[Writing an NSF GRFP Application in 3 weeks]

TL;DR: How do I write a NSF GRFP application in 3 weeks? How detailed are the research proposals supposed to be?

Background -  just your average bay area engineer:

• Graduated in 2016 from joint BS/MS program in Bioengineering
• Worked at a start up as an R&D engineer from 2016 to March of 2018
  • So I've been out of academic research for 2 years (no pubs, posters, PIs, etc since 2016). 
• I always intended to do a PhD, and recent events have shown me that now is my time!

But then I got more info:

• I thought that I only had one more chance to apply and that I could chose to either apply this fall along with my grad school apps or next fall after having entered a PhD program
• Turns out I'm wrong and that I can apply for both. Found this out literally yesterday. ?
• I had already planned an intense budget vacation for August and September. I can't cancel it and won't cancel it.
• This leaves me about 3 weeks to write my NSF GRFP application (October 1 - 23)
  • Activate panic mode: what do I do!?

Questions

• Have any of you written a successful (or almost successful) GRFP application in 3 weeks?
• How do you select a research proposal topic?
  • I know people often go with the continuation of their undergrad studies, but I've been away from them for so long! 
  • I didn't go to a big research school, so my undergrad research project was a bit slow moving and dated to start with, now two years later, it seems that a lot of the problems in my field have been solved. I don't even know where to start a lit review now.
• Where to start in terms of scope? How in depth and detailed should the proposals be?
  • I feel totally stupid and inadequate when reading sample proposals. Folks seem to have detailed and amazing proposal that go something like this (including instructions for each step!):
    • Build bioreactor from scrap metal and found objects as described in figure 1.
    • Engineer a special enzyme to do site directed mutagensis 10,000x faster.
    • Develop a new engineered cell line of invincible cardiomyocytes using humming bird DNA
    • Put magic enzymes and invincible cardiomyocytes into upcycled bioreactor and grow a human heart
    • Broader impacts: cure all heart diseases for less than $150

I just feel like I'm not smart enough for this right now! Where do I start? Any suggested timelines or tips?

 

[Vanderbilt Biomedical Engineering Fall 2018]

Wow just in the nick of time! Congrats on your admission to a top program! I hear that Nashville is pretty awesome too.

[School selection]

I'm in a different engineering field, but your profile looks appropriate for the schools you are applying to.

General advice:

• If you want a PhD, apply directly to PhD programs, don't bother with MS.
• You should not have to pay for an engineering PhD -- do not accept an offer if it requires you to pay your own pay
• Most schools will promise funding to PhD students for at least the first 2 years of study. For example, University of Washington Civil Engineering states that "PhD student are fully funded with research or teaching assistantships, departmental support, and fellowships from a variety of organizations"

 

[Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission]

1 hour ago, WhyTry said:

What???!!! Lol I got 162Q/154V/4 or 3.5, and UW bioE told me my scores were excellent during the interview. Also got accepted 4/5 of my applications.

But then, if you have the time and money to retake, no harm to it

Thanks for the encouragement. I don't exactly have the time, especially since you just alerted me to the fact that I have to do the NSFGRFP!  (Thanks btw.) But I'll find some time - no one talk to me until December 15

But I KNOW I can score higher because I scored higher in all of my practice tests. So I'm just going to go for it. November 7 GRE here I come.

I know that if I don't and get rejected from my top choices that I'll always wonder if I could have gotten in by spending another $200 and some time. If I retake after some more intense quant study, I'll know that I put together the best application that I possibly could, even if I get rejected.

[Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission]

AUGH. Just finished GRE.

169V(99%) 162Q(81%)

Gotta retake it. ?

Damn that quant score. I was so proud of verbal. And I think I did well on AWA too.

[Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission]

18 hours ago, WhyTry said:

Hi! I used to have the same research interest so it was exciting reading your post, and now I have to let you know....

since you are taking a gap year, you can apply to nsf grfp twice! The rules changed so that you can only apply once as a graduate student, but you can still apply many times before that. I applied twice myself and will apply my last chance soon. 

Here it is straight from the grfp website! “As a bachelor's degree holder without any graduate study, you are eligible to compete with others at the undergraduate level. If you are offered and accept the award, you would need to be ready to begin your graduate program in the fall after you are awarded the fellowship. If you are not offered an award and decide to delay graduate school, you can re-apply at this level again if you haven't yet enrolled in or completed any post-baccalaureate graduate courses. Applying before you begin your graduate studies does not affect your ability to apply once after you're enrolled in graduate school, as long as you continue to meet eligibility requirements.”

Alas, I’m sick of biology now lol so I switched to matsci. Good luck!

I actually already completed a MS through a joint BS/MS program so I'm pretty sure I only have one chance to apply -- right? Man, if I'm wrong I have a lot more writing to do than I thought...

From the NSF GRFP Eligibility Page:

What if I applied in the final year of my joint BS/MS program? Under the new one-time rule for graduate student applicants, am I still eligible to apply in the first year of my Ph.D. program?

Yes. When you applied in the final year of your joint BS/MS program, you were still considered to be an undergraduate since you hadn't yet earned your BS degree. After your joint degree was awarded, you have one more chance to apply-but it must be at the beginning of the first year of your Ph.D. studies (before you complete any additional graduate credits). Note that having earned a joint BS/MS degree, you would not be eligible in the second year of your Ph.D. studies, as by then you will already have completed more than the allowable amount of graduate study.

 

EDIT: WhyTry is right I'm pretty sure! Dang ok, gotta start thinking about NSF GRFP then too! Ahh I'm overwhelmed.

[Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Top Ranked Masters University in Silicon Valley (for joint BS/MS)

Major(s): Bioengineering
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: N/A (my school doesn't calculate this)
Overall GPA: 3.75/4.00
Demographics/Background: White female

 

Grad School (same institution, same PI):

Major(s): Bioengineering (MS)
Overall GPA: 3.98/4.00

GRE Scores: Taking this Saturday. Will Update. Expect around 90 percentile
Q: xxx (xx%)
V: xxx (xx%)
W: x.x (xx%)

LOR: Undergrad/Grad research PI, Undergrad/grad research co-advisor, VP of manufacturing at my company (boss)

Research Experience: 

2.5 years in same lab for grad and undergrad. One project with one PI.

2 Years working in research and development at a medical device start up

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

2 first author conference pubs

1 conference poster presentation

~3 university poster presentations

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Outstanding Bioengineering Senior

Senior Design Presentation Award

Engineering Ethics Prize

Multiple university fellowships for undergrad research

Tau Beta Pi membership

Graduated Magna Cum Laude for undergrad

Graduated "With Distinction" for grad

Named merit fellowship to pay for masters degree

Accepted into start up incubator program for company spun off from my research

 

Fellowships/Funding:

I'm thinking I'll wait until fall of my first year of PhD to apply for NSF since they changed the rules and I can only apply once

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Teaching assistantships in grad school

Volunteer work encouraging female participation in stem

Volunteer and paid tutoring positions for calculus, chemistry, physics, etc.

2 years experience as an R&D engineer at a med device start up

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Completed University Honors Program

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.):

My PI's PI (academic grandpa) is at Stanford, but he's in EE (with some BioE research) and I'm applying to BioE. Idk if this matters at all.

 

Research Interests:

Microfluidics, bioMEMS, biosensors, nanodevices, single molecule detection, point-of-care diagnostics, lab-on-a-chip, transcriptomics

 

Institutions/Programs:

Berkeley BioE

Standford BioE

University of Washington BioE

UCLA BioE

CalTech Medical Engineering

University of Michigan BME

Cornell BME

Georgia Tech BioE

Maybe: Boston University BME, UC Davis BME, UCSD BioE, MIT Biological Engr.

Comments:

I'll be 26 when I start grad school. I guess this makes me a "mature" student.

I'm taking a year off (now until I start school fall 2019) to travel the world. Not sure if this will look good or bad but I'm doing it anyways.

Too many schools to apply to? Too few?