nescafe

Typical in the STEM fields, verboten in the humanities, somewhere between in the social sciences.

If it's been accepted then you can list it as 'accepted for publication." However, in my field at least, publications that require payment from the author are normally scams or low-ranked journals which don't contribute much to anyone's reputation as a successful researcher. I don't know if that is also the case for this paper, but personally I'd be cautious of "publications" that may actually do you more harm than good. 
 
Pauli - I list on my CV both papers that are "to appear" and papers that are under review. It's a way of showing productivity, which in the job application process is very important. As long as you clearly mark each paper's status in the publication process (submitted, revised, accepted, published), I don't see why it should be considered unethical. Generally a published paper is better than accepted, but accepted is pretty much as good as published and on my CV such papers would move above the current manuscripts under review/revision.

I know a fair amount about one of these Programs. Feel free to PM me if you are still considering either of them.

This might go without saying, but I'd advise to read the paper aloud and time yourself as many times as possible. Try to keep the paper a few minutes below the time limit to allow for unexpected happenings, especially if you're using technology in your presentation (I am officially 0 for 4 on multimedia functioning correctly during my own presentations). The aim for presenting is to get people to pay attention to what you say, offer good feedback, and hopefully make a few contacts while chatting after the session. The odds of all of these happening plummet if they fall asleep because you're pushing the time limit. Even worse, people tend to remember the names and institutions of presenters that go over time, and this can actually be pretty damning.

Finally, make sure you go to as many sessions as possible, and actually talk to some people. Chatting with someone after their session or during lunch can be as beneficial in the long run as nailing your own presentation.

For my CV, I keep them in the following category:

Submitted- submitted to the journal.
In Review- out for peer review
Accepted- been accepted by the journal, but no publication date mentioned
In Press- been accepted and is currently being processed for publication.

I'm sure it depends on the field, but those are the norms for my area. Generally, you only put on "Submitted" papers if you want to show you're currently working to get results out on something, as they stand they really don't mean anything- same with "In Review" papers. Accepted and In Press are good to have, since they're "sure things" so to speak.

Yet another reminder to wear a wire. And/or hire a latently evil Physicist to make their life hell.

I can and would be happy to help and can also provide some good examples. Send me a pm.

Msafiri:

Let's see what I've have right about you and the Boren:

1) The deadline is approximately 60 days away, depending on your university's deadline. The Boren deadline and your university's deadline are different. Your university's deadline is sooner because they need adequate time to evaluate and process your application and decide on whether to recommend it and what recommendation they will make with regard to your application and the others that are submitted;

2) With 60 days before the deadline, you have not chosen a language, nor a country, nor a program, nor your proposed employment/career. You have also not chosen a back-up program. In your own words:" I have no idea what kind of research project I would do along with that though."

3) You have not interviewed any prior students from the programs in which you may have an interest and hence, you know nothing about the specifics and experiences from the point of view of others who have gone before you;

4) You are applying for a fellowship which requires three essays; one of which is your compelling and authoritative research proposal and you have not started any of them;

5) Because you haven't done any of the above, you cannot request LORs because you don't have your proposal essay completed as well as the other two essays to show them so that they can incorporate them in their LORs;

6) You believe that 30 days are adequate to prepare all of this. In your own words: "Writing the Boren proposal will, in all likelihood, take less than a month, even to go through 10-12 drafts. I know this because I know me." That is incredibly naive and sophomoric -and I hope that others don't take solace from your lack of seriousness and planning;

7) The time period you have left will fall across the Christmas and New Year holidays when many people may be unavailable and many offices are closed or operating at half-speed;

8) You have obviously not listened to all of the Webinars for the fellowship or you wouldn't be posting the naive and sophomoric comments in response to my advice. I listened to all of the Webinars for both the scholarship and the fellowship and the successful applicants I know did the same;

9) You have not requested nor obtained prior essays and proposals from successful applicants;

10) You are clearly indecisive; again, in your own words:" I have no idea what kind of research project I would do along with that though."

11) "The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 new grants annually." http://fulbright.state.gov/about.html;

12) The Boren is NOT for applicants who don't plan on making a Herculean effort to submit the best application that they can put together.

13) Life is short and handling ambiguity is much more difficult than the ability to make a decision.

Here's what I think you have partially right: "But, I'm worried that having had a Fulbright for a different region and language will make me look flaky to the reviewers." and "I'm glad it won't make me look to flaky or unfocused." "Flaky" and "unfocused" are terms that characterize your efforts and approach so far.

I'm not normally this critical but your approach, attitude and lack of decisiveness probably indicates that this is not the fellowship for you. I hope you prove me wrong but those are some major headwinds and you haven't even made a decision to apply yet.

I'm glad you have other options. BTW, would you advise your students to wait until 30 days before the deadline to begin writing their Boren application ? If so, then you would be doing them a terrible disservice...

riverguide, I just want to say four things.
1) You have been nothing but rude to me in your past few posts on this thread, though I have been polite to you. I do not understand your hostility towards me but can only assume that it comes from your own self-esteem issues. There really is no need to be hostile or condescending in a forum that exists for people to provide support to one another. There is no need to belittle someone else's accomplishments. I do not understand why you have chosen to act in this way. If you feel threatened in some way, then I apologize. But, it is worthwhile for you and others to know that your way of doing things is not the only way. Holding everyone to your standards is a path to depression and being miserable. With time, hopefully you will see this and take this advice to heart.

2) Your numbers about the Fulbright program are wrong. Please do your research if you are going to spout statistics. Failing to do so makes you look careless and results in an extremely weak argument. The figure you cite of 7500 is not only wrong but also incredibly vague. From the Fulbright Program website: "Awarded approximately six thousand grants in 2010, at a cost of more than $322.3 million, to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States." I assume this is what you were trying to get at in your comment. But, as you'll note by reading carefully, those include grants awarded to teachers, professionals, and scholars from both the U.S. and other countries, not just students receiving Fulbright grants. There are numerous parts of the Fulbright program, designed to help an array of people. Here's the figure you were probably looking for (assuming you wanted to make an accurate comment about the program I received a grant from): "Supports approximately 1,700 U.S. citizens to engage in study, research, or teaching assistantships abroads via the U.S. Student Program."

Moreover, even those general figures are inaccurate because applicants are evaluated at a regional or country level. For the region I was in, approximately 13% of applicants were funded (the same goes for the other grants considered at the regional level), a figure which is lower than that for the Boren Fellowship as I stated earlier. If you are going to make such crass, brazen statements, you should make sure they are accurate.

3) I am sure you have heard of the concept of free time. I choose to use some of mine to participate in the forum. I don't watch TV or movies, so it probably replaces the time that most people spend doing those things. It does not serve as a distraction from conducting research for my degree, on funding opportunities, or on future career possibilities. It does not distract me from writing articles and conference papers, from writing grant proposals, or from staying current in the literature in my field. If you lack time management skills, you should take the time to acquire some now, before it's too late. If you lack a work-life balance, you will quickly find yourself burnt out.

4) I am not sure why you assume that I am not successful or that I am not a winner. Clearly, I am a winner if I have won multiple grants and fellowships in the past. Or, are you suggesting that not winning a grant I have not applied for makes me a loser?

I wish you the best of luck as a Boren award recipient (still don't know at what level) and in your future career. I sincerely hope that you show more maturity while representing the U.S. government than you have shown here on this forum.

The advantage of the ALI program is that it doesn't require prior language skills in the African language you choose. It is geared to those with prior language training but not in the particular African language chosen. Msafiri, I don't think you want to go to Egypt this year either and I wouldn't consider that an option. The Boren people are sensitive to areas with security problems. The Lebanon, Egypt and Syria Boren programs were all cancelled this year. These programs fill up early so you need to apply for them and if any of you haven't started your essays and requests for LORs yet, you aren't taking the process seriously. Most of you should have your second draft done by now. Also, remember you have to be accepted in these programs BEFORE you find out if you get the Boren and many of these programs are VERY competitive and require essays, transcripts and LORs. Many of them were filled up when several Boren recipients found out they made it and were not allowed to go to their chosen country because of the political climate and were forced to either give up their Boren awards or had to choose a program in a country that was at the bottom of their list. This isn't a scholarship for those who aren't decisive, creative, and tenacious. Overachievers are the norm and not the exception. It is an elite bunch that can handle the challenges of dealing with ambiguity and living in an environment far from your comfort zone. If you can't overcome and adapt then you should look elsewhere because the Boren selection committees don't suffer fools easily. If any of you are offended by what I have posted here then you should look for a scholarship elsewhere. You don't have to be someone who has studied languages your whole life to get the Boren and most of the recipients I know have had between 2-4 semesters of the language (except for the African languages). Stephanie is one of the exceptions but her lack of classroom work in Russian was offset by her incredible journey of teaching herself the language and her tenacious attitude. So, choose a program in the next week, write your essays and get the show on the road. Those who hesitate have already lost...

Msafiri, I had you confused with Mr. Jones and I apologize to you. You are correct. If you think the rest of my advice was misplaced then that is your choice. I know several Boren recipients who received the ALI and was sharing their insights but you are entitled to your opinion about that as well. The rest of my advice is generic and not directed towards you. The fact that you received a Fulbright is very, very impressive. BTW, have you made ANY decisions yet ? Or are you still kicking the tires this late in the game ? The rest of my advice is yours to take -or not. If you haven't made a decision yet or you haven't started your essays or LORs yet, then perhaps you should consider becoming an Internet Moderator, because you certainly seem to have a talent for that. However, its always good to hear from my fans. There is a camaraderie among the successful recipients of the Boren and we try to help others but there are some who don't need anyone's help. You have to have a thick skin in this competition and those that I know who have received the Boren have done so with help and feedback and support and constructive criticism from others. I am sorry I have offended you and I truly wish you the best. This isn't the Fulbright, however, and you still haven't even applied. Why don't you prove to the rest of us that you're worthy and then perhaps your condescending and thin-skinned reaction will carry more weight...

In response to your edit:
I just want to say that I don't have to prove anything to you or anyone else on this forum. That's not how this works. I, like everyone else, appreciate thoughtful advice and comments. But, nothing you've offered is anything beyond what is readily available by reading the Boren website thoroughly. Just because I don't find your advice helpful to my particular situation does not mean that I need to grow a thicker skin. It also does not mean that others won't find it helpful. I have a great deal of experience applying for and receiving grants beyond just having received a Fulbright. And, like you, I try to offer advice to others but I never say that if someone doesn't do things my way they are "condescending and thin-skinned" as you did. Switching to insults is a cowardly way of dealing with things. I would much prefer to stick to the matter at hand. When I offer advice, I say, "This is what worked for me but YMMV." You offer(ed) no such caveats in what you have written. I'm also now wondering if your advice varies at all for people applying for Fellowships, rather than Scholarships, since those two pools of applicants are often at very different places in their lives. One of the problems with making blanket generalizations is that you over-assume things that may not be true.

The real condescension I see is in your reply to me. At no point did I ever say that the Fulbright and the Boren are the same. They are similar in that they are both nationally-competitive awards funded by the U.S. government and administered by IIE. While the application processes differ, they have many commonalities and look for some of the same things (according to what they have written on their websites).

My original response, written before I saw your edit:
riverguide, I think that you should realize that what worked for you may not be what works for me. I know many people that started that Fulbright statements six months in advance. I am not one of those people but, that did not prevent me from getting a Fulbright. I know how I work, I know how to write proposals, and I know who to ask for feedback on them. Writing the Boren proposal will, in all likelihood, take less than a month, even to go through 10-12 drafts. I know this because I know me. You don't know me so it's not really fair for you to tell me that I'm screwed if I'm not on a second draft already. You also don't know my LORs or how long they need to write a letter. I do. I know that they can and will write letters for things like the Boren with two weeks notice (so, if I ask them 5 weeks from now). Obviously, this may not apply to everyone but it is my situation. There is nothing particularly unique or demanding about the Boren requirements so it seems like my past experience will serve me well when it comes to preparing my essays. Your advice is likely better for those with less experience with the process of applying for funding. That's really all I was trying to point out to you before.

To answer your question, yes, I am still trying to decide whether or not to apply. There are other things to consider, aside from just the application, which I know I can complete. It's not as simple as apply and go have fun and learn a language or don't (as it is for many Scholarship applicants) in my case because I am considering the shape of my graduate career. I am already at the dissertation research stage so, for me, it is important to decide exactly how any funding would fit with what I have already done before I apply for it. And, really, you don't have to understand my reasons or think that they are valid because, as I pointed out earlier, you are not me.

Here's my take-home point: I'm not thin-skinned. I also don't think that making a blanket statement "if any of you haven't started your essays and requests for LORs yet, you aren't taking the process seriously." You do realize that people can start their essays and not really take the process seriously, right? There are countless people who start applications for things like the Boren, NSF GRFP, Fulbright, etc. and never finish them for various reasons, only one of which is not taking the process seriously. I am taking the process incredibly seriously which is why I am taking the time to decide if and how having a Boren Fellowship fits with my graduate career before I go around asking people for recommendation letters. To me, it is incredibly rude to ask for a letter and then not need it because it wastes another person's time. You may not see it that way but, as someone who has written rec letters for my students, I do see it that way.

I guess what I'm really saying, riverguide, is that you shouldn't jump to conclusions about other people based on what you see here. There's a lot more going on in my life and in my thought process than I've indicated here. I don't apply for anything on a whim. I make sure it's the right thing for me, personally and professionally, before pursuing it. I am still looking to hear more about the overseas component of the African Languages Initiative from anyone that has participated.
---
Also, I just want to clarify that the numbers I gave in my earlier post are those for Boren Scholarships, not Boren Fellowships. The numbers for fellowships are available here.

When you receive a Boren Fellowship, your self-esteem issues on this thread will probably be resolved and I might listen to what you have to say or write. Until then, you're just another wannabe with a really bad attitude. Maybe you're somebody or maybe you're not. Who cares?

And just think, all of that time you took to reply to and belittle my suggestions could have been spent researching your options, making a decision and writing your essays...here's some advice you can use: Stop whining, start writing and go for it. Success cures all. You'll never be a winner if you keep acting like a loser. Believe or not, there's nothing I'd like more than to see you prove me wrong and become a Boren Fellow.

Not to deprecate your very impressive receipt of a Fulbright, BUT 7500 people annually receive a Fulbright and only 151 people annually receive a Boren Scholarship and only 117 people annually receive a Boren Fellowship. The Boren is for a different breed; so, why don't you get the show on the road and join us...

I just got a transcript request on Mon Feb 6 at 4:35 pm EST. In case this information is useful to anyone, I had applied and sent in my transcripts last year as well.

Off topic.

As the original poster, I would ask that members stop using this forum to argue about the merits/shortcomings on the new healthcare law. This is obviously not the website for it (thegradcafe.com). Additionally, the way that you are arguing about it is not intellectual - its personal.


Moderators, please close this topic!

McDeviit,
The way I see it there are several different deficiencies at play in your argument.
First, your assertion that people "cling to parental figures" in government out of "dependancy [sic]" is callous, narrow-minded, a historical and almost ad hominem. People have needed the state to intervene on their behalf at many important times, for many valid reasons throughout history (Alabama circa 1963), and this did not constitute dependency; rather it was needed to inject justice into a terribly unjust situation. It is for this reason that I have voted your post down. If you want to have an intelligent discussion that is fine, but please do not resort to sentimental rhetoric entirely divorced from historical reality.
Regarding your assertion that "The conveniences we have are despite the growth of government" I would again ask you to think historically while urging you to compare the US banking, healthcare, and housing sectors with their thoroughly privatized counterparts in much of the developing world. Banking and housing were horribly inefficient before the implementation of regulation - hence the boom and bust cycles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And as far as healthcare goes, well if you would like us all to have early 20th century healthcare (in terms of distribution, not quality) then there is something seriously wrong with you. Again, if you are going to make these arguments I suggest you actually do some homework first. Oh, and my argument was not that it wouldn;t be profitable for the private sector to build roads. It was that it wouldn't be profitable for the private sector to build efficient roads. This is not an opinion. It is a statement of fact. I refer you to the World Bank's website.
And your understanding of government is infantile at best. The "public need" is aggregated into interest groups who compete for power (either through elections or force). The interest group with the most force (either ideological or material) then assumes the role of governance, part of which is to provide public goods. The definition of public goods is something which affords a benefit to all, and the usage of that benefit by one person does not detract from the benefit of another. Now, healthcare as it currently exists is obviously not a public good. But it is precisely my argument that just like national defense, it should be. This country has more than enough material wealth to provide healthcare for all of its inhabitants.
I sincerely advise you to spend some time among the less privileged. Your callous, narrow-minded, US-centric attitude is particularly noxious when it is couched in your uninformed faux-intellectualism. That is why I voted your post down, and why I will continue to vote down any posts which reflect that you still haven't done any serious research or thinking on this subject.

The level of self absorbed, delusional ignorance truly is monumental.......

Not sure how germane this is to the conversation, but then again I have little expectations for you.

Though I am Canadian, if I were you I wouldn't count on Obama's health care plan standing up in the courts. As much as I think it's a great step forward for your country, I know those mouth-breathing Republicans will stop at nothing to see it struck down.

1. obamacare? really?

2. the school in all likelihood won't give you anything back if you opt out of their health insurance. they don't deduct the cost of insurance from your paycheck, they give you the insurance for "free" and tell you it's valued at a few hundred dollars a month. i tried to opt out of my school's insurance, because i already have great coverage, and their insurance runs the cost of over $200/month. gouged. but they told me i wouldn't see that extra $200 because they technically don't charge me for the insurance.

There are a few Wikis out there devoted to this very question (not to mention the "Sources of Funding" thread here at GradCafe), but my favorite for Humanities/Social Sciences Topics is:
http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/studentgrantsfellowships/about/

Happy Hunting!

I hate that Congress has made such sweeping cuts to Education, and particularly Graduate education and research (see: Fulbright Hays DDRA, Title VI, and now subsidies for Graduate Education Loans). But I am wondering how Graduate Institutions will handle these changes? There was a day when graduate and professional students completed their degrees without having to take out loans, and frankly, it wasn't that long ago. The biggest reason for this was that Graduate Schools paid their TAs and Instructors a higher (albeit still quite modest) wage.

I used to wait tables for a living, where I made 2.30 an hour. At one point back in history, servers and waitstaff were entitled to minimum wage (at least 5.15 at the time) paid by their employers. Once tipping became a common and almost lucrative practice, however, the employment laws were rewritten allowing employers to pay their waitstaff 2.30 an hour, the assumption being that tips would make up the difference. Essentially, lawmakers shifted the burden of the servers' wages, placing them directly upon the consumer, rather than upon the employer.

Long story short, I wonder (and a lot of this is speculation) whether American universities have done the same thing. With costs of living increasing and greater and greater numbers of grad students coming in each year, stipends for TAs and Student Instructors have stagnated and stalled. In my dept (a large Research-Intensive Private School in New England), graduate student instructors are even replacing professors in some depts. The stipends are too small to offset cost of living, and our stipended Grad Students actually have to sign a document saying they will not pursue work outside of the university. In the end, these grad students must take out loans to make ends meet. Like the restaurant I worked in several years ago, these Universities seem to have shifted the burden of their payroll. That is, they've shifted it onto the students.

Now, I don't think and end to subsidized loans for these students is the way to reverse this problem. And I am similarly skeptical about whether this move by Congress will actually inspire Universities to reverse these externalization-of-costs measures. I am actually quite concerned that this legislation will accelerate the mentality that I've seen among some faculty--- the one which views Graduate Students as sources of cheap labor only and disregards the "education" aspect of the advanced degree. (Indeed, one of the ugliest things I've seen since beginning grad school some four years ago was a student who taught several very popular courses in my dept. This student was encouraged to keep teaching, even at the expense of his research, until his Financial Aid ran out and he'd maxed out his Loans. He was then dismissed with little discussion.)

But I wonder--- what is a grad student to do? Is there a way to hand back to the university, responsibility for its Graduate Student community? Just thinking out loud here...

I hate that Congress has made such sweeping cuts to Education, and particularly Graduate education and research (see: Fulbright Hays DDRA, Title VI, and now subsidies for Graduate Education Loans). But I am wondering how Graduate Institutions will handle these changes? There was a day when graduate and professional students completed their degrees without having to take out loans, and frankly, it wasn't that long ago. The biggest reason for this was that Graduate Schools paid their TAs and Instructors a higher (albeit still quite modest) wage.

I used to wait tables for a living, where I made 2.30 an hour. At one point back in history, servers and waitstaff were entitled to minimum wage (at least 5.15 at the time) paid by their employers. Once tipping became a common and almost lucrative practice, however, the employment laws were rewritten allowing employers to pay their waitstaff 2.30 an hour, the assumption being that tips would make up the difference. Essentially, lawmakers shifted the burden of the servers' wages, placing them directly upon the consumer, rather than upon the employer.

Long story short, I wonder (and a lot of this is speculation) whether American universities have done the same thing. With costs of living increasing and greater and greater numbers of grad students coming in each year, stipends for TAs and Student Instructors have stagnated and stalled. In my dept (a large Research-Intensive Private School in New England), graduate student instructors are even replacing professors in some depts. The stipends are too small to offset cost of living, and our stipended Grad Students actually have to sign a document saying they will not pursue work outside of the university. In the end, these grad students must take out loans to make ends meet. Like the restaurant I worked in several years ago, these Universities seem to have shifted the burden of their payroll. That is, they've shifted it onto the students.

Now, I don't think and end to subsidized loans for these students is the way to reverse this problem. And I am similarly skeptical about whether this move by Congress will actually inspire Universities to reverse these externalization-of-costs measures. I am actually quite concerned that this legislation will accelerate the mentality that I've seen among some faculty--- the one which views Graduate Students as sources of cheap labor only and disregards the "education" aspect of the advanced degree. (Indeed, one of the ugliest things I've seen since beginning grad school some four years ago was a student who taught several very popular courses in my dept. This student was encouraged to keep teaching, even at the expense of his research, until his Financial Aid ran out and he'd maxed out his Loans. He was then dismissed with little discussion.)

But I wonder--- what is a grad student to do? Is there a way to hand back to the university, responsibility for its Graduate Student community? Just thinking out loud here...

That being said, if you really only want a masters and not a phd, you should not use of the slot of someone who is commited to the phd as a point of ethics.