ChemGal

Yes! I think last year they were posted at like 1:30 AM. So it was on the later side, but still before 2 AM.

You can definitely change your topic! I proposed to work on a project on iron in the ocean (which I am really still hoping to do!), but have spent my entire first year of my fellowship working on developing a way to measure Cadmium isotopes in my lab. They are very flexible about what project you do. The only thing that would be challenging to do, is to change your primary field entirely. For example, I applied in the Geosciences division in Marine Geology & Geophysics (in geoscience). I was allowed to switch to Chemical Oceanography (still in geoscience), but it would be much harder (or even impossible) for me to switch to, say, Statistics because it is in the Mathematical Science division.

Several of my friends are looking to get a GRFP this year. My advisor said that the shutdown might delay things if the applications had not already been sent out to reviewers/if meetings were scheduled during the shutdown. But, if applications were sent out before, then reviewers could still upload the reviewed applications to FastLane. So hopefully there won't be too much of a delay.

Did anyone not get an email? I can see my status on Fastlane, but no official email!

I was awarded!! E/E E/E E/VG (undergrad)

We don't know for sure. But, based on previous years, the maintenance announcement signals that it will be announced the day after the maintenance. Usually between 1:00-6:00 EST

Can't they just post it now?

I cannot focus on anything

This is so much worse than waiting for the maintenance to appear. Good luck everyone!

I think you're right. I'll definitely be thinking about my inbox if I don't open it beforehand.

It's an exam for biological chemistry. Luckily, I had a pretty open weekend so I've been able to study the material. That being said, a lot of the exam is based on memorization (enzyme names and chemical reactions), so I'm a little nervous that my brain will panic and I won't be able to recall the information. Although I know that I'll have another chance to submit in graduate school, I'm mostly nervous to see what my reviewers think about my proposal. But, I think you have a good point. My exam isn't until 10:30, so I should have time to process before I write the exam.

Can I ask you all for some advice? I have a big exam on Tuesday morning (~30% of my final grade). If results come out on Tuesday, would you wait to open the results until after or do you think the anticipation would distract you during the exam?

Maybe that was before the T/F pattern was established. If the above was correct, 2006 and 2004 had a Thursday release.

She really said she would be disappointed if you got nothing? That's not cool. Getting an NSF depends on so many different factors, and in no way only depends on your qualifications. Of course these are important, but an award also depends on who your reviewers are and what the application pool looked like that year. I wouldn't let her get under your skin, regardless of whether you are funded you can still do great science!

I don't think they put too much emphasis on where you say you want to work if you're not a graduate student yet. So I wouldn't be too concerned about that. A lot more weight will be put into letters of recommendation and your statements.