bluesand

Well, no news here on the West Coast yet -- what general region are the folks that heard? No news is good news...but we'll see what tomorrow brings...

I'm not looking forward to going home now...

Changing flights on Southwest is easy, so you are in luck there. =) Someone could call and ask about conflicts with orientation...that seems like a justified reason to call.

Rejections last year were by email. I wonder if there is any flexibility for the orientation if you already have plans.

Although it would be nice to know further in advance, 3 weeks sounds reasonable. They pay for all the travel, so the only issue would be if you have something scheduled for those dates that can't change -- and likely those plans would have been made far in advance anyway. I did figure out that this is the orientation for recipients of all NOAA fellowships, most of which were recently announced (e.g. Hollings for undergrad).

I'd like to know that too. Especially since it is a generic rejection without reviews or anything. I like to pretend that maybe they held on to top applicants for an extra few weeks just in case, but that only works if that April 8th rejection is true. =) My research is marine ecology related.

I also applied. My rejection letter last year wasn't until June 22, so I'm not expecting anything soon. But the grants.gov site says that recipients will travel to MD the weekend of May 29: http://www.grants.go...IEW&oppId=62213

Wow, so that means that applications haven't even moved from external to internal review. If they are this far behind, it would be nice if they at least send rejections sooner rather than later to those that don't make it to internal review.

Yeah. I am really surprised by that date, actually. The email in November said notifications in 6 months, so I figured they would start notifying by April 1, similar to other years....I guess we will find out soon enough.

I just went to the website and it says this, which I don't remember seeing before...that's tomorrow! A. Award Notices A written evaluation provided by the external peer review will be provided to each applicant with an award or declination letter. If selected to receive a fellowship, you will be contacted no later than April 1, 2011 and should subsequently receive your official notification of award by June 30, 2011, for the fall term. Please note that this schedule may be changed without notification due to factors that were not anticipated at the time of announcement. The earliest anticipated start date for these awards is September 1, 2011.

I lived in Rhode Island on about a $12000 stipend in 2004-2007, so I imagine the cost of living has gone up quite a bit (where has the time gone...). I think I was able to break even, but I shared a house and rent was only about $500/month There wasn't a lot to spend money on where I was, so I would say I lived frugally, but had money to buy what I needed and take a trip across the country once or twice a year (when airline tickets were half the price as now). One thing to find out is whether it is a 9-month or 12 month stipend, as this might make a difference in supporting two people while your husband looks for work. I would take the advice someone else gave and talk to the current students. They are the ones who know best for that area. I would ask more than just if it is liveable though. I'm currently living in S. CA on a $17000 stipend which people said was very tight but doable, and I am not breaking even (I live pretty cheaply, but unfortunately I am paying for utilities like cable that I don't use).

I would like to add to this too -- definitely hunt around for masters that have funding. While it can be harder to find and isn't as good as the PhD funding, it is out there (especially in the form of TA-ships). I also had funding for my masters through a TA-ship, and it will be nice going into a PhD program with teaching experience. You shouldn't have to go into more debt for a masters in the sciences. Most programs that have decent sized undergrad departments need TA's.

Ceridwen, you managed to put things into far fewer words than me, and this last part is key.

I sent you a PM b/c it was lengthy. But if anyone else is interested, let me know...

You will hear many arguments both ways for whether to do a masters before a PhD or go straight for the PhD. I will say, I know many ecologists who have done a masters and then a PhD. In a field where research experiences/perspectives/connections are very important, you can't go wrong with this route, although it will take you significantly more time. Here is my own experience. I had similar stats to you -- about a 3.2 GPA, a year of research experience when I graduated, and I took a grad class my last quarter. I knew that I wanted to do research and needed a grad degree, but I didn't feel ready to go straight into a PhD program. I had the opportunity to do a masters with someone I already knew. In addition, it was on the other side of the country from where I grew up, so it gave me entirely new perspectives on both on life and in ecology. Although I planned to get a PhD after my masters, I ended up working as a research associate for three years (basically managing a project). These experiences made me very competitive when I applied for programs this fall, and I got into programs I would never have gotten into straight out of undergrad (instead of the above stats, I had a great masters GPA, a variety of research experiences and people to support me, grants and awards, teaching experience, 4 publications in various stages). Although I will be starting a PhD program 6 years after finishing undergrad, I wouldn't trade the time it took to get here -- and my soon-too-be advisor views me more as a colleague at this point than simply a student. That said, you could also try to get a variety of research experiences instead of doing a masters. I recommend that anyone without more than a year of research experience take *at least* a year after undergrad to gain more research experience -- go new places, work with new people. This isn't only to gain more research experience; it will also allow you as an ecologist to ask broader questions about ecology. Also think about what you want to do after you get your degree -- the options with a masters and PhD differ significantly. I was pretty sure I needed the PhD, but I wasn't 100% sure...after working for three years with a masters and then job hunting, I now *know* that I need the PhD to do the research I want to do. So back to your questions...test scores are important (mostly as a cut-off for acceptance), but experience and connections are more important. Don't look at a masters as playing it safe, but rather, gaining more experience in a subject you are really interested in. Think about the type of research you are or might be interested in. Look for people doing this type of research. Look and see if there are any tech positions you are interested in (now is the peak time for summer postings -- also keep your eyes open for after you graduate). Have you looked into REU programs? There are some you may still be able to apply for for this summer. Also short-term field courses. Sign up for the ECOLOG listserve for all kinds of job postings and discussions on ecology. Okay, this is a bit long...but feel free to ask me more questions. And good luck!