idontknow

I think I was rejected because my research is more of an integrated system level approach to renewable energy analysis, as opposed to something really fundamental. From what they listed on their website, it seems they were looking for more fundamental science type energy related things.

Rejected from DOE SCGF. I'd like to know why, anyone know if they're giving out reviews? Anyway, 1st order of business for the day: Accept the NSF fellowship.

I get the feeling that: All winners have been notified last week / early this week. All finalists were notified today. For everyone else, well, you know how that goes.

+1

I assume that emails were only sent out to those who won it - since grad school decisions are due on the 15th, which is the same day they planned on sending out emails. I think they figured that it was only worth it to tell those who actually won it before the grad school deadline, since they probably didn't think a rejection would make a big difference for everyone else. I haven't received an email or a call, so I'm 99.99% sure I got rejected.

For reference: I won the NSF GRFP this year. I am a 1st year graduate student, and my profile was as follows (at the time of application): Program: Energy Engineering. Undergraduate GPA: 3.87 @ UCI (double major: Mechanical Eng, Aerospace Eng / minor: Materials Science Eng). Graduate GPA: 4.0 @ UCI (I had taken some graduate classes as an undergraduate) GREs: decent, but not great (combined about 1280) Publications: 4 as first author: 2 conference, 2 journal 3 as 2nd author: 2 conference, 1 journal Presentations: 2 at international conferences corresponding to the conference papers I was first author on. Outreach: Was one of the founding officers of a Sustainable Energy Technology Club at UCI. Embedded outreach activities for energy education into my research plan (with perspective). My rating sheets were as follows: Rev 1: VG/E Rev 2: E/E Rev 3: E/G As far as broader impacts go, there's a lot more that goes into it than what's in your profile - it also depends on what you propose in your personal statement / proposed research, and more importantly, your perspective on it in the context of society around you. I'm sure this was in everyone's application, but getting it across is difficult. I think for broader impacts, they weren't just looking for a statement of broader impacts, but a sense of consistency and depth in the motivation behind your research and your personal perspectives. This was the hardest part for me when I wrote my essays, because I had a lot to say and very little space with which to do so, but I got a lot of help for trying to say what I wanted to say in a small space. This was my second time applying, I applied last year as an undergrad and got an honorable mention. I think what would be useful, is for me to talk about the differences between my application last year and my application this year. Message me if you want to know, since it's a lot to say. I'll also make the disclaimer that me being awarded does not make me an all knowing source of what the NSF people were looking for. I only have an idea based off of my reviews from last year, this year, the advice I received to change my app from last years, the help I received when trying to get across what I wanted to get across, and personal perspectives. So in short, all I have are thoughts, but I can't say that they are correct or useful to people.

Thank God, I got one! Thanks for all of the camaraderie, and congrats to all others who won. To those who didn't, there's still next year, and for those who don't have next year, remember that you learned something useful in the process and there are more important things to focus on.

Totally. I'm not sure if this is correct, but I feel that the existence of essays such as the personal statement and the criterion of broader impacts indicates that you are being viewed as a person and not as a statistic. If all they wanted were statistics, they'd ask for a CV and a proposed research essay only. Also, none of us really know what goes into deciding who wins or not. Some of us may have ideas or general gists, but we don't know the details. Many people who win probably don't know the reasons why they won vs. someone who didn't - I know the rating sheets tell you something, but I feel that they're more to it than that. "what makes us different is the process of what we've done and how we've gotten that degree," Agreed. It's not the degree title itself that is most important, it's what you take away from it and what you've contributed to your field. Kind of like a class: you can get an A in a class, but after the class is over, that 'A' isn't anywhere near as important as what you gained/learned from the class and your ability to apply it to make good contributions. Either way, if one of us wins, its something we should be happy about. I'd view it as an opportunity to gain momentum/confidence (but not arrogance!) for contributing to our respective fields, kind of like an investment. In short, I see winning it as an opportunity to be a better contributor, not as an end. If we don't win, we've still learned a lot of things in the process, either on the marketing side or, in my case, on the personal side (esp. after what happened last year). So no matter the outcome, it's not a total loss. Don't get me wrong: I understand worrying about it. I worry about it too, but I think it's good to keep in mind that no matter what we don't walk away empty handed. I've probably made people angry too with this, i apologize if I have, it's not intentional, but I tend to have that effect on people.

Hmm. I haven't had any GRFP related dreams so far. I guess I've been too busy / pre-occupied with research / school (been averaging 12 hour days all week), or my subconscious has totally given up on the prospect of me winning so it doesn't bother bugging me about it.

Considering what happened last year (results came out on May 19 for some of us), results coming out in June may not have been as off-the-wall as one would have thought! I agree totally. I don't like the extra anxiety / anticipation that comes with knowing that the notification is coming soon. It puts one through a lot of unnecessary thought loops. I'd rather just normally check my email one day and see the notification there instead of looking for / expecting it.

For sure. I want to know already so I can move forward on deciding a lot of things. Like how I'm going to go about my living situation for next year, among many other things.

Totally. Last year, they released some in mid-April and the rest of them in mid-May. I waited until mid-may to find out that I didn't get it. Does anyone have a sense of what else actually goes into deciding one's chances of winning, other than the stuff they tell you they're looking for? I feel like my portfolio doesn't exactly stand out amongst the applicant crowd.