How should anyone on here know? Ask why their placement history is skewed toward midwest schools.

No. Look at placement records for your program and/or ask your potential adviser. To think that an east cost uni won't hire you because you went to an east coast school for grad school is absurd, to say the least.

Have you declined your other offers yet? No one is going to make you stay where you don't want. They'll have to officially release you, but you shouldn't worry about burning bridges at this point. Your happiness for 4+ years is much more important. On a side note, good for you. Better now than later. Staying for a significant other is usually a bad idea.

Right. Loan re-payment has a finite lifetime--much shorter than one's career. How much does someone with an MPP typically make? If you aren't going to make 200k a year, you theoretically can't afford a 130k loan. Simple as that. Do what you want, but you should learn from current events: don't take out loans you can't afford!

It depends how much the average salary is after graduation. Suppose you take out 130k @ 8.5 percent over 10 years. Your monthly payments would be about 1600. The minimum recommended salary to do that is in the neighborhood of 242k. Maybe you can live frugally and do much better than that, but it's a rough estimate. Use this: http://www.mappingyourfuture.org/paying ... ulator.htm

You should at least pay interest. If not, your loan will be capitalized and you'll pay interest on the interest that has already accrued.

Grow up. What was the point of telling people you have the "list" if you won't tell anyone about it? People like you disgust me.

I didn't know that's how it works. If so, this process is just screwed up, and entirely unfair.

No. It was the same for other people I know. One received an HM and her reviews were all good and she didn't know what to improve on for this year's application.

I didn't get to read them in time before the system shut down. However, last year my reviews said "excellent proposal, in fact, all the essays were excellent" and yet got "very good" marks. I was like wtf do you want then? I just don't get it. I'm interested to see what they say this time, but I'm sort of over it.

Sometimes I think there is just no rhyme or reason. I had a high gpa, high gre scores, excellent references, a solid proposal (I think, as did my advisor) and a paper. I got rejected twice now. Not to be a poor sport, or rain on anyone's parade, I'm sure there is a huge amount of luck involved.

You are a few hours late on that one ;-)